i he(art) seattle

There are 2 butterfly stencils between Denny and Republican on Broadway. I love stencils… the truest form of guerrilla art!

I’m locked up at Ace Hotel in Portland OR having a creative retreat of sorts. My iMac, printer, scanner, all the goods are here and I’m working on my blog. All day Monday has been busy and we even got out to see the Pearl District and stroll Burnside… Portland is pretty cool and this hotel is right in the in the heart of downtown.

I’ll post some pics later

So the past few weeks have been awesome for me. I’ve spend some wonderful quality time with some very cool Seattliettes at some pretty exclusive functions. On Tuesday May 20th, heard Dr.Iyanla (pronounce I-Ya-Ha-la) Vanzant speak at Benaroya Hall. She’s the author of One Day My Soul Just Opened Up and In the Meantime, among other books, those were the two I bought after the event.

Her speech was titled, The Ways We Love, she was very open, super-down-to-earth, “chile let me tell you” in the sweetest spiritual sort of way. Every story, every example, it all came back to you. Her story about her sister dying awhile ago and her not haven’t spoken to her for 3 years. She honored her by remembering what she had taught her. She taught her how to tie her headwrap and her skirt her native African culture. She spoke about forgiveness, unconditional love, and loving yourself, taking care of yourself. Integrity. Principles.

This is a calm video of Iyanla, but it really does sum up her beauty and raw essence. I’m really on this journey too and it’s so exciting to get to know yourself. And art is such a big part of that for me. I sometime feel like a dweeb because when people ask me what I’m doing on the weekend or what I do for fun… it’s pretty much always art. It’s fun actually. It’s all good.

After the event, a group of us went to Wild Ginger right across the street. We had wonderful satays and great conversations about our life experiences and journeys in spirituality and christianity. Very empowering and balancing to think about your spirit.

All of the parks in Seattle are beautiful, but Sculpture Park is somewhat awesome. My favorite thing to do on a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning or afternoon for that matter is to find myself a nice stretch of green grass where I can lay out and soak in some rays. Come on, try it. Bring yourself a blanket lay back and stare at a cloud.

Cloud staring is so underrated.

Here is my last weekend adventure in Sculpture Park. Last Saturday was Tai Chi Day – and they were giving free lessons in the park. How cool is that? Not only can you get a free lesson or too but it’s always packed with joggers, walkers, and bikers. I heart it because of the art, the length of it – that park is long, and you can hear a mix of waves crashing, barge horns, trains, birds, and children’s laughter.

Enjoy!