seanwoolsey.com

Fist blog post of the year. First blog post of the decade for that matter.

Lots of things are going on for me right now. For one, I got a studio with 4 creative cronies in December 09, and have been busy deconstruction and reconstructing to make the space our own. It has taken a while and I can honestly say it is now 99% done. I will be having a photoshoot soon, so stay tuned.

Been busy with lots of new art on sheet metal, mixing paints, acids, and a slew of other things as an experimentation in aging and decay. Also been pursuing more street art, below is one we put up several days ago. And lastly been making a small collection of desk lamps out of re-purposed fallen trees from northern CA. I am working on a shop section of my site where these will be for sale as well as other creations. Thanks Ryan Haack for the amazing photos.

Detail of the patina copper arm.

Detail of the stump.

Wall at the new studio made of salvaged wood.

It has been a darn long time since I have posted anything.

I am going to be brief.

I just finished my new portfolio website at www.seanwoolsey.com

Below are some photos of my solo art show at Alta Cafe in Newport Beach that just wrapped up.

Here are some random photos of an amazing trip I took to Portland for my friends Steve Opporman’s wedding.

Here are a couple of photos some manzanita branch chandeliers I was commissioned. One was for a new store in the Camp in Costa Mesa, and one was for my friend Tiffany. The Manzanita branch was reclaimed from the large fires down in San Diego a couple of years ago. Hanging from it are 5 mason jars with Incandescent light bulbs.

Here are a couple of new posters that I have finished for the Appropriated Poster Campaign. Unurth.com just did a post about them as well.

My pal David Ellis did this amazing video collab with Blu recently. Another retinal stimuli to add to both of their repertoires.

And lastly, the work of JR has profoundly impacted me and people around the world. His latest has me breath-taken and so inspired….

Mike Brodie , AKA the Polariod Kidd, has disappeared. Disappeared as in you won’t find him on the world wide web, social networking platforms, or any other online portals except for the myriad of blogs and sites enamored by his life and work.  And I am guessing that this is the inevitable act of someone of his nature.

Weaved from a different cloth,  Mike Brodie is a photographer documenting the architecture of todays heretics, and he is living Huckleberry Finn style adventures with his cadre of creative cohorts.

A graceful evocation of a poetic reminiscence brought to life by the picturesque details. Brodie captures the real rebels of society, the post modern insurgents of the 21st century.

I present to you the unwavering, anachronistic, unbridled and incomplete life documentations of Mike Brodie.

I title this “The Chronicles of Nevermind: The stories told to a few, and experienced be even fewer.”

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent people and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty.

To leave the world a better place, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.

To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. That is to have succeeded.- Daniel Eldon

Somewhere in America

pride had transcended poverty then it lost its lead

snow clothed houses and shed its winter coat as the seasons changed

laughter lived on a doorstep, and rarely went to sleep

the wind whispered with no one to hear it

walls remember countless stories.

Somewhere in America

the curtains of life went missing

a parade of perception became apparent

lust has lost its luster, but beauty will never be forgotten.

All photos taken by Kevin Bauman in Detroit.

More at 100 Abandoned Houses

Take it as you wish. Leave it as you may.

My buddy Chad Bowker is on a mission to educate and change the way you drink your coffee.

Chad is among the roasting cognoscenti and his new roasting company Gospel Swamp Coffee is all about light roasts which cultivate a sweet and honest taste of where the beans emanate from.

Chad sells his roasted beans of perfection off his site, Gospel Swamp Coffee, and if you are local (OC area) he may even let you pick them up at his house.

My favorites are Bolivia and Kenya, which I enjoy every morning.

Support local. Sip global.

Keep roasting Chad!

Photos by Tyler Gipe

My friend Ole Brodersen is living  On A Boat. For reals though (minus T Payne). He and a crew of his Norwegian comrades set sail from their native land last August in a wooden sailboat, with a history of over a hundred years. Ole is an amazing photographer and shot the below shots throughout their trip. I was able to catch up with the crew for a few days as our time overlapped in New York. A large group of jealous friends wished the Norwegians farewell one evening on the Hudson river, as we sang songs with gusto, shared stories with fervor, and wished the night would last forever. Ole and cronies are currently sailing home across the Atlantic, which they estimate will take them roughly 2 months in their vessel. I will update and have Ole share some more photos and a story or two of their travels. But for now, here is a snapshot to whet your palate, and cultivate some wanderlust. Click on photos for photo gallery.

I just got back from two amazing and inspiring weeks in New york.

I went to interview a cadre of creatives that are shaping the culture of today, modern day heretics if you will, paving their own way in the modern world.

David Ellis , Oliver Vernon, Nicola Lopez, Jacob Feige, Gaia, Ira Lippke, Jimmy Fontaine, Nini Ordoubadi, David Graves

These photos are an amalgamation of some of the things that went down during the trip.

Includes but not limited to: Bagels. Art. Interviews. Beer. Sailboats. Street Art. Honeybees. Coffee. Bike Polo. Whiskey. Tea. Norwegians.

Shot from the new High Line Park.

David Ellis creative den.

Oliver Vernon’s work space. Below is a piece his father made years ago.

Traffic Jam.

Had some tea time with Nini Ordoubadi in here resplendent home.

Nini’s gallimaufry of selected teas.

Gaia had some fresh pieces he was finishing for a show in DC.

Nicola Lopez’s fabulous studio space tucked somewhere very tricky to find in BRKLYN.

Bike Polo Sundays at the park in L.E.S.

David Graves is a beekeeper who uses space on top of buildings throughout the city to cultivate his honey harvest. 50,000 bees in this one location!

The next generation of bike polo enthusiasts.

Haha really?

A great piece my bud Connor Harrington did in Meatpacking District.

Ole and Jrob.

Some friends from Norway are sailing around the world and they were in NY the same time as I, and we had a farewell shindig to wish them a safe journey back home.

Priceless.

Just posted a couple of new posters in the Newport Beach area. Enjoy, and stay thirsty my friends.

INSPIRE.

Words of wisdom for the week:

“Hard times should not encourage conservatism and retrenchment, but greater experimentation.”

Below is a series of appropriated posters that I painted over and reinstalled into bus stops. These are the first posters to hit the streets in an ongoing experimental campaign to raise cognitive awareness and more importantly to inspire benevolent action that we often forget, oversee, or might be in opposition to our often hedonistic culture. These first batch of posters can be found in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. More to come. Many more.

PATIENCE. On 17th St. at Orange Ave intersection in Costa Mesa.

Andy Warhol once said ” I dropped something today and it broke, and it made me want to drop something once a week to remind me how fragile life is.” Last week I laid on the beach thinking about this quote amongst many other things, during the 20 minutes that I lay in excruciating pain on the beach staring at the overcast sky. I injured my back while surfing, landing on my board upside down on the lower part of my back, and could barely walk for a couple days thereafter. Subsequent to this I have been so thankful that I can walk, ride a bike, play tennis, paint, etc. It always fascinates me that it takes something bad to happen, in order to realize the good things in life that I often take for granted. Anyway, it has been a while, here is a bit of what I have been up to.

I finished this piece of Three 3 foot triangles, each representing a country that I visited in Asia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Indonesia.

A couple weeks ago I interviewed the very talented art duo Conor Harrington and Chloe Early the day before their fist solo show in the US, at Kinsey/DesForges gallery in Culver City. Connor and Chloe are of Irish descent, and both now residing in London are at the forefront of the British cadre of artists.  We sat in the hot sun on the roof as Connor frantically worked on a wall mural. Both interviews are for the coffee table book I am working on, but here are some photos below to show their talent.

Chloe’s somnambulant yet lucid landscapes.

Connor’s visual battlegrounds of masculinity in the modern world.