July 23rd - 17:15

Title: July 23rd - 17:15 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: From the capital of the country in D.C. through two Delaware bridges while smoking bones suspended over the water like a hot wheels cruising with no traffic blocking the route. Riding through Pennsylvania to reach Philadelphia; a steady flow. Making sure we rode through each state, the only way to make it count! Shantrelle was waiting for our arrival at her new mystic shaman shop. The last time I visited her in 2019 we made art on her front porch at her home. She was The King of Staffs in my Smoke and Mirrors. A woman could be a king, a symbol of matriarchal leadership. I was happy to include her in this new series too. To connect different projects through different mediums and meanings. Yet it all felt like the same energy. Like years had not passed by. A friendship through art as we turned a new leaf and turned to the next page in the stages of life. A record of who we were and how we grow over time. It's beautiful to stay connected throughout the passing of time and space, because thats just how art works. She sat on her throne by the window of her new shop, after all she was the King of Staffs in a magic kingdom and we were her guests. I kneeled between the plants and captured the light illuminating her face with a gentle smile that pierced through my lens and into my heart. Knighted by the king herself with the blessings to continue to create, the moments of the unknown which lay ahead. After her new portrait we browsed the store to support her new business. I chose a book on African shamanism as well as some Sage. Shantrelle gifted me a blue mojo candle for good luck, healing, and fortune, which I then passed on to my father the day after. We hugged goodbye and I continued on the road towards home. We were not to far from New York so we decided to go the extra mile and drive to Long Island to see my family a day earlier. Ethan and I often made these quick calls based on the feeling and distance of where we had to be next. It felt right to be with family than wait. So, we speed into the night to meet my dad, Alfonso, who greeted us with a home cooked Italian meal with pizza, pasta, and kombucha. This was the first time I felt like I was home in many years since I have been traveling and hopping around from place to place during the pandemic in LA, never really being able to settle in more than a month or two anywhere. Back in NY with my dad and sister Marisa. There was closure and closeness I have not felt in over a decade since leaving home in the first place. A return to home after heading out west. I remember the Magician from Smoke and Mirrors tell me once a premonition, He said to me once you reach your destination all the way out west and hit the water there is nowhere to go but back home. Something deep inside me resonated with his words, but it was only to plant a seed. Now, a few years later I had finally felt what he meant. It was time to go back to where I came from, it was time to go home back East. Like the Alchemist's journey, you find your peace right where you started. The treasure was inside you this entire time, in your heart. And the heart wants to be happy at home. So, instead of continuing up north as we had planned. We decided to stay where I grew up. For a few days to rest and be with our loved ones, Ethan's brother Eli and his niece Solei was living in Brooklyn. It was summer in Long Island and it has been years since I've been here. So we balanced the project and progress with taking care of our selves first before we can go any further. It was time to fill our cup with family to give us the strength to carry on around the country, and the world.