2012

This is the beginning.



Though I have not posted for nearly a year, I hope to have much more to say in the following weeks. In fact, in a few short months, I will open a business in a community of artisans here, in San Pedro. Ironically, mysteriously, unwittingly, it seems J and I have been very active in manifesting this community.

You see, every time we would drive past the buildings, large empty ramshackle, though recoverable warehouses at 22nd & Miner, we would chant, "that needs to be an artistic community, that needs to be an artistic community...". The powers that make these wishes come true heard us and ...Voila! Crafted at the Port of LA was born! The ideal location and venue for me!
www.craftedportla.com

500 artisans and delectable food vendors! All in one place! And I get a booth there. I am doing this on a wing, a prayer and my own dumb luck. For many,many years I have made other people rich with my skills. Just for once, I'd like those skills to benefit me directly and wholly. This is my intention with Crafted; I want to live a comfortable life, making lovely things for other people to enjoy and in turn benefit from my skills and vision. I want to make treasures that also nurture me!

In 19 days the Dragon arrives.
I will be there, arms open wide and ready to go for the ride!

Aloha....from the abyss

Just thought I'd stop in and say hi. It has been nearly a year.

I will post more thoroughly soon, but know I have not disappeared!

Caio 2010

Happy new year!!!
We end the year of the Tiger/Julian Calander  with a fine Thai meal.

This is the Paradise Fried Rice.
And it was!

As it is said, so it shall be done

What do I want?

• Kinder words
• Kinder thoughts
• Kinder actions
• Effortless ability to support and help others without judgement or limitation

• Continued expansion and connection with the source
• Continued and accelerated creative inspiration from the source
• Willingness to convey and ability to speak about creative source inspiration
• Fearless expression of the Great Divines message to me

• More connection to my body through Dance
• 1st level Certification in ATS 
• Stronger muscles
• Better digestion
• Healthier eating

• A wildly successful product line 
• A representative to sell my products world wide
• An abundant cash flow from my creative efforts
• A secure, thriving savings towards my own home.

What do I want to leave behind?

• Violent words, thoughts and actions
• Resentment
• Arrogance
• Unhealthy physical habits

• Fear of exposure
• Fear of rejection
• Fear of insufficiency
• Fear of aging

Skating on the thin Ice of time and memories

In a land far away and in a time not so long ago, I was a child in a fairy-tale neighborhood of movie stars and surfers. Many things happened and subsequently many things changed.

One day my mother came home with a pair of white skates, the kind you found only at the skating rinks. It was the height of the skating craze, sometime in the late’70’s when studio 54, the Bee Gees and cocaine were the zenith of fashion.  These were very special skates, real skates, leather boots, laced up with precision bearings and awesome trucks that made the ride velvet smooth.

It took many years for me to fit into the skates. I had coved them and had wished them mine for years. And one day my mom gave them to me. I was delighted and thrilled!!! I skated through the streets of Bayshores, smooth, fresh asphalt, warmed by the summer sun, now cooled below the quietly hissing wheels, the smooth encased German ball bearings rolled silkily. Skating at night, speeding down the street as fast as I could, hoping to miss branches,rocks and cars was as close to flying I ever knew. I felt free.

Many years later after Bayshores was part of my past and the future included new horizons, I kept those skates with me. The moved to a home in Costa Mesa, then to Huntington beach, Long Beach, Rossmoor, Los Alamitos and finally San Pedro. Every once in a while I would pull out those skates and take a spin. As it would go, the feeling was exhilarating but as each ride began, I became more and more afraid. I didn’t want to fall.

There are very few things I regret in life. In fact, if hard pressed I may only identify one or two minor things, inconsequential by most standards. When we moved last summer we were moving fast and furiously….we wanted out. Things were off loaded and shifted out of our lives in order to lighten the load. Two things that were let go of were Justin’s roller blades and my skates. They were boxed up and sent off to new owners. I am sure someone was delighted to find them and they will be used, but I am still sad that I let them go. They represent to me the last little bit of connection to my past as a child and as a young daughter playing in the balmy summer night with her mother, unwittingly gliding into a life others only dream of.

Fashioning a Frock

This is the beginning of a coat I crafted for Jason Wells.

The direction was to create a ‘proper’ frock coat with full skirt and large, deep cuffs. The kicker was he wanted appliqués of spirals, and not just any spirals, but spirals based on the golden mean and found in fractal patterns.

I first started with the spirals and the cutting of the pattern. The coat was a very demanding project as the pattern for the coat itself is poorly written, so I found myself making things up along the way to get to the next step. I can tell you, bad Ikea directions isn’t nothing like crumby notes for assembly of  some of the commercial patterns out there.

Finally, after many innovations and reconstructions, I finished the piece. Taking it to La Jolla and taking pictures of Justin in the frock was the best part of the whole affair….well, seeing Geckos face when he opened the box wasn’t half bad either!

Waffle Alchemy

On the chance that you may have never experienced the true thrill of a bacon, cheddar and jalapeño waffle, may I introduce you to mine.

Bacon saltiness!
Cheddar yummy sharp cheesiness!!!
Spicy Jalapeño peppers make this a  meal for anytime….day or night!!!

This is me painting.

I am working on panels for the back walls of the demo area which were sorely outdated. The Tahitian island tiki bar wasn't working anymore.

The fun part of doing panels is the instant gratification factor. You paint'em and they get put up and VOILA! Instant new environment!

This revamp will be something like the experience of sitting at the counter at a '50s diner. At least that is the intention....I just need to get rid of all that bamboo!

Justin's Frank Shaped Glove

I need say no more.

What's happening in BRC right now

Image thanks to Tamalerocks.com

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