we brunch hard – brunch is not a game. it’s delicious.

Man, I thought I was serious about brunch. But Brooklyn-based comedian and tell-it-like-it-’tis man Elon James White has got me beat. Unlike all those other brunch rappers out there… he spits nothing but hot FIYAH!

I will definitley be booming this on Saturday mornings from here on out.

Read, see, and hear more from Elon (and believe me, you’ll want to) on This Week in Blackness.

cheers,

k

earth day turns 40 today – some gifts you can give

 

Today is the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day – a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the lovely blue planet we call home (well, most of us anyway… some of y’all are clearly from the outer limits).

Haven’t thought of how you’ll celebrate the day? No worries, here’s a handy list of ways you can show Earth that you care.

• Take a walk around your neighborhood – pick up any trash you see along your walk. Talk to any neighbors you run into and ask them to do the same.
• For Atlanta residents, take a look at the skyline. See that slightly brown haze? Yeah, that’s not supposed to be there.  Get on the phone with your local and state representative or send them an email and ask them what they’re doing to: 1) support clean air in our city, or 2) help enhance public transportation options that reduce smog.
• Go for a quick hike in one of Atlanta’s neighborhood, state, or national parks.
• Visit an Atlanta-area community garden – ask how you can get involved. Don’t have a community garden in your neighborhood? Start one.
• Check into joining a CSA (community-supported agriculture). With CSAs you get fresh produce from local farms delivered to you. Way better than the over-priced, under-fresh stuff from the grocery store that you don’t know WHERE it came from. Here’s a comprehensive list of Atlanta-area CSAs.
• Work from home – save the miles and the emission. If you can’t do that…
• Bike to work, carpool, take the train or bus. If you can’t do that…
• Walk to the store in the evening instead of driving.
• Have dinner by candlelight and save some energy. Better yet, replace your regular light bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs. If you’re feeling really magnanimous, buy a couple of extra bulbs and gift them to your neighbor.
• Gather your old electronics for recycling on April 24 at Turner Field. Here’s the details (PDF) .
• Visit Atlantic Station’s Enviro Expo. For extra impact, bike there or take Marta to Arts Center Station and catch the free shuttle from there.
• Donate or pledge to WABE - Atlanta’s public radio station – today. For each pledge received today, Trees Atlanta will plant a tree in your honor.
• Save some green with these Earth Day deals and discounts from the Atlanta Bargain Hunter – free milkshakes, discount Six Flags tickets, and free admission to the Atlanta Botanical Garden await.
• Celebrate Our World Earth Day 2010 at Georgia Tech.
• Support local food , local business, and Atlanta’s street food revolution at the Super Secret Underground Food Truck Extravaganza today.

 

cheers,

k

8 steps for turning your craft into a career

Your day job is what pays the bills. So you get up every day and go to work faithfully. But secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly), you harbor a passion for some other work – your craft – that one thing you feel like you were destined to do with your life. The only problem is, if you were to jump head first into pursuing your passion, you might not be able to keep the lights on. So, maybe you should just give up on that dream of yours, right?

Wrong. If you’re focused and willing to put forth a little extra effort, there’s a way for you to make it happen. While there’s no guaranteed path to success, here are 8 steps that will undoubtedly help you transform your part-time hobby into a full-time career.

1. Educate Yourself – Either enroll in a paid course or do some targeted self-study. Buy books and read articles in industry publications. You need to get very smart about the history, and current and future trends of the work you want to do. Is there a viable market for what you want to do? Also, get a feel for what goes on behind-the-scenes of the craft – those things that you’ll have to do that aren’t necessarily related to the craft itself. For instance, if you want to be a writer, you need to learn how to write pitch letters. If you want to be a musician, you might need to learn about putting together a press kit or music copyright law. Find out what average salaries or pay rates are in the field. This step alone may make you second guess your decision to pursue your craft as a full-time career.

 

2. Carve Out a Niche – How do you do your work differently? Are your products and services for a certain type of person or audience? What can you do with your work that’s totally unique? Develop your own persona, your own set of offerings that’s just a little bit different than what’s already out there.

 

3. Build a Resume – Whether you want to work your craft as an employee or as a business owner, you’ll need to show that you’re experienced. Early on you may not have a lot to put on a resume, so seek out volunteer or non-paying opportunities that will give you that experience. Look at previous jobs that may have required you to use the same skills, even though you might not have had the exact title. If you have the time and energy, consider moonlighting or taking some one-off projects or a part-time gig in the field you’re looking to break into.

 

4. Join a Flock – Seek out a trade association, industry organization, or just a network of people who are doing the same work. Be active, ask a lot of questions, let people know that you’re trying to break in to the industry, ask for ways you can lend your talents to the group, offer to take people out to coffee, to collaborate with them on their next project. Above all, be genuine with this group. They’ll be like your new family.

 

5. Tell Everyone – Tell everyone you know – friends, family, former co-workers, the guy who makes your coffee at the corner café – about your ‘new’ line of work. This is for two reasons: 1) so you get comfortable claiming your new career, and 2) so people you know start seeing you as this person. Ideally, you should get some self-promotion tools in place – business cards, a website or blog – so you can showcase your talent to the world.

 

6. Define Your Prey – Clearly define who your target customer is or what type of organization you want to work for. How far are you willing to travel? How many hours do you want to work? What types of people do you want to work with? What kind of salary are you willing to accept? Get clear about what it is you’re actually looking for, and then…

 

7. Go Hunting – Talk to contacts in your network that can introduce you to your target clients. Hang out in places where your clients hang out (be sure to bring your self-promotion items with you), meet people and follow up with them, even if it’s just for personal reasons. This step is about building the relationships that will get you closer to your ideal client or type of work.

 

8. Be Patient Persistent – If you’re lucky, you may achieve success overnight. If you’re patient, you’ll wait as long as it takes for success to come to you. But if you’re persistent, you’ll realize that it takes both time and consistent effort for you to reach a desired level of success, and you’ll continue to do the work required to meet your goals.

Have any other tips for how to make your part-time passion your full-time career? Drop ‘em in the comments.

photo credit: Tony the Misfit

cheers,
k

atlanta auction gallery – vintage deals for next to nothing

If you’ve ever ridden Marta southbound into the West End station, you might have noticed the backside of a huge billboard that faces east towards downtown. The front of the billboard changes regularly, but the rear consistently bears the large and highly recognizable glyph of the ubiquitous grafitti artist, DOSE. For months, that billboard was the signal that I’d reached the end of my daily work commute from Alpharetta. Every day, I’d marvel at the sheer size of the thing and the ballsiness it must have taken to climb that high and labor for hours (probably in the dark) to get the tag just right.

But, billboards and graffiti aren’t the point of this story. Well… not really.

If you were to let your eyes trail all the way down to the base of that huge billboard, you might notice a large warehouse-looking building with an array of vintage signs and large antique fixtures out in front.  None of those signs will give you a clue as to what the building is, or what goes on inside of it, however. For that, you’ll have to show up on the 2nd Friday of the month – the same Friday of the monthly Scott’s Antique show. Before you hit the door, you’ll be greeted by the smell of barbecue coming from the huge grill out front. Make your way inside, and you’ll find a wide-open space filled to the brim with dusty, but well-worn vintage furniture and antique pieces. Huge chiffarobes, marble-top tables, decorative glassware, handcrafted knick knacks and curiosities are literally stacked up to the ceiling. The other people there with you will more than likely be antiques dealers from all over the Southeast who come to the once-a-month auction held here for the free barbecue, the unlimited supply of free beer and wine served in red plastic cups, and the most ridculously cheap deals on vintage and antique furniture I’ve ever seen.

Around 6:30 or 7, the auction begins. The selection changes every month, based on what Mike, the kind-faced middle-aged guy who runs the place, has been able to get his hands on since the last auction. For first-timers, it’s best to sit back and watch the action unfold for a bit. Though a belly full of free barbecue and booze might make you want to jump head first in to the bidding, you’d be better of taking a couple of cues from the pros in the joint. Watching the crowd interact with the barking auctioneers is enough entertainment in itself, but the prices that some of the items go for will have you absolutely amazed; especially if you’ve ever paid for vintage or antique stuff at some of the retail establishments around town. They even take plastic, and give you a couple of days to arrange for transportation if you succesfully bid on one of the larger items up for sale.

In the year or so since I’ve been frequenting the monthly auction, the word seems to be getting out more about the place. This month, Mike’s even having an additional auction – on a Saturday – to give folks another opportunity to score some serious deals. Even if you don’t find anything worth buying, who can argue with free food and drink?

I would point you to some other online resource for all the details, but (fortunately) there’s no website to find them on, no ads in the paper. Just look for the billboard near the West End Marta station, and follow your way to the ‘pot of gold’ underneath.

cheers,

k

NEXT AUCTION: Saturday, April 24 5pm-until
Atlanta Auction Gallery
556 Tift Street
Atlanta, GA 30310

warm weather red: lodi deep purple zinfandel

There was a time when I was a year-round drinker of white wines. I hadn’t yet developed the palate to appreciate the taste of a merlot, a cabernet, or even a pinot noir. Over time, however, I grew to like reds more, but I was still the sort of red drinker who saved the ruby-colored vinos for the cooler months of the year. Once spring hit, I couldn’t wait to get back to my tried-and-true Chardonnays, Rieslings, and Pinot Grigios.  

This past winter though, I seem to have developed a stronger affinity for reds than ever before, and even now that it’s begun to warm up here in Atlanta, I’m still longing for the fuller, rounded taste of a red over the immature sweetness of  a white (hm. pausing for a moment to reflect on the unintentional parallel to my over-30 self).

Anywho, a couple of days ago the beau brought home what looks like will be my warm-weather red companion for at least a few more weeks – we’ll have to see how much I’m loving it once the temperature stays above the 90-degree mark.

Name: Deep Purple Zinfandel 2007

Type: A California Zinfandel from the Lodi region

Tastes Like: very jammy; blackberry, and ripe purple fruit

Where to Buy: Green’s on Ponce

Wallet Damage: around $10

Other Notes:  The label is decked out in psychedelic lettering that’s a trip to read, especially after a couple of glasses. We’ve already nicknamed it ‘Purple Haze’.

i’m listening to: joy jones – godchild

Buy on  | Buy on Amazon | Watch

Album: Godchild (2009)

Sounds Like: Sunday service with a heavy dose of supersonic soul

Makes Me Wanna:  Dance a testimony

Filed Under: UK soul, new / progressive soul, electro soul

Favorite Tracks: The Joy, Supernova, Over

 

Not since Jill Scott’s Who Is Jill Scott in 2000 have I heard a debut album that I could listen to from beginning to end and put on endless repeat. Joy Jones’ Godchild reveals both her gospel roots and her studies of African history and musical forms.  The tracks are uplifting without being treacly, conscious without being heavy-handed, and with the production talents of Bugz in the Attic producer Daz-I-Kue, the already stellar tunes soar to the outer limits with broken beats and synth-pop rhythms. Be sure to check out the track, ‘Over’, which is subtly reminiscent of old-time call-and-response hymns, and a perfect illustration of how autotune can sound when someone who can actually sing uses it. Though it was released last summer, Godchild is the perfect springtime soundtrack for 2010.

cheers,

k

shifting into manic with atlanta photographer gudrun stone

Gudrun (pronounced: ‘good-drun’) Stone continues to build a reputation for herself as a rising star in Atlanta’s artist community. She excels at capturing the energy and passion of stage and concert performances – Van Hunt, Brittany Bosco, and countless visiting artists at the annual National Black Arts Festival have all found themselves in front of her lens. Her first solo photography exhibit – Long Exposures, which debuts at the Ferst Center on April 11 – is just another milestone on her journey of evolution as an artist, and a multi-faceted human being.  

I sat down with Gudrun to talk about the upcoming exhibit and to get some insight into what helps her bring her visions to life on film.  

---

 
So tell me a little about yourself. Where you’re from, about your brothers and sisters, your criminal record and things like that. 
I’m a real live Georgia peach. I grew up off McAfee and Glenwood. My Grandpa used to own the corner store near East Lake Elementary. We moved to North Dekalb in 1985. My grandmothers still live near East Atlanta Village, so I still say I’m from Decatur.  

Art comes from my mother – she’s one of 9 kids and each one has an artistic avenue. We ‘downloaded’ that through good DNA. Mom raised us in museums. She did interior decorating, too. So, color came to me at a very young age.
My parents became non-traditional students. And when they went back to college, I went with them. I say that I went to college my whole life. I grew up in the art department of the school, listened to WCLK, Ken Rye, Ken Batie – all of them growing up.  

The surprising thing is that I’m not a painter or graphic designer. I started doodling and even designed my own comic strip. I used to draw on myself. I would sit in class all day and draw, and when I ran out of sketch pad paper I drew on my wrists, my ankles.  

And then in my early 20s I just stopped everything and I worked.
  

What kind of work did you do?
I’ve been in public service my whole career. I was a page for Dekalb county public library system, and I was a photography assistant for the Governor’s office for 1.5 years. 
  

So how did you get your start with photography? Was that your first run in?
Oh, my dad took pictures of everything. At Thanksgiving dinner he took pictures – and not just pictures of us at the table. Pictures of the food, you know, moving it around to shoot it just right. Both of my parents were very detail-oriented about what they did. My dad would experiment taking pictures of me on different settings – light, dark. The internship just sort of fell into my lap.  

But you asked about brothers and sisters? I have an older brother, Thelonious – named after the monk, not the musician. Both of us were musicians growing up. I had a sort of a hero complex. We didn’t go to school at the same time, but my brother had been a musician in high school – you know jazz band and all that – and sort of became big man on campus. So by the time I got there, he wasn’t there anymore, but the people who knew him sort of took me under their wing. I didn’t get into art until my junior year. But it was good that I followed in my brother’s footsteps. Music is a part of the art for me.  

  

Your name is pretty unique. Is there a meaning behind the name?
My father named me. My father was drafted for Vietnam, but he never made it, he was stationed in Germany. He took the opportunity to learn as much as he could about the culture, and he heard the story of Gudrun. The name means, ‘secret keeper of the gods; divine wisdom; battle friend’. It’s from the Volsungasaga. It freaks German people out when they see that I have that name. And of course I used to get picked on as a kid. 
  

Uh-oh, what were some of the nicknames?
Bad Run. Goodie-Goodie Two Shoes. But what I realized when I got older is that my name could have been Susie Q and people still would have made up names. I’m thankful to my dad because I have this great name and it’s an ice breaker, a conversation starter.  

  

On your blog, you describe yourself as a little bit redneck, a little bit ghetto,a whole lot of suburbia and a dash of glamour. Explain what you mean by that.
I was raised in Chamblee – Tucker, I’m a product of Dekalb County public schools. I hate when people say the public schools system fails. A lot of what I have comes from public schools. 

I love to go to East Atlanta Village, but I hate to go to East Atlanta Village. It  kills me when all the hipsters complain about suburbanites coming over there. It used to be all black-owned. What used to be Willie’s Bakery is now a sushi restaurant. I used to get my hair done at the flea market building that shares the lot with The Earl. What’s hip and popular now, were thriving, black-owned businesses. And we had something. That was our community. 

When we moved to North Dekalb, it wasn’t uncommon to see people come to school on a tractor. So, I listen to country music. I used to want a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, raised, with roll bars. People say, ‘you talk white’. I’m like, no I don’t. I talk proper. I speak the Queen’s. What you see is only a quarter of who I am. 

  

Do you find it challenging to be an artist now, to make a living off of your art?
Yep. That’s why I have a day job. I love that we have a strong art community here. Michi, Dubelyoo, Dosa Kim, Fahamu, Russell Gunn. We have this beautiful art community. But people in the A always want a hookup, they want free.99, or to barter… which is fine, up to a point.
  

Yeah, the landlord doesn’t take barter.
Right? Georgia Power won’t accept barter. I mean I barter too, but I always tip in cash. So there’s a place for it, and people have to remember that. You know, I’m here in Atlanta now, but in 20 years, I probably won’t be in Atlanta anymore. Other cities, like St. Louis; San Francisco; Venice, California… New York – people are willing to pay for work. I can recall sitting in coffee shops when I was in Venice and seeing people who’d come in and be so inspired by art hanging on the wall in the shop, that they’d buy a $200 piece right there, while they were just waiting in line for a bagel. Whereas here, I see people go, “Oh, I really like this. I’m not gonna buy it, I’ll just take a picture of it and make it a screensaver.” 

I want for Atlanta to realize what they have. We have the seedlings of a great art scene. I should have more options than to go dance my booty off until 3 am. You can go to a museum in New York at 1 or 2 in the morning. Atlanta is my home, I don’t want to have to go somewhere else to be able to be a self-sustaining artist. If you can’t afford the $300 work, come up to me and say, I can’t afford this huge, framed piece, but do you have an 8×10 unframed print in my price range? 

  

How did you get started with the National Black Arts Festival?
Mike Moss – I believe he was looking for someone to do something rock-ish. He wanted something with a little edge. He did a search on Myspace – back then I was still on Myspace – and he reached out and contacted me. It was a while before we actually connected. And then all of a sudden he calls me up like, “I want you to come shoot Van Hunt”. I’m like ‘what?’ This has gotta be a joke. This guy’s up to some skullduggery and mischief – I mean, I didn’t even know who Mike was. So I go and meet them at Apache, and I sat outside in my truck for a while trying to decide if I was actually going to go in. I finally did, and Mike takes me to the back and goes, “This is Van,” you know, like it was nothing. Meanwhile, I’m so excited that I can’t even answer when Van asks me what my favorite song of his is. It’s ‘Dust’, by the way. I shot Van Hunt that night and I think there was only like 1 shot that he didn’t like. 

About a week later I got another call from Mike. He says, “We want you to shoot the festival”. I’m like, really? So they tell me to look at the schedule and pick what events I want to shoot at. You know that dream you have… where you’re walking through a store, shopping and picking out everything, and then when you get to the check-out, you wake up? Yeah, that was sort of like that dream for me. 

So I shot the (2008) festival. And by the time I was done I had like 9,000 photos. Leatrice (Ellzy) and Mike were like, “What didn’t you take?” But for me it’s the little things, all these little moments…. 

The festival allows me to shoot the way I shoot for myself. 

  

So how did you hone your photographic skills?
I’m pretty much self-taught. I had a year in the darkroom learning the ropes, and trial and error. A lot of trial and error. 

  

A lot of people might not know this about you, but you were the first Black Atlanta Rollergirl. What brought you and roller derby together?
I came across the Atlanta Rollergirls on Myspace back in ’05. I really just wanted to shoot some sports photography. I reached out to The Notorious R.I.P. (aka, Gabby), and asked if I could come to a practice and shoot. And she was like, “You can come to practice and try out”. After she didn’t budge, I had my whole McGuyver thing planned out. I figured I’d go do a couple of laps and fake being out of breath, and just hang out on the side and shoot from the waist. But that Monday night was like something from a movie. I was sitting there and these 4 girls walk in – and it was like they were

 moving in slo-mo – I think it was Princess Lay You Out, Demi Gore, Chelle Shocker. I saw them and thought, “These might be my people”. I took a couple of laps, fumbled a little, felt like a kid again, and all of a sudden it was like, this is something I want to do. 

I had always had guy friends. It wasn’t until I did roller derby that I had girl friends. And there was none of that Real Housewives of Atlanta drama – it was a sisterhood I had never had in the Black community. If I was ever in a Turkish prison, these girls would come bail me out. It was a real growing period. Before then I was ‘normal’. I had no visible tattoos, didn’t have my sleeve yet. After that I got pink braids… all of a sudden I could do things like that. My parents always brought me up to be straight-laced. 

I did roller derby for 3 years. But it was time consuming. It was like having a part-time job you didn’t get paid for. I got sick for a little while and couldn’t skate. And that’s when photography sort of became my outlet. 

  

So I know that you’re recently engaged. Now, a lot of women in Atlanta, especially Black women, lament the ratio of men to women here and complain about the quality of the dating scene in general. Do you have any advice or opinion to offer that helped you find a lasting relationship?
I can’t really give any advice. Atlanta is unfortunate. Because of the homosexual climate in Atlanta, a lot of women are settling, and they’re breaking rules they wouldn’t normally break. It’s hard. I struggled too. I remember I’d date multiple guys – they were all aware of it – because Guy A would have 5-6 qualities I was looking for, Guy B would have 3-4, and Guy C would have maybe 1 or 2. So if I went on a different date on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it’d be like I had a whole person. The climate in Atlanta makes you do this, because it’s better than having a gay husband. My best advice is just to quit looking. When you look, you become desperate and you settle. 

  

Your Twitter handle and your blog both bear the moniker, Shift Into Manic. What significance does that phrase have for you?
Most people think it means I’m bipolar. But I prefer shifting gears to an automatic transmission any day. It’s about me. The fact that for 3 days a week I work the day job, and for 4 days I do something totally different. It’s about being able to be many people. Like when I met Neal (Barclay) I dressed up, and they were like, ‘we’ve never seen her like this before’. And of course you know by now, the way I talk and change topics. It’s about being a chameleon and still being able to come back to what I am. It’s about the different layers of Gudrun Stone. The layers that make me me. 

  

What sort of equipment do you use when you shoot?
I’m a Canon girl, but I’m not a snob. But I have a lot more respect for someone who can get in a darkroom and develop by hand, create a picture from start to finish. If you can get in a darkroom and go toe to toe with me, I have respect. But if you have no manual skills, you don’t even shoot in manual mode on your digital…? 

So many people call themselves photographers, but they rely on electricity. God forbid, if some ‘I Am Legend’ stuff broke out, I could still create pictures. But some people see that and say, “You’re really using film?” Like I live in the projects, or like I got a polo shirt from Wal-Mart and stitched a little green lizard on it. 

  

What can people expect to see at your show, Long Exposures?
This is my first solo show ever. 31 pieces of my little heart will be on display at the Ferst Center. 22 pieces in one gallery, 11 in the other. I tried to work with creatives in Atlanta – people that you don’t think of being in the arts scene… underground, so to speak. It would have been easy to pull people with names you already know. I used people like Dash (Dashill Smith), Melissa – who I always knew as a producer for Fox 5, but she’s also a classical pianist. I just reached out to people, and some couldn’t see the vision. But I just tried to showcase people with that creative energy. Mr. Soul – this graffiti artist out of Cleveland – I think he’s the best picture in the show, and all I did was click the shutter. I challenged him to do some graffiti without pen, paper, or spray paint, and what came out was amazing. And that’s what it’s about, to surround myself with others that have like energy. 

That’s what’s great about the show. I felt like I got to learn about these people I see all the time. It was a bonding process… they got to know me too. 

This is like my baby, and it’s days until my due date… and I’m sure I’ll have Braxton Hicks up until the show. I hope people come to the show and they’re moved by something they haven’t been exposed to before. Because I feel like each artist that participated bared a little bit of their soul. 

  

What advice do you have for other aspiring photographers?
Read. Reading is fundamental. Experiment. Don’t be afraid to fail. And this is not sage advice, it’s just things you’re going to go through. You’re gonna fail. But sometimes in the failure, you find new ideas and concepts. Don’t think that because you have a BFA in photography or some other degree that you’re guaranteed success. Don’t be afraid to walk the road less traveled. Everyone doesn’t have to be Derek Blanks or Gordon Parks… you have to be who you are and your work will speak for itself.  

  

Who would you say are your role models or mentors?
I’d have to say my dad, for the things he’s been through. For being a fighter. 

Ms. Baker who I met working at the Governor’s office. She looks at my work, I read her book in progress. She’s someone other than my mother who guides me. 

Frank Mullen. Mullen also shot concert photos. He shot for Rolling Stone, did personal shoots with Dita von Teese. But he would help you. I could call him in the middle of a shoot and say, “I’m not getting the results I want, these are my settings,” and he’d walk me through it over the phone. Frank Mullen taught me that you can be a rockstar shooter and not have a rockstar personality. It’s when others start dropping your name, not you dropping theirs, that you’re really a rockstar. 

Gudrun Stone presents Long Exposures
Sunday April 11, 3-6pm
Ferst Center at Georgia Tech
349 Ferst Drive Northwest
Atlanta, GA 30332 

Gudrun Stone on Twitter
Gudrun Stone’s Blog
Gudrun Stone on Flickr 

B&W photo of Gudrun Stone by Dean Hesse

Ima Gitcha photo by Russell Limprecht 

Van Hunt photo by Gudrun Stone

cheers, 

k