Harlem + Art for Change + $15 Taxi ride = First New York Exhibition.

Saturday night I was lucky to have my series of Haiti drawings included in an exhibition hosted by Art for Change - a grassroots organization that focuses on bringing more attention to social justice issues through art. The exhibition was comprised of a small group of artists who've created pieces to help raise money and awareness for Haiti. The reception Saturday night, in a quirky space in Harlem, pretty much represented the best of New York - good art and interesting people trying to make a difference. Of course I arrived during the artist Q&A session, so I conveniently hid in the back of the room cause I hate Q&A's. Then there was a moment of sheer panic when their corkscrew broke and they couldn't open the wine. But by the end of the night, I had avoided the Q&A, had a glass of wine with friends, discovered there was some interest in my work and left feeling like my first new york exhibition had been pretty much perfect.

It may not have been an exhibit at the Guggenheim but to me it was better.

A Montague in Manhattan

Well, here is the past year in a nutshell…After graduating from a university in London and making the film festival rounds with one of my films, I signed on with an indie film in LA. A few months in tinsel town convinced me that Los Angeles (or as most would say - LaLa Land) and I weren’t seeing eye-to-eye – so next stop was New York. And that’s when the fun started. Living with my NYU grad student sister in Hell’s Kitchen, surviving a major ceiling collapse, moving into a new apartment together, working at a fashion internship and all the while learning more about New York – dodging crazies on the streets, dealing with constant ear-splitting noise, avoiding fights between cab drivers, learning to maneuver throngs of tourists on the streets – and falling completely in love with this big, awful, insane, wonderful city.

I’m home. At least for now.