Fishtank Ensemble at the Levitt Pavilion

I went over to join the wonderful folks from Art Division, who were creating a community mural. It was fun drawing with artists from Art Division and with them, encouraging little kids to join the fun. Afterwards, I watched Fishtank Ensemble perform at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park. Summer has begun!

Fishtank Ensemble painted live at the Levitt Pavilion

Fishtank Ensemble painted live at the Levitt Pavilion

Downtown Artwalk - Art Mart

I had a great time at the Los Angeles Art Mart, in the beautiful Los Angeles Theatre building, part of the Downtown Artwalk. It was so much fun to connect people to my work and be around so many other creative vendors. Thanks for all the great conversations and support!

2D Animation dead? I don't think so.

I'm writing this in response to reading Nik Ranieri's post regarding being let go from Disney Feature Animation after almost 25 years. This is after he created this beautiful performance:Over the years, there has been a lot of talk in the animation industry regarding the death of 2D animation. While many U.S. based feature animation studios have turned away from it, I don't see it dying. This is the same industry that is also throwing out 3D animation jobs or making them so miserable that one must choose between misery in employment or stressful unemployment. Yet I see a lot of the most innovative work in 2D or 3D being done well outside of these companies. Visual Effects aside, I really don't think the most creative and innovative work is being done at larger studios.Below are just a few examples of 2D animation that is excitingly inventive and fresh with innovation.

Good Books - Metamorphosis from Buck on Vimeo.

KAIROS Trailer from Studio La Cachette on Vimeo.

Cartoon Network - Summer Ident FULL from eamonn o neill on Vimeo.

So no, 2D is not dead. Unfortunately, that does not make it any less frightening or difficult for skilled artists who have devoted their lives to this craft to find work that can compensate them.

Good times at Cannibal Flower

I've always enjoyed going to Cannibal Flower, showcasing art and being a vendor there. It's always a great mix of diverse art, music and fun people. I took some of my new prints and Gul and Girnari Jogi CD/DVD combos to the show last night and met lots of great people and got to see the band Snow in Africa live. Good times indeed.

Prints, CDs and DVDs by Mad Guru at Cannibal Flower

Juan Tomas dropped by and picked up a Girnari Jogi CD/DVD combo to support these wonderful Pakistani musicians at the Mad Guru table at Cannibal Flower.

Snow in Africa at Cannibal Flower

Snow in Africa

Cannibal Flower June 2013

Tak, Jamie, Caroline and Bhavan supporting at Cannibal Flower with a Gul DVD from Mad Guru

Alan Broadbent - Heart to Heart Album Cover

Two time Grammy winner, Jazz pianist and composer Alan Broadbent's new solo piano album "Heart to Heart" is out now, featuring a watercolor sketch of mine on the cover. I painted it live at the Catalina Jazz Club during a performance by the Charlie Haden Quartet.

Alan Broadbent album cover album - "Heart to Heart"

Purchase a print of the cover art - Purchase the album from Amazon - CD Baby - Google Play - iTunesThe album features these tracks played solo by Alan:1. "Hello my Lovely" by Charlie Haden2. "Heart to Heart" by Alan Broadbent3. "Alone Together" by Arthur Shwartz4. "Now and Then" by Alan Broadbent5. "Journey Home" by Alan Broadbent6. "Blue in Green" by Miles Davis and Bill Evans7. "Love is the Thing" by Alan Broadbent8. "Lonely Woman" by Ornette Coleman9. "Cherokee" by Ray NoblePurchase a print of the cover art - Purchase the album from Amazon - CD Baby - Google Play - iTunes

Ray Harryhausen Tribute

Tribute to an animation and cinema pioneer, Ray Harryhausen. In remembrance, a video compilation of his work. 

Sahara Drawing Workshop

I had the privilege of conducting a drawing workshop for a conversational English class at Sahara. Sahara is a wonderful organization that specializes in helping domestic violence victims in the South Asian community as well as offering classes to the community at large in computers, English and more. Our friend Mala invited Kristeen and I to give a workshop with her class.

For the lesson, I modified a session I had done in Bangalore to suit the conversational needs of these women. I thought we could share stories on moments we were proud of, achievements or other significant events, to help remind us all that we each hold stories worth telling. As I went around the room, and each woman gave her name and how she was feeling, it became clear that there were many stories to tell. Some women were deeply moved by stories on the news, such as the garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, or the brutal violence against a prisoner named Sarabjeet Singh, one of many innocents to inadvertently wander across the border and be imprisoned like so many others on both sides of the border.I drew some simple figures and objects and gave some ideas on how they can be used to express a variety of emotions. With that, the women took to drawing, and I walked around to help encourage or give ideas on how they could use drawing to express a particular idea if they needed it. After drawing, each woman shared their work and spoke to the class about it in english. It was hugely gratifying to feel the warmth and humor of these women, and to get a little glimpse of the depth of thought and wisdom they had to share with the world.Afterwards, one of the wonderful women treated us to some delicious Khandvi and a dish simply called Veggie Delight (Gujrati snacks). Kristeen and I felt humbled and just full of joy at having spent time sharing with these women. Thank you.

Elephants with Guns at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2013

I checked out a short set with the new lineup of the band Elephants with Guns at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles' Rhythm Village, put on by Rukus Avenue. It was a short and powerful set. I can't wait to see a longer set by the band. I managed a few quick sketches of Jayson Joseph and Nikhil Cooper.

Art of Music Night 3: Pakistan

Two weeks after the last Art of Music event, we held our third night time event in the series at the Levantine Cultural Center. This time, I focused on Pakistan. The story turned from traveling in countries and connecting to cultures I had never met before, to going home. I shared my short animated film Gul, featuring the music of the Girnari Jogi Group as well as the story behind both. I felt very grateful to have an opportunity to share the story of these fantastic Sindhi musicians across the globe for an audience that respected what they do and supported my efforts to benefit them. Once again, I met with many new faces and enjoyed the warm company of many old friends as well.My good friend Robin Sukhadia, Tablapusher kept the crowd going with his DJing and a live tabla performance in which he share the story of this beautiful instrument.

Art of Music Night 2: Uzbekistan and Mongolia

A week after opening night, we had our second event. This time we had Elephants with Guns perform a concert. The turn out at the Levantine Cultural Center was again amazing, and I shared stories of traveling through Uzbekistan and Mongolia. Jorge "Tyme" Martinez had put together some beautiful artwork for the Elephants. The t-shirt designs were amazing and everyone wanted one. It was so much fun meeting people and connecting to their stories as well as sharing some of the experience I had as a way of connecting people in LA to the people across the world in Uzbekistan and Mongolia.We even celebrated Jorge's and Medha's birthdays with more cake of course! 

Art of Music Night 1: Kyrgyzstan and Uyghurs of China

The Art of MusicIt has been a long journey to get to this point. I had painted 3 large paintings and 3 smaller live paintings before I pitched the idea for a gallery show on Central and South Asian music to Jordan of the Levantine Cultural Center back in Oct. 2012. He gave me the go ahead, and I began working on the rest of the 13 paintings for the show. The pieces included collaborations with Jorge "Tyme" Martinez, as well as 10 large paintings of music from 5 countries I visited while backpacking across Central and South Asia, connecting to people across language barriers through music.After much hard work painting, reaching out to local communities of the five cultures represented as well as other people interested in cultures and music, then getting the pieces framed by RA Custom Framing and then putting them up with the help of Jordan, Lila, Rima, Sahra and Kasmira at the Levantine Center, we were finally ready for the opening.We had our official gallery opening on Feb 2, 2013 and it went well beyond my wildest dreams. It was really heartwarming to see friends, family and all kinds of fans of art and music pack the Levantine Center's Inside/Outside gallery space, with Kyrgyz and Uyghur music playing in the background. It was a joy to share some of my friends and my experiences connecting to people in these beautiful cultures, and very rewarding to see people connect to it. Particularly hearing people's own experience in using art to connect with others on a deeper level was inspiring.   

Gaza

 

Rupa and the April Fishes at the Mint

I went and enjoyed a show by Rupa and the April Fishes at the Mint. Here are some sketches. The one at the end is of a band called Bubbelah, which was a lot of fun too. My friend Robin Sukhadia played tabla with Rupa and the April Fishes on a few songs.

Bubbeleh at the Mint

Robin Sukhadia

Safa Shokrai at the Mint

Rupa

Crowd Funding for the Girnari Jogi Group Album

Girnari Jogi Group preparing.

Click to enjoy the music of the Girnari Jogi Group.Back in December 2011, I had called my friend Ustad Amb Jogi in Pakistan. I was visiting Ohio at the time, and thought it would be good to catch up with some friends I hadn't spoken to in a while. I  had hired Jogi and his group of musicians to record music for my short animated film Gul, back in 2008. I returned to the US, finished the film, toured around with it, then returned to share the results with Jogi and his group in 2010. That day in December 2011, on the phone, after some prodding, Jogi told me that he and the other musicians had lost their homes to flooding, earlier that year.I felt ashamed for not having called sooner. My second thought was that I needed to do something. Sitting a world away, what could I do for these wonderful musicians? I had one song that I had hired them to record. There was some unedited video footage from the recording session. Perhaps I could use these along with the photos of them I had already posted online in promotion of my film, to try and piece together a campaign to raise funds.

Ustad Amb Jogi on Dholak, with Mewa Khan on Harmonium

It was not feasible for me to raise enough funds to rebuild their homes. Still, I knew they could use whatever I could raise, but there had to be something more. I had discussed promoting them with recordings that others may have made of them before all of this, but no one every really gave them footage from shows, nor were there people interested in looking our for and promoting them.What if I used this campaign to pay them to create an album? Then they would be earning the money and it would work towards trying to create new opportunities for their careers. I already had a website, so I researched some shopping plugins for wordpress and decided on Shopp. I also started contacting people in the US and in Pakistan. I started letting everyone I met know about this campaign that I was putting together. My target was to get it up and running after Christmas and New Years, when people might be paying attention again. I enlisted the help of a few friends for recording at the Institute of Sindhology in Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.

Sanam Chakori and Sherebano on vocals.

I went through my data backups and pulled out the footage, and the music only version of the score from my film. To me, this was the key to connecting potential crowd funders here in the US, with these musicians in Pakistan. I edited the video together, finished testing the shop portion of my website and finally launched the campaign, a few days after New Years. I used my facebook page, and fan page to send out messages with the purchase link. Everyone I spoke to learned about the campaign. By the time the campaign began, I had everything worked out as far as recording facilities, how to send the money directly to Ustad Amb Jogi and what to do with the footage for the new album once I had it. Now I just needed to raise the funds. I set a goal for $1,200 as that would be 4 to 5 times what the musicians would normally get paid for recording.Now that I had pushed myself so hard and put it all out there, certainly the money would come pouring in. Wrong! A few sales came through, but it quickly became apparent that things needed to pick up to make this goal a reality. I posted in all kinds of forums and groups related to Sindhi culture (Sindh being where the musicians were from in Pakistan). There was interest. People enjoyed watching the video, but it really did not increase sales.I started sending direct messages to everyone based in the US on my facebook. It took time to write all the messages, personalize them and try and connect people to what I was trying to do. Every day, I sent messages until I hit the facebook anti spam warning, then stopped for the day to start again the very next. Things picked up slightly, but on a day when I didn't campaign, nothing happened. I kept on it morning, noon and night around my work schedule.Every time someone purchased the music, I sent a thank you with them tagged in it from the Mad Guru facebook page. This showed up to all their friends and then to my twitter feed which was connected. I tried to use hash tags that would help with visibility. I kept this going for 2 months, messaging and remessaging to get through to friends and their circles.By the end of the campaign, there were over 90 people who purchased music to help the Jogis. I sent it all to Ustad Amb Jogi, all the while discussing what the purpose of the album was, how stories are what connects people and how their culture is what people wanted to enjoy. The Jogis were ready to go. With money in hand, they were able to hire a recording engineer and studio at the Institute of Sindhology for a very low cost thanks to the generosity of contacts there.

Zulfikar Ali Gopang, Recording Engineer

Receiving the recordings ended up being the largest delay in the process. I called from April to October to try and get the recording sent. I tried to have other contacts go and pick up the tapes to send me, but in the end a good friend Suffi Bilal Khalid in Lahore was able to get the tapes sent to him, which he was able to digitize and ftp to me as courier services refused to send music, probably due to piracy fears, though these were original recordings.

Jairam and Bhiko Jogi on Murli

With the recording in hand, I've launched the album, and feel thankful to all those who chipped in $1.50 to $150, and placed their faith in the Jogis and myself. It had been a rewarding journey so far, and I hope to keep connecting the Girnari Jogi Group to new opportunities. Thanks Saeed Mangi for all the beautiful photos from the recording session, and for helping to make it possible to record at the Institute of Sindhology. Thanks to Fatah Daud Poto and Suffi Bilal Khalid for making it possible for me to ever even meet Ustad Amb Jogi and the group. 

Sanam Chakori and Sherebano on vocals, with Ibrahim Jog on Tali behind them.

First Fridays in Oakland

I had an amazing time selling prints at First Fridays in Oakland. It's a rapidly expanding arts and community event with wonderful staff/volunteers. They graciously made space available for artists such as myself to share and sell our art. I brought some prints of my and Tyme's art as well as dvds of my short film Gul. It was a pleasure to talk to so many nice people and to see the joy and excitement on people's faces as they saw the art. Among the many wonderful people with home I had great conversations were a wonderful painter named Jackson Royster and a talented photographer named Daniel Bahmani. My sweet friends Medha, Sushil and Sheila dropped by with their warmth, food and smiles which made it even more fun. Thanks Oakland!Post apocalyptic photo courtesy of Medha.

Sheetal Gandhi "I Am You" at the Annenberg Community Beach House

I went to see my friend Sheetal Gandhi perform her new piece "I Am You" at the Annenberg Community Beach House along with Meena Murugesan. Here's a watercolor I did during her wonderful performance.

Encounter at East West Players

Here's a sketch I managed in the dark during the "Encounter" show at East West Players in downtown Los Angeles tonight. 

Saul Williams at the Hotel Cafe

I had the pleasure of seeing Saul Williams at the Hotel Cafe last night with my friends Tyme and Jayson. Here are some watercolor sketches I managed while being inspired by some powerful spoken word performances. I loved the way Saul invited other poets at the show up to share their beautiful work and created an intimate feeling by carrying a conversation with the audience. I managed a sketch of the talented Gina Loring who opened for Saul as well.

EWG at Sofar LA

Thanks to Sofar LA I got to see some really talented bands at a generous fellow named Rocco's place which he opened up to some great musical acts in downtown Los Angeles. I managed a sketch during each short set by York, Tyler Lyle, Elephants with Guns and Chasing Kings.

EWG at Tuesday Night Cafe

I got to see my friends Elephants with Guns perform at the Tuesday Night Cafe, and managed this quick sketch.