Greenday and Utamaro

A punkish man walked into our store Friday and asked for the frames his wife had gotten framed. I asked what her name was and he said "Adrianne Armstrong" I remembered excactly where that order was. I took another look at the young man and thought to myself that he looked so familiar. I pulled out the frames for him: both were charcoal grawings, and I asked him if it was him or his wife that had done them. He said that he had done them. I kept thinking to myself, he looks a lot like the lead singer for Greenday except a little bit smaller than what I had imagined. It then dawned on me that it WAS Billy from Greenday. He seemed so normal, friendly, and not at all snobish (like most lead singers). This guy was quiet and happy to see his work framed. I helped him get his frames together and gave him hooks to hang his picture. I held the door for him and told him to have a nice day. After he left, I screamed. My face was red, my heart was racing. I felt like a child. Greenday Dookie was the first CD I ever bought. I knew the words to all his songs eventhough I had no idea what the word masturbation meant in those days. It was so exciting to meet him on such a mundane ordinary occasion. I'm glad I played it cool, because I could see the relief in his face when he left the store that I didn't freak out on him. That whole night I was day dreaming over and over. The whole weekend, eventhough I had a workshop, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's such a strange feeling to have, it reminded me of my first encounter with Gustav Klimts, "Danae".



This is one of three original Kitagawa Utamaro's japanese prints that I framed for someone. I love when people come in with these types of works. I get to spend a long time looking at prints, and I try to figure out the artists techniques. I particularily like these works because the lines are so crisp and fluid and the colors are so soft. I think that maybe Mattisse was influenced by this artist. They have a similar approach to line.




"Men of All Seasons"
Charles Bibbs

This is another piece of art that came into our shop. I really love this piece. I'm not a huge fan of racially charged pieces of art, but I feel like this artists work is so successful. I feel like it is a universal image that many cultures can relate to.

Charles Bibbs has always believed that we are the keepers of our culture, and as such, has spent much of his time working towards developing a cohesive, energized African American community. He is a committed activist on behalf of economic development and empowerment in the community, spending much of his free time holding seminars and workshops with young people. In his quest to preserve and develop the visual arts, Charles Bibbs has founded Art 2000, a non-profit visual art association that informs and inspires artists and art patrons alike. Out of this association has grown Images Magazine, the first national publication dedicated to ethnic art. Another one of Charles’ passions is jazz music; and by founding the Inland Empire Music and Arts Foundation, another non-profit organization, he has been able to bring an annual world class jazz and art festival to Southern California, while providing much needed funding for a number of art and music programs.