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Since my whole deal is about taking the bull by the horns & seizing the day!, I thought I’d share some thoughts on this:

I believe that 97+% of my favorite times in life have been outside.

Some of these include:

climbing glaciers,

skiing down,

summiting & camping atop the mountain at 5.5 months prego!,

biking ’round the lake to the winery,

dancing on boats,

water-skiing endlessly on mid-western lakes!

campfires & smores,

surfing in Bolinas!,

beach, beach, beach!

hot-tubbing in the moonlight,

riding tandum bike in Sweden (with 3 of us!).

How can I say enough about all of this?

To me, this is the essence of life.

I can’t wait to add to it.

Kayaking, hiking, biking.

This is tasting the salt of life.

This is drinking in it’s sunshine.

Basking in it’s moonlight.

mmm, bon appetit!

I love writing. I’ve been having so much fun writing these blog posts recently. So, I’m just gonna keep at it, & write about colorful experiences in my life. To me, it all ties together with the greater whole here. So…

Lakshmi’s Wedding. Definitely, by far, one of the most mouth-watering, knee-shaking, mesmerizing, earth-shattering experiences of my life.

We flew to India for 10 days.

10 days!

It would’ve been worth 10 seconds.

INDIA!

INDIAhh!

Let me cut to the chase.

Lakshmi bought us all saris to wear to her wedding (“all” as in about 8 of us american girls).

We all had different bright, shimmering colors.

We arrived at the dutch palace from a boat parked in Central Cochin.

We were greeted by her family with warm nods & hugs.

There were ornate rice-chalk patterns all over the ground, with marigolds placed in as accents.

The next thing I knew all 8 of us were standing by the “chuppah”. (This was a hindi wedding, but the structure they got married under looked like a chuppah, strewn with the most meticulously weaved jasmine petals, literally by the millions. The scent was intoxicating).

Anyway, we all grabbed half-coconuts with oil/candles in them burning.

Three horn players began to march, & we followed, with Lakhi’s mom leading the way (everything in the state of Kerala is matriarchal). I could not believe my “eyes & ears”! How did I get to this place? I was thriving! In my skin!

We paraded to the groom, where the crazy, indescribable horns started playing again, and as 1 or 2 of the girls threw petals at him, & Lakhi’s mom put oil on his face.

He then followed Lakshmi’s mom, as we paraded half-way back to one of her nephews, who stopped to wash Patrick’s feet. As he did this, “Eeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaoo!”. Lakshmi’s mom was screeching in the most gutteral way I’d ever seen or heard anyone skreek before in my life! She had 3 fingers in her mouth while doing it, wiggling them around. We all followed in suit.

The rest of the ceremony consisted of us doing this numerous random times, whilst Lakshmi & Patrick adorned each other with garlands, & other gifts of saris & bindhis.

Then, they sat on the thrones. At this point, each family member came up & fed them small bit of bananas & sips of milk.

It was lovely!

Talk about feasting on the senses! Celebrating abundance to the enth degree!

We then ate the most amazing thalis of my life.

We sat under the palace veranda, with several chutneys gorgeously displayed before us.

Then, men with big buckets of rice followed shortly, dumping large spoonfuls of rice on our plates. Of course we ate with our hands, & simply followed our other indian friend Indrani’s superior knowledge on what to mix with what, etc.

That night we all drove past elephants, through the jungle, to sit in the middle of a coconut grove while a flute played, & we feasted at yet another extraordinary indian buffet, with Fresh, Hot cashews continuously served to us. I will never forget this.

Any of this.

Thank you, Lakshmi, the “goddess of wealth”!

Right, so if you didn’t gather already, I sold apples for over 7 years for the most amazing orchard out of Apple Hill in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Camino, California. RAINBOW ORCHARDS, to be specific. West Betty, of Rainbow, is by far one of my favorite bosses, much less one of my favorite people on the planet! He always made me laugh, always made me feel like a rockstar no matter what, & always had a glass not only “half full”, but truly “brimming over”.

I could write a book alone on apple sales & farmer’s markets alone, but this post is about cantonese ladies who buy fruit at the Civic Center SF & Old Oakland markets. Yes, this is for them!

Many of the apple girls had a hard time with them. Truth be told, these ladies can come off as rude, cheap, pushy, & messy. Yes, they have a reputation for ruthless bartering & throwing their apple peel sample on the ground immediately afterwards.

But, I have to say, I grew to love these women. First of all, they all had the same look: gold teeth & mix-matched polyester. It’s true! It is true!

And, what really made us bond was me learning just enough cantonese to put us on the same page.

I made up all the phonetic spellings myself.

But, here’s how it would go:

HOTIMA! SEE-HA!

YETMON YETBONG!

YETMON YETBONG!

(translation: Try it! It’s very sweet! One dollar one pound! One dollar one pound!)

They would can themselves laughing at the white girl speaking cantonese & would repeat it to me, in the loundest, most “tonal” way possible. I would then shout it back to them in the same fashion. They would shout it back to me. We’d all laugh again & again, & (of course) they would buy my apples!

DOCHAY, my special friends.

DOCHAY to you!

(“thank you, thank you!”, translated.)

I’ve never written in jibberish before, but I’m giving it a go!

Some of my best memories are of speaking jibberish with my mom & brother. They were (& still are!) So good at it! I remember my brother & I speaking jibberish for 2 hours in the car one time. It was hilarious! & mostly consisted of him talking, & me laughing.  Jibberish is my favorite language. Though you may be a bit rusty at first, you’ll pick it up real fast – just like riding a bike!

Go for a ride! Tryit out for yourself!

Tooneekana makadoka. Hey ladu mama doseeka.

(it’s really all about the intonations).

Have fun, & add some unexpected emotion!

LONEESEEKA!

Since leaving Wisconsin 17 years ago, I’ve come to find it definitely has it’s own cultural attributes (something you don’t necessarily realize growing up immersed in a place). In fact, at times I’ve said it’s almost worthy of it’s own “planet”! For those of you who’ve never been to the States, BELIEVE ME when I say the amount of sub-cultures within it far extends beyond it’s borders into galaxies unknown! I grew up spinning trucks around in circles on lakes covered in thick ice, as well as waking up at the crack of dawn to go waterski with my brother & friends, so we could catch the “glassy” water. I grew up cheering absolute nonsensical rhymes to the crowds at high school football games at 14 degrees Farenheit in a short woolen skirt. I grew up singing Easter hymns in a cow field. I grew up in a town of 1300 people.

I’ve been thinking recently, as well, about our local high school Homecoming events. Each day we had to come to school dressed up in a certain theme. Monday may have been “TOGA DAY”, Tuesday “NERD DAY”, etc. Then, on Friday, we’d all rally in the gym for a battle amongst the grades. We’d compete to see which class could throw a football (or was it a roll of toilet paper?) through the hanging toilet bowl seat the most times, for example. Afterwards, we’d all go run around the most enormous bonfire I’ve since recalled, shouting & singing out cheers, etc.

I remember one time the high school staff decided to give us “student appreciation day”. They brought a sandbox into the cafeteria, & the principal sat on a lifeguard stand next to it with zinc all over his nose. It was all the center staging for a mid-day dance they put on for us called MORP (aka, PROM backwards). The king wore a toilet seat around his neck, & the queen use a plunger as her sceptor.

This all goes back to my DORK post. It’s so refreshing! I loved MORP way better than PROM. And, why aren’t we dressing up for TOGA day now? Why does this end after a certain age? This is my question of the day.

Go, Wisconsin (or, maybe more aptly, Pardeeville High School?), Go!

But, did you know that despite how poorly the University of Wisconsin’s Badger football team is, the stadium is ALWAYS packed to the hilt with EVERYONE wearing red? Not only that, they always stay for the “5^th Quarter”, where the marching band, which is, opposed to the majority of college bands I’ve seen, actually really good/entertaining, comes out & has everyone do the “chicken dance”, etc. Maybe it’s something in the cheese? Those Wisconsinites seem to have some edge on remembering how to have a good laugh, desipte the cultural understanding that mid-westerners are hard-workers.

Go buy some Wisconsin cheese, see if you get inspired, & maybe you can even convince your work to instill a “PUNK DAY” or “RETURN OF THE JEDI DAY” into the mix?

I was recently thinking about my lovely experience at a very small school in a tiny village in Sweden, literally in the middle of the forest. There were 13 of us attending the school, some canadian, a couple american, a few romanian, & 1 estonian. What a mix! I hope I’m not missing anybody! Anyway, we were only there for a few months, but at one point I remember us getting bored. So, my estonian roommate & I decided to wear all of our clothes to breakfast one day. Everything. Literally. All of our clothes, one on top of the next. This is what I would imagine the corporate world might be refreshed by a little bit more of. Somehow it helped us break up the monotany just a little bit. To this day it cracks me up to think of Kirke sitting there with 15 layers on. I love it! I think it’s beautiful. It’s childlike. It’s free. It’s unpretentious – something I Definitely seek out consciously these days. Do something dorky today. See how it feels! Bring out the inner dork! You may not have to look too hard!

Children have no question of “breaking these rules”, so to speak. My daughter was eating butternut squash the other night in a prolific kind of way. I’ve never seen any adult plunge into & devour with such glee a piece of food like she did. Her spoonfuls were heaped 3 times the size of her mouth. There was no hesitation to dive her entire hand into the mounds left on her plate, or to poke at the “solid” pieces with her finger. I think she really tasted & experienced that butternut the way it was meant to be experienced; fully & wholly. This is my point. I just think sometimes we as humans, and busy workerbees, can tend to lose sight of the beauty, joy, & laughter in things when there is so much time & energy placed on the grid tracks. My work is by no means about derailing the system, but embellishing it. I think we as a whole feel more inspired by our work in general if we add a little spice to it – a little memory of creative joy which I know we can all tap into. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised how easy it is to laugh, & how quickly it takes to get a refreshed & renewed perspective. Just for the heck of it, I might suggest borrowing your neighbor’s tricycle for a spin up & down the block – or maybe just in the privacy of your own garage? Maybe simply jumping on the bed?! (we don’t have to be elaborate here!). Or maybe, just really stopping for a minute, & lavishing the taste of a peach, the way a peach deserves to be eaten & appreciated! - dare you might even get a little peach jizz on your face?!

After one of my folk-singing gigs with Ms. Cara Luft, a member of the audience came up & told me it seemed like I really knew how to “express”. He asked me how I did it, or how I might recommend doing it. Hmm! I found this quite sweet, & the first thing that came to me was, “Go buy a coloring book, & paint the “green” leaves “pink”! Along these lines, I think my work focuses on questioning edges & the boundaries. Is it wrong to paint something that is normally green, pink? Is it “wrong” to sing in the shower?, to speak jibberish to your colleague, just to spice things up? I think we all know somewhere that the answer has got to be no! But, I think many find a certain resistance, feeling they’d just be toying a little too far outside of their comfort zones for what feels like a controlled system of existence. Wearing the right clothes. Getting up at the right hour. Sitting the right way. Day in, day out. I am not anti-structure. But, I like to toy with it, to remind it (the grid/system) of our organic nature; that we are actually living beings, that we do in fact have souls that need variety, & with that play, fun, joy, & laughter.

I am realizing that all of these projects I’m doing are involving moving people through space. They are about transformation at it’s essence, moving people into something (be it spacially or experientially), & moving them out, back to where they came from. To me, this is what made architecture at architecture school magic! So, when I went to Bilbao. Spain to the Guggenheim, & saw Richard Serra’s steel sculptures, I wanted to melt! They depicted everything that is the essence of “me” somehow, & expressed everything I wanted to say! I actually integrated one of his pieces into my final project. The theme was: TRANSFORMATION.

So – if you’re not familiar with his work, we are talking about 30-ft. high walls of steel tweeked & torqued into elliptical spaces that you walk through. You are immersed into their raw material, & though they couldn’t be more thick, tough, & industrial, they are equally if not more powerful in their intense gage of MOVEMENT. I told my friends while I was in that space that I actually wanted to dance. Apparently someone felt the same way, as there was later an article & pictures in the paper about someone doing just that.

I am somewhat obsessed/fascinated by taking people into a “space of their own” - where they are brought back into humanity, forgetting all of the other periphral “movement” (I.e. cars, city sounds, etc.). I believe that the gut of Messy Monkey’s projects always have these principles & ideals as their bottom line. Concretely or tangibly, I feast on creating spaces where people are led through one transition to the next, into the heart of it, & then out again.

I spoke with some folks who said Messy Monkey (the original) was amazing on it’s own, but it’s definitely that much more powerful coupled with some facilitation. I agree, & would take it to the next level that “facilitation” as such doesn’t necessarily have to be the means of “taking you in”, & “taking you out” of the “space” that is Messy Monkey. I believe that our transitions via the bus, the walks, the food, leading & meandering you through different literal spaces creates that same means.

Anyway, I’m not having to use much CADD with this kind of “architecture”, & that is a beautiful thing!

We are thrilled to anounce our second CRE8 at Swarm Gallery in Oakland! This time it will be for the CENTER FOR LATINO POLICY RESEARCH AT UC BERKELY. It just so happens to cooincide with Cesar Chavez Day, & we have some very exciting Latino artists involved! Take a look at the roster!

We will again have a local dj providing us with the beats, as the artists paint. And again, we have enormous food contributions, in the name of Bakesale Betty, Lagunitas Beer, & Cole Coffee to name a few.

Come check this out! CRE8 is not something you want to miss!

8 ARTISTS. 8 CANVASES. 8 MINUTES. Only $20 at the door.

We will do a live auction & a raffle on the paintings immediately after completion!

Please take a look at the photos from our last event:

www.messymonkeyartscre8.shutterfly.com

And, here’s the official invite:

www.messymonkeyarts.com/cre8

I am teaming up with some amazing people in Cape Town, South Africa at an organization called HUDDLEMIND LABS on April 3^rd, to feature our product at one of their events. Jon Foster-Pedley will be starting with a talk on Creativity, where we will then launch into the MMA PARTY IN A BOX, to be followed by a debrief by Jon.

I also met with Jonathan Cherry of Cherry Flavr. How exciting!

I think there are some real synergies here too.

In describing Jon’s work, he explained it’s nature involves challenging people’s perceptions & comfort zones. I think this is exactly what Messy Monkey does as well, with a suspected predicted outcome and best intention of a surprised delight at the end of the day.  And, they do not just put on “events”. No – they create experiences. Yes. Experiential events. Yes. I have always hesitated to call myself an “event planner”, because I knew it was so much more than that. EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS. This is what we do.

They also believe everyone has that kid inside them in there.

Yes, yes, yes.

I like South Africa! It feels like such fertile ground to me.

Can’t wait to make some magic with Cherry Flavr!

WE ARE CREATIVE CONSULTANTS:

There’s so much going on in the world of MESSY Monkey right now it’s ridiculous!

So – basically, we are doing a huge remodel!

Messy Monkey Arts Teambuilding is becoming MESSY MONKEY ARTS CREATIVE CONSULTING AGENCY.

Yes – we still offer teambuilding. But, we also offer so much more!

One of the main avenues we have turned down, is that I have recorded a cd with my next door neighbor Frank Zincavage (“Romeo Void”. 1980’s…ring any bells?!), for a product called: PARTY IN A BOX.

Basically, I’m going to be opening up the heart of what we’ve been doing at Messy Monkey to any & everybody! (if you are age 5 to 105).

I am essentially making party kits. Inside your kit you will get:

a tarp, tyvek suits, paint, canvases, brushes, paint tins, & numerous other things to paint with.

Along with this will of course come instructions on how to set it all up, as well as the cd I’ve recorded that, once you pop in, will give you all the music & instructions you need to lead you through the activities!

We see this as a lovely addition to any event, be it corporate, bachelorette, bar mitzvah, or birthday.

Again- there are numerous contexts that the PIAB can fit into, both educational & completely nonsensical; & along these lines, entirely expandable to suit your needs (I’m still up for doing a gig in Golden Gate Park with 10,000 people!)

More to come soon on this!

We have a lot of new things shaking at the Monkey.

2 of the most exciting things are:

1 - MORE CRE8′S!

2 - PARTY IN A BOX!

I’ve been busy recording the cd to go along with MMA’s PARTY IN A BOX - a $297 kit for anyone ages 5-105 do do Messy Monkey at home or at the workpace; at a wedding, or in the park!

We provide all you need.  You provide a stereo of some kind (we’ve found that cars are good for this!), & some means of washing things down (hoses or sprinklers recommended, but not necessary!).

All that & more on all of this soon.

Our next pending Cre8 is March 31st again at Swarm Gallery.

I just found 2 Stories from some of our early explorations in Messy Monkey Musical Canvas Madness:
(thank you to all of your brilliant, creative minds who participated in this!)

I find it quite fun!

1 person would begin a story & write for 30 seconds to a minute (while the rest of the group was drawing with lipstick or painting with their feet, building sculptures with marshmallows, or what have you!).  They would then rotate around the different stations.  Therefore, as the next person in the group would add to the marshmallow sculpture, another person would add to the “story-building” station, contributing to it whatever they pleased!  Read below to see the results!

I wrote it just as it was written:

STORY 1:
In a Fair & Forested City Known as Ulfshaven, There was a very Bitter Princess & her even unhappier Prince. Over time Princess Elfarran became wrinkled & old & bitter Queen. Until one day when she met her new & exciting King Man.
Sunddenly a Giant Ladybug Leaped & flew upon her King Man’s Left Ear. Soon the Kingman became 2 then 3. The 3 kingmen went into a wardrobe & suddenly appeared in Hawaii. Enjoy the beach. Sun. bikini ladies.
What would happen if I didn’t do all the things I think are so important? And just threw caution to the wind…?

STORY 2:
…and Cream Puff sought all over the far earth for her Mr. Right Mirangue (sp?) egg yokes were in abundance, but oh dear, no egg whites, vinegar & sugar, the perfect ingredients for a Life Partner…….sob!!
Lips caress beneath the red hot sweaty thigh of a chicken fresh out of the oven. I really love this stuff he thought, & he groped the love out of his lips. Crazy is how they described his nightmarish struggle for survival among the South African savages, from Cape Town…to Durban, did they really do it? Bluer than blue…I knew she was the light in shining flames, as I walked over tadpoles and quesadillas. Sometimes I like to eat & tell.
So the other day I was walking down the path and I realized my breast was hanging down the handle of the brush I had. “If only I had run my bra over it”, I thought.
Why let Rules hold you from doing what fulfills your true spirit for life and reason. For existing on this tiny planet in a universe of many?

We’ve had recent inquiries regarding:

Messy Monkey Arts for 750 people at a party on the DeYong lawn.

Messy Monkey Arts for 2000 people on Treasure Island.

Messy Monkey Arts Downtown, for the city of Chico.

Messy Monkey Arts for the city of Lindsay, Ontario, CANADA.

Messy Monkey Arts PARTY KITS for kids & adults, cuban cd included!

Messy Monkey Arts for kids in South Africa.

Let’s do it!

Messy Monkey is ready to jump on this train!

First of all, let me share some of the press we got on it:

The 510 Report

Oakland North

The Oakbook

I can’t explain how fun it was.

We didn’t get a precise head-count, but there were somewhere between 100-150 people there, at Swarm Gallery

DJ Peter Van Tassel, & his rockstar sidekick Tony cranked out the Oaktown beats for us, as all 8 artists delved into their paintings, while MC Dan K. Harvest helped choreograph them around the circle of canvases & paint.  Lagunitas Brewery donated 140 pints of beer.  Deb Levine & her husband Richard Foxall - all the wine & non-alcoholic drinks.  Lanesplitter’s Pizza - 5 party-sized pizzas.  Cole Coffee - a generous 3-gallon trof of coffee.  Bakesale Betty - 200 cookies, Ruby’s Garden - a gorgeous floral arrangement with peacock feather adorning the center, & the list goes on.  Swarm Gallery looked as swank as ever - another night out at a fabulous gallery, until you walked into the back room with the MESS!  Our colorfully splattered dropcloths adorned the columns (avoiding any costly “memories” to the wood!), & a tarp made for a barn roof covered the floor with more of our uniquely splattered dropcloths as that night’s royal “carpet”.

I could not help but dance.

The dj, the MC, the artists, the food & drinks, the ambiance all came together to provide the right concoction for a completely energetic night of live painting, raising $5,700 for Peralta Elementary Schools!

Throw it on our plate - we’re ready for more!

We are so proud to announce Cre8 - happening tonight at Swarm Gallery in Oakland.

This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.  My original ideas were (& still are!) Oprah, Bono, Charlize Theron, Desmond Tutu, & a handful of others who are passionate about Africa.  I see it in a high-end gallery in New York.  The paintings sell for several tens of thousands, all to profit a very worthwile cause in Africa.  The owners of the paintings end up with collaborative works done by all of the above.

In the meantime, I’m also all about local!

I approached Svea, owner of Swarm Gallery, to see if she’d be interested in hosting such an event.  We met about 4 years ago at a “women in business” event, when we were both starting our respective businesses.  She gave me the thumb’s up.  Next objective was to find someone to fund!  I knew I wanted to find a local children’s art organization.

I went to my neighbor Deb Levine’s house to pick up some clothes from her girls she was giving my baby.  Conversation brought up my fundrasising idea.  She e-mailed me the next day, encouraging me to use Peralta.  It seemed like the answer came to me!

So - TONIGHT!

8 artsits are gathering, with dj Peter Van Tassel, and mc Dan K. Harvest to present some live painting to some live mixing.

Each artist gets a canvas.

Each artist gets an easel.

Each easel has an agenda.

All 8 agendas are:

Paint with your feet.

Paint with a hardhat, with a brush screwed onto the lid.

Paint with turkey basters.

Paint with squeegees.

Paint backwards with your fingers.

Paint with toilet bowl plungers.

Paint with brooms.

Paint with kitchen supplies.

They will do one round collaboratively, & one where they take their canvases with them (so, individually).  We will immediately auction & raffle off their works.

See you there tonight!

We had a fantastic day last week with ISIS!

It began with some fresh oj, Cole coffe, & Mariposa coffeecakes on the bus.

We escorted them over the bridge to Pier 14, where we had them bounce on balls, hula-hoop, & jumprope all the way down the pier, while playing rounds of “Pictionary” games on easels in between.  The end of the pier gave us all a gorgeous panoramic of SF on a gorgeous day (thank God!  the day before had been grey/rainy!).

We all caught our breath from there to the SF Art Institute.  We rented out the rooftop with stunning panoramic views of SF - Angel & Alcatraz Islands, Coit Tower, etc.  No better place than to do the Hokey Pokey (where we had them “stick their right arm, while they painted it) & Musical Canvases (ie, painting with their feet, turkey basters, hard hats with brush screwed on, squeegees, toilet bowl plungers, & brooms) while wearing white, tyvek (paper) suits, serenaded by Arann Harris of the Bluebellies.

The real kicker here was the PAINT-OFF.  We took away the easels & canvases but kept all the squeegies, brooms, etc. out for the ISIS team to paint each other with - the objective to paint other people as much as possible, without getting painted yourself.  One-by-one they were eliminated, leaving an impressive catastrophe all over our dropcloths.  Nice job, guys! 

Onto lunch:  We orded food from Lemongrass, & brought it to the bus, which was at this point covered in tapestries - the theme:  Moroccan tent.  We wanted to create a warm, private place for them to gather after all the running, hopping, & painting.  After lunch we surprised them by bringing on a fabulous bellydancer from Tanjia.  She got everyone up dancing, all the way to 111 Minna, where we had transferred their paintings for their very own gallery show.  Rounds of champagne brought everyone back to Oakland, with an extra fresh “day at work” on Nov. 4th - election day.  What a way to celebrate!  Thanks ISIS!

So - why is it that Etch A Sketch has not come out with full-size boards yet?  you know, for conference rooms?

This seems like a no-brainer, not to mention a total neceessity in my book!!

Just thought I’d share some of my passion for “event planning”.

What happens is I get these visions in my head - full of tastes, textures, smells, colors, light, etc.

I then feast on creating them.

Let’s start with my wedding.

It really does seem like it was CRASH COURSE #1.

My husband being a white south african, and me being of norwegian descent, raised in middle-America (aka, Wisconsin), it only makes senese (right?), that we went for a MEXICAN FIESTA theme!  :)  It went beyond that - mix of latin flair from all arenas, as well as a Japanese woman dancing a chinese fan-dance :).

So - here’s how it went.  We got married in our friend’s backyard in Berkeley.  It was a garden already feasted for the eyes & senses.  We got married under a “coral naked lady tree”.  There were small coves to hide in, with apple trees nearby.  There were giant yellow trumpet trees.  The list goes on.  nooks.  crannies.  coves.  hidden floral alleys.

My bridesmaids wore bright red.  I wore a white flamenco-inspired dress - yes, fitted at the top to just above the knee, and then - large explosion of ruffles all the way down the train.

We wanted everything to be a real, true celebration - inspired by our trip to Oaxaca, where their weddings looked like giant parades in the street, firecrackers, hundreds of balloons, pinatas.  They get it.

We wanted it to be a real community thing - as local as possible.

So - my dear friend Mirjana made my earrings (her specialty) - as per my inspiration/description.  Giant, & red.

My dear friend Erica made my invites (her specialty).  simple.  red.  festive.

Our incredible friend Adam was the chef - now one of the top chefs in SF - at least working at one of the top restaurants.  to die for.  We all craved that food again and again.  Mexican.  local.  My friends and I were at the farmer’s market the day before gathering a bulk of the goods.  We got fresh, locally-made tortillas.  local meat, of course.  local, local, local.  And, with Adam’s touch - shazam!  And, the presentation?  My favorite part were all the avocado pits still in the guacamole.  nice touch, Adam!

And, we didn’t use those cheezy “catering” dishes or dish utensils either.  nope.  Sam Clarkson - good friend of the family from Santa Cruz, lent us a plethora of his ceramic bowls.  lovely.

again - touch, taste, smell, feel.  I wanted it to be real!

the best of the best of the best of the best of the night was…

RITMOS Y ARMONIA!  Yes - we had a 13-piece cuban band play in the tiny backyard.  horns.  drums.  You name it.  They were there.  It was killer!  Thank God we knew Vladamir - one of the drummers.  That was our ticket in - & definitely the highlight for me.

But coming in real close behind was the cake.  My dear, dear friends at CREPE & BRIOCHE made me (once again), the aphrodisiac of the night (their first hit was my apple crisp at my very first art show - the one where people were essentially falling on the floor, knocked out by sweetness).  that & more at the wedding.  It was chocolate (again - a special tribute to Oaxaca!), with Fresh, Local whipped cream, fresh, local blueberries (from my orchard - aka, the one I’ve been selling fruit for for 7 years!), & hot raspberry sauce.  It took 3 people just to cut the cake & dish it up, for all the “seconds” & “thirds”.  Adam, the chef, was the drunken “let me give you a giant spoonful of cream on top” server, adding to the surreal “cake high” for all.

My biggest surprise with the cake was the…presentation!  They offered to put flowers on it…sure!  go for it!  To my surprise, they nailed it!  It was so “me”!  big, white, spiky flowers.  stunning.  I loved it.  CREPE & BRIOCHE - you rock!  And just fyi - they never make cakes.  It was from the sweet, goodness of their lovely hearts.  But, do go visit them at the Marin Farmer’s Market on Sundays in San Rafael, or to their store in North Beach.

I’m hopping all over the evening (& page) here.  This is obviously in no consecutive order.  So - let me continue…I walked down the aisle to a flamenco guitarest.  He also played during appetizers.

Of course we had margaritas & sangria.

Are you still wondering about the Japanese woman who danced the chinese fan dance?
She was the receptionist at the architecture firm I used to work at.  She used to go to tai chi, fan-dancing, and sword-dancing every morning.  She would often show me her moves at work.  When she found out I was getting married, she offered to do an “honorary” dance for my husband & I.  of course!  She debated long and hard between sword & fan.  Due to the space - she opted fan.  So - on went the canned chinese music out of the boombox.  She began with a very sweet bow to us, announcing “for you”, and began.  both fans closed.  Bam!  both fans opens, swirling.  dancing.  bam!  both fans closed.  Keiko Yamamoto - you rule, and I lost you!  Keiko has since disappeared, and I can’t find her!  I think she may have gone back to Japan.  She is most definitely one of my inspriations.  thank you, Keiko - wherever you are.  much love.

our dear friend Aditya documented the whole event on film.  Aditya was accepted to a grad program at Cal - a particular kind of MFA, where only one candidate gets chosen per year.  Well - one year it was him, for photography.  Thank you, Aditya.  what an honor.

The evening ended with candles lit in glass lanterns in the trees.  I hope I’m not missing anything, except for the fact that 3 of our good girlfriends sang for us during the ceremony, & as everyone else walked down the aisle.  One of my favorite things is “girls singing”.  And, one of my more favorite things is me singing with Cara Luft - one of the founding members of the Wailin’ Jennys - ring a bell?  So, she was there, singing.  And, all 3 of our singing friends were up at the alter with us the whole time - getting “front row” standing seats.  It actually meant a lot to have them there - a choir of female support!  (yes - I was nervous!).

I picked out the flowers like 3 days before.  But, they were stunning.  red.  red.  red.  Red tigerlilies with tiny red orchids.  hanging from the chuppah.  in my hands.  in my hair.  on the men’s chests.  in the girls arms.  The flower children threw - literally threw marigolds down the aisle (to give it just a touch of india! - why not?!).

You get the idea.  Can you taste it?  see it?  smell it?

This is what I like to create - in whatever sense, for whatever occasion.  A beautiful, senesory feast.  And yes - this goes for Messy Monkey too!

I’ll write about my spa parties next.

Here’s what we Really like to offer - All the bells and whistles!

First of all, you get picked up in Teacher With the Bus.  We serve you a tasty breakfast, & surprise you by arriving at a fabulous location - typically a beach, or a park near a beach.

We play our rare & eventful games, which spin you more & more into a state of paint-drunkedness.

From there we wine & dine you with the finest touch of the Ghetto Gourmet.

Let me interrupt here with a taste of the Ghet, from my own personal experience.

I hired them for my friend’s engagement party.  We happened to be house-sitting at a swank residence in the Oakland hills, with a more-than swank garden.  We decided to theme our evening:  breakfast for dinner.  Come wearing your pajamas!  We dined on pillows, at Japanese-esque/low tables to a 4-course killer gourmet breakfast.  We were serenaded by 2 professional opera singers.  And, to boot we happened to have candles & torches lit everywhere amongst the floral delight, interrupted by a full-size trampoline on the “upper” garden terrace, a fire pit on the main level, and a hot tub below.  It was picturesque, colorful, glowing, beyond tantalizing in every way - for each and every sense, and obviously, unforgettable.

As I said - we like to hire them, to get your senses deeper & deeper entrenched into your day of color & fun.  You may think Messy Monkey is about throwing paint.  And, that it is!, but it is also about wining & dining.  Feasting, in every sense of the word.

Let me continue.

We like Paige Green to document your day a la camera, because - take one look at her photographs, & you’ll see why.  We are so lucky to have Paige!

And, as you paint, & as you eat, the Bluebellies will have you on the floor.  This may all sound like a huge promo blog.  But, I sincerely love all these people, think they are the finest, & are why I have hand-picked them, and am raving about them endlessly to give you an event you will not get out of your head!

After all of this feasting, get back on the bus for a round of champagne, and don’t be shy to hit the dance floor.  (which, I have to say - even the most shy aren’t typically shy at this point).

You thought your night was done, but lo and behold, we like to drop you off at a gallery or wine bar to celebrate you and your team’s work (because yes, you have - without really even trying or realizing it), made some fabulous paintings!  We give you the opportunity to title & price them, with more wine & appetizers in hand.

Paige will assemble the photos - we will assemble (from them) a calendar for you to have on your desk for the rest of the year - to tease & tempt you all year long.

And, the paintings are yours - for your conference room, for your lobby, to sell to your clients or a worthy cause.

Come and check us out.  We’d love to take you for a ride.

I happened to bump into a former participant on the street one day.

I thought maybe I knew her from another time & place, but when we both realized, “Messy Monkey!”, her response was this -

“You’re the Messy Monkey Lady!  That was the most fun day of my life!“.

wow.

I’m not exaggerating.

I’m not sure if she was either - even a sliver - but regardless, it is what came out of her mouth.

sweet.  I’m happy & grateful to participate in this fun.

I just thought I might share a small success story.

We had a client who was very resistant at first to spend any money on team-building, much less any further conflict-resolution for their team.

All they asked of us was to bring back some smiles to the office the following Monday.  This would be considered Large Success.

Smiles were the understatement.

This group was begging for more.  I think they were surprised at the evolution of the day’s events, & the unexpected ways they saw their co-workers behave (aka some special dance moves on the bus!)…

When I went to their office the following Monday, to check the measure of their smiles :), I was informed that they had already sent for a conflict-resolution consultant to help take them to the next level.

This is what I’m talking about.

Such a pleasure to watch a team go through transformation in such a blissful way!

So - I did a dog-walking stint for awhile.

I have to admit - I felt like a bit of a con-artist…not because I don’t like (sometimes even love) dogs. But because, it wasn’t my passion.

I couldn’t, with a clear conscious, walk around declaring how I loved to walk dogs, etc.

However, I did walk a very sweet dog, & feed a very sweet cat, for a very sweet couple, a few different times. They had moved out to the Bay Area from DC. The woman used to do “team-building” for Congress. She and I met for coffee. When she heard of my ideas, she told me I had to go meet Napier Collyns, one of the founders, of Global Business Network.

If you read his bio, you will be impressed. wow. Napier has been around.

But, when you meet Napier, he is the furthest thing from”intimidating”. No - other words come up for me like - sweet, kooky, fascinating, & simply lovely. Napier & I did meet up for lunch. We had a nice chat about Messy Monkey. But - mostly, he was asking me about my husband. It seemed a bit random, in the best way! He is a people person to the max. He is curious. He asks questions.

When I got home, there was already an e-mail from him, thanking me, & saying how fun it was to meet up. Likewise!

But, because he asked so much about my husband, we actually scheduled a second meeting for all 3 of us to meet. (my husband did have a keen interest in GBN, fyi!)…

At that meeting, I found my husband a little on the nervous side, as he was in the presence of someone he respected highly, but Napier himself asking Saul (aka, husband), why he didn’t have a mohawk.

Like I said - quirky. I love it.

I find myself fascinated to meet these types. These Creators of such profound, creative endeavors.

Napier said if were “the beginning” of GBN - how it was at the beginning, he’d bring both Saul & I on board with his crew. We’d be involved in their Scenerio Plannings - using Messy Monkey as the creative catalyst to get the ball rolling for their more intensive “learning journeys”.

Napier connected us to the right folks at GBN to help land us our very first corporate gig. These are special people. It’s been 2 years, and I still bump into them on the street, remembering their names & faces. Some of them have since helped work with me. Some have even visited me in South Africa.

Here’s to GBN!, & Here’s to Napier!

was soo much fun! 

I busted out the Monkey supplies.

There were roughly 30 of us - a couple 4 year-olds, a couple 1-year olds, and the rest:  a smattering 24, 34, & 54 year-olds!  We had the most fun!

bouncy ball races,

hula hooping

games of TWISTER

musical chairs (with bouncy balls & hula hoops as the “chairs”)

duck duck goose

ring around the rosie

(basically, my “fantasy” party!).

I cannot explain how satisfying this is/was for me!

And, the vibe is definitely that once you (collectively) get started, you (collectively) want more, more, more!

It reminds me of the banker who came to one of my initial “trial” gigs for MMA.  We were wearing wigs, and he was scared.  What had he gotten himself into?  I’m telling you, by the end he was yelling for “More Blue Paint!”.  I love it.

ah bah booba leeni

otchi kotchi bibbalotchi

out goes you, with a dirty dirty dish tag on your big fat toe.

I’ve been living in Cape Town, South Africa here and there, on and off again for the past couple years.  This last trip (January to early May, 2008), left me thinking - wow.  what a fertile place!  I met the most incredibly creative people.  Just to name a few:

Dave Duarte of Huddlemind Labs, an exciting venture of it’s own!, also hosting “27 Dinner”, on the 27th of each month, to bring 50 creative business minds to the table - amongst a slew of numerous other things!

Elaine Rumboll of the University of Cape Town Business School - with a degree in fine arts & business, she is bringing an exciting creative cutting edge perspective to the minds of those in business!  *As I googled to find her site, I saw a clip/comment on the search saying, “And Elaine you are tha bomb!!! Your compassion, intellect and kindness has been” ..yes, whatever they had to say next, I agree!  Elaine’s presence is so clear…  the bomb.  I can’t think of a better way to put it myself!

how ’bout the Design Indaba?  South Africa is filled with incredible minimalistic, colorful design:

Animal Farm:  I really appreciate these folks too.  I went and sought them out, after seeing an article written about them.  They think of cool ideas, & make them happen.  on a large scale.

& last, but not least, the Fairy Godmother:

Her business is to help people live their dreams.  She is often caught wearing fairy wings around town.  I first heard of her, due to an article in the paper.  My mother-in-law suggested I meet her, as we were obvioulsy “on the same page”. Then, when I met Dave Duarte of Huddlemind Labs, he knew he had to introduce me to the her immediately!  We had a lovely meeting of the minds.  She sprinkled some fairy dust on my baby!   She explained to me that she had been very successful in all of her business endevours.  With some of her “success” funds, she ran off to Argentina (I believe it was) for awhile, to explore & do some traveling.  She realized there that, she “was the fairy godmother”!  All of her family & friends thought she was nuts!  But she was serious, And, she’s making it happen!  I just want to quote something from her blog, which describes her philosophy, & reiterates:  I hear ‘ya sister.  Life is short.  Too short not to live our dreams/our passions  & Here it is:

“You have been put on this planet for a purpose and your skills, past experience, character, strengths and weaknesses have been perfectly blended to help you fulfill this purpose – to help you lead your true, authentic life.  The life that is true for you.

When you lead this type of life you bring your special flavour to the world and not only are YOU enriched, but the world and others are enriched by your unique gifts.
Imagine if Nelson Mandela had chosen a vanilla life?  Or Bono or Oprah or Einstein or Churchill or Elvis Presley?  If they had not allowed their crazy, nutty uniqueness and authenticity to shine through, the world would be a very different place.

My flavour is the sparkly magic of a Fairy Godmother and it makes my life delicious.”

Thanks, Fairy Godmother.

somebody asked me today what the Purpose of MMA was today…

or was it - did I have a philosophy? what were my underlying principles?

Let me say that, there is something earth-shattering about the drive behind this; something primal. It’s driven by something extremely intuitive, & I’ve found a few others who have put some of that mystery into nicely articulated words, sentences, blogs, articles, & books!

One such place is: Michele Cassou

The beauty of Michele is that she was an artist since age 5. She created endlessly until she was 18, when she attended a more formal art institution. She feared it would try to infringe upon her spontaneity, so instead she started attending a “free expression” class for children.

To quote her bio, “She spent more than three years at the studio. By painting freely, with children, away from all traditional rules and concepts about art, she soon understood the amazing life-changing potential of creation. She discovered for herself the basic principles of making art: unrestricted choice and spontaneity.”

I believe this transfers beyond art…into a way of life; a mindset. And, I believe this is really what happens at Messy Monkey. It is simple, & yet it is profound.
I’m not making broad statements for each participant. I’m not making guarantees.
I’m saying the ingredients are there to spark the unexpected in all of us!, hence:

“unleash your inner genius!”

I have some really amazing friends.

I met them at a party. Their own party. I didn’t know them yet, but Paige Green gave a slideshow of her work, and Arann played some music.

I can tend to be a bit of a tough critic, but I was impressed!

This was 3 years ago. Since then, Paige has photographed Messy Monkey. She has photographed me, with some of my wacky “photo shoot” ideas. (more on this later!). And Arann - not only have I sold apples next to him selling wool (at the farmer’s market). I have laughed & cried (no really, just laughed), watching him perform with/as the BLUEBELLIES - not to be missed!

We had discussed the idea of Messy Monkey on their (mom’s) farm some time ago. It’s an amazing farm with:

chickens, goats, sheep, cows, & llamas.

It has an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven.

We are going to start using it for some of our events!

It’s going to be Messy Monkey a la farm!

First - think harvesting your own veggies, and making your own pizzas.

Then, think building scarecrows with found objects - aka, wool, mud, dirt, & wood.

Then, think tomato fight! Well, think “capture the flag” meets paintball a la tomatoes - in the middle of the field surrounded by hay bales!

We can craft your day in a more chill way if you prefer…perhaps making butter, etc.

But, keep in mind, no matter what you do, you can have live bluegrass all the way.

Again - check out the Bluebellies while you’re at it:

Of course the day always ends with champagne on the bus - all the way home; dance floor included (needless to say)…

See you at the farm!

Yes - I was on Bolinas beach with the majority of my crew, setting up at rapid speed, anticipating the arrival of the bus load at any minute!

I was also waiting on the food, the rest of my supplies, my facilitators, my musician, etc.

It occured to me that my cell phone wasn’t getting reception on the beach.

I walked up the hill, where I was getting a signal, only to find a plethora of voice mails.

I spoke with my musician.  He said I wouldn’t believe it, but he was stuck behind a big rig that was covering the entire road.  He was 2 miles from where he needed to be to meet me.  I asked if there happened to be a big orange bus anywhere near him.  Yes (what a coincidence!) - right in front of him!

wow.

The only option was to drive back, around, & over a steep & windy overpass.

Saul and I decided to tell the musician we’d suffice with a boombox.  We also decided we’d take our Subaru & the van we were borrowing for the day, and pick up the participants, the food, the facilitators, & the rest of the equipment in small loads.

I must say, Coop & Diana did an incredible job, for how many minutes??, while not able to get a hold of me??, stuck on the bus with 40 people to guarantee an incredible day!

Everyone started walking.  Around the big-rig.  Keep in mind, this is Hwy. 1.  It’s not a shabby scene.  Here’s where the beauty comes in.  For some, this was one of the highlights of the day.  It was a mellow time for them all to take a stroll together in the beautiful California nature, outside the office!  They have in fact requested that the next time they go out with us, we incorporate a stroll of sorts!

Load by load we got everyone & everything to the site, and truly did have an incredible day.  This was also the team that, by the time they got back to their office in Oakland, were begging Peter (the bus driver) to just go around the block one more time!  (you’ve Gotta love the bus!).

This was a memorable day!

By the way, Peter waited patiently for several hours in the bus, while the big-rig got sorted, and he finally made his way to the rest of us.

So - let’s take this a step back even further…

Architecture School.

University of Oregon.

1996-2000.

It was an incredible time for me - surrounded by incredibly Creative people.

It was truly there that I was so ecstatic to learn that, guess what?

Rules (via art) are meant to be broken!

This is where real discovery takes place.

We were designing a dance school, for one of our first studio projects.

To begin, we were doing some conceptual experimentations with dancers.

We had a photo of a dancer.

We interpreted the picture into something 2-D, & then something 3-D.

My dancer had crazy hair.

I replicated it as is, until my dear friend, John Lopez asked “What Was I Doing?!”…& Really drew the gesture of the hair.  ie:  took a pastel with his whole hand, and extended the drawing as it felt.

I was flaberghasted, & I don’t think I’ve ever been the same since.

It was this concept that took me through arch. school.

———————————————–

That was first year.

Let’s fast-forward to my thesis project.

Ironically, I designed another “dance school” of sorts, however, it was more abstract than that.  It was a “movement therapy center”.  My drawings were drafted articulately, however, they were embellished (again) by broad gestures with pastels.  They were presented on huge sheets of brown butcher paper.  And, to top it off, I had a sculpture I had made to embellish my design, made of a thick piece of wood, a 5′ piece of rebar, sticking through the wood, and lots of broken glass hot-glued on, “dripping” down into a glass bowl.

This piece says more to me than words could Ever describe.

Point being, my reviewers enjoyed/appreciated my design, but could tell my heart was in the wood and the glass; the large strokes of pastel on the over-sized sheets of paper.

They asked, “now, are you going to do architectural design, or are you going to do ‘This’?”, pointing to the sculpture.

Good question!

I really didn’t know.

All I knew is that I wouldn’t end up sitting at a desk/a computer all day, feasting on CADD.  No, this idea of “movement”, of questioning/thinking outside the interior of the box; of testing the edge/the limits/the boundary is what fascinated me, & I believe permeates much of the concept behind Messy Monkey Arts as well.  I continue to dabble there, & continue to be pleasantly surprised around each cliff edge.

Many, many thanks to the University of Oregon Architecture School, for fully encouraging this type of exploration; to travel in every sense, to live.  This is design.  This is life.

(Glenda Utsey’s 180’s (1997) rules!)  :), as does Alison Snyder & Wayne Jewett

thank you.

xx.

Rest assured, as exceptional & unforgettable an experience this was, we decided to take the same energy, & package it in a slightly more eco-friendly & ‘constuctive’ way to ‘get messy’ with the corporate world.

Welcome to the Messy Monkey Arts blog. Please come back soon.