Gray is an illusion.

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oh please. 

look through this and tell me my city isn't a wonderland.

And in such a place. 

there are appropriate days to make inappropriate decisions. 

on 10 dollar sunglasses.

I have a weakness for bursts of color on the bottom half of frames!

apparently.

and even with the clouds, 

who says it's shady today?

Not me.

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Powering through

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"you can only become great at that thing you are willing to sacrifice for"

- maya angelou

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, and not in yet, but 

coming soon:

(modeled by my friend here)

maybe I'm the only one laughing, but this was my attempt at an androgynous person. 

(and I believe in posting drawings without thinking twice. so here it is.)

because the shirts (AS SEEN ABOVE)  are for everyone. 

so I guess this would have also been a good idea: 

two strikes. 

for me.

I'm losing it.

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FOR SHIRTS

stay tuned. 

but if interested already, 

holler here:  abernathy.parade@gmail.com

State size: S M L XL

shirts will be $ 38.00

The real deal will be on the site in a couple weeks. but I was itchin to preview it.

Right now I am starting with this one "follow me" drawing. 

remember this one?-

hes going to be the 1st t-shirt superstar. 

But one day. 

dude. 

you have no idea. 

and neither do I

I'm moving.

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it is bittersweet. 

but I'm moving dangerously close. to where I live now.

as in- load up the radio flyer and take more stuff to the new place- close.

and I say it is bittersweet, but I am VERY excited about the new place because we are 4 steps away from my favorite vegetarian burger in town. 

And not only that. I can walk to my studio. 

And I will be living with mad fun people. 

So I am happy. 

But also. 

I am so thankful for my amazing narrow house on the corner of "change is the only constant" and "keep the heat off until we REALLY need it" 

I lived the heck out of this charming, happy, lovely place.

decorations every season.

And. oh I made so much here.

I mean, when were we not?

And. I think that in truth, I will mostly miss dancing in the kitchen.

_________________________________________

so cheers to you, 

sweet house. 

sweet memories.

________________________________________

sigh.

_______________________________________________________________

So I love Maya Angelou.

Love her.

_____________________________________________________



and I madly agree with her on this beautiful idea


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she said this on TV once. and I replayed it over and over making sure I wrote it down as accurately as possible.
..........

"... and I've had so many rainbows in my clouds. 

I've had a lot of clouds, but I have had so         many         rainbows. 

and one of the things I do when I step up on a stage, when I stand up to translate, when I go to teach my classes, when I go to direct a movie, I bring everyone who has ever been kind to me with me. black, white, asian, spanish speaking, native american, gay, straight, everybody.


 I say come with me - I'm going on this stage. 


Come with me. I need you now. 


long dead. you see. 


so I dont ever feel I have no help. 

I've had rainbows in my clouds. 

and the thing to do it seems to me. Is to prepare yourself so that you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud. "

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on my journey. when someone is kind.
they are with me.

when the manager in the art store opened the doors so I could get framing wire in a pinch after hours.

when my friends carry puppets into cities.

when the little girl on the train walked back to my seat to watch a "real artist" draw

when my dad said I was clever.

when nannying, and a grandma at the park befriended me, and by the time we parted was encouraging me to never stop chasing my dreams.

when my aunt collects fabric for me.

when I was distraught about a sold out exhibition and my friend -without asking- checked the website in the morning hours to make sure there had been no change. and one ticket appeared. and she made it possible for me to get it.

when I was    the. last. person     let into the Jean Claude and Christo artist talk by an usher.

when I get music mixes in the mail for inspiration

when I get support from used-to-be-strangers that feel like best friends in disguise.

when my friend listened to my  post- leaving- office job freak out...  and said- freak out. then go put everything you have into your work.

when my family does...well. everything they do...

See.



and I dont ever feel I have no help.

something stole my dinner.

seriously. there were 2 tacos there. Then I went inside. and when I came back out... 

this was the scene.

This is not a set up. I took a picture because I wanted to document the clever creature that did this. 

My favorite part is the trail. as the taco fell apart during the getaway. 

So, I made another taco. 

AND ate this one even though whatever it was may have touched the rest of the plate.  

Some decisions are easy.

..........................

and completely unrelated, (muddy transitions are apparently my thing.)

I want to post a preview of my favorite new idea. 

I cant wait to see what he can do, but right now, I just want to introduce him. 

This is what fits into my life. 

When I notice my everyday is slightly unusual, I try and catch it on film. 

And, the nervous excitement I get when these projects come to life is an affirmation in my heart that I am doing the right thing. 

things can seem so out of control. but then BAM. 

It really is thrilling.

.....................

This is a dear little guy. with lots of personality.

Wait until he gets warmed up.

Check this...

................................

and he is just learning.

................................

and starting to gain some confidence. 

and starting to act up

which Im not opposed to.

and show off.

So excited about what he is going to do next. 

.............................

7:14 pm.

Confession-


I had writers block. 

I have so much happening in my life right now. And when I started putting an update on here I would write a while and save the draft, but not publish it because it was all over the place.
Dude, I have a ton of drafts.

Like this brilliant one titled Picasso.


.........


yeah. thats as far as I got.
(but one is coming because Im sort of into him right now and his magnificent ideas.)

I never claimed I could focus.

But I am often inspired. and sometimes too much hits me at one time and I need to mash it together. and I can be a control freak sometimes. so I was judging my posts. and I realized-

thanks to david:


"Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it."

-David Sedaris

____________________________________

When I typed "Let's" into the title box of this blog post the computer suggested that I finish it with 

"get this party started" 

So I will. 

but the most important thing to comment on right now. at the start of this party. is where I am. 

outside. 

at 7:14pm. and when Im done with this post it will be later than that. and even now is already 7:15.... 

my point is that time escapes. super fast. but right now Im absorbing every second of the 7:14pm lighting. 

Ive always been obsessed with and affected by this lighting. and Im talking about the 'sun going down lighting' that makes every color a billion times more brilliant than it is at any other time.

It takes me back to being 12 and playing softball.

and the sunsets. and the sounds of the bat.





And maybe I just love being outside and smelling dirt.
maybe that is when I am the happiest ever.

..........

and when I stare at my screen and try to focus. all I can think of is

Im so glad I got gray. 

I love what I love.
and I love these.

and

sometimes things make me happy.


like shoes.


because of their association.



you would be attached to shoes too if they were tied to significant life events.

(I do this sort of thing to myself - attach meaning to things- and it is a blessing and a curse. Because how can I ever get rid of my first baby doll t-shirt with the glitter batman logo on it! 

I associate it with my risk taking. and discovery of fashion. 

I thought other kids may think I was weird. or not cool. 

BUT I WORE IT ANYWAY. and felt mad successful in those tiled hallways of middle school and loved it until it literally started unravelling at the sleeves. )

and my ballet shoes.

because I wore them at my first exhibition. 

And I will wear them until they fall apart completely. 

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and it is important for me to remember what I love.
because it fuels me.

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And I need the fuel.


Because I am continually committing to artistic feats that I have never before done. 



which is scary. and also life affirming at the same time.

But I have amazingly creative friends and family that support me.

For example-  here's part of a conversation between me and a friend who just did some amazing work. musically.


"remember when we were both working dumb other jobs?    yay."    -  me.


 "I'd rather be broke and doing what I love than comfortable and hating life."    -  him.


"i think being an "artist"  i use that term loosely.. means constantly committing to things you cant YET do but think you can.have doubts.. but do it anyway. . and then getting a high from having actually done it. 

and

in a non patronizing way-  im super proud of your work on that. "     -me.






and thats how I feel. really blessed to not be alone. and really lucky to know great artists.

See, the ones that get me are also "on this train" or "running beside it" or "skipping", or "hurling themselves from a human cannon."(enough quotation marks yet?)

But let's be honest, we are all trying to get there and I have so much respect for anyone "traveling."


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more posts. more often.

saddle up.