mid july thoughts

perfect swim day! hoy hablando con mi vecinos, comiendo comida Espanol, cada dia un nueva experiencia en la playa Newark! Soy allegro con este Juli! Today the muscle guys were grabbing at me.. damn this one-legged guy had the grip of a super wrench! I am oft the big guy but he could have just tossed me the length of da pool!

2011 Santa Barbara 19 July; Santa Dominga 20 July; Newark pastels. #34, #35. my Yoruba African priest neighbor is moving.. one of da best neighbors for 11 years+. Not the African deities invoked but somehow my fast drawings took on images/faces of Chango et Obtala.

the basketball tourney is playing excellent Michael Jackson music pre-game and breaks tonight! Damn nothing like music in da hood these hot sweaty nights!

happy Birthday Walter Benjamin

Happy Birthday Walter Benjamin! one of the major intellectual influences to my being! the epistemology, montage, paradigms.. his writings with Gershom Scholem, Georges Bataille, Bertolt Brecht. I so love the Passagenwerk.. Paris Arcades! I am forever obsessed with his visions, and probably just the romance of his life.. Paris, Berlin.. to the never forgetting of his dreadful death fleeing the Gestapo.



2011, 15 juli, Newark NJ; summer girls, pastel #29; Boyz sit, pastel #30.
Da young ladies & gents sitting at separate picnik tables today... we older people all commented.. maybe the Full Buck Moon this gorgeous Newark summer afternoon!

Sparks of the divine

2011, 13 Juli; Newark NJ; sparks of the divine; pastel; #28.

Turned out lights and put colours to paper to capture the gorgeous forms/colours/spirit in the vista from my apartment window. Newark is sometimes just so damn gorgeous.. tonight made me think of divine beauty. Also thoughts of Walter Benjamin as almost his birthday!

Trees of Life

"Trees of Life": 2011, 12 Juli; Newark NJ; pastel; #27 in my 2011 ete drawing series.

Sat to draw next to a Christian cult missionary who was opinionated and bossy as usual, an oft evil nature, at first. Decided to really focus on creativity and positives... the result a "Trees of Life".

Later thinking of Walter Benjamin and "sparks of life". I searched in my Scholem Kabbalah text and found text on the inherent goodness in the tree of life! A juxtaposition as well as synchronicity? Dunno. Not that I am trying to draw good but I am focused on the creative in all work that I do.

Salut South Sudan

Delighted to see the celebrations surrounding the birth of South Sudan on 9 July 2011! Big congrats to the many advocates, particularly Ruth Messinger and the American Jewish progressive community!
Watching CNN and did a fast sketch. Saw the map of South Sudan for only a flash but drew what I felt about the country! (looks like a brain.... hopefully a place for good ideas to prosper!!!)