what does it mean to spend a week by the sea and never reach it...

it means you are knee deep at all times in the ebb and flow of the art world: Basel Miami:... feels like cherry blossom season the art is so beautiful hanging, floating all around you-- your eye's booming- your heart alight.

My heart lights up, head is beating to the rhythm of a constant pounding of nails.

:::: 4 shows to hang:::: 4 openings to have::: thousands of comrades to admire, collectors to inspire... there is not a moment to spare, joy & sorrow, the lost & the found hang their stories we walk through like quilt makers putting together a patch-work quilt of possibilities... each one of us looking through the kaleidoscope for that which warms and inspires us. Some folk are more jaded than others. You see the rich and the the rich at heart and try to be clear that your intentions are to shine from within. The gold diggers, the optimist and the romantics swirl together, the opportunist meets the philanthropist in the back room... like it was a back alley transaction on the lower east side.



Possibility are hanging everywhere... it is fashion week for artists. Opening night Basel preview. I am wearing a press pass along with perils -- full access -- it's like the Oscars for the arts-- silk and sequences adore a plethora of beautiful women. Their sink looks like an investment, their bodies are meticulously sculpted. Men in suits that are woven with luxury often accompany them.
These living sculptures are some of the most interesting in the room. Transfixed I watch, if they walk behind, beside or in front, whose the boss, the lover, the artist, the collector? The lines blur. Do these men collect beautiful women or do these beautiful women collect a stream of everything they desire and the man is just as relevant as this seasons best or worst dress?

Everyone streaming together into a maze of monuments-- some half formed ideas and tacky bling intertwined or course-- it is unavoidable.

Still there is room to grow-- for the art and the power of art to keep expanding.

We are alive right now for a reason. We are coming together for more than just the market place. We are coming together to release: to recognize: to activate the desire to strengthen the creative force between us. To air our emotions, express our concerns, our visions of the future, the past, our hopes and our dreams.



The starving artist meets the hungry collector-- each of us has what the other needs to keep going... it is a game of trading-- the artist creates-- and when done with heart and soul the collector invests. The artist then has the ability to keep creating, striving. Everybody is looking for a porthole-- something to escape into-- to be born from.

The collectors often have full & busy lives that involve many hours of work and dedication. It takes a lot to get to that place, more often than not, so they need that beauty, that mystery, the allure, the power and the purity that art can yield...

The artist plays a roll as vital as the physiologist, the historian & the teacher-- the transmitters of the sacred and sublime.



I am here to catalogue the invisible layers of time. My goal is to source life, color, hues of meaning and metaphor from the divine, art is healing, is temple, is the sensual side of science.

Color effects your moods, I try to play with roses hues and the times when I am feeling blue. I enjoy soft color coded walls.

Before arriving I worked on a new series. I loved every part of the process of making them-- from the original moments when the shoots occurred to the space of events that has lead me to this moment. I feel blessed, inspired.



I had the most amazing tribe in my journey through Basel. Artennae, Cheryl Moody & Lisa Silvera who gave me the privilege of having two shows with them and bring in so many wonderful people, good hearted people, together folk who know art, who seem to actually love it. The whole experience was beautiful. They still housing me now-- as I sit writing this on a clear glass desk with my images on either side and the amazing collections.

We are making so many wonderful plans for the future and a sudden ripening is taking place. The work is still up this week which is nice because now we get to have private showing and spend more one and one time-- which is a great luxury in placing the right art with the right buyers.

I do not like the idea of selling just for selling-- everything I give I give with love.



Anthony Haden-Guest with his book signing/reading from his latest book: The Last Party. The hidden treasure maps to an era long past and yet lingering with some sort of renewable charge-- everyone is sparking, peeking interest. We are transported by the characters of the moon and the spoon as Anthony inscribes my book while acknowledging the symbolism is from before my time.everything surrounding the era, the vortex is there, written as only Anthony could, with the greatest of tenderness and reflection, with a rawness that is so honest it can be nothing other that refreshing... it is a book I highly recommend you add to your collection... scribed by a man who has lived through it all and come out dancing-- one of the few men who dare to rock a cunt rock revolution jacket and keep the room spinning far after even the party kids have dropped into lucid piles in corners awash with the red light that streams from the Delano late night.

I had the great blessing of sharing several creative processes with the amazingly breathtakingly talented Alex & Allyson Grey. Their work as both artists and community builders is so consistent and ever growing. So beautiful and inspiring to see those who are living the higher frequencies of consciousness that art can generate and perpetuate. I was able to show them my work at Scope and have a little mischievous laughter with film crews and muses painted and coated with 24-karat gold. It was a moment where everyone was glowing. The there was the honor of being included in their opening at Moksha Art Fair. Allyson and Alex where doing live painting on the stage. I was able to gift them an image from the first time we collaborated. There where fire dancers, bird ladies & the goddess aglow- phantasmagorical-- I was transported back to Byron Bay, Australia-- dancing under the open moon...



Then there was the body painting at Scope, with that huge warehouse. Thanks to Anonymous Gallery & Scott Alger for making that venue so accessible for us to create and show in. Jorghe Casu brought all his talents and paint from the big apple down to join in the humans as art fest--for the body painting, Mone for the transformation. Sara for her body & energy.

There are so many people who brought my personal journey at Basel alive. To Amy Rosi & Peter Rosenthal for being being so gracious and shining at the opening Basel night, and for inspiring me by finding the time to make it to my first opening down here. Then the wonderful Ms. Pam Miller who after spending 20 years at Tiffiany's decided to take a chance and fly down to see what we can do... ah and oh how many things there are to do... How many amazing things we can form with her highly channelled creative force. Dennis flew down from Baron, my gallery-home- in the big city.



Thanks to all the previewers-- the backbone-- to god.... to the Love & Lion Capsule that was so well received down here- yeah for beautiful wearable art!! Thanks to Dani for making all the details come together for seven 18 hour days in row! To Amir for filming so much of this.... ah the list goes on and one. So a simple toast to everyone that came down, flew in, showed up and help make it all happen...

With the deepest, of: love, respect and gratitude.

Time to rest, tomorrow is another full day of follow through and then maybe... just maybe I will see the beach before I go... I will be in Miami for almost another week so if you are here please do say hello, stop by.. share time and art.

Love to those who love to those who live it....

Basel Miami 09* Dec 3-7th... Two Shows and someone magic to unveal...

I am so excited to be part of these beautiful shows with this amazing team: Artennae:

I had the honor of meeting Cheryl serendipitous 4 years ago... everything unfolding beautifully into this pinnacle moment... may life continue to be a series of visual bursts and flourishing...

So grateful for your beautiful energy & work embedded into our events here~!

First show address is:
Wynwood Lofts Art Complex
250 NW 23rd St., Loft #203
Miami
Open daily Dec. 3-6, 2009 from 12 noon to 6 pm
Opening Reception Thursday Dec. 3, 2009 6 - 8 pm

The second show address is :
4100 NE 2nd Avenue, ground floor
Miami
Open daily Dec. 3-6, 2009 12 noon - 6 pm
Opening Reception Friday Dec. 4, 2009 9 pm - midnight...


Layla’s beautiful energy is transmitted into her work. As a collective, we are drawn to her international voice which sees no color, race, gender or religious differences. Diversity is key in our company, in the artists we represent, and in our view of the world.



Our mission is to amplify Layla’s voice, and to share her point of view with the world. Contributing to her vision for her work also allows us to participate in her continued journey in the global art world. With the current shifts in the world, global perspective is more important than ever.


With an artist like Layla out in the world, recanting messages of unity, beauty, and joy, we believe that people everywhere will respond to her poignant delivery of goodness and make a conscious decision to care for each other. That is the beauty of Layla and her images.


Thanks, love. I"ll address the rest of your email at the end of the day today, as we are in meetings all day. Hope you have a great day!



The Artennae Team

Mission: ARTennae = contemporary art consultants + marketing + public relations

tuned into the visual arts. We are masterminds of tasteful & relevant exhibits and events geared to honor the artist’s individuality, harness the intense energy of guerrilla marketing / new media, and elevate the work to the next dimension. We have access to the brightest global art stars & we are intent on shining a vivid, laser-focused light on their vision.




My highest regards to you,

Cheryl Moody
&
Lisa Silvera


***Please come join us... I would love to see you there... let's make more and more beautiful out of living.. ox

Hello Beloveds: just a friendly excited reminder that we are having a meeting this evening from 6-8 and meeting at a Goddess Gala Sat Nov. 14th 7-11pm

Hi Hope this finds you well. I wanted to remind all of us that there is a meeting this evening for all that can make it it would be brilliant to see as many faces as possible-- bring all our beauty and ideas together...

I apologize for the last minute reminder or notice-- still trying to bring all this together-- we all have very busy lives but we will get this up and running, smooth & steady in no time -- once we have some captains executing plans that all fit together in a big picture sense.


I have been speaking with the NOW NYS & NYC Chapters, as well as, National. They have agreed to put some of my images & cards and the wearable art of Love & Lion designed with Ms. Yuki Tanaka onto their sites for the holidays and ear mark 30% of the profit for themselves and another 30% for the Task Force---

I am hoping this adds some serious money to the honey-pot so that we can do full force actions, big beautiful stunts. The idea of surrounding the city with women holding hands is one that we have envisioned and have had the great offer from Ms. Liz Abzug to work with her and the UN to make this possible during the Women's Summit in spring. This could be a revolutionary moment in herstory!!

We are going to need a million people to come together in solidarity to actualize this. We will need talent from every field to pull this off... let's live change.!!

Hope to see you this evening. If you cannot make it we will also be in the space this Saturday evening for a Goddess Gala from7-11pm. The space, Baron -- a high end eco-friendly show room for Tiffany's and such and it's owner Paul have offered to us to us the space for the regional NOW convention and the whole month for whatever we can think of... let's have fun!!
If you are in NYC and you make art, media, dance, politics, law...whatever you do you are needed tonight by the NOW Young Feminist Task Force... we are planning bug beautiful events, working with the UN to-- it is all new-- there is room for you to grow and add your voice, your joy, your spirit....joy in action*

545 West 45th Street. Between 10th & 11th. 3rd Floor 6-8pm






www.baronnyc.com

Important Exhibit: Let's learn more ways to help end sex-trafficing...

Sex Trafficking Exhibitition Hosted by Mayor Bloomberg and Actress Emma Thompson
November 9, 2009, 6:45 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

Mayor Bloomberg and Actress Emma Thompson, and a host of celebrities and famous activists have allied together in presenting the Journey Installation, a “unique and provocative art installation depicting the “Journey” of women trafficked across the globe into the sex industry.”

The art exhibition will feature seven shipping containers that will illustrate the personal account of a woman that was sexually trafficked. Each shipping container represents the stages a woman experiences in the industry: Hope, Journey, Uniform, Bedroom, Customer, Stigma and Resurrection.

Emma Thompson said: “People just don’t want to know about this issue – it’s hidden, it’s criminal, it’s perverse and yes, it’s happening right on your own doorstep. Journey is a remarkable piece of collaborative, creative and confrontational art that profoundly challenges people’s perspective. Come and see it for yourself and then tell us if you agree….”

Mayor Bloomberg said: “Journey brings human trafficking out of the shadows – I hope its arrival in New York sparks a conversation among New Yorkers about this pernicious form of exploitation. My Administration has used coordinated enforcement, tough new laws, and partnerships with service providers to fight human trafficking. Our efforts are overseen by a task force of police, prosecutors, service providers, advocacy groups and academics who welcome Journey and the unique attention it will bring this inhumane and criminal activity.”

The Journey Installation

When & Where: Journey opens to the public on Washington Place, off Washington Square Park, on Tuesday, November 10th. Hours of Operation are: Tuesday, November 10th – Friday, November 13th 12pm-8pm, Saturday, November 14th 11am-7pm and Sunday, November 15th 10am-3pm. Produced in partnership with the City of New York and the City of London.

Check it out if you can and spread the word.

Women's Media Center, A Tribute to Carol Jenkins

Picasa Web Album

"Carol Jenkins is the President of the Women's Media Center and a Founding Member of its Board of Directors. An Emmy award-winning producer, former news anchor and correspondent who covered presidential politics as well as international issues, Ms. Jenkins led The Women's Media Center's online publication and its advocacy initiatives. She is a national spokeswoman for women and the media, arguing the case for inclusion of women throughout the media, as well as the telling of women's stories in television and film, radio, print, and online." -- WMC blurb of Ms. Jenkins

With special thanks to Liz Abzug for opening the invitation for me to be there and for closing the night off with such beautiful ideas and possibility.



//layla

Love & Lion in a capsule line by Love Photography & Chateau de Lion

This is a sample from our clothing line, that I am so excited for. Been working with Yuki Tanaka for two years on this extensive line. This is a sample we've put together for the potential collaboration with NOW, the National Organization for Women.

Wearable art, use your body as a billboard.

Mean what you say, say what you mean.

Peace & Action. Love & Kisses.

//layla

You have the right not to remain silent: NOW: Possible images for collaborating with the National Organization for Women

It is with the deepest love and respect for NOW, the National Organization for Women, and the work that they do on many levels, across the nation and around the globe, that I hope to be able to add some, or all, of these images to their treasure chests of art action and fundraising possibilities.

Art heals the unbreakable.

Love heals all.

*Further details to follow

//layla