As far as I remember, Hashi has always been around in my life since the day I was born.  He’s an internationally acclaimed photographer who’s been a family friend of ours for generations and quite possibly one of the biggest inspirations of my creative life.

Growing up I remember my father used to take me to Hashi’s studio where I’d find him shooting a lot of published product shots for beverage & liquor campaigns. And most of it involved his specialized stop motion photography with props & gadgetry that were beyond my comprehension. Needless to say I was intrigued but simultaneously intimidated by the precision and artistry that went in to his work.

Present day, I had the opportunity to meet up with Hashi again while he was in New York.  He was very encouraging and supportive of my work and decided it would be a fun idea to have me do a photo shoot with him.

This particular piece “Stop Motion” is a personal tribute to Hashi and what he represents to me. The large buildings in stop motion represent his scale of greatness that transcends through time. The sadness in his expression and the way he is facing away from all of what’s going on behind him expresses that every moment & opportunity should not go wasted.  These were of course inspired by one of the many wise words coming from Hashi.

Thank you Hashi. You are a true inspiration to me personally and professionally.

To check out Hashi’s work you can go to the link below.

www.hashistudio.com

Every once in a while there comes a Model who just kicks up your creative senses… after a long slumber. Porcelain is definitely that model. Spent some good time shooting till 7 am in the morning just going with the flow at my studio. Showing right now is one of the many which I had a hard time choosing from.

Look forward to the rest.

Porcelain’s Website & MM Port:
www.iamaunicorn.com
Porcelain’s ModelMayhem Page

Chanel is simply put, wonderful & wonderful to work with. Her beauty, humility, professionalism, and her dedication to talent is definitely something worth seeking out for. Check her pages on Model Mayhem!

Chanel’s Modeling & Makeup Artist Pages:
Chanel’s ModelMayhem Model Page
Chanel’s ModelMayhem Makeup Artist Page

This past Fall I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Canz girls on their very first calendar. Instead of doing the usual Bikini / Lingerie Glamour type shoot that most Calendars do… I suggested we’d do something a little rugged, sexy and fun!  So we shot outdoors in a Junkyard as well as the interior of the Canz A City Roadhouse, Astoria branch.

The results… Kick Ass!

The girls and the team did a phenomenal job strutting their Canz attitude to a very successful 2011 start!

Canz A City Road House is a Restaurant & Sports Bar filled with beautiful lively girls currently located in New York – Astoria Queens, Westbury Long Island, and the soon to be open Patchogue branch.

I have to say from my own experience eating there, the food is amazingly great! My personal favorites are the Roast Beef Dipp, the New York Choice Strip Steak and the deserts such as the Fried Oreos and Apple Crumb Cake… are to DIE FOR!  You really gotta try them all out! No joke!

Overall, whenever I am there, they are usually packed with lively Sports fanatics watching the Monday games having a grand ol’ time.  Definitely worth checking out!

Canz a City Road House Calendar 2011 – www.canzusa.com

In the beginning I had a Knife like sharp pendant to express that I was “Cutting open a path” to possibilities in the Photography industry.

Next was a Clam Shell like pendant symbolizing “Open growth and prosperity”.

After that was a Feather like pendant symbolizing “Flight to new heights… in full speed.”

Then came a neck piece without a pendant made of strings and beads symbolizing “Formation of a Style”. But later on realized that this style was what was also binding me down.

The next one after was a pendant of a ferocious looking wolf on a cross. Although I’m not in any particular religion, it symbolized “Ambition & Faith” in one self.

This 2011 I’ve decided to wear the perfect neck piece that my sister had given me for Christmas. Although she may not realize how much this meant to me, but this particular piece symbolized many different things in one.

The chain & thread binding symbolized “Bond & Unity” of those who stuck by me through thick and thin. Simultaneously it expresses my strong will to be kind to others to those I have threads with.

The pendant as you can see in the picture above resembles a tree branch like cross. To me this is a personal symbol of “Growth & Faith” as well as “Positive Unity” and “Family Bond”.

It was rather ironic that this neck piece was brought upon me just when I was about to outgrow the negativity around me…. and branch out to positive new forces….  while staying rooted to those that stood by me all these years.

This 2011…

I will be more aware and appreciate those around me,

I will grow further,

I will reach out to new heights,

I will be more grounded in my determination,

and most of all… I will not fail myself, and those who I love.

Happy New Year everyone! May this 2011 bring many joys & prosperity in your own personal “Symbol”. 

In fact, it was a childhood dream of mine to become a Manga Artist, so I actually went to school as a Cartoon Major at the School of Visual Arts in New York.   At the time I was considered rather “different” since most of my peers were focused on drawing spandex super heroes while I drew anime girls with big guns and pink bubble gum.

However… I remember struggling… struggling for acceptance while simultaneously trying to be different.

Being an American born Japanese Artist, I remember there were times where I seemed “Foreign” in the eyes of both the Americans and the Japanese. Of course, there was a lot of prejudice not only towards my culture… but towards my artwork as well.

“Why is it that you draw people with outrageously disproportionate eyes with pink colored hair?” was the common question.

It was rather funny to me at the time since Anime & Manga’s roots came from the great Osamu Tezuka (best known for “Astro Boy”) and his influences came from America’s own… Disney!  Oh the irony! Those big eyes that Donald Duck had went to Japan and back!

I eventually struggled some more however… I was tired of being “labeled” so I finally developed a Cross-Cultural breed style of drawing tag naming  myself “Moon”.  The style was inspired heavily by a mixture of Anime, Graffiti, the Comic Tin Tin, and the classic Art Deco style of Alphonse Mucha.

Most of my 1990′s to the early 2000′s I continued with this style, while having an alternate persona named “FrizzyCube”.  FrizzyCube was originally an AOL screenname I made for shits and giggles… but eventually became my tag name for the Anime style I started out with. I guess in some ways… my love for this type of art could never leave me.

Professionally… I was torn between the two styles. I loved them both but was a struggle and a half to maintaining them simultaneously.

So what happened to that career? What happened to those two styles?

Well… I got involved in a start-up company (which I will leave nameless)… leading the creative department…  investing “all” my artwork & designs; my everything.  To me it was my biggest
chance of making it out there again…  the way I want it, whenever I want it.

Despite the positive results in publishing some books and such… alas… not only was I taken for granted but my work was legally taken advantage… eventually forcing me to leave the company with empty hands.

I felt robbed of my dreams… the blood sweat and tears that went in to it… all gone… in an instant.  Those empty hands could no longer hold a pen.

But little did I realize later… those hands were not entirely empty. So long as I had my creativity, and the ability to make things happen…
it didn’t have to be a pen to create characters… emotions… or stories. I had my Camera.

Ironically… my first camera was a borrowed one from the start-up company itself when I was shooting product shots.  That eventually lead to shooting people of course…

And so… FrizzyCube lives today… perhaps not with those Big googly anime eyes but being “Animated” with ideas and dreams. Hells to the F*cking YEAH!!!

The moral of the story… never hand over your dreams to anybody or else the dream is not yours anymore. And the other moral of the story… there’s always a second chance; just never stop believing in yourself!

Tis’ the season for Hot Dogs & BBQ’s! Fourth of July is here!

And it’s looking good so far already! Got my website revamped just in time as we’re ready to grill it & roll it out on our plates this Summer!

What can I say? Things have been very good lately; been extremely busy for a while now. Have been cutting out the unnecessary “Negative Fat” while keeping the “Postive Juices” flowin’!

I here by celebrate my Independence Day with a Big Bang! Hope everyone has a great 4th of July of 2010!

Cheers!

-Frizzy-