This daily archiving series is about organizing and dating my journal collection, as well as acknowledging the self-directed violence as important therapeutic shadow work. Processing my projections and darkness.
See:
Unnecessary Violence Project Explanation and Sample 1 Oct 21, 1992
Today: Journal Start Date August 23, 2019
[this journal was gifted to a couple of dear friends in San Francisco] (drawing style inspired by Maria Hesse and Tove Jansson]
Sample Pages
I am on sabbatical/working remotely/dog and kitten sitting in San Francisco… life changing, soul searching, peaceful… no words suffice. The real lesson will show itself soon.
It is finally here! What you’ve longed for is finally here! Know that all you have to do now is allow and be receptive when the opportunity presents itself. – Shakira Maria
Journal entry April 16, 2018 San Jose Airport [unedited]
It is so odd to take time out from the trajectory of every day in these journeys… to get off the tracks so to speak. The experience both relaxes the brain, and creates unease. You feel like you spend too much money and you are wondering about day to day reality, but you also give yourself to the situation and throw caution to the wind.
Does it shake off the cobwebs? This importance of eating well, looking at new things, and INPUT before gearing up to hustle when back home.
But what if I RELAX into the RETURN as well? NOT worry about it. TRUST and FLOW and let the sand sift through the fingers? Just release.
Not only trust that others are allies, but that LIFE is an ALLY.
“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca
Part 4 of 4: THE SCOPE
Catacomb of Veils will be the largest art piece at Burning Man 2016 and one of the largest burned sculptures in the history of the event.
Everyone participating in the creation of Catacomb is all-volunteer with a commitment to the transformative power of temporary art.
– [SOURCE]
Recall:
The profound beauty of the Catacomb of Veils is not only the design, the volunteers, the commitment, the structure itself- it is the TEMPORARY aspect of the project and of Burning Man itself.
It is there and then it is gone.
Burning Man 2016 takes place August 28 – September 5, 2016 in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. Participants join in the effort to co-create Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis dedicated to art and community. [source]
Every year Black Rock City (the festival’s temporary town) becomes Nevada’s third biggest city. Littering or leaving garbage (‘MOOP’) behind is Burner sacrilege. Hundreds of volunteers spend the month after Burning Man meticulously combing the sand for MOOP (Matter Out Of Place). [source]
This is my favorite part of doing wheatpasting and street art- the TEMPORARY, THE EVOLUTION, THE RELEASE: once pasted, the piece evolves and deteriorates…
Nature and the elements and the interaction by the community has become essential to my creative process.
So the temporary aspect of Burning Man resonates as does the burn for I also LOVE to burn my art (which was easier when I lived on the Sunshine Coast)-
What does it mean to allow the BURN- to release?
Therein lies the SCOPE of the Catacomb of Veils.
For me, it is about tears and grief, air and perspective, anger and earth, fire and release, allowing past and present and future to breathe.
Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean. – Maya Angelou
So I celebrate the incredible artistry and vision and hard work of Catacomb of Veils and its metaphoric POWER of BUILDING, WELCOMING COMMUNITY, INTERACTING and RELEASING! And thus forever TRANSFORMING the participants…
I like to think of it as an opportunity for introspection and reflection, but ultimately the community will get to determine how it is. If it’s for ritual purposes, or for an introspective reflection, or a personal journey. It’s kind of not for me to decide… – Dan Sullivan
INDIEGOGO:
JULY 14, 2016 FUNDRAISER:
FACEBOOK:
Catacomb of Veils will be the largest art piece at Burning Man 2016 and one of the largest burned sculptures in the history of the event. Everyone participating in the creation of Catacomb is all-volunteer with a commitment to the transformative power of temporary art. – [SOURCE]
Recall:
Part 3 of 4: THE TEAM
My daughter is a volunteer on the team creating this incredible Burning Man 2016 installation and I love seeing how empowered she is as she participates in the ultimate creative, physical and collaborative experience.
Being a part of the first build week for the @catacombofveils was UNREAL – I could not be more grateful. I can now add “table saw”, “nail gun” and “wood stretching” to the resume. @dansullivan__ & Team are legends. – Anna Thorsen
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Collaborators aren’t born, they’re made. Or, to be more precise, built, a day at a time, through practice, through attention, through discipline, through passion and commitment. – Twyla Tharp
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The first requirement of collaboration is commitment… It helps to have a champion. – Twyla Tharp
This project is a GORGEOUS example of collaborative practice, and at its heart: community. The team of volunteers cannot avoid being transformed through the process.
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What does a day at the Catacomb of Veils build site feel like? From our crack-of-dawn arrival at Pier70 and morning wood delivery, to pouring ourselves into creating art for our community…. the dedication, the love, the generosity. We give our time and design expertise, but your donations make this happen. Every tax-deductible donation goes 100% to the materials, construction, transportation, insurance, and build-site rental for Catacomb. This is our COMMUNAL EFFORT together — and *you* are central to making this happen. – Catacomb of Veils
INDIEGOGO:
JULY 14, 2016 FUNDRAISER:
FACEBOOK:
Next up:
Part 4 of 4: THE SCOPE
Recall Part 1: The Project
Catacomb of Veils will be the largest art piece at Burning Man 2016 and one of the largest burned sculptures in the history of the event. Everyone participating in the creation of Catacomb is all-volunteer with a commitment to the transformative power of temporary art. – SOURCE
Part 2 of 4: THE INSPIRATION
As I mentioned in Part 1: The Project–Catacomb of Veils speaks to my passion for the creative process- from the inspiration, to the idea, to the planning, to the development, to the implementation, to the product to the celebration to the release.
Graham Wallas, in The Art of Thought, outlined the 4 stages the creative process:
And personally, research and inspiration (inspiration preceding and evolving out of research) are integral parts of each stage. Inspiration is about ALLOWING the tangents. Going along for the ride with eyes open wide. Catacomb of Veils takes inspiration from the landscape itself. And it inspires our own further research, helps us make connections, pulls out the past, brings us to the present, facilitates contemplation of the future, holds space to grieve, immerses us in magic and allows us to let go through temporary nature.
For example, let’s take a look at the word Catacombs.
What are they? Will investigating them enrich our understanding of the creative process of the Catacomb of Veils project? Enrich our connection to it? Where does your mind go as you get inspired by this project?
Catacombs of Paris:
For me, this project is:
• approach,
• ascend,
• enter,
• descend,
• embrace,
• acknowledge,
• emerge,
• release.
Next up:
Part 3 of 4: THE TEAM
Part 4 of 4: THE SCOPE
YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS PROJECT VIA:
INDIEGOGO:
JULY 14, 2016 FUNDRAISER:
FACEBOOK:
I had a wonderful conversation about my San Francisco trip today with my incredible friend, Laura Mack. As always, she managed to ask powerful questions that nudge me to reflect. Did anything happen during the trip that was unexpected? Hmmm…
The art event was amazing- and not unexpected.
The street art filled my soul with glee- expected.
The photoshoots delighted- expected.
Friends, new and old, were amazing- expected.
San Francisco was a dreamland- expected.
Working on business with my daughter seamless and empowering- expected.
But what was unexpected was my lack of anxiety. What was unexpected was that I felt deserving of feeling good.
My journal entry on Noe Street, the Castro, San Francisco August 20, 2013 [unedited]:
What is it like to wake up to a morning in SF with the place to myself? My mind wants to wander to a place of anxiety- yet at the same time my heart feels strangely at peace.
TRUST is a word that comes up regularly in me. I can and will trust that the flow I am feeling is the start of trust or the depths of trust or the familiarity of trust. Have I actually ever felt the theme/emotion/state of trust?
TRUST- definition:
trust- reliance, confidence, strength
I looked around the room last night, as Anna’s friends were bouncing off the ceiling and joyously sharing together, and was touched by how we find ourselves in this cottage apartment in the Castro because of our work together, because of my art.
Is it hard to imagine because I do not allow myself to trust it? Is it hard to allow myself to relax into it because I do not allow myself the time? Is this trip about taking a break or stepping into it?
Such a fascinating time to simply let go of the old “unquiet heart” way of doing things and softening to accepting that I deserve this right now.
Is it hard to imagine because I don’t need to imagine it because I am already living it?!
Money lives in New York. Power sits in Washington. Freedom sips cappuccino in a sidewalk café in San Francisco.
– Joe Flower
Frida Angel pasted at 18th and Valencia. A taste of my incredible San Francisco trip for by post street.
Thank you to SF for a beautiful, productive, heart-warming, empowering visit!
MUCH LOVE TO MY PARTNERS-IN-ART-CRIME: MATT ROY, OWEN MCEWEN, ANNA T FABULOUS.
The Frida angel is pasted on a temp wall right beside the Elbo Room, across the street from the Mission Police Station parking lot.
What motivates someone to put something out into the world? Why do it?
– Keri Smith
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Evolution of the newsprint Frida angel wheatpaste:
Created in North Vancouver, shoved into a suitcase, aired out in the Castro and pasted on Valencia.
Excitement rising as I prep with by post street for our trip to San Francisco, which includes art events, portraits, street art, wheatpasting, journaling, writing, visiting, cooking and soaking up all the gloriousness of the city!
Check out What is by post street? by Rami Films:
by post street’s COLLECTION 2 was created in celebration of Chaos to Couture at the Met.
To launch the collection, we collaborated with Booty Call Wednesdays in San Francisco!
I created several portraits of notorious SF locals. A backdrop was created by my daughter, Anna T Fabulous, for the event. The paper dress I created (my third one) was premiered at Booty Call Wednesday May 22 and my daughter “killed it.”
Photos from Booty Call Wednesday
DEC 24:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X JASON MATLO & PKG
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I am so excited to have collaborated with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
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THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!
DEC 23:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X KAT THORSEN
Choices (originals are 12″ x 18″ on newsprint):
1. Alexander Wang
2. Derek Blasberg
3. Marc Jacobs
4. Tom Ford
5. Diane Von Furstenburg
6. Phoebe Philo
7. Coco Rocha
8. Leigh Lezark
9. Karlie Kloss
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CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
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I am so excited to have collaborated with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
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Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
DEC 22:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X MIMI CHICA
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
DEC 21:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X COTTE D’ARMES
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
DEC 20:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X DEAN ACCESSORIES
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
DEC 19:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X SEPHORA
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
DEC 18:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X SKULL CANDY
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
DEC 17:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X NAIL INC
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
DEC 16:
TO ENTER GO TO #24DAYOFTSL X STARBUCKS
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I am so excited to collaborate with THE SOCIAL LIFE, Anna T Fabulous and Joshua D Langston on #24daysofTSL!
Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, and The Social Life’s Anna T Fabulous and Joshua Langston. China marker, acrylix, fx on newsprint
—
Umm…it’s DECEMBER. Can you believe?? We can’t. So in order to deal with it, The Social Life is going to celebrate, and celebrate BIG! We introduce to you the #24DaysofTSL. Starting Dec 1 until Dec 24 we will be hosting a contest-per-day, featuring well known characters of the fashion industry in holiday form hand drawn by Kat Thorsen! Each day we’ll be giving away prizes from the cities of Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!
CHECK OUT MORE OF MY PORTRAITS AT:
