Happy Birthday To The Leucadia Project!

Ok so it was yesterday. I spaced and thought it was today. At any rate it was a really fun year! I can't believe it has been that long. Over the last year we posted our brains out with 386 posts and made some really good friends along the way.

For this special day I have highlighted a few of the posts that made this year such a great one.

Enjoy.

Starting off in the beginning and working it's way down...

Favorite Post #1"Weekend Session " : The post that started it all. Thanks to David and his sharing I got inspired to start this site. These shots were the first to go up and kicked off the project.

Favorite Post #2 "Leucadia Navy" : David gets some great shots. This one was a favorite of mine. Not because it is me but the contrast of it all.

Favorite Post #3 "Kirk Takes the High Road": Kirk has been an inspiration for the site. He has been our header all year. I have spent many days in the water with him and the image of him surfing brings me back to some incredible days.

Favorite Post #4 "Friends and Neighbors": This is how it all begins... One peek and then your friends for life.



Favorite Post #5 "Budding Surfer/Artist": I love this shot and the art. This kid is one of a kind.

Favorite Post #6 "To Err Is Human. To Air is Super Human": Great shot of Matt Dawson making the best of a summer day.



Favorite Post #7 "Call For Entries - Color Your Fin - Art Project": This was the post that started it all. A winter morning with Alia turned into a world wide art project.



Favorite Post #8 "Cardiff Road Trip": This was the beginning of David's trips to Cardiff and the backlit goodness that he brought back with him. I love the finger drag.




Favorite Post #9 "Dugan We'll Miss You": Dugan was a legend for sure. He is missed.



Favorite Post #10 "A Successful Week In Leucadia": What can I say about Erik Baldwin. The guy is amazing. He added a lot to the site over this last year and this shot from David was one of my favorite. It also made it into a Reef ad!

Favorite Post #11 "Great Shots of Black's": This shot was one of a sequence David took that made it all over the web. It is of Eli Mirandon at Black's on a Mandala no wing quad.

Favorite Post #12 "Fin a GoGo - Everything But The Kitsch In Synch... The allegory of a surfing clown": Anne's fin art submission. Unbelievable. It also got her an entrance to an art show.

Favorite Post #13 "One Of My Favorite Shots": Another one from David. Just a classic shot.

Favorite Post #14 "Surf Wax Art": The post that started the Dirty Surf Wax Art movement. Do us all a favor, keep that wax out of the landfill and make some art with it.



Favorite Post #15 "Board Cam": This was a great shot. One of the best in the moment board cam shots I've ever seen.



Favorite Post #15 "Surf Art By Ethan Age 5": I love little kids art. So inspiring. This post was full of some great pieces.


Favorite Post #16"Some More From Last Swell": David did a great job of getting some amazing photos like this one over the year.



Favorite Post #17 "More Progress On The Grain...": The Grain was a highlight of my year. What fun to work on this project.



Favorite Post #18 "AB3 Fish Fry...": The AB3 was a great event. Both Murphy and Hans Enyedi won that day.

Favorite Post #18 "Lost and Found - In David's Back Yard": David finding Shasta the dog in his back yard after a week of being lost was amazing to say the least.

Favorite Post #19 "John Haffey at Cardiff": One of our most viewed posts. Haffey is a hit.



Favorite Post #20 "Loose 27 LBs With The Donut Hole Diet": Mary is great. She still gets called the Donut Lady.



Favorite Post #20 "Share Day - Video Stills by Mick Waters": Mick has been great. He has sent over lots of got stills of Ratsa. Keep them coming Mick I love them.

Favorite Post #21 "Suprise Guest - The Guys From Grain": When Mike and Brad from Grain showed up it blew me away. What a day. Thanks guys I'll never forget it.

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Favorite Post #22 "Bahne Fins Unlimited Tour": When Chris and I got to tour Bahne it was a real honor. These guys have been in the industry for a long time and their shop was like a treasure chest of memorabilia.



Favorite Post #23 "Custom Surfboards & Fins by Mike Slingerland & John Peugh": David's trip to Mike's house to check out their amazing custom fins and boards was unreal.


Favorite Post #24 "Amazing Day: John Peck and Rochelle Ballard Stop By": This was truly a magical day. These two are legends.

Favorite Post #25 "Sacred Craft": Sacred Craft was really a great weekend. I can't wait to go next year.

Favorite Post #25 "Grain Update - Deck is Glassed": Glassing my first board was a great experience. Really a lot more work then I had thought but an experience I'll never forget. THANK YOU KIPP!!!!

Favorite Post #26 "The Grain is Done, Shot, Waxed and Surfed": This was the highlight of the year for me. To get this board done and ridden was a true accomplishment.

Thanks to all who have stuck around for the ride. I look forward to next year and to see what projects we get into and people we meet.

Art Show "Undulation" by Maggie Marsek and Skye Walker Dec 11th

Maggie's new show with artist Skye Walker. Should be a blast. One night only.

Open Studio Art Sale at Rodney's this Saturday

My friend Rodney is an amazing artist. I have no less than 3 of his works. He is one prolific creator. He can produce art on a magnitude that I have not seen anywhere else. For the last few years he has been opening up his studio to the public at the end of the year and offering great deals on works of past in order to clear space for new projects to come. It is a great time to see and buy his work. He is in the giving spirit and loves to share his work with others. If you have been drooling over his work, now is the time to own. You will find some amazing deals on some incredible art, and make an impact on our landfills by placing trash in the form of beautiful art on your walls. Hope to see you there.

A few photos... Enjoy

The Stereotypes Singles Club-Making Love In Mono

All you Stereotypes fans, go to their FaceBook page and sign up for their new Singles Club. Every quarter you will get a free Stereotypes single via email. This was their first release called Making Love In Mono and it is good. If you've never heard of them go check out their website and listen to a few tunes.

http://www.myspace.com/thestereotypesmusic

Jack Chellemi

South Africa HD from Jack Chellemi on Vimeo.

Jack came over to shoot some footage for a few DIY clips we did for Korduroy.tv.  He is a really cool guy and has a lot of talent. Turned out to be a small world as I had never met him before but he has spent a lot of time in Leucaida and knows a lot of the same people. Jack is Cyrus Sutton's main filmer for the Korduroy project. You'll be seeing more of Jacks work no doubt. While we hung out and shot he told us about his latest trip to J-bay. Above is a piece he put together of his trip. Enjoy.

Kirk's 6th Grade Surf Art from 1983

For the holidays Kirk a.k.a Rojo Grande and Anne went back to Kirks mom's for a visit. When he arrived he found a stack of old art he did when he was a kid that his mom found. Here are two he made. Kirk has no memory of these and even weirder he didn't even surf back then and lived inland in Nor Cal. The other funny thing about this art is that Kirk is known as Rojo Grande as he likes to put on a Mexican Wrestling mask every now and then. He has even been known to surf in it. Talk about telling the future. Pretty amazing. Makes me want to dig out my old drawings from when I was a kid. Thanks for sharing Kirk!

Sky Held Sun

I swear you seriously can not go anywhere without running into amazingly talented people in Leucadia.

A few weeks ago I was at Rodney's house and ran into his neighbor John Bennet. John is a long time Leucadia local and standing memember of the White Fence crew. I'd never met John before so we chatted and he mentioned he was a musician. Turns out he plays with my friend Jim Volkert,  who I have featured before for his photography. Long story short he gave me a CD and I have been listening ever since.

Check out my favorite song Be Free and go to their website for some more folk goodness. John and Jim play all the time locally. They are staples at La Pappagallo. I'll get some more details of when they play.

Great work John and Jim. I love your music and thanks again for the CD. It's getting some really good use!

www.skyheldsun.com

Little Black Wheels is a Go!

Artwork from 'Little Black Wheels' DVD.

Graphic Design by Neal Puchase Junior, Photos by Waters Clan.

I just heard from Mick that Little Black Wheels is in the can and off for production. The Wheels are rolling.

In May 2007, his family embarked on a Five month Road Trip around Australia with a two year old, a pregnant mother, a dog, a dad and a campervan. Life stripped back to its basics. Eat, surf and sleep. When there are no waves, you relax or explore, spend time with the family or move onto the next location.

No Boat Charters, Internet Swell predictions or expensive budgets where used in the making of this film, just a car, some boards, a plan, some luck and a whole lot of love for filmmaking.

I have to say that Mick is one of those rare guys that can set out on a trip like this and make it work. He is a true independent filmmaker doing everything himself. He's the guy that truly does this because he loves it and with a serious talent for shooting and editing beautiful films to boot.

Congrats Mick I know you have been working hard to finish this project.

Word has it he's planning a US tour so we can see it on the big screen. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

The film  features Dain Thomas, Mick Hughes, Johnny Abegg, Antoine Cardonnet, Rasta, Beau Young, Jimmy McMillan, Ry Craike, Mark Healey, Dave Macaulay and Family, Kristian Spencer and a host of other underground surfers.

Find out the stories of these surfers, their lives, why they travel and surf.

www.littlehouseproductions.com.au

Thanksgiving Swell 2009

Support Calypso!

As you most likely know Calypso had a fire and will be shut down for months while being repaired. My friend Gills, the owner, is having a benefit show monday night to support his staff. The place is one big family and after the fire he has committed to keep the staff afloat so they can come back to their jobs. If you are free Monday night, go to the Belly Up to support Gills and his crew. It will be a great night of music and for a great cause.

New Shatto and Son's Calendar

It's that time of year again. Go in and get your calendar at Shatto and Son's. It's a Leucadia tradition! If you buy a tee you get one for free.

Shatto and Son's has been in Leucadia for 35 years. Ryan is running things now and is super easy to work with if you need some custom tees. I got our TLP tees made there and they came out great. Support your friends and neighbors. It just feels good.

Thank YOU!

Thank you to all who look at the site! Those who admit it and those who don't all have a spacial place in my heart. You are the reason I spend my free time thinking of ways to keep you inspired. The site has been around for just about a year now and it has been so much fun. I hope you have half as much fun with it as I do.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving here are a few things I'm grateful for.

Alia
Steve Lis
Great Family, Friends & Neighbors
People who share wax
Glassy days with two people out
Friendly people in the water
Buddies who witness and later vouch for your tube ride
Emails with surf photos attached
North West Swells
Rights from Cactus to Roundhouse
Fall days when the kids are back in school, the water is warm and the surf is good
Burritos
The $6.95 Special
Beacons sunsets
Daddy daycare days at the beach
The GV stairs
Biking to the Beach

I can go on and on. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Happy THANKSGIVING!!!!!

After The Storm

In October 2004 my dad came up to see me and we went out to shoot some photos together. Just a little hang time with my dad. This was before I had my camera and he was teaching me a few things about shooting. It was a beautiful day. We had a big storm the day before and the day was amazing. It was bright blue with big fluffy clouds and there was some surf to be had.

My dad is one of those guys who always amazes me. As a dad he is the best. Always there, listening, telling jokes and teaching me things. He is also someone who has an amazing ability to capture beauty in whatever he shoots. I worked with him on a little project where we took his photography and made a DVD out of it set to music. I remember working on that and being mesmerized by his images. A joy to do and I'll never forget it.

The images above are from that day. He let me shoot with his camera and gave me some pointers. Every time I see them they make me remember that day and him. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Miss Anne's Portrait of Rodney

My friend Anne is an amazing person. She is funny, smart and creative. She has also never officially called herself an artist.  Well, after submitting her fin for our Fin Art project (see Anne's entry here ) that all changed. Miss Anne got "discovered" and invited to be a part of the professional art show Artists by Artist  being shown at the Encinitas Library. Anne was assigned Rodney to create a portrait of in her own unique and fun way.

Anne was blown away by the invitation and quickly set out to finish her piece. (Just kidding it's an inside joke.) After months of thought, and more thought Anne finally unveiled her piece, which will be hung for all to see on Dec 1st.

Her mind and work continue to blow me away. Using found objects she constructs these amazing works that keep your eye moving as it explores every nook and cranny of the canvas. Her sense of humor is played out in her work and it is just plain fun to look at. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Great work, Anne, and can't wait to see it in person at the show!

December 1, 2009 to  January 4, 2010, at the Community Room in the Encinitas Library.

THE RECEPTION:
December 13, 2009
1pm-4pm
the event is free and the public is invited

Finally Got A Maggie

This weekend was the Encinitas Street Fair. At the fair Maggie was there selling her prints. I finally got a chance to check them out and bought one of my favorite shots. It is of Rob's head (I think) and the nose of the ponga that they took to get out to the line up. I loved it because it makes me day dream about those days when you are out laying on your board with a friend and you get that view of the waterline that you only get while in the water. Oh man I  love it. I'm keeping it in my office so I can stare at it. Great work Maggie!

4th Annual Pottery Blowout Sale at The Wheel

My friend Mike Totah over at The Wheel Stoneware in Leucadia is having his yearly sale. He does some of the most amazing custom plates for many of the most high end resorts and restaurants in the country. He is a wholesale only business but once a year he opens his doors to the public.

Here's the details...

Saturday the 21st from 10am to 4pm

835 ‘C’ N. Vulcan Ave

Encinitas, CA 92024

Restaurant Grade 1st’s 2nd’s

& Heavily Discounted Over Runs

Pre-made Dinnerware sets 25% off

Cash only please

www.thewheelstoneware.com 

It Was a Swell Day

Enjoy.