My desert life .... A good life indeed! : )

I have always been a city girl , a Hollywood chic at that LOL! I remember Dave and I had said we wanted to get out of the city and really focus on our dreams,being so close to everyone wasn't really allowing us to dive into our music , our art . That was 17 years ago . We're only 40 minutes away from Hollywood so it is still close enough to reach out and touch , we still have a place in Hollywood in called ," The Hollywood Dell ", its walking distance from the Hollywood Bowl . We're fixing up that place for the tourists who come into town, they can rent it for a couple of days, or weeks for those who do business out here . I love being in the desert , since living out here , I am really able to focus on myself , no distractions from family and friends , don't get me wrong , I love them very much , but as an artist trying to get your art out there you truly have to be in this meditative state more often then not . When I go out to do business in Hollywood I am so excited to go into town . Its such a treat now . I catch up with my neighbors at The Dell and sometimes we will spend a weekend out there and we hang out with friends and family , walk down to the lil' cafe down the street , its really beautiful , or watch one of our friends bands play at a club that night . Being out here in the lil' town of Agua Dulce , is beautiful I wake up to these amazing desert hills , see the bunnies outside my windows and squrriels , I hear the owls at night , sometimes I see them . The stars are amazing , and its very quiet . My neighbors are a 1/4 acre away so privacy is nice . My mind is clear and yes sometimes I can get a lil' bonkers at times being isolated but I always bring myself back with my art journaling , writting a song on the keyboard or making a video , those things always bring me back to my true self... my real self... the me I want to be.... free to be... and I wouldn't have it any other way .

I am grateful for all that I have , I really am . No matter how difficult things may get I really shouldn't be complaining about anything in my life LOL! Sometimes I feel like Im one big whinning complainer LOL! There are no excuses for me not to full fill my dreams and I have been working toward them everyday . My biggest problem is believing in myself that I can do it , and not giving a whole hella beans what anyone thinks LOL! Not everyone is gonna like what you create , not everyone will agree with you , thats just the way it is right ? Living in the desert is my rock ( as well as my soulmate Dave : P) and Im holding on to it ! Real tight !

Thanks for stopping by and listening , it really means alot friends : )

Maryannk.

It doesn't really matter what anyone really thinks...

If its one thing I can not deal with is people not being able to just be themselves , yet try to find a place where they can be excepted . Theres always artists trying to disclaim other artist because to them they might be fonies or aren't what they feel real . I think all we want as artist is ,well some of us anyway , is to be able to just be the artist we want to be and not be judged for it . I may not be right all the time but then again no one is perfect . I am an artist who loves to be inspired, learn from other fellow artists , and grow from my life experience . Sometimes I find that some people just want to know you to find out your not; not see the beauty and realness of your thoughts . I am who I am , you are who you are , I am glad to know you , and I hope we have a friendship that we can both relate to in the arts . If you are here to find something you can judge than please , don't be a friend if your here to judge me . I have put my comments on private now because now I have certain artist trying to disclaim what I speak of , and say its not true when , maybe they refuse to believe that even artists do things to expand their minds . I am NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD DO DRUGS BECAUSE THIS OR THAT ARTIST HAS! all Im sayin' is artist have used hilusinigenics to do so , and some sorry to say are FAMOUS ONES! Sorry to hurt those who don't believe they have . I am from Hollywood , I have been around the art scene all my life , I was always around musicians and have seen what drugs do . Have I dabbled ? Yes. Have I been an addict ? No. Have drugs expanded my mind ? Yes! Do I still do them ? Only Mary Jane on occasion but that is it . Am I a bad person ? of course not!

I am an artist just like all of you , we have a lot in common we do ! If you look up Carlos Castaneda , he has books out , tons actually , and he speaks of how these drugs expanded his mind . I choose to tell what Im about and speak my opinions because Im tired of society making us all think we can't! I am not gonna be afraid anymore to tell you what I think or what is or what I find fasincating about certain artist of the past , and sorry for those who feel that they have to hide behind SOCIETIES EYES! If this makes you feel uncomfortable about knowing me , Im truly sorry I scare you . Im just speakin' my mind and making art . I hope that if theres anything I can inspire in you , is to be you , be free to speak your mind , don't be afraid . It is ok .

OH! AND BY THE WAY TO THE PERSON WHO SAID THEIR WAS NO DRUGS , YES THERE WAS(NOT THAT IT MATTERS BUT IT MATTERED TO YOU!) THE ONLY INFO I WAS WRONG ABOUT WAS CARROLL HANGIN WITH THESE GUYS, YOU ARE CORRECT THAT HE DIDN'T MY BAD! BUT! HE DID GO TO THE OPIUM DENS BACK IN THAT TIME AND THE OTHER GUYS DID HANG OUT AND ALL THAT IM AFRAID, SO SORRY THE TRUTH HURTS YOU.

To the rest of you its just a story, and my thoughts on it . thats all . thanks for listening and the controversy..... I guess.... : / Maryannk

Hey Everyone! This is what I've been up too! Keepin' it green by using old jeans!

Hello! So sorry I have stepped away for a while . I thought it would be best to step into my imagination for a bit so I thought it would be wise to not be on the internet until I figured out what I was going to invent LOL! I see all of you working so hard and speaking about it on your blogs and thought , " I don't think Im working hard enough ! ", so I became a mad scientist in my art room and cooked up this for a submission to a magazine, its my deranged , estranged Alice.When I was a teenager I read the books from the author, Lewis Carroll ," Through the looking glass " and , "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland", I found them very pschycadelic and trippy. I, as some of you might know, am a musician so growing up I loved listening to Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles , Janis Joplin and then there was Jefferson Starship!

I fell in love with the song White Rabbit , and when listening to it I realized that ,this was totally what Alice was to me! A girl who fell into a hole , a rabbit hole to be exact, and basically started to hilusinate on ," the drink me" and , " the cookie" and thats when she went into wonderland for an adventure that we all enjoy the story. I mean Lewis Carroll was buddies with , Dr. Seuss, J.R.R. Tolkien(Lord of the Rings),and C.S.Lewis , ( Chronicles of Narina ). These guys were true DaDa Movement big time. Politically envolved and always hung out together. They also did hilusinignics to expand their minds. So it made sense that Alice would be trippin'

so! I made this in that way and its recycled denim Im using . An old pair of jeans I had lying around , the hole is the hole in the knee LOL! Very inventive huh ? I have always been a fashion designer , I love making clothes , I went to art school to become a costume designer so thats my main favorite medium of the art world , but since discovering mixed media , I've learned to incorporate both together , nothing that isn't already being done by Danita and various others in the freemotion quilting world, but I think I truly have a nack for it and Im lovin' it big time! : P

This is what I've been up to and also making bags with this concept in mind, Im also gonna start designing clothes again with the freemotion,mixed media design and it will be in a trippy , pschyidelic look , like my favorite storytellers , I love being trippy and speaking my mind and most of all speaking and breathing my art!

Thanks for listening and stopping by , more to come ! : )

Taking a break from the art studio & what a good life !

I have really been bustin' a move lately , with my cool bags Im gonna be selling on Etsy . So I told Dave we're gonna start hiking everyday now just to give our brains a break . This was just an amazing time of the end of the day , it completed Daves & I's day .

Lately there have been blog hops that ask what are you thankful or grateful for ?

I am grateful for this sunset everyday , I live in a beautiful place in the high deserts and the weather right now here in the lil' town of Agua Dulce , Ca. is very " Crispy " thats the perfect word to use because thats how icey it feels out there , which I haven't felt in a while. I have so missed chili nites , so Im thankful for this very much. Im also grateful for my family . I adore them , I love my soulmate with all my heart and I love & adore my daughter & grandbaby , the Universe couldn't give me more than I already have , OH! and my precious kitty Bondean ,and my funny ol' dog Ms. Panda Woo.

thanks for stopping by ! : P Maryann k.