Art In The Yard 3....Part 2...The Sequel

”Art in the Yard 3” was a complete success! Those of you that missed out on the yearly event are in luck because I got a chance to be there live, so sit back, relax and take a virtual walk through the “Art in the Yard” experience…

So last weekend we had our yearly art show and we had our best turn out in the 3 years that we have been doing it. For a simple art show in a friend, Zhee Zhee ridiculously awesome backyard, we must’ve had close to 100 people throughout the evening. The fact that the show was free to the public and all the advertising we did during the week prior had a lot to do with that I’m sure.  Thank God or whoever you choose to thank or not thank (talking to my Atheist friends) that we decided to move the show to this venue as our place is super tiny, and would’ve busted at the seams with everyone that showed up. It was wonderful to get passer-bys as well as friends and family that came together to help support local art, artists, and a good time.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, we (my wife and I) have been planning this show for months. Well let me rephrase that…she planned and I just helped with the setup, labor, building frames, and promotion.  It may seem like a lot on my shoulders but planning was harder than any of the work I did (though at the time I probably would have said otherwise) what with having/losing/having a venue to hold the event, menu planning, flyer making (an ordeal in itself) and distribution, I think I got off pretty easy. Overall the evening went off without problems. We had some issues with power as early on I blew a surge protector (thank God I had about 10 of them), but after I got that settled everything ran pretty smoothly.  We also blew a fuse at our house before the show trying to cook some of the food with the 3 crock pots going on at once. Luckily for us we had one fuse left (because our fuse box is located in the stone age, as the house is so old we don’t have breakers just screw in fuses) otherwise the food would have been a bit on the less cooked side….raw for those of you not keeping up.

So once we got all that taken care of and all of the artists and vendors were in their respective areas “Art in the Yard: The Backyard Urban Art Experience” started. I was not there for the first arrivals as I had to pick up a few things from the house and shower so I could be as one of our friends put it “CRISPY” for the fans, but when I returned…WOW….there was a lot of people there!  Everyone was having a blast, as they walked from vendor to vendor and between the two artists. If you remember last week I mentioned that there was supposed to be 3 artists, well at the last minute one of the artists had to cancel because his crappy babysitter told him that day that they weren’t going to watch his kids. LAME!!! So unfortunately we only had the two artists, but they more than picked up the slack. 

One of the artists was Dan Jaimes. You may remember him from such famous internet articles as Support Your Local Everything…Part 2 (click here to read the article). His work astonishes everyone that sees it, which is why he has been with us since our 2nd A.i.t.Y. back in 2009 and we hope he will continue to be part of our circus act for many years to come. If you haven’t heard of him, look him up, you really will not be disappointed.  His work is amazing.

If you read last week’s blog I mentioned that my wife was going to be named and her art work would finally be shown to the blog-o-verse (because I don’t like the word blogosphere…. just doesn’t sound as cool to me), to enjoy. So, without further adieu, I give to you the art of…. Anya!

I am in no way bias, but I LOVE it when she creates new pieces! I know a lot of you are thinking that since she’s my wife I have to say that but trust me, she can tell when I dislike something. My face, in those matters, has been described as the look of someone that has had a fresh turd squeezed out onto their mustache, so… yeah… mamma knows. She has always been a very creative person, weather it was writing music and poems or designing crazy clothing designs simply by wrapping herself in fabrics (we call it “faux-sew”).  Now that she has focused her creativity into painting, her mind takes a backseat as her heart shows itself on the canvas. With each stroke of the brush, scrape of a fork or splatter of paint (like I said creative) that hits the canvas or wood or whatever, an intellectually abstract genius can be seen.

 Anya pours her soul into every piece and never lets conventional thought or rules dictate her work. Even to the point that most of her work is up to viewer interpretation, meaning that like clouds, every piece is different so, she lets people determine the way they want to hang her art. The one rule… the most important rule… NEVER TELL HER WHAT YOU SEE WHILE SHE’S PAINTING!!!  Only after she is done are you allowed to give her your view of her work, because it influences things more that you think. I made the mistake once… ONCE!!! Some of my more distinguished readers might get the Johnny Dangerously phrasing there, by “distinguished”…. I mean…. never mind, I don’t want to upset said readers. We are currently trying to put together a website that will showcase her work and any upcoming events, but until then you can send her an email at anru1923@yahoo.com to find out about her event schedule. If you friend her on Facebook make sure you let her know you heard about her through The Penguin Gazette (it might earn me some hubby points). 

We also had some vendors selling various items ranging from infinity scarves personally weaved by the wonderful Niome Soulfly (http://niomiesoulfly.ecrater.com/), to financial advice books for teens and adults by Shay Olivarria from Bigger Than Your Block (http://biggerthanyourblock.com, http://shayolivarria.com ). Shay’s books are a definite must have for trying to get your financial life together; they break things down so the” world of credit and finances” isn't so scary. Also, Niomie’s scarves will allow you to look cool as a cucumber while you’re trying to stay warm. Anya owns a few and if an uber artist such as her has some, you should definitely check her out! Probably the most successful vendor was our friend and massage therapist (BTW is it Therapist or The Rapist when it comes to head shrinks? Just wondering), Camille “Dragon” Wells (http://www.dragoncloudemassage.com/). A dollar a minute with a minimum of 10 minutes for an amazing stress releasing massage, you just couldn’t beat it. I’ll put it this way, the last massage I had was on my honeymoon, “Olga the Man Killer” tried to squeeze my insides so they became my outsides… Camille is the only massage therapist I’ve let touch me in 9 years!

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As I mentioned earlier, we had a pretty good spread of food for our guests. On the savory side we had pulled Mediterranean spiced chicken that Anya marinated in her own blend of fresh herbs, veggies and peppers overnight, then, let slow cook for some hours in a crock pot. That was served over some white rice. We also had yellow-eyed peas (basically a really creamy textured bean) and lacinto (dinosaur) kale. The kale kind of has the taste of collard greens without the bite and pairs amazingly well with the yellow-eyed peas. As far as the sweets went we had a variety of cookies as well as chocolate and yellow cake that we topped with either a citrus or a velvety chocolate mousse.  That along with all the fresh fruit and the sun-brewed sweet and blood orange teas, there was something there for everyone. I almost forgot to mention the ice cold cucumber water.

 INGREDIENTS :

WATER

CUCUMBER (Cut into slices)

ICE

DIRECTIONS:

ADD WATER TO CUCUMBER SLICES AND ICE. STIR, AND ENJOY

I guarantee it’s some of the most deliciously refreshing liquid you will ever drink… “It’s a good thing”. Sorry, I was just quoting the devil herself Martha “THUG LIFE” Stewart… won’t happen again.

The best part of the evening for me, aside from seeing friends and family as well as people that got our flyer, was the drum circle. We had an amazing African drummer Abdullah Ihsan Seifullah from the World Beat Center (http://www.worldbeatcenter.org/) come by and he drew everyone in like moths to a flame. A flame made of heart beats. Every time the drum was struck, you could feel it resonating deep inside. He had people with no musical skills playing like pros, he was great! We were supposed to have an open mic session, but everyone was so enthralled by him that it wasn’t necessary. Nor was there a need for any other music because his was filling the air. They played late into the evening, and anyone that wanted to learn, he taught as if they were the only two there. He also had a table where he sold items like flutes, oils, and satchels. Needless to say he was a big hit with everyone. You can click on his name to send him an email for more info.

So, as you can see, the evening was AWESOME!! Everyone that came had a great time and a few walked away with original art, jewelry, and full bellies. Everyone that came left us with a great feeling of accomplishment and happiness. So to everyone that came and helped set up as well as break down A.i.t.Y. 3 (Wazi, Angelica, Amanda, Gena, and Yenny Yi you are all superstars), as well as all our family and friends that traveled from L.A. for the show, WE LOVE YOU AND ARE BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN OUR LIVES!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!  I want to give a HUGE shout out to Gena Hose, she was our beautiful unofficially official photographer for the evening. She took all the pictures I showed you here.

Well, that wraps up this week's blog. I hope you all enjoyed your virtual art show as much as we enjoyed hosting it. Until next time!!

-Editor & Chief of The Penguin Gazette,

Rudy

P.S. I'd love to hear what you think about this topic. Comment below.

P.S.S. Be on the lookout because we are looking to hold another art show later on this year in San Fernando Valley. If there are any artists that are interested hit me up in the comment box and I’ll get back to you a.s.a.p.