Scotty Z flatland jam and chest waxing

This video is hilarious! 

Somewhere in the last couple years, I met Scotty Zabielski on Facebook.  When I couldn't find a "real job" here in NC, I decided to focus on turning my writing and art into a small business.  Scotty Z ordered a drawing, then another, then a few more, then even more.  Doing drawings for him was huge help in me progressing in my art, and getting the art thing heading towards a business. Thanks Scotty!

In this clip, OFG (Old Fat Guy) BMX interviews Scotty at a flatland jam he organized near his home in Indiana.  The highlight is Scotty getting shaved and then having his chest waxed to raise money for St. Baldrick's ti help childhood cancer.  Near the end of the clip, he gives me a shout out for doing a bunch of drawings.  Thanks Scotty, I'm hoping to make it up there for one of these old school BMX events one of these days.

Here are some of the drawings now hanging on walls in Scotty's beach house:

The Student Debt Ball and Chain

"Take away, take away, take away this ball and chain.  I'm lonely and I'm tired, and I can't take any more pain."  -Social Distortion

Mike Ness of Social Distortion wasn't singing about student loan debt in about 1989, when this song came out.  But millions of college students and struggling graduates can relate to the lyrics above.  The promise of a college degree to insure you make a great living throughout your life has become just the opposite for millions of people. 

I just read "The Great College Loan Swindle" in the print edition of Rolling Stone magazine (November 16, 2017).  If you're in college you NEED to read this.  If you have kids in college, you NEED to read this.  It's not a super long article, and it pulls together the big picture of the debt trap student loans have become.  Student debt is one of the biggest drags on our economy these days, and one of the main factors keeping millions from leading better lives. 

A Funny Look at Economic Development

  DEFINITELY NOT SAFE FOR WORK.  Especially if you work in economic development for your city or region.  This clip explains how cities recruited new businesses in the Industrial Age.  Basically it comes down to massive bribes and bullshit.  Then high tech businesses emerged, and changed the game.  In 2002, Professor Richard Florida's book, The Rise of Creative Class explained that things now work much different in today's tech hub cities.  Hundreds of towns and cities worldwide sought to become "The Next Silicon Valley."  Nearly all of them of them failed, because Silicon Valley already happened.  It's like trying to become the next Lebron James.  You can't be Lebron.  What you can be is the best version of yourself.  That's what towns and cities nationwide are struggling with, shaking off Industrial Age thinking (like in the clip above), and figuring out how to become competitive in the Information Age were going into.  It's a whole different game.

Earshot Music Art Opening

 It feels like the start of something really amazing.  I came up with my unique "scribble style" with Sharpie markers 12 years ago, and really started trying to sell drawings two years ago.  I started with literally no money, so it's been slow progress for quite a while.  But the opening at Earshot Music last night felt like a big milestone, one where things shift into a higher gear. 

Earshot Music (3254 Silas Creek Pkwy) in Winston-Salem is a classic record store like all us middle-aged people wandered through as kids.  Life's been pretty crazy for years now, and I spent the summer literally living in a tent in the woods, and drawing every moment I could.  That allowed me to get a lot of artwork done, even though I was homeless.  Phred, the owner of Earshot, and Jane Buck, who handles the art there, liked my stuff, and gave me a great opportunity to get my drawings in front of more people.  Thanks guys!

It was a quiet little show, only a handful of people came by, but we had a good time.  My friend Rick, who's really helped me out over the summer, hung out and listened to me tell stories he'd already heard.  My sister Cheri, a teacher in Greensboro, came by with a friend, and we went through all my older drawings, sharing memories with the others there.  Luba, a Winston-Salem artist I met at the First Friday art walk last month, came by, as did a young couple I gave a flyer to last Friday.  I also met long time artist Lee Tompkins, and he gave me lots of ideas on how to proceed with my work. 

 The Kurt Cobain drawing sold, and I have a couple people interested in other drawings in the near future.  I handed out copies of the flyer I made, along with copies of another small drawing.  I had a great time, and am looking forward to getting back to work on another bunch of drawings.  My drawings will be up at Earshot Music until the end of the year, and I would love to do one of your favorite musician or athlete.  Maybe even your dog.  You can email me at stevenemig13@gmail.com  . 

Artist Profile in the Winston-Salem Journal

I'm stoked to have an artist profile in today's Winston-Salem Journal.  In the profile, I give props to artistic influences ranging from my parents to Bob Haro, Andy Jenkins, and old BMXer/skater friends like Eddie Roman and Ed Templeton.  I haven't been able to shake the homeless thing, though I'm couch surfing at my mom's place after my recent trouble for trespassing.  Hopefully this show will lead to enough orders for drawings so I can rent a cheap motel room, and eventually become an actual human in society again.  Thanks to journalist Lisa O'Donnell at the Journal for a cool write-up.  I also want to thank my friends Rick and Ben, who've helped me a ton over this past summer.  Major thanks also to old school BMXers Alma Jo Barrera and Scotty Zabielski, who have bought several drawings each, and everyone else who's bought a drawing and helped me get here.

Eight of my Sharpie drawings, in my unique "scribble style," including the one of The Ramones above, will be up at Earshot Music, Winston-Salem's premier record shop.  Yeah, they carry vinyl records, CD's, DVD's, analog stereos, and hard to find music.  The opening of the show is this Saturday, November 4th, 2017, from 7-9 pm.  Earshot is next to Marhall's at 3254 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  If you're anywhere near here, I'd love to see you drop by.

Winston-Salem Journal article featuring my art tomorrow

As part of the lead up to the opening of my art at Earshot Music this weekend, I was profiled by the Winston-Salem Journal over the last few days.  The profile will be in the entertainment section of the Journal tomorrow (Thursday, November 2nd, 2017).  Check the link if you want to check it out.

Winston-Salem homeless man dies

This Winston-Salem Journal article reports the death of Bill Bloxham, a homeless man in Winston-Mr. Salem who was found dead in a Hardee's bathroom yesterday.  It's the same Hardee's I used to go to nearly every day when I drove a tax in Winston-Salem back in 2011-2012.  I know I've seen him around, but never talked to him.  I didn't realize he was the guy who was beaten so bad months before.

Mr. Bloxham became known to many last January when he was beaten nearly to death last January when some young guys found him sleeping under a bridge.  He wound up in intensive care, and I never heard what happened to him after the first couple of reports.

There are a lot of reasons people wind up homeless.  The stereotype is that all every homeless person is either an addict or mentally ill.  Yet the vast majority of addicts and mentally ill people have decent places to live.  As a taxi driver who worked Orange County, California for years, I've found that most wealthy people are heavy drinkers, and sometimes full-on raging alcoholics.  The biggest common thread among homeless people is lack of a strong social network.  Sometimes homelessness is better than whatever toxic situation the person was in before becoming homeless.   

Sorry to hear about Mr. Bloxham's death.  What happened to him in January doesn't happen often, but every homeless person knows that it's a possibility when they fall asleep somewhere.  I've said it many times before, the streets are no joke.