CAPE TOWN ANTI-GRAFFITI PETITION

we are facing a new anti-graffiti by-law in cape town which takes away the house owners rights to give permission for any artworks on their walls besides a house number.

The new, proposed graffiti by-law makes no distinction between vandalism and public art that is done with the permission of the owner of the property.

Please can you assist us in our efforts to amend this by-law by signing the petition and forwarding it on...
As we need to present it to the council during the public participation process.

thank you, here is the link and below are the details of the two points in the by-law that we would like to amend.

http://www.petitiononline.com/art4all/petition.html


To: The City of Cape Town

The new, proposed graffiti by-law criminalizes all forms of public art and violates our personal right to freedom of expression on private property.
It makes no distinction between vandalism and public art that is done with the permission of the owner of the property.
The by-law will soon be presented for public discussion and these are the two main issues that we feel need to be addressed:

1. The definition of ‘graffiti’ under the by-law is too broad. It classifies ‘graffiti’ as any inscription, word, figure, letter, sign, symbol, sketch, picture or drawing. There should be a clear differentiation between ‘graffiti vandalism’ [e.g. gang tags, scratchings] and public art that is done with permission from the owner [murals, colourful characters and positive, inspiring messages].

2. The by- law removes the legal right of the private property owner to paint anything other than a house number on his/her wall. We strongly believe that the private property owner should maintain the right to determine what to paint on to his/her property without permission from the City.

if you agree with these two amendments please sign the petition on the link above
and hopefully we can adjust the by-law to become a more inclusive one and thus limit the damage it can potentially do to the creative growth of our city.

TAKE A HIKE!

The best way to welcome color in the Forest is by being it’s loyal friend. Toronto, Will and I took our second moderate hike. We had grandma and tia Harley come with us this time. We went to Apple River Canyon and did a two mile hike. Canyons have formed here from the longevity of the river’s exsistence. The glacial sweeps left most of its area unscratched. The cliffs are high. It is fairly dangerous to peek down to see the stream that flows quiet and endlessly. All the peaking I did was arm’s length allowing me to see what the view finder happened to snap. Will and E went ahead of us. I tried to envelop as much as I could of the surroundings. They love being together. They are like peanut butter and jelly it just naturally goes together good. We found nice little slopes within the huge cliffs and were very careful crossing through the man made stepping bridges to get to the next side of what was the next adventure. Hiking up hill was like being on a mud slide! It was fun! A bit of adrenaline kicks in when you feel you are about to slide down.
It is awesome to know that E loves the outdoors and gets smiley-happy all day long. It is amazing that nature can tickle his brain. He got to see real duck’s for the first time in his life. We headed back to the picnic table to have lunch. Once, on the blanket, E went straight to sleep. He fell asleep with the squint look the face makes when the sun is too bright. My little bear had skipped a nap to enjoy it all and gave in to the serenity of the land. We ate grandma's delicious sandwiches and organic red juicy apples. After, Will, Harley and I went by the river. While Will navigated himself a bit ahead we just stayed behind and began to try to pile up some rocks. Only that the current was way stronger than what it seemed. It made most of the rocks tumble away. Harley was trying to make the double and triple ripple effect that the smaller rocks make when you throw them in a semi sideway toss. They barely skim the sparkly water. She picked up a bigger rock from the short shore and discovered a black centipede. It looked pretty cool it was definitely not your average centipede. It had a nice shine to it and moved fairly slow.
Grandma stayed at the picnic area to relax. E just slept away to dream about the Woods. We ended up leaving but we still wanted more. So instead of taking the busy road back to Grandma's she took us through the beautiful scenic back road. We were a bit hesitant to cross the three ton limit bridge on the four to almost 5 ton truck. We are obviously still alive.
We got home and everyone except the minors enjoyed a few bottles of fat tire. It was like a day at what I would imagine a Spa retreat to be like.

Upcoming Artist

Brenda is a good friend of mine, we go way back. She grew up watching me paint. She is a great student and I'm very proud of her achievements. It goes to show that with dedication and confidence we can accomplish great things. Job well done.

Earth's Best

Sunday afternoon with Toronto and Will was an amazing day. E.T. was full throttle out and about in the middle of the Forest. He also met Whiskey at the “Little Red School House”, what a crazy bird. He saw a falcon munch on his prey (two tiny mice), the eyes went first. It was wonderful we enjoyed one of the nicest days of March in the semi-wilderness we call a Forest Preserve. My little guy was enjoying nature for the very first time and it was an amazing journey for him. He starred at the water that moved in the stream, and was just curious of the many noises the Forest offers. He broke off a few small branches and squinted as the sun rays crept into the forest’s dome. He kicked his legs to and fro as Daddy carried him in the baby pack. The only noises I was able to hear were tiny shrieks of happiness, and excitement surrounded by the calm sounds of earth’s best. Our nature hike was by far a huge stimulation to his ever growing brain and imagination. Now that spring is slowly becoming tangible I can’t wait to see and help him grow. I got to feed my son in the middle of the Forest. We had a mini picnic set up. I even changed his diaper! Believe it or not that was fun. While he lay on the sleeping bag he immediately began to reach for the once green foliage. It was like a cool toy for him. It crinkled in his hand and felt different than what his usual textured toys do. The sun started going down as soon as we finished our lunch. It all happened in perfect time for E.T. to get back into the car and start snoring.

My date with Coraline

So V day has actually been more than a half month past us but I never shared my date experience. My day started with a long long long very long line at the Secretary of State, all just to meet the amnesty deadline. Tickets suck and so does Chicago sometimes. Then, I got home and went out for breakfast at a over packed overrated downtown brunch spot. It was a great breakfast. (name of place will not be disclosed) Seeing as to how my husband and I havent joined each other in any mischevous acts I quickly thought of one without even mentioning it to him. See it was not planned and it definitely just quickly became an idea. After seeing the line to pay I saw a great opportunity to just walk out and as my husband gave me the "hey the..." I looked at him and smiled and he smiled back. We are definitely like a match made in heaven. We are so perfect together. Sometimes theres just no need for verbal communication. It was a little cheap thrill. A sixty dollar breakfast? free! fuck yeah! God forgive me but I had too much fun. So after, Toronto needed some attention and as soon as he fell asleep we went to watch Coraline. I was like a kid again. I loved everything in that movie. The story was great the visual effects were awesome and the company was the best. And I almost forgot my favorite actress does Coraline's voice! yes, Dakota Fanning she's the best. Watch it I definitely recomend it.