Officially starting a podcast...
Officially starting a podcast with my esteemed friend Emmy Anne Barnett. By artists, but for everyone.
One of my passions for art and my reason for continuing to BE an artist is the connections that art can make between all topics. And, finally after many requests, I am dipping into the podcast world! Periodically I will share my curiosity and bounce off my sweet public works artist foil East Bay Em.
We record weekly (chronic illness permitting) and you're welcome to jump in and witness the raw actions live, as well as submit questions in chat!
It might seem that I bring up my disability a lot to the "normal" viewer but, as you will see, brain fog plays a role in my creative and work process.
I'm a perfectionist in recovery, so our first few recording sessions had missing audio from the co-host in recording. I could hear it live but… the audience could not, leading to probably a very silly viewing experience for those who caught it live.
However one moment really stuck in my mind and became an obsession lol. Headphone/speaker user warning, I speak low at the beginning of the clip and then laugh quite loudly. As only early recording sessions can go.
Not exactly clear, but at the end there I talk about how I "Lived in the woods."
I think we will touch on this in spoken detail more in the podcast but Emily and I met at Humboldt State University and during my time in Humboldt County after graduation I did more than my fair share of the cabin life experience.
The other piece of the puzzle is that due to my disability and also being a preemie baby, I have something known as Hyperreflexia where my nerves/reflexes are firing a bit fast. So, being naturally "jumpy" and "reactive" come in handy once or twice!
Thanks for reading and I look forward to sending the first episode your way.
Face Painting, a summer adventure
This summer, I was able to join fellow artist and longtime friend Brian Iglesias and offer the fun of Face Painting to visitors and locals at the historic wharf.
I had a lot of fun combining my longstanding art and painting work with my love for working with kids! Of course I painted kids of all ages but the allure truly is highest for the age 3-12 crowd.
I did not get the chance to photograph all of my supermodel clients, but please enjoy a few of the ones I did capture. Some of my favorites are missing because in the crowd and bustle usually the family is ready for the next activity.
Because of my disability, safety and sanitation was number 1. Especially with MPX growing in California and the volume of tourists, while I always mask I also use a fresh pair of gloves for each face. I use FDA standards and go a little farther with my cleaning.
Happy to report that after a full summer and countless faces, I ended up getting COVID-19 once… from my roommate. I avoided working publicly the whole pandemic until I got this opportunity so it was really, really validating to look back and realize I played it safe well!
Some of my favorite things to paint obviously involved these fabulous rainbow paints. Many little ones would let me know, their favorite color is rainbow!
Spiderman is a perennial favorite, as is the Butterfly. Mermaids are a big hit too.
Interested in booking us for a birthday party? All the info is on my Face Painting page.
Although summer may be close to over, I will still be spending Saturdays by the Wharf and potentially adding a Farmer’s Market spot. Let me know in the comments, Mountain View, Santa Cruz, or Monterey?
The fight to be a Monterey Bay artist
Being disabled is absolutely not easy. But there are a few things that have made it a lot more enjoyable for me.
Community is the number one need for humans, but those of us with chronic illness or disability especially. We need help and we need to help others.
A major stressor or source of stability is housing. Many in California are already familiar with the housing crisis, but if you are not, or are of a certain social class and not aware, I would like to inform you.
There is a low inventory of affordable housing because development and priority has been given to the landlord class and the ultra wealthy by city and county planning for a generation. Something like 20% of current housing sales are to people planning to live in that home — the rest is by investors and landlords. Meanwhile, apartments remodel, kick out families, and only accept tenants that make 3-4x the rent. Trying to attract tech corporate workers has contributed to massive homelessness, and the rise of homeless families during the pandemic.
Since 2018 my rent has risen 42.5%. I split a 5 bedroom home with multiple problems, slumlord special.
Of course this contributes to my disability. I was working 6 jobs when the rent was 42% lower. Now I can “only” work 2 as a disabled artist and I still rely on crowdfunding for my survival.
If you are a landlord I really need you to look in the mirror. If you are an employer you need to look at payroll and then in the mirror.
Anyway, if you have a lead on affordable and accessible housing in Monterey County let me know before I too have to leave the area.
I can’t “work harder” and I don’t deserve to be told that, nobody who is low income does. I guarantee that everyone low income works 10,000x harder than those making 7+ figures. Full stop. I grew up here. I have met the gamut of incomes. I KNOW rich people. If it was about merit, we wouldn’t be here.
Why do I bring this up on my art blog? It’s extremely relevant to my art practice that I can’t spend my disabled time on my own body of work and instead am spending all my time on survival funds. Of course making art work is part of that, but I am unable to afford the kind of art making that would add to my Ouvre at what this point in my career is “supposed” to happen.
Let me know in the comments how you feel about our cost of living.