TOOFLY NYC

Yes! we’re finally able to share a really fun installation project that took place this past summer in the heart of NY. The Lower East Side has a rich history, and true school New Yorkers all have memories of what it was like “back in the day”. 5Pointz Creates set out to capture the essence of what continues to make the “lower” special “A Vertical Love Letter to the Bowery” curated by Marie Cecile Flageul and directed by our dear friend Meres. A staircase with 21 floors, and 21 artists who work hard to represent and evolve as artists no mater what label they give us. Writers, graffiti artists, street artists, fine artists, painters, etc; in the end many of us are all that. If you are paying attention you can see how the lines have started to blur. Go up, or go down the stairs and you will see a variety of aerosol art letter pieces, portraits, landscapes, quotes, and designs that make this installation the Museum of Street Art aka MoSABowery. The more artists, and property owners can work together with respect/honor with deas like this the more we can keep the urban arts alive.

@MosaBowery project at the new CitizenM hotel will open to the public October 1st from ( 10am-5pm with ID) Free of charge. A great experience for art lovers and travelers worldwide, especially those that miss 5Pointz and want to learn more about the graffiti history of NY. Be sure to take a flick and hashtag  your favorite artist and the project — #5pointzcreates, #mosabowery, #citizenm

Yeo! remember the time when they looked at all of us like vandals who wore baggy clothes, listened to hip hop, and were up to “no good”. Look at us now! — all grown up, doing what we love as artists, and putting out a positive message for the next generation. Boooooooooya trueschool new yorkers baby #5pointz4ever

THANK YOU NY! #tooflynyc / @Toofly_NYC

Graffiti Productions in Quito with Alm Crew, and #GraffitiMujer Collective – more soon. Follow @Toofly_NYC on IG for more flicks.

@RudaFest in Bogota, Colombia last week was DOOOOOPE! I am very proud of my friend Ledania and Gerardo for teaming up to make this happen. Together with a tight team they put together a very well organized weekend event. The collaboration was on point. Dope location, dope hotel, dope artists, dope place to eat ( Canasto Bistro )  and great place to kick back and enjoy art and drinks LIVE! For community of all ages to enjoy. Various artists participated in this event Eelco from Holland – hella cool dude, Ben Johnston from Canada who made me laugh a ton!, Muretz from Brazil and his ill tattoos and many more like Type of Tape which I really digged’. This was my first time in Bogota which reminded of Quito, Ecuador. Mountains, historic city, modern shops, as well as parts of a nightlife city. Bogota has a ton of graffiti too – more so than I have ever seen anywhere else which is why I think they call it the mecca of graff in Latin America. I saw works on the streets by friends like Guache, Stinkfish, and Skore999. Overall event and my stay was awesome. I wish I could of have squeezed in another wall or two next time! Special shout out to the RudaFest team for the invitation and hospitality. I had a great time painting, and working closely with the staff who helped us on the lyfts, the projections, materials, and transport. Met some great people too that I plan to stay in touch with. Our international arts & culture community keeps growing and our travelz helps to bring us together as a arts family. Thank you COLOMBIA!

words and images soon

Images and words coming soon…

My favorite part of our summer trip is spending it on the chillax tip with my love. Arrived early in June and took advantage of the really nice weather before it got nasty hot. Babe loves the ferry, so this summer we caught the one that goes to Rockaway Beach from Wall St for $2.50 and in 1 hr we were there! We got a bunch of olives, bread, and fruits for the ride and then got hella excited for the arepa with jackfruit snack on the boardwalk. There was hardly any one at the beach. It was perfect and just how we like it. Less people, more nature, lovely weather, and good food. Highlight of the trip was to land an unexpected gig and lock in the job details on the beach. Gotta love NY!

In case you missed it! — The “Presence” exhibition curated by @artbygiawill showcase from July 24-Aug 18th @artspaceps109 @hiartsnyc gallery Hours Tues-Fri 12-5PM / 215 East 99st. 6 Train to 96st. Collect, appreciate, and enjoy the women contemporary artists of today!

Longest trip in NY this summer! Glad it’s over. Fun, work, and play for a month and a 1/2 was long, but the mission was acomplished. Got a lot of stuff done, and had enough time to catch up with my family and friends. Wellingcourt this year was nice, no rain! I usually get rain dates but the weather was perfect. I enjoyed the piece I worked on and the day in total. Especially when hanging with the @StreetHeroines team and my boo. “Freedom Dreamer” from the Love Warrior series is one of my favorite designs. It needed a bit of more work but was unable to make it back in time to add more details. Overall she’s FLY! especially next to @Sinned_NYC

Photo by Joe Conzo 2018

Thank You NY!

Great times in Austin TX this year! Shout out to Blue genie Art Studios, my friend Charles and the gang, and all my Austin ATX peeps who showed love. I had a blast working and hanging out!

 

Back from Austin, TX! What a lovely place it is haven’t been back since 2012. It was super nice to see my friends again especially to take advantage of the trip and create a NEW Mama Sana Mural. There’s a bunch of press online about it, you can read. It’s a pretty interesting story that talks about gentrification, and the power of community.

I havent had the time to write a post in a while on this here TF blog. I try my best to keep it up to date, even if posts are a little late. My blog is a place to document it all, but more and more Instagram does the same. Websites, blogs, etc are feeling dusty. Check in on them once and a while or none at all right? Aint nobody logging on to your page! We are all busy scrolling on IG, FB, Twitter. So that is to say that I am unsure how long I can keep up to date with yall here meng. It is time consuming especially now that it is getting busy as fuck. I am waiting for my flight as we speak and took a minute here. It is however a great place to write long ( Day in the Life ) stories that reflect more than any other place.  Folks can check in here when they like, just cuz.  Back when I had started the blog there was no social media you guys. I enjoyed taking photos myself and sharing it solely on my blog with my thoughts and ideas.  I threw in a little personal stuff, my art, travels, and ideas. These days I have a personal IG not everyone can see. I like that kind of privacy with my closest, trusted, and most respected. I also have the public one which allows me to share just work and projects with anyone worldwide. Not everyone gotta be in your personal business know what I mean? These days its all instant and your cell makes it easy to post every damn thing, image, thought that you want. I guess its cool, sometimes. So many of us go overboard with it. Like how many feet photos do I really need?  These apps are so good these days tho. I never learned how to drive living in NY because theres an excellent subway system in place that when it works works well. Buses, Bike Lanes, Shuttles etc. Now that we also have these taxi apps like Lyft, Uber, etc you can grab a taxi for short or long trips it makes everything that much more productive.  Car pooling, and sharing rides helps everyone —-  and it helps stay on budget when its for a job mission. As a full time traveling artist/mobile artist these days its helps biz run smoother than before.  All to say that technology is helping artist like myself in many more ways than before as we continue to grow and improve society. Unsure what the next change in tech will be for us dreamers adn doers to continue to do what we do. Shout out to everyone who supports my work, and to the universe who looks out for me and mine. Hard work pays off, and loving what you do makes the world go round . It makes you happier too. 2018 is big year for my biz and personal life. I am truly loving all of it!!!  #NEWYORKCITYGIRL 4EVA.

I released a FLY red sweater this Sprig. Really happy with the way it came out, its look and feel. Super cozy! Shout out to all my homegirls out there who got theirs it was a super limited run. More colors to come in the fall. www.tooflynyc.com/shop

The #TooflyWorkshops are growing in number every year, and I am happy to continue to work with the Pepatian folks uptown in the BX.  This year they granted a few of the women in hip hop artists like myself the opportunity to teach and continue out graffiti, break dancing, DJ, spoken word, and much more lesson plans.  Shout out to the youth at Bronx Works, and The Point after school program who took the time to create some cool art with messages during these cold March days in NY.