I thought I was going to be late. I forgot to set my clock back before I
went to bed last night. Forgot to move the hour back before the leaves fell
from my dreams like the colored leaves that fall from trees. I rushed to work, driving,
trying to set the dashboard clock; my body hunched over the wheel, not paying
attention to the other side of the windshield. The car revved high
before I managed to change gears. This took my hand off the clock
and put my eyes onto the street.

So I was at this thing called the Downtown LA ArtWalk. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s just a little monthly art event that EVERYONE that’s not living under a rock has been talking about…. There’s a shit ton of people pounding the pavement all night, enjoying all the mind-blowing exhibits, art vendors, food trucks (Hi Kogi Truck!) and long-legged fashionistas within arm’s reach (yup, even the models are into art now).

Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the super-swanky, super-awesome voila! gallery “New and Not So New Talent” event. Four artists were featured—Sam Frost, a local photographer; An Gyselinck, a Belgian photographer; Gwen Samuels, a mixed media visionary; and Olivia Chague, a French mixed media extraordinaire. Us FORTH magazine folks were stationed appropriately on the way to the bar, where we had the chance to talk to many awesome people about what we do, what they do, and what we all can do to promote/support the ever-dynamic LA art scene.

Blasting across America at three in the morning on a Delta flight to Cincinnati and then onwards to Hartford. I hate red-eyes because being thrown across a continent at 30,000 feet in pitch darkness unnerves me for some reason. Despite my irrational fear of sudden oblivion, I am glad to be on this flight. Behind us L.A. is burning, like Rome before it, and the “moderate” air-quality was getting to me (along with a lot of other things). My official motive for being on this commuter rocket is to officiate one of my best friend’s weddings as an ordained Reverend. But my ulterior-motive is to get the hell out of Dodge for a few days and breath some fresh air and let my brain cool off and my soul heal.

Drew Hancock is an LA-based photographer, director, animator and illustrator. He shares with us three beautiful shorts with music by The One AM Radio. Using a combination of cinematography, animation and photography, “Pipes”, “Highway” and “Clay Flowers” are sure to amaze and inspire.