We put almost our whole life in storage, moved out of our apartment, brought the boys to Grandpa Choy’s house and hit the road for Toronto.

Treats for the boys so they’ll behave while we’re gone.

We did the drive in 4 and a half days, which turned out to be a slightly crazy endeavor. The last part of the trip we drove for 29 hours straight (sleeping and driving in shifts) when we realized that we needed to get to Toronto the next day. It was an exciting start to our adventure, but we rolled into Canada like a couple of zombies. Here’s some pictures from our drive through the middle of the States, along Interstate 80.

Souther’s portable work station for making art on the road.

In Ogallala, NE we came across the Petrified Wood Gallery built around the collection of twin brothers Harvey & Howard Kenfield. Howard was there and showed us how he and his brother would take large pieces of petrified wood and split them into tiny little pieces to make into miniature buildings. They’d also collect broken arrowheads and make mosaics out of them. Amazing.

To Canada!

When we first started discussing the idea of doing some sort of traveling project, one of the first things I did was begin compiling music for the trip.  I know that doesn’t really make sense as a first step, but that’s just how my brain works.  Digging through my music collection, selecting songs that will get me more excited about something on the horizon– it’s a way for me to relax when I’ve got a lot on my plate (i.e. it’s one way I procrastinate).  I’ve made mixes for myself about different subjects that I find myself preoccupied with–love, space travel, productivity, monkeys, etc.

I also love making mixes for other people, and one of my very favorite things to get from another person is a mix. Even in this age of iTunes, I always make sure to take a picture when someone gives me a mix before I import it, because I want to remember it first and foremost as a gift and object.  Here’s a few covers that I grabbed out of my iTunes.  The latest one I got was the one with the  hand-cut paper dragonfly cover from the talented Mr. Jared Schorr, and I’ve been listening to it nonstop the past few days.

Anyways, I knew one of the things that would really make the long hours of driving fly by would be good tunes the whole way.  So I began rounding up hours of music for us, all the songs about driving, traveling, rambling, and exploring I could think of, all the hits that make you happy when they come on, even songs that mention certain areas and states specifically.

So naturally, as the idea for our project developed, and we begin to discuss launching a Kickstarter, one of the first reward ideas I got really excited about creating was a “Songs for Travelers” mix cd.

I reached out to a handful of my favorite songwriters, many of whom are also friends.  Each of the artists gave me great contributions–some songs that already existed and fit the mix well, others that were unreleased or created just for this project.  I’m really stoked on how it all turned out–this is a mix I’d be happy to get, and I know we’ll be listening to it plenty on the road. (The mix is exclusive to our Kickstarter and is part of the reward you get for pledging $25 or more to our project.)

Built Like Alaska - I’ve been friends with these guys for many years and through different formations.  I did my first album cover for them too.  My brother and I used to make a Central Valley-based zine called “Junk” in the mid-90′s, and we interviewed BLA for it.  My bro put it best–”the sweetest thing to come out of Oakdale since the smell of chocolate in the air.”  Hershey’s might’ve packed up and left town, but BLA is here to stay.  They contributed an excellent track called “Drive Away.” They have a new album out, called “In Troubled Times…” and it’s my new favorite of theirs.

Charlie Campbell & Megan Mishler - I met Charlie accidentally one day when we were both standing in the same line in NY. We have one of those weird connections where it’s like the universe keeps course-correcting to make sure we’ll bump into each other again. There are too many strange coincidences to go into here, but we’ve worked together on a series of TV commercials, an indie film, and now this.  Among tons of other projects, Charlie was in the band Pond in the 90′s , and also recorded one brilliant album under the name “Goldcard” that I highly suggest seeking out.  Charlie and his friend Megan recorded “Not a Ride I Wouldn’t Hitch” just for this mix, and it’s great.

Dear Nora (Katy Davidson) - Katy Davidson is one my favorite songwriters. I’ve never met her in person but I’ve spent many hours through the years painting to her music. I selected one of her older “Dear Nora” songs, “The Freeway,” for this mix because it’s so strange and good and nicely describes the experience of driving through California. She has a wonderful new album just out, the first official release of her new project “Key Losers”  called California Lite, recorded in Washington by Phil Elverum.

Discombobulated Ventriloquist (Ron Rege Jr.) - I’m a big fan of Ron’s art and he was an influence on me as one of the first cool zine/minicomic guys I ever found out about.  But Ron’s usually doing something cool musically too, from the Swirlies, to the Mystical Unionists, to Lavender Diamond, and now The Discombobulated Ventriloquist. His instrumental track on here, “EIOXFMG H” sounds like what a couple of amoebas might listen to if they decided to take a little road trip together to the other side of the microscope slide.

Kid Mud - Kid Mud started out as the alter ego of one of my oldest friends, Sean Duncan, but has since grown into a full-fledged band.  I’ve seen Sean overcome tons of obstacles in life and continually use music as his way to turn things back around through the positive act of creativity in all his projects, which makes him a true artist in my eyes.  He also recently founded a new label, Way Grimace Records, which is giving a home to a lot of Central California-related projects (and beyond).  This mix wouldn’t be happening without Sean and Way Grimace’s oversight with mixing, mastering, and packaging to make sure it looks and sounds good in the end.  Kid Mud contributed the unreleased new version of “Cloak the Sight,” which has been one of my favorites for some time from his earlier demos.

Little Wings (Kyle Field) - Kyle is an amazing musician, songwriter, and visual artist, and sometimes he lives in stick forts on the beach. I feel very honored to have an unreleased track from him, called “The Pit” which Monica and I can’t stop humming.

Lovehandles – Lovehandles is Tommy Yasuhara, though future generations may know him as The Man who Built the Peace Speaker.  What’s the Peace Speaker? A giant modular peace-sign-shaped speaker that will tour the nation, initiating musical and art events in unusual locations that can bring people together to dream about peace collectively.  Tommy gave us a sweet track called, “Purrspective,” in memory of his beloved cat and best friend Patticakes as he prepared for her journey into the spirit world.  You can’t listen to this and not feel something. The Peace Speaker “2012 ‘Til Infinity Anti-Apocalypse Tour” begins soon, and Lovehandles will have a new box set of music to offer to commemorate the occassion.

Jason Lytle - I grew up outside of Modesto, and lived there for a couple of years right after high school. It’s a place I have both love and hate for.  Grandaddy was sort of like the giant beacon in the night during that time. I remember my first Grandaddy show, in a small dive bar in Modesto, where I used my brother’s expired ID to get in.  There was Grandaddy playing in the light of some projected super 8 footage, and it was beautiful.  Afterwards Jason Lytle gave me a demo tape to review for our zine, and I felt super cool all week.  I’m sure Jason would’ve eventually become one of my favorite songwriters no matter where I grew up.  I feel like his writing influenced my imagination quite a bit and probably my work too.  Jason gave us an unreleased track, sort of a sparse wandering cowboy song, called ”Elko in the Rain,” and of course, it’s a good one.  I feel like a whole movie could be based on this song. I would cast the ghost of Jason Robards for the lead role.

Sara Lov (Devics) - I remember the first time I heard Sara Lov.  It was when I was going to art school in Pasadena, and I was sitting in my car in a hardware store parking lot at the edge of town.  I was getting unusually good reception to the not-so-nearby Claremont college station, KSPC, so I just sat there in my car for a while listening.  And then “Heaven Please” by Devics came on. I was completely frozen by this beautiful voice, so desperate and sad sounding.  It was like my radio was accidentally picking up the transmission of a ghost hovering over a haunted piano in the remains of a burned out house that had been struck by lightning. Anyways, Devics disbanded a while back, and Sara Lov has gone on to create some really lovely music as a solo artist. She didn’t quite have a traveling song up at her sleeve at the moment, so we agreed on this great earlier Devics track, “A Dream and a Train.”

Sonny Smith (Sonny & the Sunsets) - I’ve written about how much I love Sonny’s music before.  He’s an artist who seems to make music almost accidentally.  And the music is so good that it sounds like it must’ve always existed, like great songs that were carefully crafted many generations ago with exacting precision, then handed down over the years until they became broken in and comfortably loose and warm and familiar. Besides his 100 fictional records project, and his comic zines, he also recently did a series of storytelling performances that were really inspired.  I’d recommend all his albums and especially the upcoming Sonny & The Sunsets country album,”Longtime Companion,” which comes out in June. The recent instrumental “Acres of Lust” appears on our mix (and Kickstarter video), as well as a really nice older acoustic track, “Way to Go.”

The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit - Another group of loony bins I’ve known forever.  I feel like that doesn’t speak as much as I’d like it to as to how great these guys are, so I’ll say this– when I started making the travel mix (for myself), the very first song I thought of was “Tow Truck”.  It’s the cornerstone of this mix, and I’m really happy they let me include it.  ”Tow Truck” is Chris Doud’s song, one of GLTSO’s two frontmen.  The other guy is Willy Tea, and you can read more about him below. Every time these guys play somewhere, they seem to get everybody out of their seats to kick up some dust. They also played at our wedding and it made our night.  Afterwards, all the out-of-towners came up to me and were like, “Who WERE those guys, and where can I get an album??”  You can get one here and I hope you will.

The Preservation - I don’t know much about these guys.  They blew through Oakdale mysteriously, played an amazing show at the Cow Track, and then drifted off into the night.  Ok, my friend Taylor from Good Luck is also friends with them, and told me to go see them, so I guess it wasn’t that mysterious.  But I did, and they were rad, and I got their cd, and this song “Michigan” was on it, and it seemed perfect for this mix. Thanks guys.

Thombie - Thombie is one half Sean Duncan (Kid Mud), one half Rick Dillwood, and as you can see I like them because that’s my art on their recent cover. Thombie is the sound of two old friends reconnecting across some distance to make beautifully lush and layered music. Rick also happens to be a great filmmaker, and you can see how the same insight in his songwriting applies to the careful way in which he constructs a story in film. His upcoming documentary, “Between Friends and Family,” about how the process of being a sperm donor for a lesbian couple changed his life, was recently given the financial support it needed by a successful Kickstarter campaign, and I can’t wait to see it done.  The Thombie track I chose for the mix is called “Private Jet to Vegas,”  not only because it’s a great travel song, but it’s also one of the songs that I think really highlights the strength of their collaboration.

The Threads of Grass – Is what happens when a couple of amazing musicians who also happen to love landscape architecture get together.  The seeds of this collaboration began when Ben Hedstrom and Michael Yun recorded an album and then traveled around (along with friend and musician Chad Gilcrest),  playing at different land art sites, and making a movie in the process.  The track they gave us, “Downtown,” came from that experience, but was never released.  I love this track to death.  That doesn’t mean I would kill it, it means I would fight for its survival even if it meant my own demise.  It also has this great line to offer:   “I saw you dressed like M.I.A. today…you were shaking that mattresses sign like it was champagne”

Willy Tea Taylor - I want to say, this is a man who needs no introduction.  To anyone who knows even a little about Willy Tea, I think this is probably also how they think of him.  I have many fond memories of listening to him strum his mandolin and sing songs about hungry bears and chewing gum around a campfire. He was recently one of the subjects in the documentary the “Kingdom of Survival”, about radical visions that challenge normal views of the world, alongside….Noam Chomsky??   He is also making a film entitled “Searchin’ for Guy Clarke’s Kitchen.”  Anyone who’s seen “Heartworn Highways” will know exactly what that means. Willy Tea’s song “Lazy Train”  is a perfect addition to this mix.

The Trading Tortoise tour is going to happen! A great big THANK YOU to everyone who contributed, shared, and offered us encouragement. All funds we raise from now until the end of our Kickstarter (May 5) will go towards adding more stops to the tour.

After a lot of pow-wows about it, we came up with the idea of The Trading Tortoise, a traveling art installation/trading post that we would set up in different communities around America to barter objects and stories with people. In exchange, they get something special from another place we’ve been. Either something we’ve collected ourselves or traded for.

We’re both collectors. We really cherish items and love it when something cool we find also has an unexpected story behind it. I guess this is our way of sharing that feeling with other people.

Everything we get, we’ll tag with the name of the person, their location and a trade number and then document it on our website before we trade it again somewhere down the road. You’ll then be able to go on our website and find out where the item you traded for came from and also where your item traveled to. In a way, we would be documenting America through the objects, stories, and creations people traded us. Connecting people in different places in America through a network of objects and stories.

It’s been a dream for so long and now we’re finally ready to make it happen. We just launched a Kickstarter project yesterday to try and raise the funds needed for building the Trading Tortoise and the trip. We tinkered with it for a long time before launching, so I hope what we presented on the site makes sense. We have 18 days to raise the funds we need, not a lot of time, but I’m hopeful. If you like our idea, we hope you’ll share it with a friend or two. Here is the link to the Kickstarter site.

We think this could be something really special and we hope other people will believe in it too.

Juxtapoz Magazine will be celebrating its 18th birthday with an art show this coming Saturday, March 24 at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica.

Souther has one painting in the show (above) titled “Crashlander”. I’m really fond of this piece and I’m trying to convince him to make a print of it.

We won’t be able to make it to the opening, but if you live in the area, check it out!

After much ado, Souther’s art website is up for your viewing pleasure! Hurray!

Check it out HERE.

We spent weeks sifting through the archives, editing images, and getting everything just right. We hope you enjoy it!

we recently went to our local printer, Park’s Printing in Modesto to get two off-set lithograph posters made of souther’s paintings, The Lion is Awake & The Disappearing Treehouse.

for the press check, we went behind the scenes in their print shop to check colors and see their process. everything is computerized nowadays, so it’s very easy to adjust color levels and also to set the levels so if we needed to reprint the posters years from now, they would still look identical.

the paper passes through each of these CMYK presses that holds a different color ink. the last station is for special inks (metallics, etc). 

the final product; ready to go through the paper trimmer.

look for the posters in the Etsy shop!

I’ve been out of the loop, and only just recently heard of Dylan Williams’ passing last month. We were not close friends, but he was someone I admired very much. He was generous towards me, and encouraged me greatly when I was just starting out. Though he was an older and more established artist, he made me feel included right away.

His love for art, music, comics, books and films was infectious and I learned about a ton of cool things from him. When I was just a teenager, he helped distribute my terrible minicomics, and he continued to invite me to be part of some of his great projects over the years. When I heard the news, I went online and found a lot of people who knew him much better saying the same things– how much he encouraged and inspired everyone around him. There are just not enough people like that in the world, and it really breaks my heart to know he’s gone.

I’m excited to announce that I’ve contributed a small print to a wonderful project for Cloudy Collection & Koyama Press. The set of prints is called Monster Parade, and is a tribute to my hero, Mr. Ed Emberley.

It features 15 original prints, as well as two new prints by Ed himself! You can order the prints and see more about the project here.

Most people who know me, know how deep my love for the work of Ed Emberley goes. His books were my absolute favorite to draw from when I was little. He focused on breaking drawing down into a very simple vocabulary so that you could play with endless variations on his examples, and create intricate worlds of your own. This was so much more powerful to me than what I found in other drawing books (like the Lee J. Ames series, for example, where the focus was always on copying specific realistic drawings). He gave me the ingredients to draw whatever I could imagine.

I carried his drawing books with me my whole life, and they survived every move. In my art school days, I would bring them to class to share with my friends and teachers.  More than the instruction they offered, I loved the personality of his drawing books.

When I look at them now, I realize they have the same ingredients that later drew me into the zine world – a humble, personal format with cool hand lettering, personal stories and thoughtful tips.

I remember the tip he offered to turn your drawing pad to an angle that’s comfortable and use the side as a straight edge. The story about how potatoes helped his family survive a famine. And above all, the wonderful characters and bizarre worlds.

When artist/writer/curator/awesome guy Caleb Neelon told me that he was putting together an Ed Emberley tribute show (last summer in LA, at the Scion art space), I was crazy excited at the chance to finally meet him in person.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to participate in that project, but Caleb set up some time for me to come in and meet Ed and his lovely wife/collaborator Barbara during the show’s set up.

Ed was sharp as a tack, and we talked about art, life, and the future of books. Ed told me how much he loved the idea of the internet removing the middleman, and creators being able to reach their audience directly.

I brought an old woodblock print of Ed’s with me, that I had found about 8 or 9 years ago. It was my first ever “big” art purchase.

Ed was excited to see the print again, and he remembered cutting the wood and Barbara pulling the print over 40 years ago. The print is simply numbered “1″, and Ed told me it was the only one ever pulled from that block.

Ed was kind enough to personalize some of my beat-up copies of his books.

Ed drew a dragon beneath my own giant name. You can tell how much I valued this book, I wrote my name in it 5 different times, along with my phone number (twice) and my address.

Some of my drawings as a kid are on the inside back cover, using characters from a variety of Emberley books.

I was happy that I happened to have this book for Barbara to sign too! Ed remembered that for this book, he used balsa wood, which was easy to cut and left an interesting grain behind in the shapes.

I always keep an eye out for Ed’s illustration work. Here’s a little uncredited lettering on the back of an Arthur Lyman record.

The original mock-up for his classic “Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals”

After the visit, Caleb asked me if I could drive Ed and Barbara back to their hotel. The entire time I was driving I kept thinking “…Ed Emberley’s in my car! Ed Emberley’s in my car!”

A little while later, Caleb sent me this nice surprise gift! An Original Emberley chalk drawing.

Ed’s new print for Monster Parade

(before we left)

(AFTER!)

The cats were very happy to have us back and we’ve been watching them enjoy the new greenery; seeing the tips of their tails and ears barely above the high grass while they navigate the backyard.

Overall, even with the late nights and little sleep, we had an awesome trip and experience setting up the show.

The staff at the LeVine Gallery were very easy to work with and we had a lot of help. When we got to the gallery, the work was unpacked and waiting for us.

(detail of sculptures)

We set to work building the large installation piece. Souther painted a portal on the back wall of the gallery (giant thumbprints!) while I figured out how our snail friend would fit in the space.

We’d mocked him up in our small living room, so seeing him come together in the spaciousness of the gallery – especially next to all the artwork hanging on the walls – was a nice treat. He felt like he belonged there.

(detail of installation)

We finished the installation at 6am the day of the opening. Dragging ourselves back to the hotel, we slept in and then had a leisurely day before heading back for the opening party. One of our stops was Tinsel Trading which specializes in antique trims and notions. Once we walked in the door, my jaw dropped. The walls are lined with tons of trim, ribbons, lace; with those old library rolling ladders to get to the highest shelves. The basement downstairs houses the studio of Wendy Addison.

Wendy was Souther’s neighbor when he was growing up and gave him his first drawing lessons. She makes beautiful, whimsical things. Here she is with a giant collection of vintage marbleized wooden beads she found recently.

The rest of the basement is stacked floor to ceiling with cardboard boxes spilling over with spools of antique metal thread and trim. Some of the materials date back to the 1800s and some boxes have never even been opened yet!

Souther chose a few bits of thread to add to his art materials collection and we were off to get ready for the opening.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. But despite heavy rain and bitter cold, there was a great turnout and many of our good friends came out. You can see photos of the artwork and opening party here. Even Souther’s mom and brother flew out from California for the opening!

The rest of our trip was filled with explorations of NY with Souther’s family. We filled our time with good food, friends, and took in the Museum of Natural History and the Guggenheim… we even went on a Harlem adventure.

Dinner with the Num Num girls, Caroline & Lisa.

Helping Caroline frost her Salty & Sweet cake. Chocolate Ganache!!

Souther’s mom having her first slice of NY pizza

In the ‘African Peoples’ section of the museum, they had a display of traditional dance costumes. This one was our favorite, named the “Distinguished Devil”… according to the placard, he does “distinguished dances”.

We also loved the pottery on display from Colima, Mexico. The faces and shapes were so cartoonish and seemed contemporary, it was hard to believe how old they were.

A collector of Souther’s, Ron Dominguez, invited us to his home for breakfast and to see his art collection. He lives in a lovely apartment in central Harlem that is absolutely covered in art. Seeing and hearing him talk about his collection, I could really tell how passionate and proud he is about the pieces he has.

(Adam Wallacavage)

After breakfast, Ron took us on a tour of his neighborhood. There are major renovations happening to restore all the beautiful old buildings and brownstones. Here we are on Astor row.

Since moving to the neighborhood, Ron’s been learning all the history of the different buildings and streets in Harlem. He was a very informative tour guide.

One last goodbye…