Steel Wool Pt.2

Steel Wool Pt.1

I got bit by the "Instabug", and the infection is getting worse and worse. Instagram has lead me to do a lot of things that I wouldn't have thought to do without it. This past weekend I met up with a fellow Instagramer that goes by @xrissvlad. We headed out to downtown to go check out some freeway spots. But, we ended up spinning steel wool around East L.A. & the L.A. river, instead. Neither one of us had played with steel wool before, so we had to learn some things the hard way.

Lesson 1 - Steel wool can break off in large pieces that will set you on fire if they get on you. ...lucky for me, I was wearing an old sweater that I didn't mind messing up. I just didn't think I was gonna have to stop, drop, and roll with it on. Lol. Xris also got a little heated when some wool landed on his neck. Fortunately, it wasn't a large piece and he was okay, though. 

Lesson 2 - Autofocus is a bad idea when shooting steel wool. The extreme lighting in a dark setting makes the autofocus trip and potentially good shots become blurry messes. Some of the best opportunities of the night yielded fuzzy funk instead of amazing captures, because of my autofocus issues.  

Lesson 3 - Make sure to plan out your shots carefully. You might only get one chance to get the capture, depending on when and where you decide to shot fireballs all over the place. ...And that is what you'll be doing if you spin steel wool. Fireballs of various sizes fly all over the place and they go far and bounce off of things too! A get-away plan isn't a bad idea either, depending on where you'll be starting your fire storm. 

Last, but not least...

Lesson 4 - If you spin the wool with a whisk, it's a good idea to bring a spare or the tools you'll need to fix the whisk if it breaks. Good thing is, this one wasn't one of the hard learned lessons, since Xris came prepared for such an event. Otherwise, we would have had to end the light painting session early. But he fixed the broken whisk and we were able to go back to shooting the shooting fireballs again.   

Despite the fires and burns, we had a lot of fun spinning wool and I will be doing it again! Here are some of the light captures that I got during my first steel wool adventure. You can see Xris' captures on Instagram @xrissvlad. Dude is talented and definitely worth checkin' out!

"Graff-roots" pt.3

"Graff-roots" pt.2

...a little more graff from the archives.

"Graff-roots" pt.1

I've been drawing since as far back as I can remember! I remember being a little kid and spending hours drawing heros and monsters, eagles and airplanes, designs and letters, and every cartoon character that I loved. When I got into skateboarding, I drew all my favorite companies' logos, my favorite skaters' board graphics, and the skate parks and courses that my friends and I used to dream about (... the types of skateparks and course that you see in the X-games now a days. Lol). But it wasn't until I found graffiti, at the age of 13, that I began to take the things I drew more seriously. Graffiti is what made my hobby into  my passion and the reason I am the artist that I am today. I've been going through a lot of old graffiti pics recently, to post on Instagram, and wanted to share some of them here too. ...BTW, if you'd like to see more of my art and photography, please follow me on Instagram @Bsomb4. Thanks for checking out the blog and check back soon for more Bsombin'!!

"Song for the South-central Siren"

Hi! As I've been mentioning lately, I am going through a period of change, as an artist. The changes have recently gone from my visual to my written expression. I tried doing some new things with my poetry & wanted to share a new piece & poem. ...both are a bit different from "my usual". The piece is titled "Sixteen Kisses (The Siren from South-central)" & the poem is titled "Song For A Siren". Hopefully you enjoy them & come back soon for more Bsombin'! 

"Song For A Siren"

Left in a storm

Afloat on a boat

Lost & alone on a 

Violent sea...

When, suddenly 

He was found by a 

Siren who began to

Sing seductively

As he drifted,

He became enchanted 

By the siren who's 

Song was so lovely

So, to set 

Himself free

He began to sing, too,

& the siren stopped singing, reluctantly

As he sang,

The storm settled;

There was a calm on the sea; & 

The siren swam silently 

He sang,

"Siren, kind siren,

With beauty & grace,

Please be kind & show me mercy!"

The siren then smiled &

Drew close to him, 

To say,

"You sing beautifully!" 

"...But, I regret to inform you...

Someone should have warned you

...Sinking you is 

My duty"...

Yet, he continued 

His song & kept 

Sailing on,

As the siren went along patiently

He sang,

"Siren, kind siren,

Please give ear to my plea &

Do not deliver me to tragedy!"

The siren then smiled,

As she drew close, 

To say,

"You sing beautifully!" 

"...Yet, I regret to inform you...

Someone should have warned you

...Sinking you is 

My duty"...

Yet, he continued

To sing, & kept on sailing,

With the siren still waiting 

patiently 

...And, so they went, 

Back & forth, & he continued on course

Till he reached

The end of his journey

Shocked, the siren said,

"How can this be,

Was your song really so strong that

It brought you home safely?"

His reply, "Not my song,

but faith & love for family!"

Then the siren turned back & 

swam away miserably

-Bsomb4

The big "black book"!

Hi! Thanks for checkin' out Bsombin'! I recently had to dig through some stuff I had stored away & came across some more of my "black books". After looking through them, all I can say is I was a weird kid. Thought it'd be fun to share some more art from the archives, though. Lol. Check back soon for more art, music, & more!

"Haunting My Heart"

My most recent canvas & a poem that goes with it...





"Haunted Heart"
She is
A poltergeist that
Lives in me...
The one that haunts me,
Through memory,
Endlessly...
The one I believed to be
My destiny,

...The one who killed me
When she left me...
The one who my
Soul waits for in melancholy...
The one without whom
I'll be laid to rest restlessly...

The ghost in my heart,
That won't stop haunting me,
Is the woman I love
And will never again see


Bsomb4

"Exhibit Terror"

I was recently invited, by my good friend Mold, to be part of the "Exhibit Terror" art show, at EM's Artist Cafe, in Culver City. It was just the motivation that I needed to get me painting again, after several months without touching a brush. Unfortunately I went to big, and my new canvas wouldn't fit in the show. Luckily, I had "The Queen of Hearts" sitting around, & ready to show, so it all worked out. There was an opening reception this past weekend that turned up a pretty good sized, and very eclectic, crowd. Em's Artist Cafe was filled with artists & art fans alike, while DJ's played electronic music inside & live bands played a variety of rock outside. The show runs till the end of the month, if you happen to be in Culver City and want to check it out. The address is 2926 La Cienega Blvd.,Culver City 90232. I took some pics of most of the art. The art wasn't labeled so I'm not sure about who the artist were. Some pieces, however, are obvious as to who they are by. Here are some images from the night and I tried to label what I could of the art...










Dr.Eye












Muter

Mold







Evol...



Kopy

Bsomb's Black book - part 13

Summer In Cali - part 4: Mural Work