I recently had the honor of documenting an amazing urban farm and art project created in honor of Cesar Chavez. This project is a crossroads of community, art, healthy living, and kids.

More photos after this description of the project, quoted from the Do aRt Foundation website:

The Do ArT Foundation recently partnered with Young Folks Urban Farmers Organization to bring a high quality inspirational and relevant street art mural to the Los Angeles Leadership Academy in Lincoln Heights. Deeply encouraged by the Young Folks Urban Farmers community gardening program at the school, we wanted to contribute a one-of-a-kind mural by the well-known Mexican artist Alfredo “LIBRE” Gutierrez that highlighted the theme and importance of urban organic agriculture and Mexican-American culture. We were given the blank wall space on the side of the Los Angeles Leadership Academy that faces the current hillside garden where the students do their work. Libre worked for an entire week with the students to teach them about Mexican-American mural history (along with Ms. Isabel Rojas-Williams from MCLA), collaboratively design an idea, and then physically paint the mural. This new mural will provide the students with creative inspiration as they farm with the YFUF program, as well as showcase the good work that the school is doing to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Do ArT Foundation strives to provide artistic expression to the public, therefore having the mural be on this wall will do just that. Having the mural face the neighborhood will serve to remind the community of the rich heritage and history of mural art and Mexican-American culture. Facing the garden, the artwork will also inspire and support the efforts of urban sustainability and collective community pride as the students work to plan and harvest nutritious food for their school cafeteria.

Music: Galaxy in Janaki, by Flying Lotus
Bravo to those involved!

My amazing friends, Kestrin, Dawn, and I  recently got together to create a fashion shoot. We collaborated on the art direction & clothing styling and then each brought our own unique talents to the project:

Kestrin: model

Dawn: hair & make-up

Me: photography & post production

Little did we know how prolific that one-day shoot would be!  Needless to say that I am absolutely thrilled and proud of our project!

continue below for more images

We managed to create some total gems!  Here’s a sampling shots.

Click on an image to enlarge, then click on te arrow to the right or left to scroll through the gallery.

We have more images from this project. Please email me if you’re interested in seeing additional shots.

Over the last few months while exploring our new home in Los Angeles, I’ve been constantly amazed and inspired by the creative threads in this city.   I’ve seen so much self-expression in fashion and dress that goes far beyond any trend.

A few weeks ago, P and I went to the Melrose Trading Post held at Fairfax High School. We were stunned by how many very fashionable and beautiful people we saw perusing the goods.

We went back today and decided to stop a few sharp-dressed strangers to take their photos. The people we chose to ask to photograph not only looked fantastic, but were extremely nice as well.  Next time, I’m bringing a little notebook to jot down details from these awesomely dressed strangers. AND business cards so they can find their way back to my post.

Striking fashion gold, here are my first Style Strike finds!
Sunday, April 22, 2012

We’re here. We’re officially living in Los Angeles.
And we’ve landed feet first.

But before I tell you that story, I have to tell you this story…

When I first found out I was pregnant with Paloma, 13 years ago, I couldn’t imagine loving another human being as much as I loved Romeal, who was under two at the time. I fretted that my motherly love would have to be divided and I couldn’t imagine Romeal having half of my heart.  But baby Paloma came along and my heart grew two sizes that day. The love in my heart doubled, not divided.

And now, my life has expanded and doubled again with this move and creating a new home from Seattle to Los Angeles. When we first told the kids we were moving, they were scared and worried, naturally. They thought their life and friends in Seattle would dissipate.  We told them their lives would be expanded and enriched by this new adventure.  Although I said these words to them (and to myself!), I didn’t know them to be true. Until now. A new layer and depth has come into our lives as we’ve begun to create a life branch here is Los Angeles. Seattle is still there, with all of our friends, families, and memories. We’ve doubled, not divided. We’ve all landed feet first.

We all have these experiences and relationships and explorations and mistakes and successes. In this life, we get to double up exponentially every time we open our eyes in the morning and step our for a new adventure. We are all so lucky.

And in the end, we always land feet first, even if it seems not to be so initially. I’m spoiling the ending, but I will still tell you that it’s a happy one.

I am just starting to take my first steps here. They’re baby ones. I haven’t been shooting a ton, but I’m working my way to it.  I hope to post more often, now that the moving dust has started to settle. In the meantime, please enjoy some shots of our new adventures in Los Angeles. PS Seattle, I still love you!

click on the photos below to see them larger

Oleg Dou, a young, award-winning Russian artist, was inspired by the curious tradition from the 1900′s of death portraits of young children to create these eerie yet beautiful contemporary photographs.  The original 19th century photographs were created as a memento of the child’s life. Their fragile,  lifeless bodies were often dressed in embellished and fancy costumes.  In Dou’s interpretation of the death portrait, the costumes on the children (who are not actually dead in these shots) are inspired by a childhood memory in which his mother made him wear a rabbit costume to a party.  The result, a collection called CUBS is all at once surreal, disturbing, and lovely.

more Oleg Dou after the break

The TOY STORY collection also presents strange and beautiful children in costumes and masks.

“We all play the good guys as kids, but far from all of us grow up to be good, upstanding people.” ~ Oleg Dou’s artist statement on the TOY STORY collection.

In SKETCHES, Dou plays with the idea of xenophobia and expresses,  “…it is unnatural to be moved by children who are foreign to you.”  What do you think?

Art’s hard and not always perfectly pretty.  Some art incites feelings of uncomfortableness and causes one to squirm a little and think a lot.  Dou‘s body of work is full of polarity: a blend of photography and surrealism as well as the strange paradox of attraction and repulsion.

How do you feel when looking at his portraits?  What other artists do you know that embody polarity in their work?

A few years ago, I stumbled on this amazing Flickr set by artist Bethann Shannon from New York. I wrote about these photos on my old blog and realized that Bethann needs a new post here!

In 1986, Bethann had just moved to NYC and was working as a cocktail waitress. Walking home one evening, she stopped in a photobooth in Times Square:
“The photo booth was an impromptu sanctuary in the midst of a chaotic world. It
was private, quiet and reminded me of a church confessional…I closed the little curtains, put a dollar in the slot and started to pray. I remember feeling deep despair that day. I needed help. I needed God to be real. . . .I found myself thinking about other people…I started watching the people in the arcade and on the streets of Times Square….Do they pray? What do they pray for?
How do they look when they pray?

It was at that moment I decided to include strangers in this series of photographs. It was very spontaneous and accidental really…I began approaching strangers everyday for 4 months to pray with me in that photo booth…these are the results…” ~Bethann Shannon

more photos and links to Bethann Shannon’s art after the jump

The result of Bethann’s project is beautiful, spiritual, and fascinating.

Plus, who doesn’t have a crush on 1986 Bethann?!

see the entire collection at 100 STRANGERS PRAYING and please revisit when you need a little prayer.

For most of the US at the moment, summer is presenting herself as Mistress Heatmiser, suffocating the people and holding back none of her fury. On the other hand, we in the NW are having quite the opposite summer. You may have heard, we’ve had 78 minutes of real summer since June 1st.  Apparently there’s also been 9 months of skiing, but I’m not counting that.  I want heat. I want al fresco dinners. I want to sweat.

Luckily here in the Puget Sound, we’re supposedly going to have a bit of a reprieve this weekend from the fall-like weather we’ve been having .  Skies will be mostly clear with a few clouds here and there, but there’s no rain forecasted for the weekend.

What to do? It’s going to be a hard shift to pack up our puffy coats for the weekend and perhaps don some shorts, step outside,  enjoy some fresh air, and not spend a dime.

Luckily for us, there’s a plethora of amazing free and fun activities and cultural events for all ages over the next few weekends. I’ll avoid the obvious and general free activites, like going to the park, riding a bike, or picnicking. Ready for some really great things to do that should cost money, but DON’T cost money?  Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that we will have a decent August and can take advantage of these events.

GO SEE A PLAY!

Parks across Puget Sound are offering free Shakespeare plays at outdoor amphitheaters put on by professional acting companies.  Click on the links below for schedules and locations.

http://www.greenstage.org/

http://www.seattleshakespeare.org/woodeno/

GO SEE AN OUTDOOR MOVIE!

Watching a movie outside is sort of the urban version of sitting around a fire while camping. You get to get all snuggly under a blanket, hanging with your friends while enjoying a great story. There are tons of spots for free (and almost free) outdoor movies around the Sound.

Movies at the Seattle Center Mural: http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/festivals/detail.asp?EV_EventNum=41

South Lake Union: http://www.cinemaonthelawn.com/

Edmonds: http://www.sidewalkcinema.com/

Eastside, in Redmond: http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/inventory/marymoor/movies.aspx

Eastside, in downtown Bellevue: http://www.bellevue.com/happening.php?id=57

With DJs! http://threedollarbillcinema.org/calendar/rock-roll-fantasy/

Almost free!  http://fremontoutdoormovies.com/

More movie listings:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2008019256_outdoormovielist27.html

LEARN TO SALSA!

Seattle Parks & Rec are offering free outdoor dance clases across the city at such places as the Olympic Sculpture Park  (my favorite place in the city!) through a program called Dancing Till Dusk 2011.  Check the below calendar for the days, dates and locations:

http://www.danceforjoy.biz/dancetildusk11.html

GET HEALTHY

My aforementioned favorite place, the Olympic Sculpture Park, offers free yoga classes on Saturday mornings from 10 – 11am until August 27th and free Zumba classes on Saturdays from 2 – 3pm in July (hurry!).  The below link includes all events held at the park, including free art tours, Thursday night music, and drawing in the park. Heads up, not everything offered at the park on this link is free, so read the events page carefully.

http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/getout/events_2011.asp

LIVE MUSIC CURATED BY THE HIPPEST RADIO STATION IN THE COUNTRY!

Everyone’s favorite radio station, KEXP, hosts free awesome local music at the Seattle Center Mural on Friday evenings in August as well as a whole day music and BBQ event. These concerts are not only free, they’re all ages!  Click the link below for dates and band information:

http://blog.kexp.org/blog/kexp-seattle-center-presents-concerts-at-the-mural-2011/

MORE AND MORE FREE!

I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the amazingly diverse and free programs, including lunch time concerts, kids concerts, buskers, and much more, curated by the Seattle Parks & Rec department. For a very comprehensive list of free summer activites, including some mentioned above, please click on the below link.

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/downtown/#dancing

Mother Nature, I’m sure you enjoy these events as much as we minions do. We’d love to take advantage of all this awesomeness. We’d also love to have your company, as long as you’re in a good mood and feeling summery. Thanks in advance.

Plus, we’d like to do more of this: