Tuesday, July 20th 1:25 am
What up y’all,
My laptop died so I had to go get another one, install everything, and meet my painting deadlines so that’s why I haven’t been around. This month has been crazy! This next year and a half is gonna be CRAZY. I am already bracing myself and getting prepared, believe me.
Adversity has been chasing me hard but I’ve been kicking it in the ass, bunnystyle. ;) I believe this next year and a half will be one of the most exciting times of my life. I just really have to absorb and enjoy it. Hopefully I’ll kick adversity in the ass so hard it’ll leave me alone for a while. I bet you things are going to blow up as soon as I stop taking BS. lol
I have to say, I am really enjoying seeing how this art thing is evolving. Learning tons, for sure. The one thing I realized this week is that no matter how much you hate the game, the only way to thrive and survive is to play it- inevitably. So I might as well really play it with dignity and grace; give it all I have.
Sore allover though. Bunny shoulders tense, sore… I need some strong hands on them now, lol. Let me stop. All-nighter is just getting started and I’m being silly as I get ready to bring some goodies on THURSDAY! Stick around, it’s going to be really awesome.
Y’all I’m about to really do this art thing. I’ve always been doing it, but not full-time. But I feel everything is within divine timing now. It’s all falling into place. Most of all, I’ve achieved a certain level of mental toughness, an enlightenment. Hell you get so used to it you just keep going. Learning who the “carrot-danglers” are by seeing if they keep their word, etc.
I’m so excited y’all, this is the first time I’m really making a targeted effort in marketing my art! I know this sounds kind of stupid, but it’s a big deal. All this time, I’ve been so fortunate to have support without a real marketing effort on my part hardly at all.
I’ve been busy running around learning all kinds of skills and especially enjoyed my time at the financial firm as a financial advisor. It wasn’t me at all, but the skills I acquired there are incredibly valuable- I am using them now in working with an incredible team of eight. It took ten years to build this incredible team, but all the people that came in and out were all necessary and contributed to get where we are now... I appreciate each lesson I learned, especially the painful ones.
So we’ve really brought y’all some cool stuff starting THURSDAY y’all! I’m really going to use my art, my blog, whatever else I can to get crazy on this art journey. I’ve always said when I’m 127, old and decrepit I want to think about the life I explored fully rather than the life I never even attempted. I want to die knowing I really lived.
Y’all, thank you so much for being around now, and then, and way back then too. To my homegirl who protected me when the other little black kids would beat me up in elementary school, highschool pals from Tallahassee , college pals from Atlanta, genuine souls from all over: THIS IS IT!
I feel great going into this art thing whole heartedly because of the sense of responsibility I have towards my parents, friends and collectors, anyone who knows about my art, and for the pure sake of having a duty to whatever Spirit thing is up there to make the most amazing art the world has never seen before. And to help prostitutes get off the street (the neighbor said one came around and hid in the carport while a car went after her?) Which leads us to…
Artists and prostitutes. It’s no secret that artists often congregate therefore forming interesting communities- sometimes starting in the hood. Basically, you would see finished fixer uppers in the hood. When the neighborhood gets “cooler”, businesses and investors quickly move in and the rents go up. This in turn constantly pushes artists to “seek and settle” new territory.
I’ve gotten used to living in neighborhoods where shadiness goes on since I first moved out from the dorms during college. Bars on your windows, the neighborhood prostitute worked/lived caddy corner to you. You would go out and get the paper; she’d be coming off her shift.
Things aren’t that much different here in LA. I thought I was moving to a cute apartment since I found it on “Westside Rentals”, a reputable apartment finder. It was cute- during the day. At night, all hell broke loose. You’d hear cars get broken into, see prostitutes walking up and down, bomb squad camped out taking up the whole block, helicopters overhead about once-twice a week, even the LAPD telling you your neighborhood is bad. I guess that’s why I’ve always had a soft spot for prostitutes- they’ve always been my neighbors.
The neighbors in the hood don’t really mess with you- you’re an artist. What the hell are they gonna do with oil pastels and markers if they rob you? Oooooo, some brand new paint brushes.... LOL! It’s great to be an artist because no one messes with you- you just make the world look pretty and half the time they feel sorry for you lugging your stuff around in the heat thinking you’re gonna be somebody anyways. lol
I remember not too long ago my optimism got the best of me and I wanted to work big. So I ordered two 7'x10' wooden panels and realized they wouldn't fit through the door. I had to find a friend who had a saw so he could help me cut it down to four 5'x 7' pieces. Funny, huh? The hilarious thing was that the panels had to be left outside for a night or two and I was stressed out about someone stealing them. The neighbor goes, "Gurl, this here tha hood. Ain't nobody gonna mess with yo wood!" LOL! Funny how certain items are so valuable to some of us yet others just see it as....fortunately for me, something not worth stealing. ;)
Yet in all this, and all that was in Georgia, I found amazing enjoyable things in my environment. I remember in Atlanta, the way the sun shined through the leaves and grass- the most magnificent green you’ve ever seen. Or getting to sit outside on the porch in a rocking chair, reading a book and drinking real lemonade. Our house parties in the hood were the best- everybody got fed.
Here in my LA neighborhood, I’m grateful for a few special neighbors but lately I’ve been enamored with this jasmine bush that one of the little motels here by my house, has planted. Whenever I walk the dog, I’ll walk by the bushes eyeing which flower bunch I’m going to shove my face into and go into it with a big, deep sniff. I close my eyes, and imagine nirvana. Doing that a few times a day definitely makes life better, trust me.
Lately I’ve realized while we don’t always have the choice to choose where we come from, we always have the choice to choose where we’re going. I think the past shouldn’t be an excuse for us not to explore our future to the fullest. Yah I’m a little scared to expect peak performance during extreme times of stress; friends asking me why I put such pressure on myself. How else will I be able to handle bullshit unless I immerse myself and thrive in it over and over again, repeatedly? So that I know it?
Believe it or not, I do it for the experience; the practice. I made a commitment to this art thing to be able to take care of my parents from the income and to take my career to the next level. The next year and a half will fly by. Are y’all with me?!
In constantly surviving and thriving amidst adversity, I build courage every time I handle something and give them some of this bunny badass! Lol Seriously y’all this is the official start of this art thing heading to the next level. Things are all set and ready to go: we have lots of crazy, creative, guerrilla fun up ahead, I’m gonna really take all the tools I’m given and just go crazy with it. It’s gonna be the biggest “Art Fart” I’ve ever had. Lol
Let’s brace ourselves, everybody. Thank you for praying that I don’t fall flat on my face going all out with this art thing. Things are finally busy and at a point where momentum is picking up like I’ve never known, I guess you could call it the “tipping point”.
Let’s go! I’ve never had it this exciting before y’all , yet scared shitless. Thank you for being there being on the journey with me. I’m ready for it, all of it. Let’s carry on beautifully with the wind in our hair in the fight for our lives! Yee!
THURSDAY. Stayed tuned. Pray I don’t die from exhaustion by then. Lol
I LOVE YOU!
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