On Behalf of All of the Artists Who Have Been Ripped Off or Had to Fight to Get Paid!

Well Boys and Girls, who knew I would be back again so soon? I certainly didn't think so, but a dear friend's distress has caused me to have the motivation to storm and thunder about something that probably every .working artist has had to deal with, that being in the uncomfortable position of having to fight to be paid. There are precious few of us that are lucky enough to make a living from being an artist. Even though we think of ourselves as "artists", we often have to delegate it to our second job, because we still have to pay bills. We are different. It takes us time to produce a piece, and every piece has a piece of us. I wish I could be a surgeon and whip out a couple of gallbladders, an appendix here and there, pull out a couple of babies, or lift a few faces each week and have more than enough for both gas money and a beach house, but alas, I got the art gene. There is no even playing field, but here is some information for everyone: I have a mortgage, I have an electric bill, I eat and so does my family, I have the urge to wear clothes--some even brand new, I want a vacation, health care, and a pension! I want to impulse buy, get my hair done just for fun, buy surprise gifts for my husband, and go to restaurants even when it is no one's birthday! I went to college for NINE years, yes NINE!!!! I want a vacation home! Why do I have to be dead to be worth enough to have these things!!!! Our work matters as much as everyone else's, and when you commission something from one of us, it is not only a service, it is a verbal contract. We are not frivolous. Is your plumber a joke? If you don't have the money to pay us, don't order something. A deposit is not the whole price and we won't "forget" that it is only half paid for. We are just like other services that repair, we just repair your soul. If God had given me a choice, I might still choose to be an Artist because let's face it, we have a lot of fun. But there has to be some kind of payback for not being taken seriously a lot of the time. I just might punch the next person who asks me if I am an artist because I couldn't do anything else, or the person who is standing in front of me saying that they don't understand why they should buy one of my pieces at a fair price when they can go to Walmart and buy a big "picture' for only twenty dollars. You want to know why a lot of artists are kind of crazy? Look in the mirror. If we lived in France we would be revered, here we are just trying to survive. The conclusion is that there has to be some re-conditioning, you might consider art a luxury, but artist do not live a luxurious life. Pay us, damn it!

Emerging from the Ashes!!!!

Well Boys and Girls, When last I left you, I was dissolved by the Governor, I had lost my studio, no work was coming in, and I was scared! And guess what? It got worse! Last year was a veritable buffet of Cancer, Nagy's heart attack, and then pneumonia. We bought the shaved ice cart, and it saved our house, but it was really hard work and beat us up both physically and mentally. I started the Goodie business, and that paid the bills, too, but more backbreaking work. I don't want to just sit around, but I want to feel like I have accomplished something. Then, even though I had been trying all along, I decided I wasn't going to take "no" for an answer, and decided to become a guerilla artist! I went after everything! Slowly, the sun broke through the clouds (perhaps because it was afraid of me!) The last guitar on Sunset Strip broke the auction record, I got another one, I got not one, but two mural commissions, I joined the mural initiative, and the San Fernando Valley Arts Council, and I am back! Whether this is purely delusional, or I have really re-emerged, I am feeling pretty good these days! I must say, that in the last couple of months, I have met and made friends with a lot of new people who are wonderful. They are artists and it is wonderful to have a peer group of people that are within driving distance. I actually have some place to go sometimes now! Now, if I could just get my horsie to mosaic, life will be perfect. The very best thing is that I am embarking on what will be the most important work of my life, which will be a National Anti-War Memorial. It seems like we have found a place to put it, and now begins the funding finding! There will be a solicitation soon! I am partnered with John Kosh, who was the Art Director for the Beatles, among other astounding accomplishments. He is inspirational just to be around. We are going to try something new, which is to send an open message to the public so that big donors won't be able to censor the content of our piece. Stay tuned for more. So, I have bounced back. I am still trying to not be let down when people tell you one thing and do another, but given a choice I would be the same because the opposite of sensitivity is bitterness, and don't want to go down that road, ever. I will stay a marshmallow. Off we go to a new chapter, and I am getting up there, so I am trying to make these count for something. I love a lot of people, and am lucky that they have stayed with me. Stay tuned, I won't be gone so long this time.

Sad revelations

Well, last night I had a show at Mel's Diner on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. I invited about 450 people, and 15 showed up. I was supposed to have the support of the West Hollywood Business Association, no one showed up. I was really sad that I didn't really sell anything, especially since I thought I did the best work of my life, but most of all, I was hurt more than I can say, because quite a few people told me they would come, and then, nothing. I am pretty sure I am going to quit making art now. With the investment in materials and all that goes with putting a show together, I cannot afford my studio anymore, so I guess it will be closing. I think my heart is broken and I don't have anything witty to say. More than losing my investment, and closing my business, the pain comes from knowing that people I thought were my friends didn't even care enough to show up. I feel like a fool, and that is the worst. I guess my advice is to really look at someone who is smiling at you because they just might be pressing their lips together so that they don't laugh at you out loud. Keep safe everyone.

I'm baaacccckkkkk!!!

Guess who has short term memory loss and forgot that she had a blog??? You guessed it, me! I haven't written in a while, but I am back now, so watch out! Since my last writing, I have done another of those 10' guitars for Gibson, and this one is in front of Mel's Diner on the Sunset Strip. It was a lot of fun to do, just like the last one, because they give you complete creative freedom. I was supposed to get to do Stevie Nicks next, but they changed their minds. I had it all figured out, and think mine would have been pretty good, but who knows? The best part was delivering the finished piece in my PT Cruiser! So now it is summer. For those ou you who do not kow, we have a shaved ice cart now! It is called "Summer Snow Shaved Ice". The best part is that I can have it for free any time I want to. The worst part is that I have to make the syrup for the shaved ice and there are 21 flavors and it takes a long time to make! Nagy likes being a shaved-ice mogel. If you hear of any festivals or want a private party, let me know! We do snowball shots for the grown-ups and that is a crowd pleaser! We still have our crazy dogs! Lizzy the golden with six toes, and Winky the one-eyed Malti-Poo. We are their slaves, but they really do entertain us. God knows, they are cheaper than children! I haven't really had many adventures lately. I did go to Florida for a week in December. I have to say that Sarasota was pretty amazing. Now I know that there are people who do not share this opinion, but I am from a circus family, so I probably see it a little differently. The Ringling Estate was pretty amazing. A circus museum, a world-class art museum, and a mansion with great architecture, all in one place! Then St. Armand's Key where the Circus Ring of Fame is, and seeing my parent's name there. On top of that, gourmet Cuban food. I was in my happy place! I worry about the fact that as I get older I like more movies that involve things blowing up. I am also more fearless as the days go by and am angry that I am too old to go on Amazing Race. I watched them scale down that building, and was soooooo jealous. I did go zip lining in Hawaii last year. Guess that will have to do. I will try to be better at this, and a little more cohesive. I am writing a cookie cookbook right now, and I think the next installment will be about that. Have a great week and try to stay cool and sane!

OMG How did I get in the Middle of this Christmas Hurricane!

Hey guys! I have spent the last 3 days making the pieces for my Christmas gifts to be mostly given out at the annual Martinez-Girgis Christmas debacle, to be held on Saturday! I am actually looking forward to it this year! Since the mini stroke, I have figured out that all food does not have to be personally created by me, and my friends will not hate me for buying chicken made by another. One of the best revelations of my golden years so far!

The granddaughter will be here and that makes it special. She is a well-behaved child, which is all I ask for, and I got it, so the blessings are countd.

Now, I know that while my friends are wildly appreciative of my hand made gifts, the same cannot be said of my children. So I guess that means I will be going shopping next week. Secretly, I have been wanting to go, but just haven't gotten there. I pledge to accomplish this next week!

We are going to lots of good places and parties this year, and they all involve various kinds of food, so life is worth living.

If I don't get back to my masterful writing before Christmas, I hope you have the best one ever and that something special and wonderful happens to all of you during this hopeful holiday season!

Love to all of you!

Thanksgiving is Over!

Well, for those of us on the way to geriatrics, Thanksgiving gets more daunting every year! Now, I am the first one to say that I might get a little more involved with the food process than the average bear, but darn it, they put all those Thanksgiving shows on the food network and it takes a lot of planning to implement all that invalueable knowledge into one meal! It turned out great anyway! We had the granddaughter for the first time and 3 of the 4 boys, and all was well.

So, Nagy and I had this big decision about what to buy early on Black Friday, and at 2am he woke me up and told me we should go. I told him to stick his foot outside of our nice warm covers and if he still wanted to go to let me know. The next thing I knew, it was 9 am and much warmer. I missed getting my hand sliced open like I did in Target last year when that evil person pulled the box out of my hand, but that is for the best. We later tried to go to Target. They were out of what we wanted, but I got some popcorn and soda, and how can that be bad?

When I came home, we got the decorations out of storage. When did I get 11 tubs of Christmas stuff? Of course I will use all of it in my house. Christmas is when God gives we Puerto Ricans permission to be tacky and everyone thinks it's beautiful1! I can't wait! LED lights have given me a new lease on life! Also those three giant snowmen in front of my fireplace! Let it Snow

So now it is time to start planning the annual Christmas Party and debacle. We didn't have it last year because I was pissed off, but I have now bounced back and am perusing caterers!

More blog as the horror that is Christmas continues!

Las Vegas and the Little Moments

Well, it was my birthday last week and so Nagy and I decided to leave the pets with Nicklaus (middle son) and go off to Las Vegas. Because it was a last minute trip, the cheap air was all gone so we went on the GOTO bus. It wasn't that bad. You drive downtown, across the street from the flower market, and get on the bus. It makes one stop, in El Monte, and then goes straight to Las Vegas with a 10 minute rest at a gas station with lots of bathrooms. You end up at the Stratosphere. You leave at 7:45 am and get there at 12:30 pm. Cost: $50 roundtrip. Not too bad. We just had one small duffle bag, so we had no problem on the bus and went down to the Monte Carlo. My favorite hotel site is agoda.com. They have the cheapest prices all over the world, include tax and then you can build credit to use in the future. I love it. Our room with tax at the Monte Carlo was $70 a night. It was big and lush and overlooked the pool area. Another thing it has is a train that you can ride for free and it takes you to the Bellagio. The train runs every 3 minutes and it is like being in a futuristic movie. When you get to the Bellagio, you can walk through it and look at all the stuff you can't afford in the beautiful store windows. There is some pretty beautiful art in there, but the most beautiful thing is the cascade of chocolate at the pattisere. How can you deny molton chocolate flowing from one glass lilypad onto another and in milk and white chocolate. It must have been 15 feet tall and it was amazing.
The best thing that happened to me in Las Vegas was at the Monte Carlo. Nagy was off to play poker, and so I took $20 and went off to my place at the penny machines. I was playing one called "Slotsky", which features Donald Duck characters dressed like Cossacks. It makes lots of noise and is really fun. I put in $5 dollars and had spent about half of it when I hit a small jackpot, but something got caught, and it kept going and going and going up to $59! I knew it was stuck because I got paranoid, smacked it, and it stopped immediately. Now, that may not seem like much if you are playing with quarters, but when you put 9 cents in and get that back, you are a happy camper! So, I cashed it out because I thought it might take back what it gave out and went to another machine, featuring Vampires, which we all know hold a special place in my heart. Believe it or not, on the first 9 cent bet, I hit a $35 jackpot and was now wealthy in pennies. I played about 3 more hours, went to bed with $50 and woke up to find that Nagy had a good night, too! We got back on the bus the next day at 10:30, got to L.A. at 3:30, beat the traffic and got home safely. It was a good time. We found the bus great because we didn't have to deal with airport security garbage, the price was right, and we didn't have the stress of driving. It may not be for everyone, but it was kind of fun, and really economical. Have a great weekend