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tribelamag-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/84S319

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...

By Janice Bremec-Blum

August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, Japan marking the end of World War II. The horrifying aftermath of that bombing still lingers today, 73 years later.

In late ‘80s, artist Sandy Bleifer went to a papermaking conference in Japan. While there, she took the bullet train to Hiroshima and visited the Peace Memorial Museum, http://hpmmuseum.jp that houses numerous artifacts, videos, and documentation venerating the imprint of that world changing event. “I was pretty shocked, because I have not really been that much aware of what had happened. Coming back from the trip, I sketched the series that I wanted to do, to memorialize what I had seen.”

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial project by Sandy Bleifer

Over the next three to four years, Sandy created the pieces that makeup her exhibit. Employing the medium of paper, her work uses patina and texture applying various methods to stress or challenge the integrity of the paper. “Paper stands for leaves in some of my work and rocks in the figurative work, stands for skin and in some cases, the clothing. I find subjects that different papers can describe or suggest and apply those to the figure.”

It was the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, when Bleifer began traveling with her exhibit and opened up conversations with people effected by the tragedy. “It wasn’t something Americans were particularly proud of and there were a lot of people still alive from the bombing of Pearl Harbor who gave reason not to do the Hiroshima project. It was an uphill battle.”

Another decade has passed since her impassioned expression of Hiroshima however, the impact of that time is still prevalent today. “We’re in a very precarious position in the world, especially with all of the missteps in diplomacy that our President has undertaken with two nuclear-armed world countries, Iran and North Korea. We need to be reminded of how this all ends, this is not just another bomb. This has huge consequences for the survival of the planet.” Bleifer is involved with anti-nuclear groups as well as peace groups. “There’s a heightened concern that we are closer and closer to an accident or an on-purpose. It has to come back as something tangible.”

Touched by a recent article in The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-war-stories giving firsthand narratives about what the bomb did to the people, Sandy likened it to her work, “…it’s what my exhibit does in visual form.” She feels that, “the Japanese are not people who put their personal suffering out there above anybody else’s and they don’t complain. But the first-hand testaments, like we have of survivors of the Holocaust, make a big difference when people know specifically what the bombings did…the long-term effects of radiation and what it did to children and people’s reproductive tragedies.”

Sandy Bleifer Ikebana

When Sandy initially exhibited her work back in the mid ‘90s, she felt that people were not used to the idea of art being a tool for social change or a tool for expressing didactic material. “Now, every cause has its children’s art day and they have exhibits that they use as focal points for lectures. The Climate Museum and The Natural History Museum, for example, are both using artwork with professional artists and are launching projects with children and other communities to get them involved in creating art.” She feels that art is just like language. “If you have a subject that you can make a picture of, rather than write a story about, you’re still telling a narrative and you still have to take a position. You have to come to some conclusions before you make a mark on the paper.”

Using art, in its many different forms, to communicate the concerns of social causes, transcends language differences thereby making it accessible to all people. Sandy Bleifer’s work speaks volumes and yet never utters a word. That is the impact of the visual arts.

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Janice Bremec Blum is an author and Editor-in-Chief at TribeLA Magazine. She is also a multi talented make-up artist with an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. Her extensive background as a makeup artist in the Hollywood entertainment industry has empowered her to write a book on beauty and make, soon to be released. “The best part about L.A.,” says Janice, “it’s so diverse and encompasses many different ethnicities and yet no matter who we are or where we hail from, at some point, we will all find ourselves stuck on the 405!” Janice, a fiction writer and her husband Hunter (both art collectors) live in Los Angeles. You can email Janice at [email protected].

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tribelamag-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/INQVKl

Photographer James Davey discovers California by documenting musicians and their careers

Photography has led James Davey from Kansas City to San Diego, to Los Angeles in search of capturing experienced and professional artists to document the realism of their journey throughout their music career. Jim’s inspiration for photography comes from Danny Clinch, a photographer who has made his career in capturing the lives and performances of some very reputable musicians.

Jim integrates his craft with music from the raw energy and authenticity performers have to offer in a mere moment. Coming from his own hardships, photography has been a gateway to capture what’s really important in life and, at the same time, give back to others so they can appreciate their own experiences.

With a profound respect of all genres and their influence on particular subcultures, Jim looks to deliver an accurate portrayal to his audience while making them feel as if they’re experiencing the moment themselves.

Contact Jim at: [email protected]

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tribelamag-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/9Wfo04

Luis Rodriguez's "Words" and "Heavy Blue Veins: Watts 1959" + Post Laureate updates

Words

The thing is I wanted to be a writer

even before I knew what writing was about.

I wanted to carve out the words

that swim in the bloodstream,

to press a stunted pencil onto paper

so lines break free like birds in flight—

to fashion words with hair,

lengths and lengths of it,

washed with dawn’s rusting drizzle.

I yearned for mortar-lined words,

speaking in their own boasting tongues,

not the diminished, frightened stammering of my childhood,

but to shape scorching syllables with midnight dust.

Words that stood up in bed,

danced merenques and cumbias,

that incinerated the belly like a shimmering habanera.

Words with a spoonful of tears, buckshot, traces of garlic,

cilantro, aerosol spray, and ocean froth.

Words that guffawed, tarnished smooth faces,

and wrung song out of silence.

Words as languid as a woman’s stride,

as severe as a convict’s gaze,

herniated like a bad plan,

soaked as in a summer downpour.

I aspired to walk inside these words,

to manipulate their internal organs,

surrounded by veins, gray matter, and caesuras;

to slam words down like the bones of a street domino game—

and to crack them in two like lovers’ hearts.

Heavy Blue Veins: Watts, 1959

Heavy blue veins streak across my mother’s legs,

Some of them bunched up into dark lumps at her ankles.

Mama periodically bleeds them to relieve the pain.

She carefully cuts the engorged veins with a razor

And drains them into a porcelainlike metal pail

Called a tina.

I’m small and all I remember are dreams of blood,

Me drowning in a red sea, blood on sheets, on the walls,

Splashing against the white pail in streams

Out of my mother’s ankle.

But they aren’t dreams.

It is Mama bleeding—into day, into night.

Bleeding a birth of memory: my mother, my blood,

By the side of the bed, me on the covers,

And her slicing into a black vein

And filling the pail into some dark, forbidding

Red nightmare, which never stops coming,

Nevers stops pouring,

This memory of Mama and blood and Watts.

Post Laureate Updates by Luis Rodriguez

Below is a link to the recent interview with me for the Los Angeles Review of Books. https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/events/conversation-poet-laureate-publisher-mentor-luis-rodriguez/

For further updates, I now have a publisher for a new book of essays, thanks to my new literary agent at the Sandra Dijkastra Agency. And I’m working with another publisher on a new book about a New vision for America and the World. Drawing on my Native spiritual practices and over 40 years of revolutionary study, organizing, and writing, I hope to extend the dialogue today about the four pillars of a new society: no more poverty, clean and green environment, end of social injustice (including of mass incarceration, police killings, and the rule of money in our electoral system), and peace at home and peace in the world. These were the issues I took on in my run for California governor in 2014 and as vice-presidential candidate of the US Justice Party for the 2012 national elections.

I’m also on the steering committee of the Poor Peoples Campaign and urge everyone to find out more: https://poorpeoplescampaign.org/

Here’s an article about recent actions of the new Poor Peoples Campaign: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-new-poor-peoples-campaign-but-the-same-old-obstacles/2018/02/06/68ba1f58-0b61-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html?utm_term=.438f9fe025cc

And for those who want an alternative to the corporate-run Duopoly controlling Congress and the government, I’m also on the steering committee of the US Justice Party: https://www.justicepartyusa.org/

The world is changing as most major political and religious institutions are in crisis. Yet renewal and regeneration are also coming alive.

One vibrantly alive organization is Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore based in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, the second largest Mexican/Central American community in the US after the East L.A. area (with a significant African American population). This year Tia Chucha’s received a two-year grant from the Arts for Justice Fund to help change the narrative and reality of mass incarceration through the arts. We were only one of 30 non-profit organizations receiving the first round of these grants. We plan to do a film, a book, and a theater piece with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women. We also plan to strengthen our work with youth through our Young Warriors program to end the “School to Prison Pipeline.” New supporters in this effort include Friends of the Family, the Diane Middleton Foundation, and others.

Trini and I, who co-founded Tia Chucha’s 17 years ago, are also making a major transition. We are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the cultural center/bookstore. We now have a new executive director and assistant director–Michael Centeno and Melissa Sanvicente. Trini and I have turned over most of this work to young people–including Mayra Zaragoza, who founded the Young Warriors–who have been with us since they were high school students. They are now in their late 20s as well as their mid-to-late 30s.

Trini and I will be on Tia Chucha’s Board Directors, and continue to guide and contribute. I am still founding editor of Tia Chucha Press, now publishing award-winning cross-cultural poetry books and anthologies for almost 30 years. Our latest book is Mayda Del Valle’s “A South Side Girl’s Guide to Love & Sex,” available online, where ever books are sold, as well as at Tia Chucha’s: www.tiachucha.org

I’m also still teaching Creative Writing at California State Prison, Los Angeles Count (Lancaster) for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. I’ve been going there for ten years. I had a hiatus for a while, until I was brought back in October of 2016. In addition, I’m a script consultant for the FX-TV show “Snowfall,” co-created by John Singleton. This show dramatizes how crack came into the ghettos and barrios of Los Angeles in the early 1980s. I’ve also been asked to write a TV pilot on a possible new show based on a book about the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising. Other TV projects and movie scripts are also in the works.

My travels continue, as always, as I speak on all the pressing issues of the day. In April and March, I’ll be in New York City, Boston, St. Louis, and Las Vegas. I also have upcoming local events in San Fernando, Pomona, and in Watts. At the end of May, my family will be in the Navajo (Dine) Reservation for ceremonies with Trini’s adopted family of Anthony and Delores Lee of Lukachukai, Arizona.

I send strong prayers and well wishes to everyone. Much work is being done, but also the degrading political and economic realities are opening up opportunities for new ideas, organizing strategies, and more writing, songs, poetry, art, and theater. The youth led with strong ideas, passions, and commitment during the “March For Our Lives” rallies, around 800 held throughout the US and parts of the world.

Remember–there’s three things we need to do in this world: Bring more Beauty (art in all its forms), more truth (especially in these times when truth is under attack), and more good (a deep and abiding morality), now more than ever.

En la lucha siempre,

Luis J. Rodriguez www.luisjrodriguez.com www.tiachucha.org

The Wandering Song: New literary anthology from Tia Chucha Press – The press that began with Chicago Poetry, and poet laureate emeritus Luis Rodriguez

“The Wandering Song” Central American Writing in the United States, prelude by Leticia Hernández-Linares

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tribelamag-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/oVQfQi

Rhiannon McGavin’s book "Branches" is on sale – plus she reveals her 3 favorite poetry books for poets by poets, and video explaining why

“Branches” by Rhiannon McGavin

Rhiannon McGavin’s “Branches” is a stunning debut that unapologetically revels in the strangeness of the adolescent experience. In quick-witted poems that center memory in present action, McGavin impressively leads us through a spectrum of emotions spanning from laughter to heartbreak to gravitas. In the opening poem, “Angel Coda”, McGavin writes, Los Angeles is a place of many things. So too are these poems – inviting, wild, brilliant.

––Peter Laberge, founder and editor-in-chief of The Adroit Journal

These are Rhiannon’s three favorite books about poetry, by poets. She reads them when she spends too long trying to pick between using definite and indefinite articles in a line. For a more in-depth discussion of the books, click on YouTube video below.

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Rhiannon McGavin is Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles (2016), and a current English major at UCLA. Her first collection of poetry, Branches, was published in 2017 with Penmanship Books. She has performed her original poetry from the Hollywood Bowl to the Library of Congress, and makes creative writing more accessible through her online work.

Rhiannon’s social media info: https://twitter.com/rhiannonmcgavin https://www.instagram.com/rhiannonmcgavin/?hl=en http://rhiannonmcgavin.tumblr.com/ http://penmanshipbooks.com/shop/branches/

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tribelamag-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/MYAMJQ

Youth Poet Laureate Rhiannon McGavin's "Art Class" Poem

“I wrote this poem when I was about 15, and I return to it to remind myself of the sincerity and enthusiasm that guided my poems as a teenager.”

In my kindergarten art class, sunlight dripped through finger paint covered windows. I learned the primaries, red blue yellow, you could make the whole rainbow from just three colors. you’re older when you tell yourself you only looked at female anatomical models for reference but this girl made me understand why they say, pretty as a painting. you can’t touch museum art we have the same lotion, it smells better on her, it makes me think of macaroons in paris cafes

the color palette I bring from home is so dark but she makes me lean towards romanticism I can’t draw a straight line anymore but that’s alright, her hair is naturally curly a boy called her weird yesterday and i wanted to tell her that I have spent hours practicing shading to recreate the light in her eyes but it’d be obvious I was staring you’re not supposed to look at your friends like that

our teacher says Prussian blue was created when a color-maker tried to birth a perfect red he accidentally added animal blood to his flask, and out burst blue, in a time when ultramarine paint cost more than gold. I wanted vermilion like romeo, ruby as sunset flash, lipstick maroon forget me not kisses I would give blood to my brush for her to blush at me in that shade I would take cobalt like a new sky, azure as cornflower, schoolgirl skirt navy hiding held hands or even yellow sunflower petals, dutch painters whispering she loves me, she loves me, she loves me our teacher didn’t tell us that the creation of Prussian blue led to the isolation of cyanide I can’t breathe without coming into poison, it’s apple seeds and seeping through junior high gym floorboards when you watch your best friend dance with boys who aren’t you I always liked friendship bracelets more than promise rings

my middle school diaries are filled with girls like a pickpocket sketching the hope diamond I’ve been lining my coat with stolen glances I don’t have a partner in crime to keep me warm I know the signs, the teacher’s assistant, a nice junior who comes to school with cherry eyes every time her lab partner gets a new boyfriend (throw over your man) my history professor and her roommate of 20 years (I say, someone in another time will remember us) I’ve read the books, the poetry is good but the author’s picture on the back flap is black and white, never watercolor, never wedding album I want to be five years old again, mixing all the colors until I get the dark brown of her Monet shoulder freckles, and you give a valentine to everyone in class

Rhiannon McGavin is Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles (2016) and a current English major at UCLA. Her first collection of poetry, Branches, was published in 2017 with Penmanship Books. She has performed her original poetry from the Hollywood Bowl to the Library of Congress, and makes creative writing more accessible through her online work.

Rhiannon’s social media contacts are: https://twitter.com/rhiannonmcgavin https://www.instagram.com/rhiannonmcgavin/?hl=en http://rhiannonmcgavin.tumblr.com/

Branches can be purchased here: http://penmanshipbooks.com/shop/branches/

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tribelamag-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/zcQkcW

Excerpt from the sensual love poem "Honey Suckle Kisses" by Synthia SAINT JAMES + Happy 50th Anniversary Synthia! – Find out more...

Honey Suckle Kisses: Loves Refreshment

You were so stunningly radiant

magically majestic

yet so very real

when I first laid eyes on you

The soft light in the dimly lit room

highlighted and tenderly

embraced your face

like in an exquisite oil painting

from another period

time and place

The essence of the Renaissance

mixed with a touch

of the French Impressionist

Gently outlining

your silky tresses

chiseled features

then, so very seductively

your beautiful expressive eyes

before reaching your sensuous

and slightly pouted lips

I was spellbound

you mesmerized me

and I felt intoxicated

as I continuously stole

secret glances of you

–––Synthia SAINT JAMES

_______________________________________

To purchase your copy of Honey Suckle Kisses: Love’s Refreshment, click here or go to Amazon.com.

Synthia’s website: synthiasaintjames.com.

Happy 50th Anniversary Synthia!

The Creative World of Synthia SAINT JAMES

The 50th Career Anniversary Tour will begin on Sunday, June 10th (1-4pm) at the African American Firefighters Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The program will include a “Conversation with the Artist” (beginning at 1:30pm), an interactive conversation with the audience about Synthia’s art and career, and a SAINT JAMES Fine Art Exhibition and Sale benefiting the African American Firefighter Museum, (http://www.aaffmuseum.org). For more information, click here.

Kwanzaa U.S. Postage Stamp (the Brown Girl collection) by Synthia SAINT JAMES

Hey! Check out our featured collection of Synthia’s art and Acrostic Interview, from TribeLA Magazine:

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tribelamag-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/t0IV8q

Polavision by Susan Hayden – A captivating poetic Memoir inspired by a Terence Winch poem

Polavision by Susan Hayden

Around 1966, I was bitten after hours by a standard poodle named Coco. My pediatrician had to make a house call to give me a tetanus shot. I wanted to marry Dr Sokoloff and faked sick all the time so he would have to examine me. I was three. He was James Coburn’s double. I’d seen “Ride Lonesome”; I already knew my future husband would be like a steak at The Palm, a Prime Porterhouse; rough-hewn on the outside, tender underneath.

Around 1975, my Dad’s best friend’s son fell to his death while mountain climbing in Yosemite. Stevie Marsh was 16. That’s when I quit Hebrew School, because I no longer believed in G-d.

Around 1997, my husband got Lasik and I thought, This will be the end of our marriage. I’d always been one big blur. But I quickly learned the naked art of backing out of a bedroom.

Around 1972, Ricky Minkman and I cut 4th Grade and went to Benihana of Tokyo in Encino. We shared a Lunch Boat Special over an open fire; it was so romantic, then he said, “I feel like a beautiful girl trapped in an ugly boy.”

It was my first date.

Around 1996, my son was born, and there was a clearing in my heart, simple as a snow-plowed road after a massive storm. I decided to name him after a singing waiter I’d met when I was 12, a Kenny Loggins look-alike who’d worked at The Great American Food and Beverage Company in Santa Monica. Allan Mason had dedicated “Danny’s Song” to me and I’d never forgotten it—or him.

Around 1989, poet S.A. Griffin told me, “We are all sincere liars” and I took him for his word.

Around 1969, Sam Weinstock asked for a slow dance during a family wedding at the Ventura Club in Sherman Oaks. He said he lived next door to my Aunt Goldie and thought I was “kind of pretty.” As he twirled me, his hands on my back felt like wheels of Brie, smooth and effective; soft like a cow. I told him I was six. He told me he was forty. I told him he smelled good. He told me he’d bought his cologne at Rexall.

Later, Mom said guys who wore Brut and/or Canoe were “cold and hungry.”

Around 1990, I saw Christopher Allport onstage in a Pinter play at the Taper and announced, “That’s the man I’m going to spend my life with.”

It took a little convincing, but within 3-weeks he said, “I feel like I could spend 30 years with you.” I remember thinking, “Why not 50?”

He was a domesticated wild man who wore fleece year-round and Everyone wanted to touch him.

Around 1980, my Father drove me over the hill, to the gourmet food section of Neiman Marcus, where they had free samples. We gorged on caramel corn and rumaki, bonding over food; arguing about religion.

He said, “God will start to make more sense once you get older.”

He asked, “Are you gonna finish that?”

He was Santa Claus crossed with Nachman of Breslov. All my girlfriends had crushes on him. He had the best beard ever.

His nickname for me was Pupik.

Around 1993, my husband was writing me poems and songs but I was never satisfied. He wanted a porch; I asked for a balcony. He grew his own vegetables and cooked 5-star meals that I refused to eat because I was either on Jenny Craig, Scarsdale, grapefruit + hard boiled eggs or the Atkins Diet. He kept trying to feed me, anyway.

Around 1977, at Camp JCA/Malibu, I fell for my first guitar player, a 16 year old Kosher folkie with bib overalls and a Star of David earring. I asked him to hike with me to the creek, where I planned on undressing from the waist up, even though I didn’t have boobs yet.

“I like you more than a friend,” I said.

“We have no basis for a relationship,” he replied.

But I wanted to be prepared in case one day he changed his mind. So Carrie Jacobs taught me how to give a handjob on a can of Tab.

Around 1974, Ricky Minkman had read so many Cosmo magazines, he would know far more than I did about how to be a woman or just look like one. This was the year he would teach me that the proper way to apply eyeliner was also the proper way to get a man to fall in love with you. He said: “Tilt your head back slightly and bring your eyes to a half-open state.”

Around 2008, my husband headed to the local mountains for some day-skiing. “You’re off to see the snow mistress again,” I said.

She would later seduce him into his last run.

Around 1971, the best looking men on Ventura Blvd could be found in photos on the wall of the post office, carwash-style. I would stare up at them and wonder why all the guys I knew were clean cut in comparison.

I asked Mom what TV shows they were on.

She said, “These are mugshots, Susan. These are horse thieves, train robbers, kidnappers. That one killed his wife. What’s wrong with you?!”

I didn’t know. To me, they were scruffy and real, and I hated anything that was shiny and anyone who was polished.

Photographed by Michael Nicolas Delgado

Susan Hayden is a poet, playwright, novelist & essayist. For three decades, she has been a fixture in the Los Angeles spoken-word community. Susan writes about being lost and found, about identity and belonging, and about love, grief and healing. Her plays have been produced at The Met Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s LA WinterFest, South Coast Rep’s Nexus Project, Mark Taper Forum’s Other Voices, Ruskin Group Theatre’s CafePlays, etc. Her novel, Cat Stevens Saved My Life, was a Top 100 Finalist in the Inaugural Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award with Penguin Press. Her fiction has appeared in Storie: All Write, The Black Body, and on Jewish.com.

Last year, her story, City of Rocks, a Finalist in the Tara Fellowship for Short Fiction (Heekin Group Foundation) was featured in the online journal, Angels Flight literary west (aflwmag.com). Recently, her work has been published in two anthologies: The bestselling “Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine: Los Angeles in the 1970s” (Rare Bird Lit, Nov. 2016) & “I Might Be The Person You Are Talking To: Short Plays From The Los Angeles Underground” (Padua Playwrights Press, July 2015).

Susan is the Creator/Producer & Curator of the monthly, mixed-genre literary series, Library Girl, now in its 9thyear at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, CA. She donates all proceeds for her show to the Ruskin Theatre. In 2015, she was presented with the Bruria Finkel/Artist In The Community Award by the Santa Monica Arts Commission for her “significant contributions to the energetic discourse within Santa Monica’s arts community.” Hayden’s proudest achievement has been raising her son, singer-songwriter Mason Summit.

You can reach Susan on Instagram: http://instagram.com/librarygirlpresents And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanelizabethhayden?ref=tn_tnmn

Library Girl has two shows in May!

https://www.facebook.com/events/158955794765262/?ref=br_rs and https://www.facebook.com/events/508032076259993/

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tribelamag-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/nPblIy

Library Girl "Susan Hayden" says in Interview, Don't be Quiet – Your Words Matter!

Photographed by Michael Nicolas Delgado

Susan Hayden, an extroverted introvert does the TribeLA Magazine Acrostic Interview

[hoot_dropcap]Tagline: Give yourself and your work a Tagline and tell us why.[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: Library Girl Says, Don’t Be Quiet. Your Words Matter! (I think that says it all)

[hoot_dropcap]Rest: How do you spend your time off?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: Never resting! I attend as many live events as I can squeeze into one week, mostly to support friends who are poets, musicians, artists, actors and playwrights.

[hoot_dropcap]Influence: How do you hope to affect your audience?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: I learned the importance of community after experiencing the sudden loss of my husband and creative partner. I learned how to show up for others by being blessed by those who showed up for me. I made a choice — the only choice, to move forward and rebuild. Loss changed me into a community builder, and (outside of my greatest gift, being a mother), I truly live for bringing people together. I feel like it is my responsibility now to help others understand that they can find meaning in their lives again after losing a loved one. A grief specialist I know, Randi Pearlman Wolfson, says that, “Grief needs a voice.” Writing has been a way for me to heal, and to know where I stand with myself. But so has creating and producing my show, Library Girl, now in its 9th year at the Ruskin Group Theatre. This monthly event anchors me, while giving other writers, as well as musicians, a platform and a real listening audience. I feel joyous and purposeful, being able to provide a place for artists to convene and express themselves. My ongoing wish is that the show’s participants, as well as the audience, come away with a sense of belonging and camaraderie.

[hoot_dropcap]Back: If you could go Back and choose a past literary/art/music movement to be a part of, which would you choose?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: Call me cliché, but I’m a 27 rue de Fleurus/Gertrude-Stein kind of woman. I’d take any Saturday night, between 1903-1938.

[hoot_dropcap]Energy: What fires you up and give’s you Energy?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: “Long walks and intimate talks,” as Grace Paley once wrote. I start nearly every day by walking and talking with my treasured friend and confidante, Jesse Welles Nathan, who is the best storyteller I know. The routine of our parallel trail keeps me at once rooted and energized.

[hoot_dropcap]Los Angeles: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles and where would you take visitors? If you could defend the city in one sentence to someone who doubts it, what would you say?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: Anywhere my son, singer-songwriter Mason Summit, happens to be performing. And also, I love hanging out with my close friends, artist Rhonda Voo and her husband, marketing genius Eric Alan, in Happy New House, the architectural gem they live in. Rhonda makes her incredible art in her studio there, and Eric makes the best home-cooked meals. His specialty is the deconstructed wedge. We sit around and discuss everything from Westwood Village in the 1970s to the disappearance and the impending comeback of Green Goddess dressing. They’re like a second family.

I would take visitors to my favorite haunts near my house in Santa Monica, like McCabe’s Guitar Shop for a weekend concert; Fedora Primo for a new hat; Love Coffee for the best coffee in the area; Lunetta All Day for food.

If you don’t like it, LEAVE! We need more room here, anyway.

[hoot_dropcap]Advice: What is the best Advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you can give?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: Years ago, a teacher of mine at Padua Playwrights, John O’Keefe, told our class to stop waiting for someone to produce our work and to take charge of our own creative lives. These were his words: “Do you feel like you’re missing something because you weren’t invited in by someone else? Do it yourself.” This gave me the courage to create and produce literary events, which I’ve been doing, off and on, since 1989. I would give this exact same advice to anyone who felt disconnected from community and longed for a place to express and connect: Create your own.

[hoot_dropcap]Writing: How long have you been writing and do you have a particular stream of thought that is present in all of your writing?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: I started writing consistently in the late 70s. There was this class in high school called “Awareness In Living” that was a breakthrough and got me thinking in a new way. One of our ongoing assignments was to keep a journal. I found that I couldn’t live without it. That grew into writing poetry, and later, one-act plays, short fiction, essays, and eventually, a novel. I have always been on a quest for “home” and that is the underpinning of everything I write.

[hoot_dropcap]Room: Where is your favorite room to work and why?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: I write in my bedroom, on my bed. It’s my cozy spot.

[hoot_dropcap]Indulgence: What is your favorite Indulgence? Do you cook? What is your specialty meal? What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: Traveling is my favorite indulgence, and has become much more important to me since my husband died. I don’t travel enough, but when I do, I do it right, as in, I can’t control myself from upgrading, which makes it a double-indulgence.

I’m not a main-course cook, don’t have a specialty meal, but I did get The Baking Gene from my Grandma Gertie and I used to be known for my triple-chip cookies. I’d even thought of starting a business selling them, but at some point, my desire to bake fell away. I hope it comes back again, because it made certain people quite content.

My favorite restaurant is Musso & Frank. I could go there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and would, except it takes forever to try and get there from Santa Monica. My friend, the amazing poet/publisher Iris Berry, introduced me to The Marilyn Booth, and now I have to sit in it every time I’m there or I’m not happy.

[hoot_dropcap]Time: What is your all-time favorite piece of art that you created and why?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: My play, Tent Show, which I began writing at Padua Playwrights in 1989 from a prompt that writer John Steppling gave our class. That playwriting exercise was intended to get us over ourselves and our own stories, by writing about 2-3 people we’d never met, in a place where we’d never been, and have them talk about big ideas, their values and viewpoints. I found that it freed me. The voices came through in the most natural way and the play kind of wrote itself. It took place in a traveling carnival and was about a love triangle between carnies: a low-budget chanteuse, a magician and a drifter. And I had the honor of seeing it all come to life at The Met Theatre in Los Angeles, starring O-Lan Jones, Tom Bower and Arliss Howard. I remember the actor Seymour Cassel seeing the play and asking me where I was from, and I had to answer, Encino. He was stunned, and wondered out loud how I could have known so much about those characters, that his parents were from the carny world and I’d captured it.

[hoot_dropcap]Energy: How would you describe your energy, style, etc.?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: I’m an extroverted introvert, a shy person who pushes herself out in the world to connect. Sometimes this juxtaposition makes me feel turbulent inside. I definitely worry too much. But I would say, at best, I am enthusiastic, supportive and energetic. My personal style is inspired most by Ali MacGraw, especially during The Getaway years with Steve McQueen: scarves, hats, flowery dresses, tall boots, lots of chokers, necklaces and rings.

[hoot_dropcap]Reflect: Any last words about your writing, future projects and on being a successful writer in Los Angeles?[/hoot_dropcap]

Susan: I’ve been slowly creating a multi-disciplinary theatre piece about grief and healing. It will include story-poems, scenes with actors, live music, recorded music and a slideshow. I’d like to present it for just one night, as a commemoration. I’m also writing more essays these days, which feels right for right now. I’m not as disciplined as I used to be. I’m not writing enough. I hope that changes over time. Success for me means actually doing my work.

xSH

You can reach Susan on Instagram: http://instagram.com/librarygirlpresents And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanelizabethhayden?ref=tn_tnmn

AND upcoming links are here:

Library Girl has two shows in May!

https://www.facebook.com/events/158955794765262/?ref=br_rs And https://www.facebook.com/events/508032076259993/

Want more Susan Hayden news and poetry, click preview links below:

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

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Charles Bibbs at Work – Find out what Fires him up in his Acrostic Interview!

TribeLA Magazine Acrostic Interview by Charles Bibbs

[hoot_dropcap]Tagline: Give yourself and your work a Tagline and tell us why.[/hoot_dropcap] My goal as an artist is to make profound artistic statements that are ethnically rooted and arouse spiritual emotions in the viewers.

[hoot_dropcap]Rest: How do you spend your time off?[/hoot_dropcap] I like to get my hands dirty. Working in the yard brings me a peace of mind. In some cases I will do this prior to settling down to create. My wife and I like to go to unique places to eat or to socialize with friends and relatives.

[hoot_dropcap]Influence: How do you hope to affect your audience?[/hoot_dropcap] I want to tell stories with my art that mirrors the African American experience in a way that is uniquely mine.

[hoot_dropcap]Back: If you could go Back and choose a past literary/art/music movement to be a part of, which would you choose?[/hoot_dropcap] The Harlem Renaissance.

[hoot_dropcap]Energy: What fires you up?[/hoot_dropcap] Whenever I see something new and inspiring in the arts. Whenever I finish a work of art, it’s a time to celebrate. I may indulge in a libation or break out in a dance.

[hoot_dropcap]Los Angeles: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles and why?[/hoot_dropcap] Leimert Park is where I can connect with my L.A. roots and culture.

[hoot_dropcap]Advice: What is the best Advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you can give?[/hoot_dropcap] The best advices I received, is to never forget where you came from and be unique. The best advice I can give, is the same advice I received.

[hoot_dropcap]Aura: How would you describe your Aura, style, etc.?[/hoot_dropcap] I really don’t know what my style is. It can change at any time, in order to achieve a desired effect. I would rather leave that to the critics.

[hoot_dropcap]Room: Where in your home do you work? If not in your home, where do you feel most compelled to create?[/hoot_dropcap] I have two rooms to work in at my home. Each room provides a unique arrangement, so it really depends on the artistic task at hand. Therefore, I have no favorites.

[hoot_dropcap]Tools: What Tools do you prefer to work with, physically and otherwise?[/hoot_dropcap] My tools are many, ranging from a fine pointed mechanical pen to a wide paint brush. The preference depends on my desired effect or outcome.

[hoot_dropcap]Indulgence: What is your favorite Indulgence? Do you cook? What is your specialty meal? What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself?[/hoot_dropcap] I don’t cook, but I love to eat good food. I am very fortunate because my wife is an excellent cook. One unique thing about her is, that she loves to experiment and try new things. There is never a dull moment when it comes to eating. My favorite place to eat in LA is Rock Sugar.

[hoot_dropcap]Special: Who or what holds a Special place in your heart? How does this factor into your creative process?[/hoot_dropcap] My wife and family of relatives, artist peers, personal friends and my art collectors. All these people represent and hold the keys to my artistic legacy.

[hoot_dropcap]Time: What is your all-time favorite piece of art that you created and why?[/hoot_dropcap] Back in 1968 after two years of college, I learned the history of my people and culture. Things that I didn’t learn in high school. In tribute to that, I did a silk screen called “My Name Is Black.”

View Art: www.cbibbs.com Buy Art: www.bibbsart.com Lifestyle Art Designs: www.bibbsdesign.com

If you missed Mr. Bibbs art earlier this week, click on preview links below:

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Also, check out the Jewel Diamond Taylor interview with Mr. Bibbs…

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/qIZD5h

ART TODAY 042018 The Keeper by Charles Bibbs – For us to move forward, we must know our history

THE KEEPER “We are the Keepers of our culture and history. For us to move forward, we must know our history.”

TribeLA Magazine: What is your favorite Indulgence? Do you cook? What is your specialty meal? What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself? Charles Bibbs: I don’t cook, but I love to eat good food. I am very fortunate because my wife is an excellent cook. One unique thing about her is, that she loves to experiment and try new things. There is never a dull moment when it comes to eating. My favorite place to eat in LA is Rock Sugar.

TribeLA Magazine: What is your all-time favorite piece of art that you created and why? Charles Bibbs: Back in 1968 after two years of college, I learned the history of my people and culture. Things that I didn’t learn in high school. In tribute to that, I did a silk screen called “My Name Is Black.”

www.cbibbs.com www.bibbsart.com www.bibbsdesign.com

Charles Bibbs has featured his works in numerous galleries and art venues across the nation and abroad, such as the International Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan in 2004. Today, he is serving as permanent Artist-In-Residence for ASALH (The Association for the Study of African American Life & History, Washington, DC., an organization founded by Carter G. Woodson (Founder of Black History Month). In 2015, he was invited to serve on the ASALH Centennial National Honorary Committee. Bibbs also received the prestigious ASALH “Living Legacy Award” in 2016. Charles Bibbs’ work is featured in the collection of many private homes and organizations throughout the world.

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/WcW9zU

ART TODAY 041918 Purple Umbrella by Charles Bibbs – creator of the Black Madonna in the movie, "The Secret Life of Bees"

PURPLE UMBRELLA “An expression of a Black Woman in her relationship to an object as an umbrella for a fashion statement.” The birds in her dress represent Grace and Beauty”

TribeLA Magazine: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles and why? Charles Bibbs: Leimert Park is where I can connect with my L.A. roots and culture.

TribeLA Magazine: What is the best Advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you can give? Charles Bibbs: The best advices I received, is to never forget where you came from and be unique. The best advice I can give, is the same advice I received.

TribeLA Magazine: Who or what holds a Special place in your heart? How does this factor into your creative process? Charles Bibbs: My wife and family of relatives, artist peers, personal friends and my art collectors. All these people represent and hold the keys to my artistic legacy.

To get to know more about Mr. Bibbs, follow these links: www.cbibbs.com www.bibbsart.com www.bibbsdesign.com

As a strong supporter of the arts community, Charles Bibbs has served on several Boards for museums, galleries, and has worked on many local and national fundraising art projects. In 2016, Charles co-curated the Visual Voice Art Exhibition held at Riverside Art Museum. The exhibition featured Southern California African American artists from the Black art scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s from Influential Masters to Independent Trendsetters. The Visual Voice exhibition was also in conjunction with the Association of African American Museums Conference in Riverside, California.

In his 47 years as an artist, Bibbs has received over 100 recognitions and awards for his art and philanthropic spirit, including the “Key to the City” awards in 7 major cities across the United States. His Work has been widely featured in films, such as the “The Secret Life of Bees” (he created the ‘Black Madonna’ subject for this movie), television, books and CD covers, including six cover designs for the Urban Knight Collection that features legendary musicians Ramsey Lewis and Grover Washington.

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

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ART TODAY 041818 Yellow Umbrella by Charles Bibbs + New 2-minute podcast on the business of Art...

YELLOW UMBRELLA An expression of a Black Woman in her relationship with an object as an umbrella for a fashion statement.” The birds in her dress represent Grace and Beauty.

TribeLA Magazine: How would you describe your Aura, style, etc.? Charles Bibbs: I really don’t know what my style is. It can change at any time, in order to achieve a desired effect. I would rather leave that to the critics.

TribeLA Magazine: Where is your favorite place or room to work and why? Charles Bibbs: I have two rooms to work in at my home. Each room provides a unique arrangement, so it really depends on the artistic task at hand. Therefore, I have no favorites.

TribeLA Magazine: What Tools do you prefer to work with, physically and otherwise? Charles Bibbs: My tools are many, ranging from a fine pointed mechanical pen to a wide paint brush. The preference depends on my desired effect or outcome.

Charles Bibbs is the founder of several organizations and businesses such as, Art On Tour, Images Magazine, The Inland Empire Music, and Arts Foundation. Bibbs is also the founder of two publishing and distribution companies, the former B Graphics and Fine Arts, and his present business, Studio B Art Publishing and Distribution. He has also owned and operated seven art galleries in Southern California.

To know more about Mr. Bibbs, follow these links: www.cbibbs.com www.bibbsart.com www.bibbsdesign.com

This 2- minute podcast-vignette (with Jewel Diamond Taylor) discusses how Charles Bibbs prices his artwork in order to satisfy the needs of emerging and elite collectors…

If you missed Charles Bibbs previous works as “Artist of the Week,” click preview links below:

ART TODAY 041518 Charles Bibbs is in the House! As Artist of the Week + a short video with Synthia SAINT JAMES

ART TODAY 041618 Charles Bibbs tells stories with his art that mirrors the African American experience + a 2-minute podcast on success vs. fame

ART TODAY 041718 Red Umbrella + “Art is a symbol of your Awareness” The Charles Bibbs podcast-part 2 with Jewel Diamond Taylor

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/mBqq9n

ART TODAY 041718 Red Umbrella + "Art is a symbol of your Awareness" The Charles Bibbs podcast-part 2 with Jewel Diamond Taylor

RED UMBRELLA An expression of a Black Woman in her relationship to an object as an umbrella for a fashion statement and the mystique-look in her eyes as she peers over her beautiful fan.

TribeLA Magazine: If you could go Back and choose a past literary/art/music movement to be a part of, which would you choose? Charles Bibbs: The Harlem Renaissance

TribeLA Magazine: What fires you up? Charles Bibbs: Whenever I see something new and inspiring in the arts. Whenever I finish a work of art, it’s a time to celebrate. I may indulge in a libation or break out in a dance.

Charles Bibbs continues to lend his support to artists through his mentorship and the Art2000 Visual Arts Association, a 501c3 non-profit organization which he founded in the year of 2000. Before becoming a full-time artist, Charles spent 25 years working in corporate America where he gained invaluable experience in the business world, including learning the principles of marketing which he applies to many aspects of his art business.

Digits to visit, follow, see, read… www.cbibbs.com, www.bibbsart.com, www.bibbsdesign.com.

Part (2) of the Charles Bibbs podcast. Part (3) continues tomorrow…

Jewel Diamond Taylor is a native of Washington, DC but raised in Compton. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is also an international voice of empowerment born to teach possibility thinking. This popular conference speaker’s resiliency story and years of experience empowers audiences and coaching clients to grow beyond feeling stuck, unworthy, fear, doubt and stress from life changes. Jewel (aka The Self-esteem Dr.) teaches impactful insights and actionable steps to empower you to experience confidence, clarity, progress, emotional wellness, success, spiritual strength, connection, and a life of purpose. To find out more about author and speaker Jewel Diamond Taylor, visit http://jeweldiamondtaylor.com.

ART TODAY 041518 Charles Bibbs is in the House! As Artist of the Week + a short video with Synthia SAINT JAMES

ART TODAY 041618 Charles Bibbs tells stories with his art that mirrors the African American experience + a 2-minute podcast on success vs. fame

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

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ART TODAY 041618 Charles Bibbs tells stories with his art that mirrors the African American experience + a 2-minute podcast on success vs. fame

BLUE DIVA “This is my interpretation of an elegant Black female performer”

Charles Bibbs technique and style can be distinguished from most artists, by the way in which he combines layers of acrylic paints and inks to obtain rich undertones of line textures. In his effort to support the arts and other artists, including young and emerging artists, Bibbs has given lectures and conducted workshops all over the United States and a few abroad, including an online Skype artist talk he presented to the Society of Nigerian Artists of Nigeria, Lagos in 2014.

TribeLA Magazine: Give yourself and your work a Tagline and tell us why. Charles: My goal as an artist is to make profound artistic statements that are ethnically rooted and arouse spiritual emotions in the viewers.

TLA Mag: How do you spend your time off? Charles: I like to get my hands dirty. Working in the yard brings me a peace of mind. In some cases I will do this prior to settling down to create. My wife and I like to go to unique places to eat or to socialize with friends and relatives.

TLA Mag: How do you hope to affect your audience? Charles: I want to tell stories with my art that mirrors the African American experience in a way that is uniquely mine.

The digits you might like to know: www.cbibbs.com, www.bibbsart.com, www.bibbsdesign.com.

Charles Bibbs talks about success and fame with Jewel Diamond Taylor in this podcast vignette…

Click preview link below to view entire artwork:

ART TODAY 041518 Charles Bibbs is in the House! As Artist of the Week + a short video with Synthia SAINT JAMES

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

TribeLA Magazine has published on https://is.gd/X2WPje

ART TODAY 041518 Charles Bibbs is in the House! As Artist of the Week + a short video with Synthia SAINT JAMES

PATTERNS OF LIFE II “My interpretation of Life events as; the quilt of patterns represents events in one’s Life.”

I have always said, “that my most important goal as an artist is to make profound aesthetic art statements that are ethnically rooted and at the same time arouse the spiritual emotions in the viewers. I want to tell stories in my art that mirrors the Black Experience, but in a way that is uniquely mine. I want to create an art language that is uniquely ”Bibbs” that will take the viewer on a unique journey into a different experience.” Charles Bibbs

Synthia SAINT JAMES introduced us to Charles Bibbs in 2017. Though Charles is well known throughout the arts community, this introduction was a personal invite to get to know him, his wife Elaine and the family. Charles Bibbs is an internationally acclaimed artist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who is most recognized for his beautiful artistic renderings that convey deep senses of spirituality, majesty, dignity, strength, and grace. Though he is a self-taught artist, Charles attended Los Angeles Harbor College, Long Beach City College, Cal State Dominquez Hills, and the California State University of Long Beach, where he studied studio arts and fine art printing.

His work displays a unique, robust and stylized quality done in a combination of abstract and realistic interpretations of contemporary subjects that are beautifully fused into multifaceted ethnicity, larger-than-life images.

The week starts today! Also, follow these links to know more about Charles Bibbs: www.cbibbs.com, www.bibbsart.com, www.bibbsdesign.com.

Synthia SAINT JAMES can be found at: http://synthiasaintjames.com.

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

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Rohitash Rao's Acrostic Interview

TribeLA Magazine Acrostic Interview by Rohitash Rao

[hoot_dropcap]Tagline: Give yourself and your work a Tagline and tell us why.[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: The world is a ridiculous place. I do my best to capture that in my work.

[hoot_dropcap]Rest: How do you spend your time off (Resting and Relaxing)?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: What time off?

[hoot_dropcap]Influence: How do you hope to affect your audience?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: Try and laugh a lot. The only thing that keeps me going is trying to smile through the pain.

[hoot_dropcap]Back: If you could choose a past literary/art/music movement to be a part of, which would you choose?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: I wish I was in a punk band in the 80s. I also wish I could play an instrument.

[hoot_dropcap]Energy: What fires you up?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: New ideas.

[hoot_dropcap]Los Angeles: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles and why? Where would you take visitors? If you could defend the city in one sentence to someone who doubts it, what would you say?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: I can’t say where my favorite place is because I don’t want everyone to go there. But let’s just say it’s my favorite place, because it’s so quiet (which is why I don’t want everyone to go there.) I didn’t appreciate L.A. until I left L.A. Upon returning to L.A. after 11 years in New York, I really fell back in love with this place. So I would say to anyone who doubts L.A., go away for awhile and then come back. Isn’t not having a winter awesome?

[hoot_dropcap]Advice: What is the best Advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you can give?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: Just keep getting up.

[hoot_dropcap]Aura: How would you describe your Aura, style, etc.?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: Here’s my normal cycle: Oh wow! A new idea – I must make that idea – Oh my god I haven’t eaten in 10 hours – Or had any water – Okay, I better get some sleep – Oh that felt good – Hey, I have another new idea – Oh no

[hoot_dropcap]Room: Where is your favorite Room to work and why?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: I have a studio in Venice, where I work. I’ve made more work there in the past 6 years than I probably have in my entire life.

[hoot_dropcap]Tools: What do you prefer to work with, physically and otherwise?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: I love working in every possible medium. But my favorite is just a pencil and piece of paper.

[hoot_dropcap]Indulgence: What is your favorite indulgence? Do you cook any specialty meals? What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: Peanut butter and chocolate smoothies. It’s my drug. And those drugs aren’t cheap! Especially in Venice.

[hoot_dropcap]Special: Who or what holds a Special place in your heart? How does this factor into your creative process?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: I have an amazing group of cheerleaders around me that double as friends. There is no way I could keep going without them.

[hoot_dropcap]Time: What is your all-time favorite piece of art that you created and why?[/hoot_dropcap] Rohitash: It’s funny you should ask this right now. I currently have a show up at the Google Venice called Rohit Records. It’s a record store for “bands that don’t exist.” I’ve created over 150 fake album covers for bands that don’t exist, as well as fake concert posters and T-shirts. I’ve also enlisted a music company called Jingle Punks to create original music and we’re releasing our first record on vinyl called “Rohit Records Greatest Hits Volume 1.” I’ve also directed a music video for one of the songs called “Coastal Elites.” So to answer your question, that’s my new favorite piece of writing/art/music.

Thank you Rohitash!

To learn more about Rohitash Rao: http://rohitash-rao.squarespace.com https://www.instagram.com/rohit913/ http://rohitashrao.tumblr.com https://www.facebook.com/rohitash.rao http://creaturekeepersbooks.com/

The Visionary works and Acrostic Interview with Artist of the Week Rohitash Rao 04082018… If you missed it, click preview links below:

Rohitash Rao Makes Cool Stuff (most of the time, he says) – The “Record Series” exhibit at Google is just one of the 12 things we learned about him

ART TODAY 040918 “Battle of the Album Covers” went viral with over a million hits (Here are a few by Rohitash Rao) + short film

ART TODAY 041018 Those Nachos looked soooo Good – the album cover that tells a story by Rohitash Rao + Google’s “One Simple Thing” video

ART TODAY 041118 “You gonna eat that Sandwich?” – another food pun Album Cover by Rohitash Rao + Nike’s “Jumprope” video

ART TODAY 041218 The “Album Covers” exhibit for bands that don’t exist is coming to Downtown LA in May… Details soon + Sci Fi channel’s “Bucket” promo

041318 “Facebook” – Rohitash Rao’s favorite drug is Peanut Butter and Chocolate smoothies that aren’t cheap, especially in Venice! Enjoy this Snapple “Chaplin” short film with your favorite indulgence

041418 “Look at Me” – Also, a must read and see are Peter Nelson and Rohitash Rao’s book series’ that JK Rowling called “absolutely wonderful—fast-paced, inventive, engaging, and hilarious.”

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New Post has been published on TribeLA Magazine • Los Angeles

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041418 "Look at Me" – Also, a must read and see are Peter Nelson and Rohitash Rao's book series' that JK Rowling called "absolutely wonderful—fast-paced, inventive, engaging, and hilarious."

According to Harper Collins Publishers, author Peter Nelson and illustrator Rohitash Rao’s latest installment of the 4-part Creature Keepers series for Young Readers (8 to 12) is…

An epically hilarious, fully illustrated adventure series… Abbie, Jordan, and Eldon band together with their cryptid friends in an attempt to save the world in the final book in this fun series.

As summer draws to an end, Jordan and Abbie Grimsley are moving with their parents from the city into their long-lost grandfather’s house in the Florida Everglades. But before they settle into their new life, they’re taking a completely ordinary, creature-free cruise to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Despite the mysterious history and strange recent events that have surrounded the Grimsley family, there’s no reason to suspect this relaxing vacation to the ancient site of the Chicxulub Crater (thought to be caused by a massive asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs sixty-six million years ago) will lead to the discovery of a never-before-seen super-cryptid and a final showdown between good and evil that will decide the fate of the entire world. Or is there…?

But that’s not all, be sure to check out the series that started it all for Peter and Rohitash: Herbert’s Wormhole, hailed as the breakout Novel-in-Cartoons that J. K. Rowling called “absolutely wonderful—fast-paced, inventive, engaging, and hilarious.” Visit your local bookstore or go to http://creaturekeepersbooks.com to shop now.

About Herbert’s Wormhole

For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate comes Peter Nelson and Rohitash Rao’s Herbert’s Wormhole.

Herbert, Alex, and Sammi are heroes in the year 2109, having successfully saved the planet from an alien invasion (or so everyone thinks). Everything is going just swimmingly until, inevitably, real aliens appear — the evil, destruction-obsessed Klapthorians. The crew is going to come clean, but then they meet a crazy old man — who turns out to be Alex, age 109 — with a plan for saving the world all over again. Can they do it and still make it back home by curfew?

In 2009 Rohitash and his longtime writing partner, Peter Nelson, published their first children’s book, “Herbert’s Wormhole” through Harper Collins. J.K. Rowling gave it a thumbs up and it soon led to a trilogy. The books are now sold all over the U.S., Brazil and Korea. Their second book series, “Creature Keepers” is a 4-book series and book 4 was released last October, 2017.

Peter Nelson is a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife, Diane, and their two sons, Charlie and Christopher. Herbert’s Wormhole was Peter’s First children’s book. He wrote it without ever having met an actual alien or traveling through time, which made it a bit more challenging, but just as fun.

Rohitash Rao was born in an exotic, faraway land called Hyderabad, India. He then grew up in another exotic, faraway land called Rancho Cucamonga, California. He now lives in a magical city on an island called Manhattan, where he works as an animator and director. Herbert’s Wormhole was Rao’s First children’s book, much of which he illustrated while sitting on a broken stool in his apartment.

http://creaturekeepersbooks.com/

Rohitash Rao Makes Cool Stuff (most of the time, he says) – The “Record Series” exhibit at Google is just one of the 12 things we learned about him

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