TOOFLY NYC

Living in Latin America for the past 2 years has given me the opportunity to do and see lots. Thankful and lucky this side of the world is easy to get around, safe for the most part, and cheap! This month I decided to take off and head over to Panama just two air hours away. I arrived in Panama City with one goal in mind; “where’s the beach!?” There’s a ton of traffic here but at least the buses are brand new, clean, and have air conditioning. They also just recently finished their metro system which made me smile. All cities with traffic problems need this! The one thing I  still don’t understand though is where did all the funding go for the garbage cans? A busy city needs garbage cans on every street corner. One day I was staring out into the ocean on the plaza as the sun went down…I was all smiles…but then I looked down and there was a ton of garbage floating and washing off shore. A Panamanian lady next to me said “Es q’ los Panamenios somos cochinos” as if it was acceptable ?  I think this side of the world needs an education campaign on litter man! From  fast food, to cuchifrito spots, to mercados with limited produce. The imports from china are at a max which is unfortunate because that means that all the evil junk passes through Panama and unfortunately stays here:( It’s really too bad because during my bus travels I saw a land rich for agriculture but nobody working it. What’s up with Panamanian agriculture culture I wondered? My trip was too short to learn of it’s history. When I took cabs the Panamanias talked so fast it reminded me of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans in NY. There’s lot’s of caribbean flow here. At first I was like yeah! I know these songs crank that reggaeton music! After a few days of it all I was ready to get out of town, and go where lands are green, and people are not mean.

PANAMA CITY

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Had to take a quick trip to Panama and didn’t get a chance to post the last wall the Abusa Crew and I completed in Quito. I’m finally back in the studio and ready to share! We got some really great photos of our wall process thanks to Vicerarte Magazine and my mom dukes! Finding this wall took a while because we needed something big enough for all three of us + something that would be visible by many many people. We finally found a mechanic shop that was down for us. They desperately wanted to cover up all the graffiti tags on the side of their walls because the Municipio of Quito kept telling the owner to buff the wall or get fined. They buffed the wall numerous times but it kept getting tagged and vandalized. When I showed up for permission they didn’t think twice. “pintalo!” they told me, without a second thought. Half way through the process we ran into trouble with the cops, and the municipal officials. Someone in the neighborhood ran a hate move on us and called them to take us in. We were harassed for permission papers, and threatened to be fined $300 each and taken to jail for a day. Luckily a nice gentleman from the city council in the area helped me get the papers in order in just a few hours so we can continue to paint wall. They say they want to help because they recognize the problem of vandalism on the streets but it’s always a little twisted here. You don’t know who to trust! It’s frustrating to deal with Quito’s city officials putting up these ridiculous laws especially when there are numerous reports already made on how street art benefits major cities who have had to deal with the vandalism problem. The idea of buffing walls time and time again does not work in these parts. Especially a country free of big brother surveillance on every street corner. If you put up a mural the taggers know the street code and 90% of the time they will not disrespect. This is a fact across all murals and street art created in cities. It’s a no brainer folks! Recognize and step aside if you truly want to support the arts & culture you want so bad. Vamos Ecuador!

Quick sketches to figure out which face angles would work best…

Photo by Ali/Vicerarte

Moms photos looking good too! Gracias mami linda 🙂

Mom and Babe on site <3 Photo by Vicerarte

Gracias Viscerarte/Ali por las fotos! XOXO

Almuerzo time! We got hooked up with free yummy almuerzos and drinks by the locals. #communitysupport

Shout out to my mom for always being there, and showing me by example to just take off and fly away like a bird whenever you feel like it. Fearless rebel viajera 4 life!

“Viajar en la Vida” ” Travel in Life”

“Vivir en el Viaje” ” Live during your Travels”

Abusa Crew ( Chile ) X Toofly ( Ecuador/NY ) 2014 Avenida La Prensa y Chiriboga
We decided on a theme we are all in tune with at the moment and that is to share our art and our love warrior spirit everywhere we go. We love to travel, paint, and spread street art love across various countries. We feel that your life is enriched with every trip, every new person you meet, and every experience you create for yourself and for others. It’s a beautiful time to be an artist who is free to live and create the life you truly want. Just do it!

“Viajar en la Vida, Vivir en el Viaje”  – Travel in your life, and live during your travels.

The owner is happy 🙂

Wendy y Anis aka Pepa. Lindas amigas! Safe travelz, hasta la proxima en Chile! <3 XOXO

 

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I have some medium sized sketchbooks ready to drop at the Ladies Love Project Pop-UP Shop event on May 31st! More info coming soon…

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I’ve been on a roll this past few weeks creating new designs for my spring product line. I recently created my latest die-cut bubble sticker at 4″X3″. It’s been a minute since I made one. I believe the first bubble sticker I made was back in 2005! Almost 10 years ago. Everyone’s jumped the boat since then. It’s all good cause while everyone’s biting your style and your ideas your originating them. True skill over hype anyday baby!

Toofly Die-Cut Bubble Sticker $3.00 www.tooflynyc.com/shop

 

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