Void of Inspiration

A Town of Ghosts

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Author

After a night in Barstow to recover from the drive through California, Craig and I decided it would be fun for Halloween to stop in Calico, a ghost town. It made for some excellent pictures and a great experience! However we needed to make some good tracks, which we did, all the way to Las Vegas, Nevada. Thoroughly exhausted, I opted for an immediate nap upon arriving. After I awoke, I went out on the town to snap some more photos for we would be promptly leaving in the morning.

The Start of Another Long Journey

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Author

Back to San Francisco it is for Void. Taking a break from photography, painting and blogging has started to take a toll on creative processes, though Halloween was right around the corner which made for excellent observations of people on the move throughout the city dressed in their best creations. After hanging out in front of the murals I had painted on the walls of the smoking lounge, I was told by a fellow traveler that she was here at the beginning of the year and remembers the girl who painted the murals – claiming it was one of her friends. Stunned by the sudden realization that I did not know who she was and am in fact the actual artist she apologized for whoever had lied to her which I found hysterical. No worries however, people make false claims all the time – but this one would be undeniable as I have photographed and sketched proof of my work.

Being that I was on my way home, I was in need of a ride. After 38 flights, I was quite exhausted. So, opting for ground travel instead, I called Craig who started his 3,200 mile journey across the United States to pick me up and drive me back to my home in New York City. In the meantime however, I had a bit of time to get back into the swing of things – or so I hoped.

I had the pleasure to meet up with a friend that I had met on the plane from Hawaii to Tucson at the beginning of the year – Patrick. He lives in San Francisco where he attends college studying photography. We had a wonderful time hanging out in Dolores Park with his friends – and mine as well who had stopped by. Later in the week I had the privilege of listening to Chris and his friends jam out, but this time in a studio they rented. It has been a very long time since I have been around to listen to their amazing improvisational sounds.

An employee that worked in the building I had painted the murals in approached me about painting the cover of a card he had picked up at a local shop. It consisted of two children dressed in old fashioned clothing which he wanted to present to his girlfriend as a unique gift. He offered to pay for the painting but I gave him the impression that I may not be able to finish it on time – which was actually the case. However, the look and love in his eyes explained it all. I ventured out to my favorite art supply store and picked up some canvas. Over a two day period I made sure that it came out as good as it could be for a few hours of work. I had left it for him at the front desk as I started on my road trip and hoped that it would reach him while I was away.

Within a few days Craig had succeeded in his trip across the USA. I hopped in his convertible and off we went – the next destination would be Barstow, California, making our way to Las Vegas, Nevada and onward home.

“…or perhaps it was only that the desire of life moves in cycles was returning – any sort of life.”
– Graham Greene, The Power And The Glory

“One had to begin with a “simplification and reduction of the results of previous investigations to a form in which the mind can grasp them.””
– James Clerk Maxwell, found in Tor Norretranders’ The User Illusion

“Information is a measure of randomness because randomness is a measure of disorder: something that is difficult to describe.”
– Tor Norretranders, The User Illusion

Round-The-World-Success-!

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Author

After some long flights and long layovers, I finally arrived on the Big Island of Hawaii – marking the completion of my round-the-world trip! Lucky for me, JT was able to hang out all week in Hilo!

We started out by returning Pele, which is the lava rock that I picked up to take with me around the world. Pele is the fire goddess of Hawaii who gives bad luck to those who take a piece of lava from the island without intention of returning it. Well, when I left, I made sure to promise her that I will return her after my trip in return for good luck. All through my trip, which has had its ups and downs, it has been coming out pretty even. Nothing suggests it was extraordinary nor a failure. JT insists it was because she didn’t know if I was serious in returning her. Now that I have returned her, my luck will change.

I left her on a much larger lava rock, where I had originally picked her up from, and swore that I would take her again if I returned in a few days and she was still there. I did indeed come back a few days later, only to see that she had left. JT picked up another lava rock, handed it to me and said that this is the next one I will be returning to the island.

Now is the time for my good luck, since Pele knows that I honored my promises to her before and I will honor her again with this one. I have this great feeling I will be spending my life trying desperately to return a rock to an island in the Pacific. All through my trip I have told people “I just need to get back to Hawaii” without really explaining to them that it was because I needed to return this piece of lava to where I had taken it from.

Hopefully, this marks the beginning to good luck for many more awesome adventures! We finished off the week with many laughs, lots of friends, lots and lots of kava, as well as many lazy yet memorable nights sitting out on the lanai.