Lessons from Mister Gilbert

I got to hang out with my one of my favorite people (and artist) James Gilbert for the day on Sunday (check out his work here).  He was en route from Los Angeles to Detroit where he is working on shooting a video for a Dallas fashion designer this week.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted on this as I find out more…

It was a nice, Texas winter day on Sunday…with the temperature around 60.  Lovely!

We had a delicious late brunch at Bolsa (one of my Dallas faves for sure).  Bloody Mary, bruschetta tasting and flatbread with arugula, goat cheese (can’t go wrong) and grilled grapes.  Everything was so delicious.  And I always love the service there.  It’s almost as if you are just one of their friends…attentive but not too attentive and just…cool.  I like.  See food pics below.

Hanging out with James always means interesting and weird stories.  A dinner party invitation gone wrong in France, a strange and perverse moment on a movie set in L.A., a blue cheese covered pork chop that hits the ground and gets washed off (and eaten??  I’ll never tell.)…….

Along with these stories came some incredibly valuable life lessons (can you hear the slight tongue-in-cheek tone here?).

Lesson #1.

Speaking of grilled pork chops, how do you know how to tell the temperature of meat by poking it with your finger?  Let Mister Gilbert shed the light!

It should feel like different parts of your face.  Ok…follow James’s directions.

RARE.

MEDIUM.

WELL DONE.

Lesson #2

When you go the thrift store, how do you tell if those cute jeans are going to fit you without trying them on??

Take the waist of the jeans and wrap it around your neck…almost like a scarf.  If it comes together around your neck as a nice fit, then those jeans are for you!

Lesson #3.

When you are out surfing (as you so often are), how do you know how much daylight you have left??

Take your hand and put it between the sun and the horizon.  How many hands you can fit between the bottom of the sun and the horizon line is how many hours of daylight you have left.  Fantastic!!

Time to paddle in, folks.

Yummy….Bolsa.  By the way, I’m still exploring Dallas restaurants.  Anyone have any favorites they suggest??

Gruene Hall, Goats and Tattoos

Gruene Hall coozie from Stephalou

For one of my first weekends of 2012 I made a short trip to Austin.  I loaded the car with some works to be returned to Austin tattoo artist Jason Brooks.  I worked with Jason this fall on an event/exhibition– which rocked and rolled.  I wish we could do a tattoo catwalk event every weekend.  The drive to Austin was easy and uneventful on Hwy 35 – which as we all know isn’t always the case.  It’s kind of a crapshoot – smooth sailing or a parking lot.  Luckily, the traffic gods were on my side.

Since I was heading down there, I decided to call up some amaaaazing ladies that are friends (and family) of mine – Stephanie Majewski and Chrissy Lawrence.

We met at Gruene Hall – the oldest dance hall in Texas.  It’s always so nice to be down in the hill country.  The pace is different, people are friendly, the air smells fresh and the landscape is pretty…that is, prettier than most places in Texas (not hatin’).  We listened to some music and watched old hippies with really bad dance moves.  Pure entertainment.  And Stephanie bought me this super fab Gruene Hall koozie.

Gruene Hall

We then headed to the grocery store for wine and the essentials for a home-cooked meal prepared at Chrissy’s new little house in Wimberley (super cute cabin with a river in the backyard).  With Jackson Browne playing in the background, Stephanie and I chopped veggies and Chrissy made the magic happen in the pots.  We cracked open the wine and sat down for a great meal together.  I miss those ole goats (as they lovingly call each other).

Stephanie and our dinner

With a nice wine buzz, we fell asleep to the sound of the wind chimes of Wimberley.  We woke up and all headed to our respective jobs of the day.  Mine brought me to Great Wave Tattoo on East 5^th Street in Austin.  I returned the work to Jason safe and sound.  I then sat down with him and fellow tattooer Ben Siebert.  I picked their brain about the project I am working on – a book focusing on tattooing in Texas.  We had a great conversation about the history of Texas tattooing and the artists that are pushing the envelope.  Thanks to Ben and Jason for taking the time to talk with me.  It’s a fascinating topic and I’m obsessed.  Perhaps it’s because I’m practically a tattoo virgin – with only a small tramp stamp that I got when I was 21 and recently broken up with a boyfriend (a common story for many young women, unfortunately.  ha.).

But maybe, just maybe, I’ll change this in 2012 – my virginity status, that is.  Stay tuned.

After more serious talk, I brought it down a few notches and asked Jason some questions.  See below.

Great Wave Tattoo, Austin

Jason in his studio

What words would you use to describe the aesthetic of tattooing in Texas?

Bold.  Straight-forward.  And on the weird side.  The weirder the better.

Have you tattooed anyone of note or celebrity?

Johnny Knoxville

What is your go-to brand for shoes?

Vans (although he had on a pretty hot pair of Nikes)

What magazine do you look at for tattoo culture?

I haven’t looked at a tattoo magazine in a long time.

Ok, other magazines that interest you?

Conde Naste Travel, Caribbean Travel, People

Do you have any travel plans coming up?

Colorado Springs

Favorite Austin restaurants?

Me So Hungry for a  food trailer, Vivo for Mexican food, Café Josie for the best beef tenderloin in Austin and it’s BYOB

Any new year’s resolutions to share?

Play more basketball

What was the first professional tattoo you ever did?

(Jason showed me the tattoos on his own ankles.  It was tribal-esque design.  I asked if I could take a picture and he immediately pulled up his socks.  No, was the answer to that question.)

Great Wave Tattoo, Austin