Through My Eyes: 2012

Artomatic is a (somewhat) annual art exhibit where artists of all styles take over an entire building to show their works. It is the most democratic show I've ever been - artists got their own wall, or even their own room, for a $100 entry fee. Since it always happened in a building that was disused and destined for demolishing after the show, everyone had the total freedom to decorate their spaces however they wanted - painting the wall, the carpet, even the light switches. This made the show extraordinarily organic and the total opposite of the sterility of your main street galleries. It made other art fairs anemic in comparison. Sure many artists were mediocre or just frankly not very good, whereas other artists bordered on insanity and still others made you worry about their mental and physical well-being. But the energy and creativity was just electrifying and overflowing. Over 1,000 artists showed their works on 10 floors - if you didn't like what you see, just walk 5 steps and there's something completely different! People came in ties, people came in flip-flops, and you could walk through the hall with a beer in hand while a dance troupe gave free belly dancing lessons in the corner. How cool was that!

She has beautiful impressionist paintings that really capture the shimmering of sunlight.

This is an entire room that she decorated. It was like waking into the twilight of her mind.

Rinnnnnnnng... Whose is this? Wickedness on line 1, Temptation line 2.

This is a public contest of dioramas made from peeps, it's hilarious and awesome at the same time. Finally peeps have lived up to their full potentials! Since peeps will never rot, the art is museum-grade!

Le Tour de Peeps! They must look extra delicious if you happen to be on a 10 mile climb up Mt Ventoux!

Every year some one does a huge mural for the show, this is the one. Lots of graffiti everywhere in the building, too.

Chalk art!

Rest in peace, we won't miss ya!

Artist's statement: "We take pictures of bacon". True to their words.

Possibly the most fetish kettle I've met in my life.

This is art done by an 8 year old boy. All pictures were made from lego pieces. Too bad Totoro was not for sale. Another artist David Hagen at the show told me that this kid took the money he made on selling his lego pictures and bought one of David's art. How cool is that?

Mmm... donuts...

One box you don't want to be on the inside

This wall made me stop for a while

Definitely great art, not sure about the state of the artist though.

Ditto. These 2 artists shared the same room. How fitting. Maybe they'll fall in love with each other and paint happier things. Their art might go to shit, but they'll be happy.

This guy uses UV reactive paint. walking into his darkened room was like going on a trippppp.

Just another door leading to another space, seriously, how do they make it so awesome?

A serene room of beautify clouds and sky.

The wall paper was made from rough sketches for a comic book the artist worked on.

In here musical scores came alive and crawled all over the wall and floor.

Even a small sculpture can be very creepy... and I love it!

A single dad started drawing on his son's lunch bags to make school lunch more fun. Before long the lunch bags became canvases in their own right. All great art came from every day life, and everyone is an artist by birthright.

All hand bags were made from hard-covers of books. Robin Hood, A Tale of Two Cities, War and Peace - which probably made quite a sizable purse. A subtle hint at a vain society where hand bags cost hundreds and thousands of dollars yet heads are empty perhaps?

Sometimes when I pay my bills this is what it feels like. Make no mistake, each little receipt on the wall is a short prose.

This is a great installation. You can write words on pebbles and put them on seesaw to make it tilt. Words indeed carry weight and some are very heavy. They sway the balance of things, for better or worse.