Hosting Rainy Day Activities at Zerofriends SF
Good news, all you bored, artsy types! Since Bag o' Movies was such a successful event, I will be hosting Live Drawing events every month at the Zerofriends' San Francisco store. Next up: Rainy Day Activities, Saturday, April 5th 12-4pm.
Let's take a quick mental journey back to the 3rd grade. It's four minutes before recess and we are being burdened with the fact that the words "theme" and "scream" may rhyme but this won't help you spell them correctly. Then through the windows you see the skies turn the color of Benicio Del Toro's under-eyes. Rain dumps down, turning our sawdust play area into cold oatmeal. Teacher has to think fast before we begin pulling up the carpets and gnawing on the legs of those pop-top desks the school received only six years previous.
Enter rainy day activities. Indoor fun. Will Mrs. Kirkpatrick direct us in a spirited game of Heads-up 7-up or will she pull out that basket of mostly complete puzzles, Uno decks and pickup Sticks? Nope, this time she hands out sheets of blank paper and tells us to fold them into thirds. Then we break into groups of three and take turns drawing on each section, making sure to not peek until all three parts are done. The big pay-off happens when we unfold the paper to reveal some ridiculous character we all made together. It's sort of like Mad-Libs but with out all the adverbs.
It turns out this drawing game has a name: Exquisite Corpse. Hmmm, sounds kind of fancy and macabre. Anyway, six cool, grown-up artists from the Bay area are getting together to play this game, this Saturday afternoon at Zerofriends SF store in the Lower Haight. Come watch and maybe buy a cheap, collaborative sketch! Here is the line-up.
Lauren YS
Lauren YS is a mind-blowing artist from Denver, Colorado. Lauren now lives in San Francisco so she can "paint the shit out of everything." Lauren is also a contributing writer at Juxtapoz Magazine. Lauren is proof that some people just got "It!"
Michael Slack
Michael Slack, an illustrator and childrens book author from the East Bay. His imagery has been on everything from puzzles to his "gross-out card game, ICK. Check out his latest books, Monkey Truck and Elecopter, through Macmillan publishers.
Iggy Medeiros
Iggy has been a Bay Area artist since 1996. Iggy is inspired by polynesian pop, mid-century Brazilian, American and Latin music, vintage graphic design and toys, cartoons, comics, Poetry, religious imagery, folk art, cultural anthropology and history.
Josh Ellingson
Josh Ellingson is an illustrator living in San Francisco. His art has adorned tequila bottles, Burlesque show posters, a fricking space station, and your BART ride. He has done some epic series of daily sketches too, like The Daily Slimer and Drunk Tweets.
Josh Thurman
Josh Thurman is a young Caricaturist studying illustration at Academy of Art University. We like this lad a lot.
Watch out for this guy! He's already been practicing for the event on Starbucks napkins.
Ben Walker
And ME!!
(For more about me, see the rest of this web site.)
See you there!
Help Me Help Jamie
My good friend Jamie Baker is in a pickle. Help me help him out.
Jamie Baker is one of my best friends. He's the most upbeat, approachable dude you'll ever meet. He's also an amazing cartoonist and animator. If you watched saturday morning cartoons in the 80s you probably saw his work. More recently, he's been storyboarding your favorite movies at Pixar. He was even the voice of a crab in Finding Nemo!
I had already been buddies with Jamie for about 5 years through Comic-con etc. and when I moved to San Francisco a couple years ago, guess who I found living a block up my street? Yep, John Waters. No, it was Jamie! Awesome! Finally I have a neighbor-friend! With both of us working from home, we're itching for a break and some sunlight (or the San Francisco equivalent) so we'd meet up to drink coffee, compare notes on our projects and make dumb jokes.
OK here's the pickle. The day after Christmas 2012, Jamie had a major stroke. Jamie's life partner, Julia has the details on his condition and financial situation -
Jamie Baker had a large hemorrhagic stroke on the left side of his brain in the thalamus region on December 26th, 2012. The damage of the bleed has caused paralysis and loss of sensation on the right side of his body, including his leg, arm and hand, face and mouth. Jamie's prognosis is very good, although the recovery is expected to be slow over the course of the next few years.
Jamie was in intensive care for six days at UCSF, from December 26 to January 1st before being transferred to an acute rehabilitation center. As events unfolded, I learned that he was not covered on our insurance policy until January 1st. The bill for six uninsured days came to $189,000. Fortunately, we were able to get the bill reduced to $137,000 and are working on reducing it further with the help of an advocacy group and a lawyer.
In addition to the massive hospital bill, Jamie was denied state disability due to a form that was filed incorrectly. We have filed for an appeal and are waiting for a hearing date. He has filed for Social Security benefits as well. We have learned that getting approval for Social Security takes about a year, leaving Jamie with virtually no income and only savings to live on, money that he needs for recovery efforts. Jamie has this massive bill and will not be able to work during his recovery, making it necessary to ask for help.
You can also donate directly and read more about Jamie's story here: YouCaring.com
Alamo Fair & Rodeo, acrylic on wood panel
I want to help! So I am putting up for auction a very special piece, Alamo Fair & Rodeo. This is something I originally painted as a tribute to my all time favorite film, Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It was part of of Gallery 1988's Crazy 4 Cult show, 2008. It's been hanging in my home since. Jamie and I love talking movies. I love Pee Wee! He loves Pee Wee! Whether you are close to Jamie or you're a fan of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, I encourage you to bid on this piece. 100% of the sale will go toward Jamie's recovery fundraiser.
See the Ebay auction here- Alamo Fair & Rodeo