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

what a world, what a world! this week:

i flew home from san jose in that terrible storm and it has been a whirlwind ever since. today, the roof is being taken off my house -- try working under that! construction will go on all this week. and patrick arrives for ten days on saturday (to see his artwork, go to gracewoodstudio.com). and after five years, i am no longer teaching at the blessings center so meditation class will be held at my house. with other projects ongoing, its gonna be quite the scene! after patrick leaves, the ceilings in two rooms will be removed. consider the furniture, art, equipment, and general junk that needs to be moved... and still be able to work.

the letterpress printer is only just now going to start his portion of the body of water project -- two months late!

the film for the body of water project is coming along well. jessica is just a godsend. and i have made an even shorter film myself as a companion... its almost done...

thursday night, elizabeth and i will go to a cocktail party on the queen mary for a new star trek exhibit. it should be fun -- there is already a lot of buzz in the media about it.

friday bob and i will be in del mar for the antiques show then dinner with wifey. it will be nice to get away from everything for the day.

saturday morning is family day at the cemetary. cousins from all over will convene for brunch in whittier then champagne and chocolates graveside at rose hills. it is a nice time, the kids play and we all reminisce. sunday was the four year anniversary of daddy dying... the anniversary for my cousins dad is this week. my brother and grandmother and their grandmother are all buried there so it will be quite a party! im sorry my daughter wont make it -- she has a tea party she cant seem to miss...

saturday night i will go to see patrick and carolyn perform at the brewery -- touch monkey studio on the road!

and we are back to sunday -- always my busy day...

last saturday i was on the radio interviewed by the zany mystic (bbsradio.com) -- we always have a great conversation and my students congratulated me immediately after.

this coming week is art week in la with various shows and openings...

and i still have to find time to work. if you think this is busy, wait til february!

to see all my work or hear the radio interview (blogs tab): http://royanthonyshabla.com

out of town

i will be in san jose for five days visiting martha and steve, flying early on new years day. it is always a delight to visit with them. the body of water project is still progressing, but not completed. it is so much work but going to be wonderful. january and february are busy months ~ i will be on bbsradio.com again january 12, saturday night at 7pm, a fireside chat with the zany mystic. my friend patrick will be in town for ten days staring the 19th and it is art week in los angeles leading up to my birthday. i have feng shui workshops in february, los angeles and berkeley are planned... and am hoping to teach in other places also. before that is the pottery show in pasadena... and after that i am in dallas. each and every thing will be wonderful. what an abundance of wonderfulness! happy new year! and get yourself on my calendar if you want some face time!

the naked poet

charles rosenberg, dj at the standard hotel, nutritionist and gardener, vintage clothing and decorative arts expert, and friend... was perusing a used bookstore when he happened on a copy of the naked poet by gavin dillard and, for obvious reasons, peaked inside. he was greeted by four lines of my poetry. and bought the copy for me. i have not seen or even heard from gavin in years and years. but having once seen him, you have been spoiled to look on anything else. gavin and i met at a reception for exene cervenka (x) back in the eighties... she was reading poetry at an underground los angeles club, henry rollins was there also... it was quite the scene! gavin and i became attractive friends ~ he attracted to my (unclaimed) talent, i attracted to his (undeniable) beauty. we planned several projects together (child harold at the zoo ~ my writing, his drawings ~ was one) but nothing ever manifested ~ his backers were more fronters. he wrote me often from various places but our lives crossed less and less as the years passed. the naked poet was published in 1989 with a dedication to christopher isherwood (who liked one of gavins ditties, but then who didnt?) and four lines from my lost book, flowers of ecstasy, to launch it. he made a spectacular splash (emphasis on spectacle since he always gave his readings in the nude) and brought people who had never read a poem to poetry readings. it may be they have still not read a poem... but they bought his book. and one of those ended up in charles rosenbergs handy hands this many years later. and now into mine. what a walk down amnesia lane! charles rosenberg is one of those people who knows everyone who is cool and knows every cool thing that is happening in town. and he knows me! he is quite a journalistic writer and reviewer and has worked for many respected magazines. we have tried many the vegetarian restaurant together and enjoyed company and conversation. the low point of our relationship happened when he was writing for los angeles magazine and my meditation class was named the chattiest meditation class in la (which it may be). he did not write it ~ his cunt editor did, changing his succint prose about my esoteric class without his knowlege. the high point of our relationship was having cocktails one evening at the standard hotel while he played music. my friend millie was there too. we were all dressed. but it was sheer poetry.

to see my poetry: http://royanthonyshabla.com

peace on earth, peace in heaven

i made bob help me put a new peace poster on the front of the house -- it looks so fresh and clean. the photos of the peace posters on the website date to the end of 2005 and the spring and summer of 2006... and i was posting peace posters as graffiti years before i put them on my own house. so its been over two years that great minds dream alike posters have been on the front of my house, some of the other posters on the side of the house were not documented. and i have been selling the t shirts longer... i do want to make a new set of t shirts soon, 2008 will be an important year.

congresswoman julia carson died today of lung cancer. she was the first woman and the first black to represent indianapolis in congress. she was an outspoken opponent of the iraq war and before the 2003 invasion told a rally of her constituents that the war was an act of aggression to secure oil for american business. but nobody did anything.

when alan greenspan made the same statement this year, there was a little buzz. but once again, nobody did anything.

somtimes i think the american populace is made up of sleepwalkers. if awake, everyones house would be covered with peace posters. and the white house would be covered with stones.

what have you done today to save the world? for peace posters, t-shirts, etc: http://royanthonyshabla.com

art art art

body of water, the handmade book i am currently working on, has been taking up more and more of my time. there are so many aspects to it (letterpress printing, filmmaking, handmade paper, painting) all needing to be coordinated and juggled. i am teaching myself to paint with water colors to do an original cover for each letterpress booklet. it is more difficult than other media. the handmade paper is coming from a couple sources and has been quite a negotiation. special cudos to seth at dick blicks in berkeley. the printer and bookbinder has been silent and tardy... i may need to fly up to berkeley to get things moving. the film editor has been great, doing a better job than i expected... we still need to coordinate the soundtrack... and print artwork on the dvds. and the portfolios for it all have to be made by hand... and the copies are beginning to sell.

until galleRoy.com is available, go to royanthonyshabla.com for info on my art: http://royanthonyshabla.com

peace on earth

my daughter hadley and her best friend mazzy and our family unit planted trees in san pedro along one of the main streets this morning with tree people, one of the most worthwhile groups i know. the volunteers were represented by various ethnic groups, ages, and incomes and city staff as well as tree people all pitched in together. it was hard work and fun and the kids really got into the idea of saving the planet. and they got the experience of saving the planet as a community. each tree is named after it is planted and the last two put into the earth today were called "hadley" and "mazzy". now my daughter has a personal involvement with the future of the planet. and i have a sore body!

the wind and rain has removed the last peace poster from my house. these 5 to 7 foot posters have been on the front and side of my house regularly for almost two years now, ocassionally being replaced. the side of my house faces a church parkinglot so the good word has been given to the needy.

and how we need! in colorado, a young guy shot and killed people at a christian youth mission and a mega church. he is said to have come from a very religious family and hated christians. in baltimore, 9 black teenagers harassed, beat up, and dragged a white woman from a public bus. there is no mention of how the bus driver responded. in california (is this a red state or a blue state?) an episcopal diocese seceded from the episcopal church because of the ordination of a gay bishop. in case you dont know, if you have to have a christian around, let it be an episcopalian. they are like catholics with common sense. they are progressive, tolerant, activists for peace and the environment, and generally more intellectual. they have female priests. they have married priests. they are not fundamentalists. and yet this diocese in california is behaving like a fundamentalist church. even the catholic church allows gay bishops. the legal battles which will ensue may ruin the episcopal church as a whole. if the episcopal church folds, the christian religions will soon be headed by mel gibson. whats a thinking person to do? yahweh sure loves to stir the pot!