BANANA PATCH FANTASY PRODUCTIONS
My window faced the alley. You can see part of the dumpster on the right of the painting. That was where I lived for three years while I performed my music and marionette shows on the beach. I could just pack up the little show on a dolly and pull it down to Ocean Front Walk (Boardwalk). There I could and did set up and perform whenever I wanted to. I didn't make money, but I got to be in the sunshine and fresh air, meeting lots of people from around the world; sharing my music etc. I even met my fabulous husband Zarandonga there, and we even performed together. He has his own band though, and now another woman and a new baby. Life goes on. And it gets better and better...when we have Aloha for one another.
CALIFORNIA, p2
BIKE PATH, VENICE BEACH
artist: ynez reyes '94
CRACK ALLEY, VENICE BEACH
artist: ynez reyes '95
I was living in a bus in the garage of the Positive Living Center on my way back to Maui in Dec of '95. My son and husband's lifestyle were a bit too much for me to handle. But I saw what was going on. As I lay in the bus at night in the dark, waiting for the changes that would save my life, I could hear and feel the human devestation that so neatly hid in the night shadows. I could only cry and pray that the sun really would come up again, and I could be liberated from the abyss I was falling into.
But in the morning, after the tears and the rain, came the painting. The streets were still slippery and luminous. There was our sun, again greeting one with hope and vitality. I sat in it's warmth as I drew and painted this little scene. It felt different than the night. I chanted the names of the One Living God silently as I performed my artistic ritual with the pigments. I felt a wholeness from the activity afterwards. To be there, to witness and to choose...to have faith enough to choose. Ah!.... a moment to remember.
RAINBOW OVER LEAPING DOLPHIN
The BLACK CAT OF WESTMINSTER ALLEY
Venice Beach, California
artist: ynez reyes '94
When I wasn't performing, I loved to go on my bike on this trail. It goes a long way along the beach, from Marina Del Rey to Santa Monica. I would stop and lock my bike and go for a swim. The water was too cold for me though. I prefer Maui beaches for their temperatures. But it does make one feel alive. And that can be a very good feeling.
Sometimes my friend Jose would ride the bike and pull me on my skates. When I got my little dog Pepito, he would run and pull me on the bike. Oh weren't those the days!??



Go to... CALIFORNIA, p3