I don't remember at what point I became mesmerized by the sport and art of skateboarding but this little rounded piece of wood and wheels has always been there.
From watching my sister make one and stencil it out as a tiny kid in the 80s- to buying my own used Alva board with Santa Cruz big balls wheels when I was in highschool...I was hooked. Granted- I could not skate for shit- I did it anyway and accumulated all the wounds and bloody disasters that come with it. It was after a particularly painful crash on a homemade ramp that I decided to hang it up and stick to painting and watching the videos. I could live vicariously through the Blind: Video Days classic and the new-at-the-time 411 video library. These guys were blowing my mind- the wheels got smaller -the tricks got bigger. My favorite thing to watch were skate videos where I could imagine what it must feel like to pull those tricks. I learned so much about hip hop music and new songs I had never heard. Skate videos were like moving zines, complete with funny antics, gnarly wipeouts (that made you hurt to watch) and the beautiful struggle of doing a trick 100 times and failing and getting up and trying it again.
If I learned anything from skate videos it was to keep fu#×ing trying for that one time you will land it.
So it was with kid-like GLEE that when the portal opened to design my own board- I jumped it. I put my very meaningful painting "RETURN JOURNEY" on this first board.
This was painted at the HEIGHT of my endometriosis pain. I was in and out of ER rooms, bruised from IVs, in bed and living in bathtubs and not in the studio. I decided at some point this illness had taken enough from me and my battle was to complete a painting- while sick- racked with stabbing pain...I was not going to lay in bed and cry. So this painting was born...and theres the beautiful Death head reminding you that you're really a skeleton...but connected as much to Life as you are to Death...as much to growing and blooming as ever. The butterflies remind about transformation and change. This is not forever. You're on a return journey. The skeleton celebrates what it is, here and "there", part of it all...the dark and the light.
This was my conquering victory cry over my disease. I was gonna fight this "trick" 100 times till I landed it-outside the hospital. My life wasn't going to be on hold.
My Art was not going to be supressed.
Whether you skate or just appreciate the Art of the Board- you can get "Return Journey" here, with accessories to hang it or skate it ✌
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