stuck on a wall.

made a pit-stop at the lana santorelli gallery on my way home this evening. this piece by edina todoki caught my eye. i immediately thought of banksy's "girl & balloon" - a more simplified version, of course. from far away, i judged it. what a cop-out. how does one attempt to imitate banksy? in a gallery, nonetheless. it's claim to challenge the great doesn't even fit into proper context! bah.

i leaned into a side-step to turn and walk away when i noticed its slight discoloration. something about its uneven application made me swirl back and foot forward for closer inspection.

it's moss! ... interesting? pretty cool, but what else? i still found myself reluctant to honor this todoki kid among the ranks of the infamous graffiti repertoire. still, i wanted to learn more about the piece and its artist.

apparently, "wind" was created specifically for this space. apparently, most of her works are actually living pieces that exist in random locations throughout the city, this urban landscape.

living pieces. a few months ago, i read an article on the growing practice of "moss graffiti". more of a recipe than an article, really (of course. we're in a DIY state of... economy). i sort of want to try it, myself.

so, if banksy creates pieces for social commentary on politics, freedom, animals and such... then todoki, in all her eco-conscious guerrilla glory, generates similar dialogue... but even better. in moss! high five, lady. while banksy wields his aerosol, todoki nurtures her green into living, interactive pieces and reminds us [urbanites] of the part of life from which we can be most detached: nature.

it's fascinating, really. not just the fact that the deficiencies in our landscape are highlighted by her work... but also the process as it begins and ends (or lives) in public display. it's a process that takes time. in a city that waits for no one, these pieces are quite an accomplishment. nature, time, and sometimes even reaction are things we tend to disregard. "wind" and the rest of todoki's work addresses all of these issues.

banksy, eat your heart out.

there i am. or rather, here i am.

a long time ago in another blog far, far away, i wrote this to myself:

"imagination is what defines us as human beings and not animals. in the moment that succeeds a stimulus and precedes a reaction, we hold the ability to imagine- the ability to conjure an anticipated response. this imagination doesn't have to be colorful, it doesn't have to be arabesque. but that moment of imagination can either be resourceful or damaging. you can choose to respond with control over your actions... or you can simply let it all p a s s y o u b y.

this is what separates the dreamers and castle-builders.

i used to call myself a dreamer, a romantic for life. but dreamers are habitually impractical. and though it is never a crime to punctuate your thoughts with idealistic fantasies... why be tortured by it? why not make it happen? castle-builders envision just the same but castle-builders take control and work to bring those desires to life."

i would like to make this relevant again. lately, i've not been a castle-builder. nor have i been a dreamer. it's heart-wrenching to discover this- to realize that i've lost all sense of self. but the truth is in these pages. these empty, unscathed pages that should be glowing with fervent, insistent marks.

no need to worry. they won't be off the hook for much longer. this coal in the pit of my stomach laid dormant for quite some time but i reassure you, something is brewing again. i'm here, i'm resilient, and i've got too much to share to let it all go to waste.

in life, all i want is to get all that i possibly can out of it- to milk it for all that it's worth.