week sixty three >> "invited"

We chose this spread of "Invited" to present in this celebration week, as it bears remnant reminisces from the hand of our brother Nate whom we honor and uplift in light as he enters the covenant of Marriage this week.  Blessings to you and your beloved sweet man - Love well and prosper!

A long time ago, in a land not so far away, two young women were working away through night and day, painting and drawing, creating and playing.  Energy was sparking and dawn was emerging when they found themselves drawn out of their studio cave into the fresh air and light of the middle of May.

Inspiration caught their scent and called to them to climb to the tallest tower.  Thus they found themselves scaling steep ladders toward the pinnacle of Harder stadiums observation peeks where views of the surrounding lands abounded.  To commemorate this wonderous occasion, when time and space had expanded and contracted within their experience, the two companions unwrapped a gift from another beloved soul friend, Father Hutch.  The green genie inside unleashed his powers of wish, bestowing unto the girls an unforgettable and magical celebration filled with dancing and singing and loving.

Forevermore will we commemorate this holy ignition, this flame of light set fire into all time, hee hee haa haah !! -J.

week fifty six >> "friendship caught on fire" Happy May 16th!!!

In the spirit of anniversaries, cycles of seasons, and full circling thresholds, we go from the back inside cover spread, which we shared these past 2 weeks, and now turn to and open up to the front inside cover spread:

ZBOOK front inside cover          Click to see pretty & large

Of course this spread was made just as all the other pages, bit by intuitive bit, in layers of spontaneous whim and response, never first, never last, always in the state of becoming, touched upon in non-linear spirit, birthed throughout 14 years. It's fitting that the back cover should lead to the front as they neither indicate an ending OR beginning, but rather BOTH... as such threshold points truly are, like how every change is an end and simultaneously a start, how death is a close that in the same instance is a birth to new life.  How the end of one year begins another. 
Like today! Happy May 16th Hemphill!  This is our special day, the celebration of our "friendship caught on fire" as Bruce Lee described love to be (as quoted here on Z page by Chris Stevens in Northern Exposure :)  

"love is like friendship caught on fire" Bruce Lee
quoted by Chris the Morning, Norther Exposur

And as ZBOOK is also a tribute to our soul kinship and collaboration, it feels great to share this page with you on this day.  Up in the right corner it says "This is a Book of Lives"  In the bottom right corner is a photo sticker of us taken in a sticker machine on the Santa Cruz boardwalk in spring of 1999, seems to me that you were quite possibly observing a celebration for May 16th that day.  This page soon peculated into an homage of our synergy and gratitude for each other. 

The quote Jennifer wrote on on the left is perfect tone setter for our flip from back to front or end to start.... I would answer the question posed with a singular yet all encompassing YES.

love you Hemphill!

∞ ceci

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PS(L):  love the echos of PSL on both inside covers,
            YES our posse is truly anchored in our hearts

happy new year Xman!

fotobooth w/Xman 2008-09
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Thank you ~J~ for your shout out to Xman in your post yesterday! Today, May 22, 2010, my lil' bro is 12 years alive! And it's been 12 years since I drew his baby face and the date of his birth on this page.  One month before this day was our first May 16th, 12 years ago.  And one month after this, was my graduation -commencement- from UCSB, 12 years ago.  So there was a commencement for both of us!  Happy new year Xman, your day of birth is a beautiful marker in our lives, and a day of IMMENSE joy and gratitude for me... I have a brother!  And a wOnderful friend. 

Thank you Xavier for ALL you teach me, for your fun & creativity & music(!), and for your kindness and warm heart.  You are a very special little man.

click these for larger view

Xman & me on his 9th Bday, 2007

your sister and homie 4ever

∞ cec

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week five>> "noticias"

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This just in: it's week five of ZBOOK 4EVER!  And here is this week's page~spread, we call it "noticias" which in spanish means "the news."  While documentation can be found all throughout ZBOOK, this page became a main haven for sharing some of our pinnacle moments throughout the years, and a few just in passing too.   A great sense of travel is felt here, as if each stop on this page was a conscious breath taken in the midst of great movement; an honorable and festive moment to acknowledgment the doorways that shaped our lives.  

There are so many reflections to explore here, and we will this week.  One right off the bat is the bottom left corner "happy May 16th" dated 1998.  This was our first May 16th, the one that practically proclaimed itself OUR day, which I just storied about in yesterday's post, yesterday May 16th, 2010.  Catch up on it there, and look for further stories about this special date as Zblog grows on.  We are celebrating May 16th all week!  

∞ ceci

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Happy May 16th !

This is the day ZBOOK was made.  Well... that's how the myth will likely go down in history that is.  :)  ZBOOK was of course made over a 5,110 day period and was actually birthed in the month of November... However, it is May 16th that has become the day of hemphill and cec, aka Jennifer and Ceci, our day of celebration and gratitude for our creative partnership, our mayhem, and our kinship.  It's our "holiday" and very much like a "birthday" for us and, since ZBOOK is a direct expression of all that is ~J~ and ~C~, figuratively it could be said that if ZBOOK had a "day" it would also be May 16th.

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In the late spring of 1998, ~J~ and I had an especially amAzing special weekend.  ~J was visiting me at UCSB.  She had recently come back from traveling for months solo around the globe (badass) and I was finishing my last year of school.  My honors art studio was at Harder Stadium and we were hangin' there quite a bit.  That weekend happened to be SB's annual "Estravaganza" festival which takes place at the stadium.  In fact, I just looked it up and today is the 30th anniversary of Estravaganza! Nice. Well, we found ourselves with all this music and color and lively people all around and seamlessly flowed right in there, making the field our own dance floor, every person we encountered a fellow reveler, and every sight, sound and flavor a lucid experience of reverence.  The festival, a ton load of frisbee disc huckin', and other Isla Vista antics made for one spectacular time that we knew we'd never forget. We decided right there and then that May 16th was our day, for Life.

Happy May 16th hemphill! I love u lady.
∞ ceci
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