TL:DR- Vending is a rites-of-passage for most professional artists in Philly.  What energies and exchanges result from the experience?   


Let's start with a number- 4.  That's how many years I've been a pro (an adj. that implies a level of mastery and presumption).   Art vending has to be both my least and favorite thing to do. I experience the open air and strong sunlight, and I see with my own eyes how a real-world art display stacks up to how I show it online.  

When I vend on First Friday (8/1/2014), I hope absorb something new from the energy around me and the people I meet.

TL:DR- Working with Intuitive Expressions, E. Malaika Collier, and UArts-trained dancers, we created a mini-fantasy of cherry blossoms, movement and expression.  

Happy springtime, people. 

If I have one rule, it's usually that I don't paint flowers.  To me, it's because they don't have enough kinetic energy- the thing that I love painting the most.  Last Friday, however, I broke that rule, with really interesting results.  I had help with it, too.  

Working together,  Elpea Art, Intuitive Expressions, E. Malaika Collier and UArts dance trainees did a exhibit at the African American Museum of Philadelphia (AAMP)'s upscale charity gala last Friday the 28th.  The preparation process was pretty intense from start to finish. 

Hi there.

First off, thanks for reading this blog.  Most likely, we've met in some art event in the past month, or on the street, or by pure chance.  In this entry, I'll talk about what collaboration between artists can be and how it is crucial to helping the community as a whole grow and change for the better.  

Openness and working together are qualities that we need to promote more often within the Philly art community- too often, we hole ourselves up in our studios and only venture to interact with the outside world when we want to have somebody buy our stuff. To be honest, though,  maybe I'm speaking for myself… still, I don't see artists teaming up on a project together too often.  And it's a real shame.  

The artists that I worked with to start this are eternally in my heart, and I'm ready to share some of their names here:

Kitakiya Dennis
Steve Peters
Wes Gilbert
Feya Sterling
Althea Taylor
Some superfans also came out to support, including Manny Marzzallino, Yo Kene, and Ren Liam. Thanks again for your support. 

​Now, onto the process itself...