Beach "Blank Generation" Bingo

M  A  L  I  B  U

 We finally had a beach day!

 

Check out the dinosaurs!

J  +  A

  
  This is Jeaux's drawing of me reading the last chapter.  Punk nihilism alongside the beauty of the crashing waves....sigh..  In all seriousness, it is one of the greatest books I have ever read.  Take a  L O O K.  

  Trying to channel my favorite bathing beauties of yesteryear

S O U N D T R A C K

your friend,

ava

D R E A M W O R L D

This film is a must see.  It stars the talented, Whit Hertford, and his character is loosely modeled after my very own Jeaux. 

DREAMWORLD Trailer from SNEAK ATTACK on Vimeo.


All of the character designs used in the film are Jeaux's, too!  He makes a brief cameo.  Can you spot him?  I remember it was just a year ago when we were on set.  You can also see me, with long hair, looking at some art.  I am a method actor, naturally.  


Here we are at the Downtown Independent for the LA Premiere. It was such an honor to be a part of this experience.  

I am trying to emulate Diane Keaton, with my men's wear (sans hat). 
We are holding up the limited edition poster Jeaux created especially for the evening.  Click on the image to enlarge (there's lots of cool details). 

The gorgeous, Mary Kate Wiles.  She is the film's leading lady, and such a sweetheart.  I was really impressed by her performance. It's funny, because we always run into each other when I'm working and in uniform. It was nice to see her on my day off, looking fancy. 

Whit and my man.  Looking sharp, and ready to take on tinseltown. 

Dreamworld will be showing at the Ashland Independent Film Festival in Ashland, Oregon. 


If you are in the pacific north west, I highly recommend a viewing.  It is truly a beautiful film.  




pssssst............not to give anything away, but there is a TWIST.  Not the kind of M. Night "he was a ghost this WHOLE time" hooey, although admittedly, so RAD upon insight.  I do love a good twist, don't you?




your friend,


ava

I wonder about WONDERCON

L A C M A 

This was last Thursday, after the screening of Ralph Bakshi's Wizards.  Bakshi is one of Jeaux's biggest influences, and this was to celebrate the film's 35th anniversary release (and Jeaux's birthday).  There were so many people gathered around the now, 73 year old. Until dating a cartoonist, I had no idea the magnitude of Bakshi's influence.  Jeaux introduced me to Fritz the Cat not too long ago.  When Jeaux was a little boy, his mom rented Fritz not knowing that it was x-rated.  He thought that the animals were just tickling each other. 

We took these images in this crazy rubber/rope installation.  It kind of looks like we are in some sort of golden space forest, or at a rave. Tried to find the artist's name on the lacma website, but no luck. 

W O N D E R C O N

This was Jeaux's real birthday (St. Patrick's Day).  We were in Anaheim, and so close to Disneyland.  Such a tease to drive away from the happiest place on earth, but comic book conventions are fun, too.  In the photo below, I was pretty cranky.  It wasn't raining anymore, but we had been walking around a great deal and the crowds were starting to get to me. It was good to get some fresh air.

Trying not to look annoyed.  Hey, look at the cosplayers behind us! 

This is Jeaux and Peter Mayhew, aka Chewbacca!  Such a gentle giant.  I really wish I would have captured his hands in the photo.  They are gigantic!  It was a sobering experience for me, meeting icons from my childhood. I almost cried when seeing Mr. Mayhew, an old man now. I remembered how much I loved Star Wars growing up.  Also, he is sporting my favorite Star Wars film on his sweatshirt.  We think alike, Peter and I. 

the brothers janovsky 

Seeing Wizards for a second time was well worth it for me.  I appreciated it much, much more.  Maybe because I got to see the original pen and ink backgrounds. They were so striking, with a lot of detail.  There was so much texture and depth, and it was lovely seeing them restored.  The scenes looked so crisp and brand new.  


The C O L O R S were insane!  After the screening, Bakshi spoke and Jeaux did an illustration.  

LOOK! Signed by the amazing Ralph Bakshi!

After the q & a, I knew Jeaux would be nervous to meet the man.  I decided to head over, without hesitation.  Jeaux followed and to my surprise, Wondercon was quite the mellow experience compared to Lacma.  Most of the fans had left and it was just us along with Bakshi's son's and grandkids.  Bakshi is such a New Yorker in the best way.  Really punchy and to the point.  He is also fearless, which is a great quality. It was wonderful to see Jeaux so happy, like he had just met Santa Claus!  A while back, Jeaux was interviewed about his idol here.  He's done some lovely tribute drawings of Ralph that you can see here. 

As for my experience talking to Ralph, I can say that we both really like polaroid film.  I caught myself geeking out with Mr. Bakshi about my fuji instax, and we talked about how much we miss the square polaroids of yesteryear.   


Ava: "The colors were amazing."


Ralph: "Yeah! They had that muted effect"


Ava: "Yeah, super saturated."


In my head the whole time: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Afterwards, glancing over at Jeaux, Bakshi shook my hand and said, "Take care of him." 


And we were off, so high from that awesome experience. 

The man, himself!  Pure H A P P I N E S S

We ended the night with Bob's Big Boy.  I had a chocolate malt.  They make the best chocolate malts. xoxoxxx




your friend,


ava

I N T E R V I E W numero dos!

My boyfriend has been on fire this year!  He is, after all, a dragon.  


I'm so proud of him for working hard and stoked that two of the coolest sites have featured him.  A Collection Of and Chubstr.  C H U B S T R  is an online fashion resource for stylish men of all sizes.   If you don't already know about ACO, I suggest checking it out.  You will not be disappointed. 


Here is the handsome Jeaux Janovsky and some of his beautiful art.  I almost forgot to mention that he was featured on Chubstr once before. Click here to see, its pretty awesome. 

This photo was taken by yours truly at The Madonna Inn!  Click here to see more images.

your friend,




ava

I N T E R V I E W

Jeaux was featured on A Collection Of!  He answers some interesting questions, and got to create this portrait of Stef and Gilda as Simpson characters.  Here are some more of his Daily Dohs. 

Thanks to my friends!  The most lovely ladies on the planet. 

Click here to see the interview. 

your friend,

ava

Color Blocking & Job Locking

These past few days have been a whirl wind of job searching for my lovely boyfriend.  Freelance isn't quite paying the bills, so it's time for something steady..with benefits no doubt!  I dream about it every day that something will turn up.  Times have been tough, and not just for us, but for the country.  I'm thankful because it's a fact that things could be worse.   Yesterday, we hit the local mall in stride for his interview with a pretty "hip" clothing chain. I'll give you a hint...it starts with U & ends with O & sounds like Schmurban Schmoutfitters. 

I like what a good friend of his said... "Just know that you're cooler than anything in there."

This is so true. 

Tiffany's always has some unique window displays. Who doesn't like diamonds with their ice cream

Killing time at the mall always reminds me of my high school days.  School and the local mall.  That was it, and it was everything.  Oh, youth and the joys of being irresponsible.  

We cruised Neiman Marcus which was delightful.  It is easier to look at clothes that I absolutely know I could never afford, even if I worked every single day without breaks.  No impulse buys!  Just walking around feeling a bit naughty because we were taking pictures in front of their art displays.  A shopgirl asked Jeaux if he was looking for anything in particular, and he answered, "no thanks, just came to see the art."  "Oh.." she replied. 

I absolutely loved the color blocking of the paintings and thought they went well with my outfit.  It was a trip to find out that some of the paintings were created by this woman.  A similar painting is on display and part of Neiman Marcus' permanent collection.  She is also the associate dean for CalArts School of Art.  Our alma mater. 

Pants & top, both H&M. Vintage bag from Mom. The necklace was a steal at Urban a long while ago. I think I only payed 9 bucks.  (Shhh..but it's a secret!) 

Iridescent butterflies hang from the ceiling at Neiman Marcus. This picture does not do it justice. 

Doesn't he look handsome? My Blue Boy. 




your friend,


ava

Model Boyfriend

Today my boyfriend discovered that his lil urban outfitters spoof photo is featured in Big Boy Fashion/Chubstr!  What a regular fashion icon.  And check out who shares the page!  Awesome. 

There he is! Top right. Click image to enlarge. 

your friend,

ava

Mari Naomi's Kiss & Tell

I was first introduced to Mari Naomi's art through my good friend, Rio, who was curating a show a few years back at SomArts Cultural Center in San Francisco.  Mari's art stood out immediately.  They were large water color images of sumo wrestling clowns, softly painted with bright colors and simple white backgrounds.  Beautiful paintings with such whimsy and humor, depicting the clowns throwing up (..and farting?) a rainbow assortment of balloons!  I remember wishing I had money to buy every single painting of hers on the wall that night.  I truly admired her vision so much and it stuck with me. 

Some time later, I got to connect with her on the social networking extravaganza known as Facebook.  I would check out a drawing of hers every now and then, and left a comment about this one here...

Copyright MariNaomi 2010

I think I told her that this was my favorite image of hers, and to make a long story shorter, we ended up making an old fashioned art trade (her watercolor, for one of my photos).  I was so excited when I got it in the mail, along with one of her zines!  I finally got to hang it in my former apartment.  Thanks Mari! 

See it on the wall, to my right?! :)

I recently ended up cruising her website and found out that she currently has a graphic novel published.  It's called "Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume Ages 0 to 22".  This is what inspired me to write this post about her and about the relationships (romantic or otherwise) we come across in our daily lives. Before I reconnected with my man, Jeaux, I had an assortment of tales to tell about my dating trials and tribulations. The good, the bad, and the oh, so ugly.  I always wanted to write about these experiences, but never knew how to start.  A year ago, I finally created a small zine about my last break up, which was both cathartic and liberating. In order to truly move on, I had to jot down my feelings, like the pages from my diaries. I felt exposed, but it was alright because these are experiences we all go through. I have yet to pick up Mari's memoir, but it details her dating history up until her early 20s.  From those first loves, to scandalous rendezvous, to heart breaks.....

I always admired artists who can laugh at themselves and add humor to their creations.  I also respect when life imitates art. I am a huge fan of non-fiction. When artist's tell stories from their own lives, whether its through writing, or visual art. Lately, I've been getting into Bukowski.  I know he was the cliche, alcoholic, & womanizing writer, but there is something so pure and refreshing about his honesty. Believe me, there were times when I would read something from his novel, "Women", and had to put the book down because it was so blunt and outright misogynistic.  Though I can respect that, and commend his late ability to put it all out there.  

I love this kind of honesty, good or bad, it's relatable. How people come in and out of our lives.  Losing and gaining connections.  It's so inspiring. 

Thanks Mari, for giving us a woman's point of view and for being so awesome! 

I can't wait to see your memoir! 

Check out her site at www.marinaomi.com 

your friend,

ava

Madonna Inn Polaroids

 

Little Girls Only 

Who's that cute man in my shower? And is that a painting?

 

Morro Bay

The Beginning

This is the first page from my very first diary.  I vaguely remember receiving it as a gift.  It must have been my birthday, but I don't remember for sure. I think I was in the first or second grade, so maybe 6 or 7 years old. I remember holding it and being in love with the color. Pink was my favorite color for a long time back then.  Mainly hot pink and neon pink (ah, to be young in the 90s). I gravitate more towards purples now, but I will proudly sport neon pink on my finger nails when I'm feeling sassy. It was wonderful to go back in time and read each page, wondering what I had to say at such a young age. Believe me, its not much in the beginning.

Here is a transcription: " I like toys. My name is Ava. I play with my toys. The toys that I play with is a lion named Leo. Leo is the best toy I have because he prectes (protects) me at night."

It's funny how as time progresses, life gets more complicated. I start to notice boys, and form relationships with girls.  There begins thoughts of jealousy, loneliness, adoration....

As time went on, it looks as though I would go back to old entries and add to them. Maybe I felt that my innocent entries in the past were too boring. Or maybe I wanted to add thoughts that I felt I had missed. 

"At school I like some of the boys in my class the boys names are Chris, Ryan, Ricky (Richy/Richie), Paul, and most of all Justin. He's the cutest. I think Chris is starting to like me. your friend, ava"

Notice I spelled cutest as quetiset or qutist. I highly embrace dictionaries and spell checks in my old age. 

This had to be the entry where it all started. The beginning of boys. I remember in the 5th grade when Chris, the same Chris in the entry above, told me he liked me......plus two other girls. The three "As": Ava, Alona, and Ayla. This didn't matter though because I was number one. As long as I was first on the list, I could forget that he was a little pimp. So funny what I was willing to settle for back then, but this was my first experience with having a crush. I'm happy to write that I am with the love of my life, Jeaux Janovsky, and it's only taken me five years of my dating career to find him....again (we were friends in college). He's an awesome artist and I recommend strolling through his own blog. We will be celebrating our one year anniversary at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. It is so wonderfully tacky, I cannot wait to document. I'll be snapping photos with my newly purchased Fuji Instax Camera ( I was able to snag it for half price online!) and will post them all for your viewing candy!

Until then...

your friend, 

ava

Stream of Consciousness

Inspired by Henry Darger's paintings of flowers. I had the pleasure of watching "In The Realms Of The Unreal" with my boyfriend, Jeaux. I highly recommend this touching documentary. It has really inspired me to illustrate more. His work was so pure and I think that had something to do with his lack of human interaction. I wish my own work could have that kind of innocence.

Painted in our "love" journal using paint pens, colored pencil, markers, highlighters, & sharpies. 

your friend,

ava