Okay guys enough with the tomfoolery, i need to start posting again and one of my favorite things in the universe is street art. I’m obsessed with graffiti, i cant ride or walk past it without taking a picture. My idea of ‘the life’ is continuously getting lost in new cities admiring the street and imagining who did it and when, fortunately i was able to do that in the Chi a few weeks ago!
I was so happy and shocked to see this after first noticing it 2 years ago
underneath the train was one of my favorite places to roam
I started taking a photography class about 6 weeks ago so this trip gave me a lot of time to play with my camera
My favorite brand of postcards is called Lantern Press! does anyone else get as excited as i do about paper?! didn’t think so
even the subtle things…
Love this, something to think about.
This is in Austin as well, and all over Chicago
one of my favorites
Not all of the street art in Chicago was painted on walls some was literally sitting or walking in the park
Does anyone else immediately see a face?
So yeah my time in Chicago was amazing, i got to visit a friend, connect with an old one, and give myself blisters from roaming around all day. It really is such a beautiful city with a bad reputation, i was pleasantly surprised at how lovely it was, not saying i was expecting Compton but people make it sound so bad and I’m sure there are bad parts but you can say that about everywhere and everyone. I will def be back to eat breakfast at Macs Restaurant and play volleyball at North Ave Beach and of course to roam.
So yesterday i started out on my southwestern road trip, i told myself that i would post everyday but i was so incredibly delirious last night after driving over 7 hrs from Austin, TX to Marfa, TX that i could barely brush my teeth. The ride although long was beautiful. One of the first places i stopped to stretch my legs was in Alpine, TX right next to Big Bend National Park.
I truly believe that every place in the world has character but i got the strangest unsatisfying feeling pretty much as soon as i drove into Marfa. I love small towns almost as much as bustling metropolis’. Texas is full of them, from Johnson City to Fredericksburg, but Marfa …..have you seen “The Hills Have Eyes”? honestly? There are countless boarded up houses and business’, stray dogs and cats, NOWHERE TO EAT and no people! What in the marfa fuck is going on? I read that a lot of places are only open on the weekend which is weird to me. It does have character though, just an eerie, strange, ghost town like energy about it that isnt very inviting.
Random fake Prada store in the middle of the desert
#tuxedomouse in Marfa
the only faces i saw while in Marfa
On the way out of town i drove through another equally creepy small town even smaller than Marfa. Ladies and gentleman, Valentine, TX!
Such a good photo op!
Sandstorm!
When the horses start mean mugging its time to leave, im out!
So yeah im missing Austin right now but its okay. I took a beautiful drive through the Guadalupe Mountains and im spending the night in Carlsbad, NM. The 4th motel i went to had a vacancy so i took a shower and here i am. The road is life. #Heartonthehighway
Live if she wants to, and i don’t see why not. Here are some of the things i love and enjoy doing and have been fortunately doing a lot of! I’ve always loved to go out and dance, but i was beginning to think that my frequent dancing days were over, that was before i attended Tuesgayz at Barbarellas. Bumping, grinding, sweating, vogueing, prancing, living, dying is what occurs and i love it! Great music, random drag queens walking about and the occasional dance off between two gay men wearing high heels??!! I can’t think of much else id rather see.
i remember RuPaul being famous in the 90’s and being so impressed at how much she did look like a woman but that was it, RuPaul was the only drag queen i knew of besides Divine only because Hairspray is one of my favorite movies. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago my friend Natalie turned me on to RuPauls Drag Race which is now one of my favorite shows. Until then i thought drag queens pretty much looked like men dressed up as women and that was it but on Drag Race those queens put us biological women to shame! I gag every time they sashay down the runway, they are stunning and so creative and charismatic. My first drag show in Austin was about 5 months ago, there’s a thriving LGBT scene and lots of drag shows every week, just last Sunday one of the queens pulled me out on stage and danced with me! I am amazed, shocked, stunned, and left for dead every time i attend a show. They’ve also provided me with a whole new vocabulary!
Althea Trix, my favorite drag queen in Austin
Poo Poo Platter is a quirky local drag group that performs once a month together and they’re hilarious, disgusting and inappropriate, if that’s not a recipe for a good time please enlighten me on what is? Local queens also perform gigs throughout the week at local bars and one thing that i didn’t know was that the audience is heavily encouraged to tip them. Its like theatrical stripping in a way, except if their clothes come off its most likely because their garment wasn’t sewed properly or the rhinestones weren’t glued on tight enough. Lets hear it for the ladyboys!
Obsessed with drag queens? Bitch i might be
Corsets, feathers, and nerve, those are just a few things that describe a burlesque dancer. It’s what us shy girls do in the privacy of our bedroom that a burlesque dancer isn’t afraid to do in front of a live gazing audience. Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent don’t just describe the queens on RuPauls Drag Race it takes a lot of all of those things to perform the art of the tease. Its sexy, timeless, and engaging. It’s telling a story through dance by a woman who could be your next door neighbor, your teacher, or your mistress. Burlesque makes a girl feel sexy, brave, confident, bold, and in control, kind of like Mae West.
Come up and see me sometime
Avant Glam Cabaret
Avant Glam is one of many burlesque groups in Austin, they perform all the time and they are so incredibly talented and amazing. The dancing, costumes, and sketches make me want to run out and buy some feathers and tassles every time i see them perform!
Me and Lilly LaFleur at the Christmas Cabaret
Okay so music, you can’t talk about living in Austin and not talk about music. I quickly realized that not only am i the only person without a bike i am also the only person without a band…or 3. Live music is everywhere and they’ll play it anywhere, i don’t think there is a place of business in this city that doesn’t have some sort of a stage for a band to perform. The first band i heard play were my coworkers MegaBig, and they’re called that for a reason. It’s not country, it’s not easy listening, its good ol fashion rock and roll. Check out their video, recognize anyone? hmmmmmm
Lastly (finally right! i always write so damn much) tonight although it was cold and rainy i went to Spiderhouse Ballroom because i heard theres a poetry slam every Tuesday night at 8. I sat in my room declaring that i wasn’t going to go because the weather outside was frightful and there was a$5 cover. BUT if there was ever a time i saw so happy i got off my lazy anus it was tonight, i seriously had the best time!! I even got to be one of the judges. Honestly i was nervous about that because i believe that art is in the eye and in this case ear of the beholder but it was still a unique experience being a judge and such an overwhelmingly inspiring experience being there witnessing the raw emotions of these brave individuals exposing themselves for everyone to see and hear, most of them weren’t even reading from anything, they knew every word off the top of their head.
I’ll never forget tonight and not just because of the true, raw, relatable spoken words i heard but because i am so happy that i went out anyway even though i was tired, even though it felt crappy outside, i still went out and had a good time and took advantage of the awesome city i live in. It makes me wonder why not? Why not have fun? Why not experience something new? I’m not happy wondering, id rather just do it.
Street Art is one of my favorite absolute favorite things (i wonder if its one of Oprahs too?) i love to admire it, photograph it, and as far as today take part in it. The act of spray painting something on a random wall conjures up the 5 W’s. Who? What? When? Where? and Why? Was it one person or a group of people? What is it about that particular piece that made them paint that? When the hell did they do that without anyone seeing them? Why did you chose to paint it there? And what does it mean to us? The mystery in that goes along with why street art is so influential. The no-name artists as well as the handful of famous ones remain in the shadows away from the media and don’t seem to care about recognition from the outside world and being famous. Whats even more scandalous is often not what is displayed but how they reached such a high structure and were able to stabilize their self for as long as it takes to create huge pieces.
The best ive ever seen is in Toronto which is an awesome metropolis and it’s totally legal, behind all the restaurants and little shops downtown there are alley ways completely full of graffiti from top to bottom.
The city of Toronto embraces street art so local artists don’t have to worry about being arrested for expressing themselves…..
Couldn’t agree more, vandalism and art are two different things.
Venice Beach, CA is another one of my favorite places that has that wild uninhibited vibe that i love and a designated display of street art on the beach at the Venice Art Walls.
You need a permit to paint here but it is free and easy to get which is great because without the graffiti walls an eccentric place like Venice Beach wouldn’t be the same.
Europe has some of the most impressive and notorious street art and street artists, ive only traveled to Amsterdam so far and the street art was definitely something to remember.
Better than prostitutes….
Who knows what that says?! and who cares!? its art!
Ive also found awesome street art in some random cities like Columbus, OH
How i feel about cities with blank walls
Kid PK’s street art was the first graffiti i remember recognizing, his name is planted everywhere in NJ and NY on the tops of high buildings and on the side of old trains, PK where are you? *insert ‘call me’ hand gesture to ear*
Just how i feel that it was so lame of my mom to not go to Woodstock (and to not let me see “N Sync and Britney back in the day #scarredforlife) it was so incredibly lame of me to not visit 5 Pointz in Long Island City in Queens, NY. As of November 2013 the art is no longer, they’ve decided to build an apt building there so it’s completely covered in white paint. There’s nothing worse than a bare wall, you can quote me on that.
Alas, there’s Austin, the city i reside in now and its filled with art and it continues to amaze me all the time. From my work to my apartment complex to just driving around town im always in and around art and im such a lucky girl for that.
Even PeeWee goes hard in the paint, ya know as long as you don’t scare him
The most street art is no question at Baylor St art wall, it is graffiti heaven in Austin and a playground for photographers and admirers like myself
It’s constantly changing which is a part of its appeal
My home state written across the state i live in now #mindblown
I usually come here to max and relax like so, taking it all in
But today i decided to throw up a hand myself
One of my favorite quotes, as well as #tuxedomouse
I may have created a monster #Splat not to be confused with #Spit RIP #BeatStreet
So yeah, the moral of this story is that uh street art is like really cool and stuff and if you live in a city like myself and get to see it all the time, even on those cold gray days just think to yourself that someone out there is risking their freedom to make art so everyone should just shut up and enjoy it.
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