From the Memento Box

I found some gems in my memento box last night. This is a signed autograph from Jermaine Jackson. My family was on a flight to California and because my dad was a pilot, if there was room in the first class cabin, sometimes we got to sit there. Jermaine Jackson was sitting in the row next to me and I kept staring at him. Mom and I were speculating - is it Tito, Marlon... so the flight attendant whispered to us which Jackson he was. I had to ask my mom for encouragement to say something to him, because I was very shy.

Once we were at cruising altitude, I unfastened my seat belt and said hello. He pulled an album out of his briefcase and signed it, which I remember thinking was a bit unusual. Do What You Do was the popular song from that album. Then he signed this Delta postcard. He seemed very sweet.


And here is a drawing I did called Hair Do's - The Most Popular Ones of '81. Perhaps I'll take this to my hairdresser for my next appointment.

Mysteries

I promised I'd let you know when dreams relating to my vision board started coming true. If you look at the first pic, you'll see on the right a photo of two empty chairs on the shore of a river. When Jay and I went to Big Sur last weekend, the first place we stopped had chairs facing the Big Sur River. We had no plans of going to Big Sur when I made the board last month. What do you think of them apples? Kinda awesome.

Also if you are wondering about the cherries, my Grandma has often said, "Life is a bowl of cherries, isn't it honey?" She is a strong, positive woman (as many of our Grandmothers are) and that is a life philosophy I want to roll with.

Earth, I Love You

All photos by Aldo Tonnoir

Oh Great Earth, I love you and need you! You took such good care of me this past weekend. I took a trip with Jay to glorious Big Sur and the grandness of her nature rendered me utterly happy and peaceful. Soon I was soon firing all 6 cylinders again. How can I repay you? I want to do something for the ocean, I feel like that will be a lifelong calling. I am not sure what yet though.

Friday I start my new plan of walking to work, a couple of times per week. It is only 3 miles one way. Darnit, I just noticed that I am drinking a Calistoga sparkling water out of a plastic bottle. My Sigg bottle with filtered water is good enough. I don't need to contribute more plastic to our landfills. I will try harder with just a little more awareness and a positive feeling.

I thought you might like these old school photos of Eddy Merckx and other cyclists between the years 1969 - 1979. They come from a book we have called The Fabulous World of Cycling. Pretty bad ass, aren't they?

And just for kicks, remember to turn off the lights and shower with a friend.

Surf Fridays!

photos by Mary Alice Bowie

What you are looking at is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's a surfboard fence in Pe'ahi, Maui. The same Pe'ahi that is home to Jaws. One of my studio mates went to Maui earlier this year and knew I'd love it, so she brought me back some photos. Thank you, Mary Alice!

So how did this fence come to be? Donald "DJ" Dettloff and his family live on this farmland in Maui, and it was a huge storm with gale force winds that prompted him to secure his quiver a bit better. It was then that inspiration struck and the fence was born. The fence goes around half of his property. Many of them were donated by friends and neighbors, others show up mysteriously on his driveway. Some were scavenged from the old Makawao dump. How many boards are there? Roughly 400.

DJ told the Maui Time Weekly that when he receives boards in fair condition, he'll fix them up and loan them to young local rippers. He goes on to say, "I'm not a painter. I can't dance or sing, but I am an artist, and this is my art. This wasn't easy, but I love it."

Shelter Cove

Surf Fridays!

Early history of Tandem Surfing

Huntington Beach Tandem Competition 1962
Photo by John Loengard

Fred & Val

Dan & Sacha

Aaron & Leslie

Fred & Aurelie

Chuck & Tiffany

Photo by Hiroshi Mori

Tandem surfing - what a beautiful sport! It just makes me happy to look at the photos of these graceful couples. I didn't know much about tandem surfing, so I found out more from the International Tandem Surfing Association (ITSA)...

Tandem surfing started at Waikiki as the early Hawaiian surfers frolicked for endless hours on their surfboards. Both men and women surfed then and it seems natural that they also rode tandem.

The first photographic record of tandem surfing was in the 1930’s. The Waikiki beach boys would take the tourist women out for rides on their boards. To give them a more exciting ride and to show off for those watching on the beach, they would pick the gals up into a shoulder sit and probably even do shoulder stands.

Another reason to do “lifts” on a tandem board is that while tandem surfing with an untrained girl, it is actually harder to turn and control the big tandem board with her standing on the deck. As soon as she is hoisted up on to his shoulders, the guy can ride and turn the board as though he were surfing alone.

Pretty cool huh? And did you know that legends Tom Blake, Rabbit Kekai and Rell Sun used to tandem surf?


You're going to dig the tandem skateboarding in this clip!



Here's what Bear Woznick, master tandem surfer, has to say about the dynamic of men and women in tandem surfing:

There’s a whole other element to tandem, and that’s the dynamic between a man and a woman. It’s so powerful. It’s a connection to really ancient DNA. It’s a real visceral feeling when a man lifts a woman. When she trusts a man... and he protects her with his skill, strength and savvy. The woman displays her beauty and her power. It’s a very powerful thing when a man and woman trust each other.

In modern life, a man seldom, if ever, lifts a woman... just in general. Most women will say it’s the most incredible experience they’ve ever had. For the first time many say they were able to trust a man, and in the process, all this grace and beauty was released through them.

The Wise Words of Others

On our bodies...

Surfing in Nova Scotia

"I only wonder why? Why would we live in these amazingly tuned and functioning bodies and not learn to use them to move through space with the grace of birds and fish?"

- Ricardo Antonio Salcedo a.k.a. RAS


On our minds...

Alaias handmade by Nathan

"Is there anything more valuable than peace of mind? We should do much to guard it, & always be grateful for it."

- Nathan Oldfield

Waving

This is so lovely. I was taking a little break from the Interwebs, but this soothed me right back in.



by Joe Conway

Interview Wednesdays: Ciro Bicudo

I am so excited to introduce you to one of my favorite artists, Ciro Bicudo. You may have already read about him on Santos SurfArt or Grass is Greener, or perhaps you saw his work in Longboard Magazine's last art issue. He is also the creator of PineappleLuv's happy new logo!

Ciro is such a genuinely good, soulful person. He goes by the nickname 'Organik' because as he explained, he takes an organic path in life and when he paints, he always starts with his mother's garden.


Ciro, where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I grew up in Piracicaba, which is a countryside city in Brazil, but my grandmother used to live in a beach town called Peruibe. Every weekend I would visit her and around that time I had my first contact with surf. Nowadays I'm living in São Paulo, which is a big city, sort of like New York; I moved to São Paulo in order to study at the University and stayed here.

When did you first start drawing and painting?

Since I was young I used to do some drawings either at school or at home. But it was skateboarding and surfing that introduced me to the graphic culture when I was about 14 or 15 years old. I remember buying a skateboard deck with the Powell Peralta mini logo. And I always loved that graphic, so simple, so clean and perfect.

Around that time, one of my friends gave me a surfboard to paint and do some art on it... that's when I started doing some for my other friends as well. Later, I started in advertising school and my focus was to work with art of surf/skate brands. After that, I received some invitations to exhibit in art shows.

Are there any other artists in your family and do you have any brothers or sisters?

I have a 28 year old sister and a younger brother who is 22. In my family, my mother is an interior decorator/designer and my sister is an architect and an unbelievable artist. She paints with water based ecolines .

What gives you inspiration?

Music, surf, skate, colours, architecture, photos... Nature is one of my greatest loves. I love to paint flowers, leaves and the ocean. Nature makes me feel so good, it makes me peaceful and happy.

What is your creative process like? Do you get an idea and draw it first, then paint? Or just start painting and see what emerges?

It's a freestyle process. Some ideas just happens as I paint, or I'll do a sketch in a blackbook and then I paint it. All of my works are an expression, colours says how I feel at that time.

Like many other artists, we have other jobs. How do you create that balance where you find time to do your own artwork?

I work in the Local Motion office during the week, developing products and a design that is more commercial. But at night when I'm at home, I try to created some concept designs. When I'm creating my personal paintings it's something real, that I truly feel and believe. All nights and weekends is when I do something for me, not commercial stuff. These two points (commercial designs and pure art) help me to always exercise my brain. 'Cause the evolution is constant.

Do you like to play music when you paint?

Every time when I'm in the process of painting, the radio is on. I love music, I am listening to something all day long. Some of my inspirations are DUB, JAZZ, FOLK, PUNK, music from the 70's, 80's and 90's.

What are some of the last CDs that you played?

Neil Young - Harvest and Harvest Moon
Drag The River
Tim Armstrong - A Poet's Life
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
The Descendents - Live
Rancid - And Out Come the Wolves
Coltrane - A Love Supreme


I think a lot of us in other parts of the world would like to listen to more Brazilian music. Can you recommend some of your favorite artists?

My favorite Brazilian musicians are...

Bossa Nova: Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Donato, Chico Buarque, Toquinho, Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell.

Punk band: Garage Fuzz

Rock: Los Hermanos

What is your favorite home cooked meal?

All my mother's food. And my father's barbecue.


What is on the top of your wish list for travel?

I love Brazil, but my dream is to visit California, then Barcelona, Ireland (and drink some Guinness) and Italy.

What is your favorite place to surf in Brazil and where did you first learn? You also skate, right?

One of my favorite spots is a secret spot near my grandmother's house. You need to get on a boat to arrive at this beach. I learned to surf at Peruibe's popular beaches. Yes, I skated when I was young. I love skating just as I love surfing, but nowadays I'm not skating too much.


I am so jealous that you never have to wear a wetsuit in the water! What do you ride?

Oh, here in Brazil, in June and July we need to use a wetsuit, because the water is too cold. It is winter here in these months. My favorite boards are my twin fins fish 6'0 and my 6'1 evolution fish with 3 fins .

Do you play any instruments?

I play chord instruments and harmonicas, but I love acoustic guitars, and I love to play folk songs.

What is the most exciting thing to have happened in your career so far?

Being in the Longboard Magazine Art Issue is a dream come true. And when I met Ben Harper and he said, "Your work is gorgeous."

What are some of your dreams for your future and what is your greatest ambition as a painter?

To have my personal art space/studio and live for some time in California working with art, design and surfing. I want to do art shows around the world.



Favorite artists?

I have a lot... OS GEMEOS (The Twins); Flavio Samelo (photographer); Thomas Campbell; Andy Davis; Yusuke Hanai; Kyle Lightner; Mucha; Rick Griffin; Jesse Ledoux; Evan Hecox; Beatriz Milhazes and Hieronymus Bosch.

Thank you, Ciro. What advice would you give to a young person who wants to be an artist?

Trust in yourself, and if you want to, you can. Think-feel-do it.