Good Morning Darlings...
Testing this post to see if I still got skills.

Wishing for a Wonderful Wednesday

Beginnings of a new piece, a la

yo MOMMA style @Studio

yeterday.

Studio, back room

Studio. That's my baby brother,

Jerry in the photo on left, top shelf.

May he RIP. Crazy guy that he was.

Old bird/cupie doll on table piece

by me, from one year ago...

With small framed card from

Artist Peter Tunney...

"We Live in a Beautiful World".

The photo of my Dad, Governor

Leroy Collins and Edward Sax,

from the early 60's, I think.

Black and white woven ribbon

piece behind it is also my work,

as is the duck headed mannequin.

So now here it is Wednesday, already.

Where does the time go?

I'm already feeling guilty and slightly

embarrassed that I will not, after all

be going to my Studio today.

Just my style, to be forthright and

make big announcements, only to

fall short.

Some things never change.

My rational is that I have to be in

good form tonight for Kerry McLaney's

Birthday Bash @Lords on South Beach.

Knowing myself as well as I do, I know

there's no way I'll make it tonight, if I

spend the day @my Studio.

Not that physical labor is involved really

when @my Studio, but perhaps, because of

my age, my stamina, is just not that great.

So I'm not taking any chances in this department.

I have plenty to accomplish up in this end of

town anyway.

They say "the truth will set you free"...

I'm not so sure, but there you have it, folks.

Meanwhile, yesterday much was accomplished

in paving the way to produce some new work

in the Art department.

My intention is to compile enough pieces that

I feel good about and then find a suitable venue

to show them, come Art Basel time, in late December.

I feel confident that this will be accomplished and

have to remind myself too, that Rome wasn't built

in just one day. LOL.

Love how life works these days, especially since

Facebook has entered my life.

A few days ago I see a post by Rick Morgan on

FB, giving a shout out to Anita Sax for donating

copies of her new children's book for his Children's

charity.

In the blub, it states that Anita was born in Chicago

and grew up in Mexico City...

I'm thinking, I wonder if this could be Eddie Sax's

daughter?

Eddie and his Family were important friends of my Dad's while

I was growing up here in So. Fla., in fact we're kind of related.

My Aunt Evelyn, my Dad's older Sister was George Sax's first

wife (he's Eddie's Dad). I know Eddie is from Chicago

and married a woman and they had lived in

Mexico City for many years and had a daughter.

On the off chance, I posted a comment asking if perhaps

she was related to Mr. Sax.

Bingo. His daughter. WOW. What are the chances of that?

What makes this more interesting to me, is the

fact that I had recently found a photo that I have been

searching for, for almost a year now.

The photo is of my Dad, Governor Leroy Collins and

Edward Sax.

Just a week ago, I found the photo, stuck it in a frame

and placed it on a windowsill @my Studio, so that when

my buddy, Darby Collins, Leroy's youngest daughter

visited, she would see it.

Having gotten a response to my post from Anita in the

affirmative, that yes, she was, in fact, Edward's daughter,

I couldn't wait to get into the Studio and photograph

the image to send to her in an email.

No coincidences, right?

Right!

No mistakes, either.

Life unfolds.

More will be revealed,

that's a guarantee...

You just gotta show up.

This is confirmed for me

on a daily basis.

Gotta love it.

So listen up people,

today's the day!

Make a difference.

Show the LOVE.

Pass it forward.

Peace.

One LOVE.

Studio Today

Detail (my Facebook Profile Page)

on Mano Nogueira's beautiful piece.

The Fabulous Five

yo MOMMA, Mano Nogueria of

Mano Fine Art in the Bird Road

Arts District, Artist Rafael Lopez-Ramos,

Artist Luisa Mesa and my Buddy,

Artist Vince Herrera a/k/a

BAD PANDA..."People Love

my Sh*t" @ Mano Fine Arts

Studio for the Bird Road Artwalk

this past Saturday night.

Mano's beautiful work of Art.

Love it : )

Up and at em...

that's me.

My goal today is to spend time

creating Art @ my Studio.

Wish me luck, please.

Don't know why I've been so

resistant to doing this lately?

Hoping to get a rhythm going

here.

Will report tomorrow, on how

it went.

Meanwhile am excited about

tomorrow nights plan to attend

the Birthday Celebration for my

buddy, Kerry McLaney @Lord's

on South Beach.

I've never been to this new hotel

and am not looking forward to

the parking situation.

Short of that, I'm sure it will be

a most memorable evening.

Friday night promises to be

off the charts too @WDNA's

Jazz night with Artist Evo Love

and Romain Gateau.

Can't wait.

Don't know about the rest of

you, but I'm really struggling

with the doldrums of Summer.

Hard to get motivated lately.

Gotta keep reminding myself

how important it is to just show

up.

The rest will follow.

Not necessarily the way I plan

or hope for, but non the less

unexpected surprises await me,

when I am willing to participate.

So I'm throwing caution to the

wind. Taking my chances.

Letting go.

Remember to practice random

kindness...

Do the next right thing...

Pass it forward...

Be the change you wish to see...

Ah, life is like one big cliche..

Like a joke and I keep waiting

for the punch line.

One things for sure, if I don't

suit up and show up, I'm guaranteed

that nothing will change.

So be willing today, to step outside

the box, your comfort zone, so to speak.

Let me know the miracles you witness

today as you walk the walk.

Just saying...

Peace.

One LOVE.

Saturday . Up and At Em.

Good morning World.

It's Saturday, in hot and humid, South Florida.

I've been up for hours already and am trying to wrap my head around plans for the day.

First up, long overdue, holistic massage.

Veronique, my adored therapist has been in France and is just back.

Oh, how I have missed the luxury of our weekly sessions.

This evening I plan starting off @Ladder Gallery, downstairs from

my Studio, for the last, I believe, of their Guild Series Shows.

I am meeting my new friends Ron Syllien and his wife, Gracelle Toussaint

@my Studio @6:30 to join me for an evening of Art and Networking.

After perusing Ladder Gallery we are headed to The Bird Road Arts District ArtWalk.

I have never been and am looking forward to finally checking out this particular area.

Looking forward to seeing my friend, Artist Vince Herrera a/k/a BAD PANDA's work

@MANO Gallery.

Yesterday was down time @home and recuperating from a busy Thursday.

A recap of what Thurday entailed for me.

I started in an area known as Biscayne Gardens for Brunch with Artist,Ron Syllien and his lovely wife, Grace.

Ron and I are Facebook Friends and I was curious to check out his work.

I was totally impressed and enchanted from the first moment I walked into their beautiful home.

I must have taken at least 40 photos to document my tour and was so looking forward to

sharing them with you all...more about that later.

By 12:30 I was with my LOVE Child, taking her to Miami Beach for a dentist appt. and lunch afterwards.

Then on to my Studio for several hours.

By 5PM I was @The Stage in the Miami Design District for a TEDxMIA event

"For more than two decades, TED has presented acclaimed speakers to promote "Ideas Worth Spreading. A hub of diverse creativity, innovative thinking and progressive thought leadership. TEDxMIA is an effort to drive and showcase the cultural and intellectual vitality continuing to blossom in the city."

Prior to this, I was unfamiliar with TED.

Take my word for it people, check out TED.

For the record, September 13th, they will be presenting an event @New World Center on Miami Beach. Not to be missed and I understand their events sell out quickly, so if you're interested in learning more, I suggest you go to

www.TEDxMIA.com to find out more.

Must have taken 20 more photo's.

A shout out to my good friend, Carl Hildebrand for turning me on to this most stimulating

concept. Reminded me slightly of Petcha Kutcha but much more sophisticated and brilliant.

By 7PM I was on my way to JOEY's in Wynwood for a live musical evening with the charming and talented Miss Jennifer Ann Wagoner, of Wynwood Kitchen & Bar fame.

Jen belted out the Blues and sang her heart out.

I shot perhaps 15 more images and then after about an hour I left

and was grateful to make it safely home, after such a full day.

Yesterday morning first thing, I went to upload all my memorable images to iPhoto.

Unfortunately @Joey's before I left, my friend used my camera to video Jen's performance.

This is where I got in trouble.

While uploading, I guess I got impatient after 20-25 minutes and ended up disconnecting the

camera from the computer, thus losing all the images : (

The good thing is, I didn't have a melt down.

I accepted that it wasn't meant to be.

Lesson learned? Not sure. But am grateful non the less that I had such a fulfilling day.

Looking forward to all that is in store for me today.

Remember first you gotta show up.

The rest will reveal itself.

Pass it forward, People.

Practice random kindness.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Peace.

One Love.

Tuesday in the Tropics.

So here it is Tuesday, July 12th.

The Sun is up and out @full blast

with temperature in @81 degrees

and it's just now, 7 AM.

Ah, the thrill of slaying some dragons

in the sweltering heat, just fires up my

imagination, NOT!!!

Seriously though, I've got a list of things

to accomplish and am determined to go

with the flow.

Yesterday was a learning lesson in patience

and perseverance, to say the least.

Happy to report I am now officially certified

to operate as an Artist Studio by the City of

Miami and The Dade County Department of

Environmental Resource Management.

What a joke too. I mean really, the inept

bureaucratic process is ridiculous.

Consider the fact that an entire high rise office

building is devoted to housing County and City

paid employees to sit at their desks and process

whatever?

No instructive signage visible to someone visiting

for the first time and no one very forth coming in

advising one how to proceed.

Let's just say I am grateful that this is now behind

me.

Surely now that I have complied with the City's

requirements, Miami is a safer, better place to

live and the $800.00 dollars in fees is making

the City's coffers richer.

Today promises to be good.

Little in the way of pressure and deadlines,

I consider myself a lucky lady.

Tonight I look forward to GNO (Girls Night Out)

with my favorite playmates, 5 yr. old Taylor, her

maternal Grandmother and our friend Susan V.

Am feeling grateful too, that no Hurricanes are

forming @this time and that the A/C in our building

is working.

Happy to be getting a blog post in, as well.

So to anyone reading this post, my self included,

I'm wishing us all a peaceful and productive day.

Surely some surprises await me.

Tune in tomorrow for the post mortem.

Remember to pass it forward.

Make a difference in someone's life today.

Life is good.

: )

Time Flies If You're Having Fun or Not.

Photographer Mark Diamond's work

at The Awarehouse in Wynwood.

JeanPaul Mallozzi's "Secrets" @Awarehouse

in Wynwood.

Danny Weiss and yo MOMMA,

class mates, Gables High 1966.

Collage @Praxis.
Performance Artist @Zadok Gallery

in Wynwood.

Carl Hildebrand and ladies

showing the LOVE for

yo MOMMA : )




BAC Artist Gerry Stecca showing

@L M N T Gallery in Wynwood.

All done with clothespins.

BAC Artist Patricia Gutierez's work

@L M N T Gallery.

Patricia Gutierrez's installation

@ L M N T Gallery

Good Morning World.

It's already mid July and this is my first blog entry since the end of May.

Where does the time go?

The eternal question, I suppose.

Getting ready for a busy day ahead.

First stop, Maroone Nissan for the first oil change on my new car.

Next stop, D.E.R.M in downtown Miami to pay more money for the right to operate legally

as an Artist, in my Studio.

Then on to USPS and UPS to take care of business.

Hopefully, I'll make it to my Studio and actually accomplish making some Art.

This past weekend went by in a flash.

Had a lovely early evening with Carl Hildebrand on Friday.

First "Midnight in Paris" @The Gateway Cinema in Ft. Lauderdale

and then a light bite @Heart Rock.

Saturday night, Carl and I went to 2nd Saturday Wynwood Artwalk.

We visited many Galleries and kept being prepared to be swept away.

Unfortunately, for me, it didn't happen.

Nothing really turned me on. : (

That's not entirely true, though...

What turned me on was running into all my peep's.

It's been a long time since I was last in Wynwood

and it was great seeing old friends and my favorite

haunts.

We ended our evening @Magnum Lounge, where

we shared a delicious burger and called it a night.

Yesterday, I went to the Yellow/Green Market here

in Hollywood.

What a disappointment that was too.

Nothing to see or buy.

Pathetic, really.

Sorry that this Fresh Market concept is not taking off.

I was hoping to see "Beginners" @The Gateway, but that

didn't work out either : (

Yikes, what's up with all these less than stellar results

I keep asking myself?

The only answer I can come up with is, what's wrong

with me?

I'm wise enough to realize that when I am most unhappy

it has nothing to do with other people, places or things,

but rather with something going on with me.

Ah, reality, it's a hard pill to swallow...

but the facts remain the same.

What to do about this???

Thought perhaps getting this out in blog form might

tweek some changes in my perspective.

Not feeling the shift yet, but recognizing that there

are new opportunities, awaiting me.

So there you have it folks.

My hope is that my next blog post will include

images of some new Art work by yo MOMMA.

Wish me luck.

In the meantime, today as I walk the walk,

may I not lose sight of the destination.

One day @ a time.

Easy does it.

Let go.

This too shall pass.

Enjoy the possibilities.

Still Standing . Last Day in May . 2011

Here he is World,

the one and only

NOBODY.

Art is My Weapon.

Iam TMNK (The Me Nobody Knows)

Please note yo MOMMA sticker

on bottom left of post he is leaning

on.

New young Fan of NOBODY with

ART IS MY WEAPON sticker

in his hand : )

Beautiful ocean front view of

Ft. Lauderdale Beach A1A.

SUMMER HILL SEVEN,

AFUa HALL and Abu Xalimon

in The House!

PABLO CANO and the entire cast and crew taking

a bow, to a standing ovation.

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World @ MOCA.

Good morning World.

Hope this finds everyone in

the zone, with energy enough,

to survive the upcoming

Hurricane Season, which

officially begins tomorrow

June 1st.

As a native Miamian, I have

witnessed first hand, the devastation

of many Hurricanes in the past,

not the least of which was Andrew.

Considering the rather cataclysmic

Weather that has been happening

World Wide, I am praying our

beautiful So. Fla, will be spared.

Keeping this in mind, it makes me

more grateful than ever, for all the

wonderful developments I have

witnessed in our great City and

my home town.

Tonight I am lucky enough to have

tickets for the opening night of

HAIR @The Arsht Center,

courtesy of the lovely,

Charlie Cinnamon.

My guest for the evening is

SUMMER HILL SEVEN,

the actor, poet extraordinaire.

I'm hopeful that the traffic

and parking will not detour

me from enjoying the evening.

Considering the Miami HEAT

Playoff Game is taking place

downtown, as well.

Recapping now, the past

couple days in my abundant,

wonderful life.

Sunday was the last 2 performances

of PABLO CANO's Seven Wonders of

the Modern World @MOCA.

I invited a slew of Friends to join

me, posting an open invitation to

anyone wanting to be my guest on

Facebook.

I called MOCA @12 noon, to make

sure there would be no problems

in purchasing additional tickets.

I went into high anxiety when told

sorry, both shows were SOLD OUT.

The good news is, in the end, we

were all accommodated, thank you

MOCA and it's most outstanding

staff.

The bad news was the pressure

this produced for me in getting down

there in time, to buy the additional

tickets for my guests, from the

20 being held @will call, for last

minute walk ups.

We were 13 in all that witnessed

this truly remarkable production.

Magical in every way.

The brilliant Playwright, Miami's own,

Carmen Pelaez, of RUM & COKE fame,

was in attendance. This is her second

collaboration with Pablo.

I was thrilled to meet her after the

performance.

A Fulbright Award winner, Choreographer

Katherine Kramer, did a most outstanding

job in bringing the marionettes to life,

once again in her collaboration with Pablo.

Rudi Goblen, writer, dancer and actor

was remarkable in taking on several of the

puppeteer/dancer parts in this production,

not the least of which,

was the opening with President Obama in

The House.

Other puppeteer/dancers who manipulated the

marionette's to perfection were Joanne Barrett

and Carlota Pradera.

PABLO and all took a bow to a well deserved,

standing ovation.

After congratulating one and all on this transformative

experience, I was off to my studio.

Summer Hill Seven, his lovely, significant other,

Afua Hall, a talented dancer and

choreographer and their 4 yr. old son,

Abu Xilimon, met up with me there.

We went on an adventure looking for a dining

spot on the water on the 79th Street Causeway.

We ended up @The Crab House. In spite of the

fact that this is a chain restaurant, we had a lovely

meal and enjoyed bayside dining, outside.

It was a balmy So. Fla. evening and a perfect

ending to a memorable day.

Yesterday morning @ my computer bright

and early, I see that my man, TMNK a/k/a

NOBODY, NYC Graffiti/Street Artist of

International acclaim, was here in So. Fla.

We made a plan and I picked him up @11:30 AM

at the beautiful, beach front hotel,

where he was staying in Ft. Lauderdale.

The challenge being, in getting there.

I headed east to A1A and then north up

the beach front strip, bummer to bummer

on this crazy/busy/beautiful Memorial

Day.

We proceeded to FAT Arts District in

Ft. Lauderdale.

What a revelation that was too.

Not unlike the former warehouse district

that is now Wynwood, this emerging

Artists Studio/Gallery Community is

located just north of Sunrise Blvd. and

just west of Andrews Avenue, backing

up to the railroad tracks.

Like Wynwood too, they have no set

hours of operation and it was a blind

shot that we would see anyone else

there on this holiday morning.

To our surprise we were not the only

ones out and about in this "under the

radar" location.

Our first encounter was with a lovely

young couple, out walking with their

baby boy in his stroller, admiring the

Graffiti Art that proliferates there.

NOBODY made a new friend and fan

with the little boy and proceeded in

actually meeting up with some of the

Graffiti Artists who were working on

a Wall right then and there.

Within minutes, they were hauling out

a huge ladder and there was NOBODY

scurrying up it, to leave his mark and

be part of their Wall.

Perfect, right?

Right!

What are the chances of this happening,

you might ask?

Zero to none...and there in lies

the alchemy our our outing...

that just by suiting up and

showing up, windows open.

Thank you dear Universe for

granting me these serendipitous

occurrences.

This is what keeps me coming

back for more.

Now NOBODY and yo MOMMA too,

have our marks immortalized in

Ft. Lauderdale.

Mission accomplished we had a

leisure ride back to his hotel

and I was on my way back home

by 2PM.

No place like home,

said Dorothy.

We can all agree on

that point, I am sure.

So now I am current in

documenting more days

in May, via my life.

With love in my heart

I am looking forward

to new adventures today.

Keep it simple.

Pass it forward.

Be the change,

you wish to see.

All things are possible.

Peace fellow travelers.

Make the most of the

blessings that await you

today.