The Pursuit of Knowledge

I'm baaaaack!!!! Did you miss me?...No?...You didn't notice?...That's cool lol. I had a busy week guys. All that aside...I was stuck in deep thought one day (happens often), just thinking about the overwhelming amount of information that is readily available. Seriously...if you don't know something, it's because you didn't ask lol. These thoughts inspired this post. Yes, some things you do need to go to school for, but with certain skills/crafts/etc, you can be self-taught. Even if you did go to school for whatever, you should still keep yourself current by constantly learning new things about your field. I came up with a list of some things that we all can do to continuously educate ourselves and take matters into our own hands. If you have dreams...a destiny, don't let money stop you. I would like to go back to school for art...can't afford that right now, but you think I'm not out here learning? Shhhhooooooottttt lol. I got books on books on books. Here are some suggestions for your pursuit of knowledge...  

Pick Up a Book...or two. There are TONS of books out there for literally whatever it is you want to learn more about. You name it, "For Dummies" probably has a book for it lol. Those are some good books by the way. Amazon.com is a great place to start looking. I find books for great prices on their site, they arrive quickly, and they offer great suggestions for other books relating to the title or topic you searched for. I have a plethora of books on cartooning, comics, graffiti, a million books on acrylic painting, marketing, fundraising, and a million more in my Amazon wishlist. You want to learn about something...buy a book and try teaching yourself. Find Workshops/Classes... So maybe you don't like reading so much or teaching yourself isn't your thing. Attend a workshop or a class!! I typically find these using Google. I type in what kind of workshop or class I'm looking for and the area I'd like for it to be in. I also come across them through word of mouth, by attending events related to the things I'm interested in, or looking at an organization's website. Many times you can find some FREE workshops or classes. Another place that I look to take classes is at a school...surpise lol. Some schools offer classes "a` la carte" and allow you to take certain courses with students pursuing degrees without having to be enrolled in a program. Perhaps you can't afford to pursue a degree at the moment *raises hand*, so you can just take some classes in the meantime. Google It... Prowl the web. There are oodles of blogs, DIY websites, "How To" websites...the list goes on and on. There is so much to be inspired by out there and so much to learn...keeping in mind the fact that Abraham Lincoln told you you can't believe everything you read on the internet. There are so many online communities and forums where there are thorough, well-researched discussions taking place with very useful information. I've even diagnosed some people using information on the internet lol. If you're looking for more scholarly information and you're concerned about the source, you should start with a ".org" or ".edu". YouTube it... OMG. YouTube changes lives lol. You could probably build a house watching a YouTube video...probably not. But seriously, you can sit and watch a person do exactly what it is you're trying to do. When I needed to repair the hole I made in the wall in my space at Artomatic, I searched...repairing sheetrock/drywall...simple as that lol. There's probably a video for any subject you can imagine. Ask a Friend... This one's pretty self-explanatory. If there's someone in your life that is doing what you desire to do...talk to them!! It's you're friend. Don't be scared. If they don't want to help you...maybe they're not your friend and you have other problems lol. Oh, and this goes for family too...regarding the asking part...not whether they love you or not lol. Find a Mentor... Maybe none of your friends are doing what you want to do. There are a lot of people out there that are willing to help/guide/encourage others. Not only does it allow them the opportunity to change someone's life, it feels good to be needed lol. All they can say is no. Don't be scared. Ask.

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means. Just a beginning point. There are so many ways to gain knowledge. If you have any other good ones, feel free to share below. The takeaway...don't be discouraged!! The journey to your destiny may not always happen how you planned it, but as long as you continue to take steps in the right direction, you'll eventually reach your destination. The speed bumps, accidents, U-turns, and traffic will just make your story of triumph that much better and you, all the more strong.

Stay Inspired.

SKETCH LOUNGE

I went to an event on Wednesday that was really cool so I want to share it with you. Probably means nothing to you if you don't live in the DC area...but in case you are one day, maybe you can visit. DC has a new art gallery on the scene...VeraCruz Gallery. This is all they have in the way of signage so you might pass by it like I did lol...

But it's on top of Duffy's Irish Pub, located at 2108 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001...

I was a little excited when I got there. I like checking out new artsy spots. As I walked up the steps, I heard some Kendrick Lamar Section.80 blasting..."Okay okay...this is cool already"...what I said in my head lol. I turned the corner and there were artists scattered around at tables doing what they do...a lady DJ...DJ Lucy Papaya...spinning all the right music, cool art hanging on the walls, and people chit-chatting about cool stuff...I don't know what they were chit-chatting about. They just looked cool so I assumed they were talking about cool people stuff lol.  

Curly Nikki Article "Good Hair and 'The Talk'"

I believe I've told you all just shy of a million times that I frequent a lot of natural hair blogs and that this is where I get a lot of my inspiration for my current works of art...along with my own natural hair experiences. Well, I came across a very touching and inspiring story on one of my favorite natural hair blogs, Curly Nikki, and I wanted to share it here. It involves pouring positive messages into your kids to combat all the negative things they hear/experience when they're out and about in the world in order to build and protect their self-esteem. You don't have to be black, be a parent, or have natural hair to be moved and inspired by this story. Check it out.

KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN for ENVISAGE!!!

Hello Ladies & Gents!! I have started a Kickstarter campaign for my Figment project, ENVISAGE, and it is officially all the way live!!! Click here to view the campaign and support :).

DIY Comic Book Coasters

Someone out there is maaaaaaad at me lol. I know it's probably disrespectful for me to cut up a comic book....I swear I like them...but I wanted to make some into coasters. You don't have to use a comic book for this activity...any paper you find aesthetically pleasing will do. If you want to use comics, but don't want to use actual pages from a comic book, you can just make some color copies at Kinkos or something and use that. And here they are ladies and gents!!!...

I love them :). This was really simple to do. And they came out awesooooooome. I made these using tiles that I got from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. FYI, if you're a homeowner or you're into bringing old/used things back to life, you should definitely check this place out. They have all kinds of home goods, from furniture to appliances, for really good prices. Also, the proceeds from any purchase goes towards helping out Habitat for Humanity to build homes for families...a win-win.  They also take donations, which are tax-deductible. Check them out. Back to the project...

About My Figment Project: ENVISAGE

I spoke briefly about Figment DC before (and there's a tab for that ^^^) but I want to share a little more about my project idea for the event. Figment is a community-based art event full of cool interactive activities. I have this video in my Figment tab, but I'm going to post it again here because I have a hard time describing this event lol...I have a hard time describing things in general.

This is Figment's first time coming to DC and I'm super excited about it! This is also my first time doing something like this so I'm a little anxious about how it's going to come out...but excited nonetheless. My project involves some wood work lol. Yes, heavy duty cutting machinery. You saw what I did to my finger with a pair of scissors lol. I'll probably have my dad do all that stuff though. He's good at construction and designing things. So on to my project... The title of it is ENVISAGE. I've always liked that word lol. It pretty much means to imagine..."to contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event" according to Google. That's pretty much what my project is all about, so it was the perfect title. Project: ENVISAGE will consist of a community vision board where people can express their future goals/vision by painting, making a collage, drawing, spray paint...whatever means you want to use to get it off your chest. It will also feature large frames with cool & wacky designs for an awesome photo op. This portion is titled "Frame of Mind". The idea is for people to act out where they see themselves in the future...or you can just take a regular picture...it's your world lol. I think this project will be tons of fun and I'll definitely keep you all posted on what's going on with that. So make sure you come out September 29th to the Yards Park and experience DC's first ever Figment event and visit my project :) Put it on your calendars!!! Any posts or new info regarding my Figment project and Figment in general can be found, up top, in the Figment tab...if you happen to miss when I post it.

Stay Inspired.

Me at Artomatic : A Closer Look (Recap & Pictures)

I've posted pictures of all the art I had in Artomatic on the blog before...I think...but I just wanted to give a closer look since everyone who reads this blog isn't in the DC Metro area and some people just couldn't make it out there. Artomatic is, by far, the best art event I've ever participated in. A lot of good has come from it. How can you go wrong with an 11-floor ex-office building full of creativity and coolness? I definitely think anyone who is involved in anything art/performance related...I mean anything...should consider participating next time around. Some of my other posts about Artomatic --> Artomatic 2012, Artomatic & My Life, I DID IT!!!, Artomatic's website, and finally, some pictures from my exhibit :)...

Here's how it alllllllllll began (I like dramatics lol). This is my rough sketch of what I wanted my wall to look like...

I have to thoroughly plan things out before I do them. Some of the other guys in my room were making fun of the fact that I had a layout on paper lol. It was funny. I wish I could remember what they said, I would tell you. I was like "...but it's my first tiiiiime. I just want to make sure I have everything riiiight. *high-pitched whiny voice*" lol

And here's the finished product...

Art Photoshoot With The Bing!!

I'm still working on my website and the last thing I need is some good pictures, so I called on the hottest chick in the game filling up frames, that's right Bing *in my Jay-Z voice* lmbo...lol...smh... Ashleigh A. M. Bing, of Shoot Happens Photography. She really takes awesome pics and she's super creative. Our first art photoshoot was on U Street in DC. I still have a couple more pictures to take of my newer artwork but I'm making progress. Clap it up for progress!! I don't know where we're headed to next but I'm excited!!!lol Here are some of the pictures she took...

 I added the picture above because it best reflects what that day was like lol.

Chilling with my art in Busboys & Poets...

This next picture was a workout lol... 

Eating to Live

I'm what some may like to call a conspiracy theorist...I just like to call myself a truth seeker lol. You're damn right I'm going to question EVERYTHING! I don't care how many degrees you have or how much experience you claim to have. I'll hear you out, but I'm going to do my own research before I draw any conclusions. Now that you have that background lol, the food I eat...and all the things they're doing to our food (hormones, genetically modified food, pesticides, processed foods, etc.)...have motivated me to take a closer look at what I'm eating and how it affects my health. I've watched a ton of documentaries, read a plethora of articles, and scoured googobs of health websites and blogs over the past 5 or more years. My mom is the only person in life I've ever heard use the word googob lol. Anyway, I have come to believe that a lot of the diseases and health issues people suffer with today can be solved by simply changing their diet. I wish I could remember the first documentary I watched years ago that opened my eyes to this world. It was about how there's all this research that shows you can cure cancer through diet...that cancer is a vitamin deficiency. Looking into stuff like this will piss you off. All these people getting burnt, drugged and cut up and all they had to do was change how they ate? But we all know what that'$ about. Very interesting stuff and you can find information like this in tons of places.

As a country, we eat pretty crappy and it shows in our health statistics compared to other parts of the world that aren't so McDonalds-laden lol. I don't want to be a part of that number. To start my journey to good health, I'm going to do a juice fast. Let me stop and throw this random point in here. Just because you're skinny, doesn't mean you're healthy. There have been times when I stated I wanted to exercise more and eat right and people would look at me like..why? lol. Am I supposed to just disregard my health because I'm not overweight? I can get diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, etc. just like anyone else. Back to the juice fast...I just want to start over with a clean slate and I decided to do it through juicing. I've been juicing for a while, just never for a fast. I'm still trying to decide how long it should be and when I should start. It's definitely going to be after the 4th of July. I have cookouts to attend lol.

I also cut out pork and milk the beginning of this year...the result of some other research. I never really was a huge fan of milk itself but I loooooooove me some cereal. It's like the best meal ever lol. I now use vanilla almond milk instead. I'll likely eat other meats and dairy products for the rest of my life lol...just in much smaller quantities and frequency. I don't want to be a vegan or vegetarian...I don't think. I got the idea to do a juice fast from this documentary I watched not too long called "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead"...which, I posted below for your viewing pleasure :). HBO also had a good documentary on health in America called "The Weight of the Nation". You can still view it on HBO GO. I'm not sure about HBO On Demand...don't have that luxury lol. I would think you could, however, if it's on HBO GO. I'm going to keep track of any differences I see and share my juice/smoothie recipes when I get all of that together. My motivation is to live a healthy, full life...can't necessarily guarantee length lol...but I want to be full of energy and a vivrant thang 'til I go lol. I look at some older people and see all that they have to go through and how many suffer from the choices that they made in their youth and it motivates me to make changes for the better NOW. That documentary I mentioned...