Louise Bourgeois

Today, at the ripe age of 98 one of my favorite most influential artists, Louise Bourgeois died. She was 98, so its all good. But she was an amazing prolific artist, who did not shy away from sex and humanity- which I was always really affected by. She was the picture of a vibrant artist all the way into her 90s... She reminded me of my grandma- a fully alive, evolving strong, creative woman! Amazing! Below: my first tattoo, a Bourgeois drawing... for my Grandma Genevieve


http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jun/01/louise-bourgeois-dies-new-york-98

NEW Drawing!

"Laying Down Roots/Systems and Tracing Roots" (Here it is not QUITE finished...)

Inspired in part by walks through Auckland...

Cut Collective

I love Cut Collective, a group of artists in Auckland who focus on street art and stencil projects... I found a gem on K'Road last week...




So true... ;)

Saying "I Love You, Mom" in NZ

Oh, God- Thank you for my friend Lala and Bethels beach on April 25... 2 years after I lose my momma, and here I am at one of the most beautiful places on Earth...

MOM

It has been 2 years since mom passed on April 25th 2008. I made this altar for her for Dia los Muertos that year in November... I wanted to capture her "wow" moment artistically, "wow" was her last word! Its an AMAZING and true story, and embodies my sweet, wise mommy...so maybe one day I can tell you all about it. She was my best friend forever, and a truly stellar and beautiful mom. Lucky for me I had 25 years with her. ♥
xxxxxx

Be FREE

Visit to Coro/Cora

So, I caught a ride to Coromandel town with Tam & Nick, and stayed with Cora gypsy-style in her housetruck, and had a righteous week up in the Coromandel bush. The cafe was almost just as I left it, with a slight change of the cast of characters.
Here is Tam acting out one of my favorite cafe moments: She and Mehow yelling at me for not understanding the difference between Car and Cow (pronounced in Kiwi, sounds IDENTICAL)
And here is Cora with one of our paintings. We made four that week and hung them in the cafe in the middle of the night ninja-style.

Rangitoto... I finally looked into a volcano!

So, I look at Rangitoto all the time from Auckland City. It is the city's youngest and largest volcano. (Auckland has about 50 in total) ...And today, me and my friend Laura hiked it! (Sweet As! That's Kiwi for "cool")
This is Laura, or as I like to call her, Lady Lala

Volcanic rock crumbles everywhere...


This is a lava cave, and Laura made me go in it!
Lala! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Creepy and awesome!
The summit, this is the top of a volcano. Also called the crater! Rad!

View of the city from the top~!

P.S. Here is a map of the volcanoes that surround me! Crazy! They are literally what formed and shape Auckland. (Rangitoto is at the top!)

GAGA AKL

I put on my bow, my PNKC dress for good vibes, and my new tutu... and its Gaga time...
It started with a shadow-
And in no exact order.... the crazy costumes began... I only have a few pics and they do absolutely NO justice for the show, but hey its a peek! Here she is in a full on costume that resembled a flat mop:
You can see her piano starting to burn as she played 2 ballads and sang her heart out...
Giant monster puppet- looked like one of those deep sea fishes with spider legs that her dancers moved around!!

Here she plays what looks like a wacky 80s guitar, buts its actually a keyboard set to a guitar sound!!!
Gaga in the crowd on a catwalk...
This was an animatronic dress that moved and she rose up on this platform- great view for the crowd...

This is the monsterball costume that looks like orbiting rings around Gaga

ABEL TASMAN COSTAL TRACK!!!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!!! This is a trek of a lifetime. So beautiful, I want to come back and camp for 3 or 4 days... I did this in one day, and it was so stunning. One of the most beautiful places in NZ and perhaps the world!

Waiting at the beach for the water taxi to take me to the costal track!

Split Apple Rock!!
Woods

Cool mossy rocks in the bush of Abel Tasman:

A crazy tall tree:
Cool hollow tree along the trek:
Beautiful...

The tiny beach I stopped at for a picnic lunch (it was high tide, so the beach was small, but I took a swim around the rocks, and acted like a mermaid for a moment!)

Beach, rocks, water...

Even at this distance you can see how crystal clear the waters are!!! Incredible!

Swing Bridge!! Woah!

Looking down from the swing bridge!!

Me crossing the swing bridge!!!