peace and graffiti

i wrote my newsletter about peace before israel attacked the palestinians in the gaza strip. the vibe of war must have been in the air. i had also stepped up the peace graffiti, venturing into new areas of los angeles ~ wifey was picking up cookies from a bakery on la cienega and saw my graffiti; i had been able to place a GREAT MINDS sticker next to a sticker of robbie conals. i have admired his work for many years and was proud to be next to him.

the night israel began bombing the gaza, someone stole two peace posters, yard signs, from my front yard. like i said, the vibe of war must have been in the air. those yard signs had been in my parkway for eight months.

i teach meditation at busters in culver city on wednesday evenings. recently, i have been arriving early to do some chalk graffiti in front of the shop. some of it is advertising... much of it is peace on earth. this week, while i was writing "world harmony" with the "o" in "world" made as a peace symbol, a security guard from a local business, as she was walking by, said to me: " nice handwriting." it seems, even the peace keepers have no interest in peace.

those who have read my new book, (peace) words, have loved it. maybe we just need the whole world to read it... shepard fairey sent me a bunch of his stickers for the holidays. im using some of them as part of an altered, limited edition of the new book. graffiti and peace bring all kinds of people together and im proud to participate in the movement with so many wonderful people.

for peace shirts, graffiti stickers, and my books: http://royanthonyshabla.com

morrisey

i had lunch with morrisey this weekend. we knew each other from when i lived in london many many years ago. it was a big secret, this lunch, very hush hush. we ordered in from his hotel room. and it was pleasant and comfortable. we talked about our projects and working together. my art, my poetry, my life ~hasnt changed much in the last ___ years. although maybe they have become more refined... the style, the subject, the intent is who i was and who i am. my current writing, my current painting... is all work i was doing (way ahead of my time) when i was younger. my life seems to cycle in spirals through my art.

the same with morrisey. he sounds as good as he did with his early bands and his recent work is immediately recognizable as his own. the new work still incorporates his style of repeating a lyric line with different musical emphasis... i did mention to him that i thought his post punk lack of succintness in his lyrics was dated (i think thats why he wanted the meeting... but i shouldnt have said it so succinctly...) and maybe we could collaborate on something fresh and sharp... it was good to see him but we parted without defining a project.

tina at busters wants to talk to me about producing my short play.

and karen in florida is working on getting some closure to some of my short films.

all in all, a good few days without picking up a paintbrush or pencil!

whirlwind in a teapot

i have been chastised for not blogging in a month... my life is so facinating everyone wants the vicarious thrill of being in my aura ~even if its only online!

i gave a reading from eating god at busters in culver city last monday night. it was great. my short films were playing in the garden as people arrived. between two and ten minutes each, the films were a good expression of my artwork and people loved them. the actress ingez rameau and i alternated reading poems from my book. she was perfect and i was very lucky to work with her. there was flute music, handmade chocolate, wine, and much conversation ~everyone staying later than expected. my hostess tina was wonderful and i will definitely stage a performance there again.

the pottery show in pasadena was last weekend and it was grueling. the pack-in was a nightmare because of parking problems extrordinaire and i considered not doing the show again. i hadnt slept much for a few days (did you get an email from me at 4am?) and doing even the easiest show would tire someone fresh. but i sold some decent pots and visited with some friends. and signed up for next year.

tomorrow i will go to palm springs for the day. bob and i are going to the modernism show opening in the evening then driving back. before the opening, i will sell some pots to a shop there and look around for deals and wonderful things... but every dealer will have been through the town for the last couple days so im not sure there will be much. nevertheless its always a nice but long day.

the last month has been a busy hectic whirlwind of art, friends and guests, spiritual healing, feng shui, travel... and ocassionally sleep... i separated from the blessings center and in this time of an over-full schedule, i am grateful for the extra quiet and easiness. there was interest in my house but the buyers had some bad advice and i have no interest in being involved in that karma. i will be in the bay area next week to teach the feng shui workshop i am teaching twice this weekend in la. after that, i go to dallas.

i will try to be better about documenting my life for you. wait til i update you on the handmade book!

for info about all my work: http://royanthonyshabla.com