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.

Past a crawling maze of neon, sun-like patterns and a swarm of people- I gently muscled my way through the Standard Downtown’s lobby and walked straight up to the man I was looking for: Dennis Hernandez, the hotel’s director of marketing. Surprised that I found him so easily on my first attempt, Dennis smiled back, kindly, and welcomed me, warmly.

Join the voila! Gallery-art for the modern eye- on its opening night and meet the artists.