It’s fair to say that I love my work. [Some people might suggest it would also be fair to say that I'm a filthy, antisocial art hermit, but we won't listen to them, no.] Painting, drawing, writing, shooting – all of it, love. But making time for actual lifestuff has become a vital aspect of my existence over the past two years. I’m increasingly fascinated with the idea of superior time-management – of finding my ideal balance between work and life and uninterrupted time to be filled with reading, exercise, movies, meditation and whatever else I might want that day. I’m still too busy to journal, for the most part, so I’m taking more care to otherwise document. Here is a resulting collection of non-work moments, people and things that made me happy over the past week or so.

Sunny weekend mornings with Ales and a house that’s finally in order after a month of sick and busy.

Micron and her new observation deck atop a cabinet.

Vivka and

her tiny Tesla.

New Lung Ta flags – a set of three sent in a care package from Tibet.

Hilarious party times that end up in LA Weekly.

And, of course, 4AM Denny’s photoshoots with Clint Catalyst.

The Criterion edition of Videodrome.

Night wine [and rare filet mignon, not pictured] with friends.

                          

Good morning! Closer to noon here, actually, as I’ve managed to inexplicably sleep past 10 for the second day in a row. After several minutes of cold-sweat-panic and confusion, I’m now enjoying it with a mug of homemade mocha and a pile of photos to dig through. First up, a few shots from the Conjoined reception. Above is me with my paintings – don’t let the squintface fool you, it was a super-fun night! To finally finish not one, but two paintings after five [!] years, and to exhibit them in such great company felt fantastic. More shots from the reception below.

Kevin Kirkpatrick’s Beavis and Butthead in Real Life

The Fast Supper by Jason Hite

Actaeon by Michael Shawn McCracken

Sculpture by Meats Meier

Conjoined 2 by Chet Zar

Many, many more photos and an article I wrote about the exhibit are up on Chinashop. LA Weekly has a piece on Conjoined 2 as well, with a few words from Chet Zar, Kevin Kirkpatric and myself.

In all the excitement I ran out of time to document my outfit that night, but it included black Galaxy leggings from Black Milk, Trish Summerville platforms from H & M, the black and grey GHST RDR jacket and milky blue opalite jewelry.

I’ll try to be more vigilant with outfit documentation in the future. For now, I have tattoo commissions and a very serious post office mission to attend to.

                          

I’m taking the day off work to get the home base in some semblance of order. Our being sick and insanely busy this month has it looking like a circus tent exploded on the premises. But first, photos, taken by myself and Stephanie, from a little post-Conjoined afterparty. There was Nancy Reagan’s mac-n-cheese with bacon, wine and introducing friends to the horrors of Visitor Q. Also cheeze piggies and zesty puppies. I have photos and impressions from the show itself to go through, but that will happen later. For now, gaze upon late-night bohemian debauchery, starring Stephanie Inagaki, Ulorin Vex, Ales Kot, Taslimur and Aaron Hawks.

                          

The past few days have been filled with shoots and interviews and catching up with some of the ridiculously talented people I’m glad to call friends in the midst of it all, while ferociously digging into One Hundred Years of Solitude. On page 180 now. Today I’m diving back into a painting, in hopes of being able to wrap by the 18th. Time for serious caffeination and concentration.

This is from my documentation of the Silverlake Zombie thing a couple of months ago. Maybe the best photo I’ve ever taken.

Art dog, arting.

With miss Slinky Orangina of Bubbles and Frown after exploring her showroom. The photos and our interview are up on Chinashop now!

Purple velvet cupcakes!

Documented LA’s 4th annual No Pants Metro Ride and managed, miraculously, to keep my pants on. Maybe next time! More photos and write-up, here.

Visited the mysterious and baby-hungry Mildred Von Hildegard at Mother of London HQ. Our interview coming soon to a Chinashop near you.

Blue bathroom at Pillarbox Studios.

A miniscule sampling of Tracey and Brian‘s vast vintage robot collection.

A peek at some of the magic that goes into Miyu Decay. Yes indeed, there is an interview in the works!

F

Headdress by Bubbles and Frown.

                          

All I knew about my New Year’s present from Ales was that it was something spectacular. Every time we had guests in December, he’d take them to his laptop and conspiratorially show them, to the sound of inevitable WOWs.

It didn’t arrive -in two big, heavy boxes carried by grumpy UPS employees-  until the two days prior to NYE. Our friends Allan and Ulorin came over for the big reveal, which elevated the suspense to a fever pitch. I battled layers of cardboard and styrofoam in a pair of rather impractical heels until…

…a massive, gorgeous, sparkly-black telescope emerged. The women observed and fetched sustenance while the men labored to construct the beast.

It was all very manly.

I can honestly say this is the best present I’ve ever received and wish The Incomparable Ales lots of luck in topping it. I still squeal with delight every time I feast my eyes upon this glorious machine.

It’s a full moon tonight – hopefully the sky will be clear enough to get a closer look!

                          

Over the past month I’ve been busy working on D4RT and trying to keep up with commissions, so it’s been a challenge to stay on track with my streamlined routine – I can’t say that there haven’t been days of slipping into the over-caffeinated, under-hydrated work mode, but I’m adapting and managing to squeeze some life and fun in between all that work. Let’s play a game of breakneck catch-up, shall we?

THIS WEEK

On Monday, Cris and I went out to the Venice to photograph life coach and super-inspiration, Carol Segrave.

Cris asked me to do make-up, which is exactly what I did.

I loved being around someone so full of lifezest and amazing stories. Carol’s website is being rebuilt at the moment so I can’t link you yet, but! A sneak peek:

Yes, this woman is 69 years old.

That night, Monday was made complete by an Active Child performance.

One of my favorite musical discoveries this year, alongside The Irrepressibles, and they have an Echo Monday residency all month. Chances are I’ll be going again next Monday and the Monday after that. Here is why:

Tuesday’s tattoo commission:

LAST WEEK

On Monday, Clint, Robert and I went out to Mr. Black for Lina Lecaro’s Wizard-of-Oz-themed birthday and website launch bash.

Between the VIP table [complete with free cocktails] and the sweaty, happy, writhing dance floor, I had an amazing time. Truly, I need more dancing in my life.

With the birthday girl.

Check out Lina’s photos of her magical night.

I’ve been lamenting not having enough friend-time so Ales and I hosted a Saturday garden screening of Videodrome, thanks to a borrowed projector and a sheet hung over our fence. I took exactly zero pictures, but here is an Instragram photo from Jason.

Friends brought chairs and snacks, and I made a massive tub of guacamole, which was miraculously devoured in its entirety.

Further proof:

The last guests left around 4am.

And finally, David Graves has uploaded some infrared portraits he took of me well over a year ago. These two are my favorites.

A good note to end on! Until very soon.

                          

Last week, Lumi and I wandered around a secret ghost town, peeking into dusty windows, twisting rusted doorknobs and climbing crumbling rooftops. We sat under an ancient tree and talked about Buddhism, among other things. We also rolled down a grassy hill, microscopic cuts reminding us of our indiscretion for the rest of the day – a perfect day of stillness and awe. And itchy arms.

                          

Me, running on wet sand in Malibu. Photo by Stephanie Inagaki.

My purple make up brushes. Photo by Stephanie Inagaki.

                          

Los Angeles, summer 2011
Models: Michael Hans Schelb and Mark Splatter

                          

Last weekend, a bunch of friends and I packed our finest bikinis, meats and libations to spend a weekend in Hicksville – a desert “trailer palace” in Joshua Tree. Now, Hicksville is my new favorite place for glamping – that’s glamour-camping to you.

Why glamping at Hicksville is good: you get the desert, a fire pit, s’mores and cooking under the infinite stars, but you also get a salt water swimming pool, a rooftop jacuzzi, WiFi, plumbing and adorable themed trailers, each with its own design and story.

We stayed at The Sweet, a psychedelic, chromed out Airstream:

Check out these other wonder-buggies up for grabs.

My favorite aspect of this trip -besides being in the desert, which I have loved long and hard- was, by far, the pool, where I spent actual hours. Verdell liked it, too.

As did everyone else.

Ales got in touch with his inner cowboy,

and scouted the desert terrain for snakes and anthills,

between hot tub sessions and grillin’.

We also made gourmet sandwiches, about which I will tell you in the next installment of Mmmf!

And lost goth points by languidly roasting in the sun.

But gained a few back by burning the midnight oil alongside marshmallows. That counts, right?

On the way home after two days of sun, water and grilled meat, we stopped in Yucca Valley to visit a novelty and comic book shop called HooDoo. I made off with a vintage Alien Sex Fiend T-shirt, an ’87 edition of William Gibson’s Burning Chrome, and a beat-up Tank Girl #2, thus officially making the trip a success.

Mhmm, loved and needed this mini-vacation, and want to do it again, soon. A ton more photos await after the jump!

                          

Two weekends ago, my friends Marz and Adria had a double birthday/housewarming party. The theme was a fancy, multi-referential shipwreck, with tropical drinks, all manner of costumes, grillin’, oysters, water fun and, eventually, dancing – all against a backdrop of a perfect Woodland Hills view. I only took pictures in the first hour or two and hid my camera away for safety when more peeps started to show up.

Our hostess, Marz

Rickie, Marz and I playing dress-up

Adrianne enjoyed inflating this palm tree

Malcolm, terrorizing Rickie

Marz and I shucked these oysters. Then we ate them.

Hebrew beer – curiously delicious

Adria took this picture

                          

I’m in the process of releasing several exciting new merch items into the world, dyeing my hair, planning my trip to Italy and France next week [oh god], and scrambling to catch up on a month worth of work. Still, I’m intent on updating more. First up, a few outtakes from our trip to WonderCon, in San Francisco. I have a couple of related galleries coming to Chinashop sometime next week, as well.

Somewhere between LA and SF, nestled in one of those flat, open spaces between cow farms and vineyards, there is a diner decorated with vintage lunch boxes and thermoses.

It’s also home to a delicious peach milkshake and a less delicious peach pie.

We’re told the pie is actually legendary, but ours came without the bottom crust, which was apparently left behind, burned to the baking pan, with no comment from the staff.

Sleepy kitty.

Yoda overlooks a fountain outside of LucasFilms HQ.

Some of the best mussels I’ve ever had.

Eso, in Golden Gate Park. The park tells me I should consider relocating.

                          

If you’re just tuning into the Internet, Warren Ellis is a writer, a wise curator of the whole wide web, and an a lovely [questionably human] being. Pretty sure I could still drink him [almost] under the table though.

                          

Epic invitation by Lumi

Once upon a time, Lumi and I had a Valentine’s Day party for the ages. Not just any Valentine’s Day party, mind you – it was called “L’amour Epineux” and our tag-line was, “Love Hurts”.

The party celebrated every V-Day cliche and was vaguely fetish-themed, from what I recall. A [cough] trained butler was on hand to take coats and serve refreshments. We had all manner of food and desert and party favors, too – among them light bulbs with tiny Cupids inside. It was campy as hell, and beautiful and decadent and I [somehow] remember every glittering second.

Seeing the photos now almost feels like looking into another dimension, and yet this is the perfect time to post them because I have dubbed 2011 The Year of Metamorphosis. It’s marked so many ends and beginnings already, and featuring these pictures from 2006 allows me to put a neat little bow on that time capsule and fondly set it aside, one in a row of many.

Enjoy!

Fake Peter Steel is actually Jhonen. A girl can dream!

                          

Flyer by Courtney Riot

I will be reading a short autobiographical piece about some of my amusing experiences with the Other Side. I’m especially excited to be appearing alongside Jillian Lauren, the best-selling author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, who’ll be reading as well.

We’ve just listed the event on FB, so if you plan on attending, make it known, and be sure to RSVP: Rich Royal [at] Palihouse [dot] com

It’s going to be a beautiful night, and I hope to see you all there.

Image: Brian Landes of Ready Aim Fire + Make-Up: Annah of BelleFace.com

Rich Royal + Zoetica Ebb + Clint Catalyst

                          

On Saturday, roughly six months after we moved in, Ales and I had a little rocket-warming party to celebrate what’s finally beginning to feel like home. We don’t have people over too often, so I decided to feed our friends in addition the customary alcoholic offerings. Being nowhere near the expert level necessary to hold a full on dinner party for thirty people, hors d’œuvres seemed the most reasonable plan of action.

Let me preface the rest by saying that, though I’ve prepared some of these things before, I have never prepared this much food for a party, certainly not on my own. I gave myself four hours to get it all done and to get dressed, which was not enough time. Fortunately, I have lovely friends who helped! Next time [and hell yes, there will be a next time], I’ll probably begin everything six hours prior, to be on the safe site. On to the menu!

Cucumber and goat cheese sandwiches

This is exactly what it sounds like. It’s my spin on the classic cucumber sandwich, which is usually made with cream cheese. Just cover two pieces of bread with goat cheese, add a layer of peeled cucumber slices in between, cut off crust and then cut in two. Super easy, kind of time consuming. Worth it.

Deviled eggs with smoked paprika

• Boil ten eggs for 15 minutes, then peel and slice in half
• In a bowl, combine yolks with mayo, mustard powder and black pepper. Sometimes I use cayenne pepper, instead.
• Using whatever you can, fill the whites with yolk mixture. Some people have special filling thingies, but we cut a hole in a ziplock bag.
• Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Done!

Spam Musubi

I fucking LOVE this Hawaiian dish. I loosely followed this recipe, adding Siracha to the sauce [AMAZING] and skipping the rice wine. Also, I just rinsed the rice 4 times and cooked it as usual in the rice cooker, and since I don’t own a musubi press, I used a wide rice spatula to compact the rice. Do it. This will take about an hour and is, once again,  completely worth it. Even Courtney, who had said that there is no way she will eat Spam, was into it.

Bacon-wrapped dates

• Wrap pitted dates in uncured bacon, securing with a toothpick. You can stuff the dates with goat cheese beforehand, but I didn’t this time, because we were also serving fondue, and I wanted to have a lactose-free item.
• Heat over to 350 F, bake for 20 minutes. Dassall.

Also on the menu:

• Trader Joe’s pigs in blankets with TJ’s organic BBQ sauce on the side
• TJ’s beer fondue – this is amazing. It comes in a bag, and though you may say to yourself, “Do I really want to eat something that comes from a bag?”, yes, yes you do. We had sliced apples and French bread for dippin’.
• Truffles
• Black seedless grapes

Overall, it was all fairly simple, the only snag being time. Nothing burned and all the food was consumed with rave reviews, save for a few apple slices and the three truffles in the picture above.

                          

The crimson-locked siren below is my friend, Stephanie Inagaki. Stephanie is an artist and head designer of coveted jewelry label, Miyu Decay.

Stephanie has very, very, very long hair. A few weeks ago she called me up and asked if I could dye it red. All of it. I laughed, hung up, caught my breath and called back, saying that I’ll dye some of it, but that’s the best I can offer. So we got to work and took a few photos in the process, to show you how it’s done.

A lot of peeps with super-long hair are anxious about adding streaks themselves, but I’m here to tell you you don’t need no steenkin’ salon if you’ve got a few hours and an extra pair of hands around. The method below should also be useful for other hair lengths.

THE TOOLS

• Plastic bowl
• Dye applicator brush
• Rubber gloves
• Aluminum foil
• Plastic wrap
• Hair clips
• 40 volume creme developer
• Clear Blue powder bleach
• Manic Panic hair color
• Deep conditioner
• Red wine, fresh bread, fine cheeses and gourmet hummus help, but are not necessary

THE METHOD
• Mix up your bleach and developer
• Separate the section of hair to be dyed
• Please foil under the section
• Have the dye-ee hold the foil, while the dye-er diligently applies bleach mix
• Once all desired hair is well-saturated with bleach, fold foil over, then roll up

• Cover foiled chunk with plastic wrap re prevent drip, then clip in place
• Wait no more than 45 minutes, then shampoo and rinse

• Repeat if necessary

• Shampoo well, but do not condition
• Using the same foil technique, apply dye, and roll up

• Rinse dye out with cold water, until it runs clear, or almost clear
• Pile on the deep conditioner, and leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes – your hair’s been through a lot
• Rinse with cold water, and you’re all done!
• The desired level of lightness depends on what color you intend to use after. Reds and oranges require the least amount of bleaching, but lighter, cooler colors need more
• Leave dye on for at least an hour and a half. Since we’re using vegetable dye, this is safe because it stains your hair without damage

Because we dyed the entire top section of Stepahine’s hair, when worn down it gives the look of individual streaks. And that’s how you save your time, your money, and your sanity by avoiding the salon. Until the future!

                          

Still busy, however! Last week, Clint Catalyst and I jumped into a rented Escalade, zoomed downtown, haphazardly strapped Clint into a chain harness [these things are unrelated], and attended what was likely LA Fashion Week’s best night: the Ashton Michael, Skingraft, and Anthony Franco triple threat show.

Coverage here, a few pictures below, and more after the jump. Do enjoy!

The upstairs lobby of the gorgeous LA Stock Exchange was transformed into a glowing bar, serving up popcorn, tiny cupcakes, candy and beglittered blue drinks.

Skingraft stole the show, opening with a stunning video montage.

Reportedly inspired by ghosts and Africa, this collection was decidedly more necro-futurist than Skingraft’s trademark aero-tribalist. See what I did there? SRS FSHN JRNLZM.

Last year’s military and aviation gear, feathers and buckles gave way to somber head wraps, leather hoods, and minimal draping, much to my delight.

It was a very special night, as evidenced here and here.

Once again, you can read my coverage of the entire show here and see the full gallery after the jump, below.

                          

• Molly Crabapple’s second round of designs for Dirtee Hollywood is coming soon, and includes a shirt with a drawing of me with a very large powder puff from my last trip to NYC.

• If you haven’t seen Amelia Arsenic’s new T-shirt collection, A is For Arsenic, for the love of all that is dark and fashionable, do so now. In addition to these shirts being beautifully-designed, the packaging is to die for. It took me actual weeks to get rid of the box my shirt and bag came in.

• And! I’m excited to have one of my designs be part of Wiloh’s new line in a couple of different styles, out 10/10/10 [that's next Sunday!]. Wiloh donates a T-shirt to an underprivileged kid with every T-shirt sold, and that’s pretty damn swell. I can’t show you the whole thing yet,  but here’s a sneak peek:

                          

Finally, a moment to wade through the hundreds of San Francisco photos. I managed to get this round down to under 100, but it must stop here. It’s been over an hour! I’ve hand-picked a few favorites for the post, and the rest are under the jump in a gallery. To navigate, click an image and then use the bar at the bottom of the window. To start off, here is a photo strip from a booth at the Musee Mechanique. I took a quadrillion photo inside, too, but those are a whole other monster, to be dealt with later, maybe. Maybe.

Jon, Ginny, Shane, and me.

Ginny and I took the scenic route, and took our time, instead of gunning it down the 5 as usual LA –> SF protocol dictates. Our drive took about 7 hours, and it was far more pleasant than usual.

We stopped at the Madonna Inn, hoping for lunch. While waiting for their restaurant to open, we wandered around the halls and gift shops, marveling at the gaudy splendor and avoiding creepy dudes. The restaurant alone made me feel like I’ve died and gone to Vegas.

The hot pink, holographic bathroom did, too.

Some dark, especially Russian part of me was interested in this goblet. I’m weak before anything resembling gasoline spills. Managed to resist.

Self-explanatory:

Upon our arrival at Jon’s we invited Eso over and had a slumber party. Jon gave us stuffed sharks for pillows, which we nearly pilfered. So soft! So shark-like! Fortunately for Jon these items classify as “clutter” and aren’t allowed in my home. Adorable clutter.

After a night of sleeping bags and giggling, we ventured out for French breakfast, where I had the most beautiful French toast.

Then off to the water, to visit the aforementioned Musee Mechanique.

Here is Ginny kindly modeling a monkey hat enroute to the Musee.

A mind-blowing martini at the top of the city:

Ginny and Jon, anticipating cocktails.

Later that very night: Little Sheep Mongolian hot pot, wherein I discovered a spice I’ve never tasted.

Perhaps you can help me out. What makes your entire mouth go numb, then sour, then salty? When we asked the restaurant staff they claimed it was white peppercorn, but there just ain’t no way. It looked like this:

And this here is a flaming skull.

The next morning came much too  soon and looked approximately like this:

And now I take my leave. Click the jump for 70+ pictures, if you dare!

                          

When you get together with out-of-town friends, it best be memorable. This is precisely why I decided to join my usually remote comrades Gala, Nubby, Amy, Kevin, and Danielle at Disneyland. It had been years since my previous visit, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew there would be rides and crowds, but would I still have fun after the initial shock of colors and people wore off?

I took a billion photos [we all did, naturally] which are now up along with the write up, on Chinashop. See hilarious mouse-ear hats! Watch Nubby and Gala do unmentionable things with pickles while I attempt to ingest two corn dogs at once! It’s all here for you, in Disneyland Adventurefun!

Trying to think of what my favorite part of the day was, I just can’t pick. There is something so hilariously perverse about coming back to Disneyland after ten years, knowing the last time you were here as a rambunctious youth you ate a mouthful of mushrooms and talked to the teacups. If you haven’t already, click here to see the whole set!

I will say though, this bubble gun I stole from Gala is still bringing me the happies.

                          

Now, some photos from a couple of months back that I stole from Amy’s blog. This was when Shien of Dances of Vice NYC and Amy of Sugarpill Cosmetics were in town and we went dancing at Mustache Mondays. I wasn’t planning on going out so I’m not dressed up like the rest of these hussies, but do notice my Molly Crabapple mermaid tank top from Dirtee Hollywood!

                          

Please join me and featured performer Clint Catalyst at what’s sure to be an unforgettable night of delights and debauchery. This installment’s theme is “The Best Little Whorehouse in Los Angeles”, time to bust out those tassels and spurs!

The Poetry Brothel
House of Blues, Foundation Room
8430 West Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA
Doors at 8:00 p.m.; event concludes at 11:59 p.m.
21 & over, w/valid I.D.
$15 at the door, $10 with RSVP via thepoetrybrothelrsvp@gmail.com
or via Facebook

I’ll be covering and shooting for Chinashop, so come say hello and get your soul eaten picture taken. More about the event beyond the jump:

Join us on June 5th for steamy readings, cold drinks and lovely ladies performing burlesque for your titillation. In the old fashioned style of everyone’s favorite Dolly Parton flick, dress to the nines and get ready to be sauced and saucy.

All of the resident ‘whores’ are available for these sequestered readings at any time during the event. Of course, any good brothel need a furtive ‘front’ or cover; ours is part saloon and part salon, offering a full bar with music, burlesque dancing, fortune-tellers, and installations from our poets and other artists at each event. [In addition to the featured readers], each night we will also introduce several “New Girls”…[performers] who punctuate the evening with a few special public performances.

Featured performers: Clint Catalyst and Julia Voth
Featured visual artists: Joshua Burian Mohr and Zoetica Ebb
Music provided by Daniel Ribiat

Bringing a new twist to the tradition of poetry reading, The Poetry Brothel showcases a diverse roster of emerging and established poets. Our events are also interactive performance art pieces based on the concept of the prewar brothels in the United States and Europe.

This is going to be good.