Over the weekend, I had the chance to visit San Francisco after a very long 9 years. On a familiar path back to our hotel, my boyfriend and I stumbled upon this gigantic water sculpture near SF’s Ferry Building (how we did not notice this that morning, I do not know). It reminded me of an art assignment I had done years ago. It was almost as though my drawing had come to life.

I had to do some digging, but I found what I was looking for. To the right is my first real 2-point perspective drawing (primitive, I know – but I got 5 out of 5 points for it, so I’m pretty happy), of waterfalls flowing from the edges and corners of floating rectangular boxes. There are also trees growing from the top for some odd reason. Hmm.

Some photos of the sculpture:

Another artist out there must have had an idea just like mine. It would be crazy to think, but if only I could say they built my drawing. In any case, I always wondered what it would be like to run around the little worlds and things I create, and in this case, in between giant cement blocks spewing out waterfalls while the sun set. I finally got the chance to do that.

edit: Thanks to my friend Merria, who informed me that the sculpture is called Québec libre ! by Armand Vaillancourt. It comes with a very interesting story as well.

I saw a segment on Brighton, England the other day and it reminded me of when I studied at the University of Sussex. One of my favorite parts of the little town – very large, intricate, well painted graf. Some, if not all, of the following were supposedly done by a very exclusive and secretive crew who comes in the middle of the night to paint huge murals. The rest are of some Banksy pieces we loved running into.

Love the perspective.

"Scale photo." These paintings were at least three stories tall and were done by a highly regarded crew of graffiti artists.

RUN DMC is in this one somewhere if I remember correctly.

Another Banksy find. On the side of the Thekla Social vessel in Bristol, UK.

Banksy's famous 'Kissing Coppers' around the corner from a small restaurant in Brighton, UK.

My favorite Banksy sighting - on the side of a building in Bristol, UK.

Screenshot of the Infinite Photograph in action, as it zooms in on a picture mosaic of berries.

Stumbled upon this today: the Infinite Photograph.

I’m not sure how new this is, but it is definitely fascinating. There are mosaics made up of photos people have uploaded via My Shot. You zoom into the mosaic and once you get to a point where you’ve reached a single photo, you can view all its aspects (ie. shutter speed, focal length, aperture, description, etc. – a nice way of observing photography technique). Then you can zoom into the photo you were just looking at as it becomes the new mosaic to explore. This thing never ends, unless of course you saw each picture once.

A treat for photographers, and all eyes in general.

“It might be weird, and it might be stupid. But it’ll be unforgettable.” – Johnny Cupcakes, on everything.

These are the words I tend to forget when unsure about a piece, a project, or an idea. So Johnny Cupcakes sums it up quite nicely for anyone who constantly faces the boundaries of the norm and judgment from the critics.

Johnny Cupcakes’ story isn’t about luck. It isn’t about being “discovered”. It’s about a good idea that sprouted from various interests, and grew as a result of inventive thinking, efficient decision making, and risk taking with a dash of gut instinct. (At least, that’s how I see it). It’s a breath of fresh air. Although I love the fairytale story every now and then, what I love about John’s story is that it had nothing to do with being at the right place at the right time. It truly proves that success can be had just by sticking with an idea and making it work because it is one’s passion.

I talked to Johnny a bit after the show, and did a mini interview for his website about doing freelance design and what that means to me as an independent artist. It’ll probably be edited into an interview piece of all the interviews done that night, so check out www.johnnycupcakes.com now and then to catch that and other updates on his college lectures series.

Johnny Cupcakes is a multimillionaire who doesn’t advertise in the corporate world. A guy whose fans tattoo his cupcake and crossbones logo on their arms and necks as a token of their devotion and appreciation. A college drop-out who is now being sought after by college programs like my client (the Technology Management Program, who put on this event) to inspire students about entrepreneurship. And yet, he is still a humble fellow. No luck there.

Side note: I am now a new owner of an authentic Saved by the Bell trading card thanks to Johnny’s surprise goodie bags that were taped to the bottom of each seat in the lecture hall. Read his story and you’ll know why receiving a Saved by the Bell trading card from Mr. Johnny Cupcakes himself is not as bizarre as you would think.

IV Theater filling up for Johnny's talk.

Johnny Cupcakes goods being sold in the back of the theater.

The talk.

JC fans during the post talk meet and greet.

Getting the Canon ready to take pictures.

A fan of the fans.

I never leave my sketchbook/journal at home, so I can always remember who I run into.