Alex Grey and An-ten-nae

Wow, what a day! For a few hours I stepped out of Bali and into some parallel universe, where I get to go to an intimate evening and listen to world renown artists talk, then dance under the stars at a private house party to a dj I've only ever seen at Shambhala.

The day started with a delicious meal (don't all days here start that way?). Cadek cooked us fish and veggies, which we enjoyed outside with our housemates Yoshi and Russ. Hitoshi had gone off to the bug park in search of beetles. Unfortunately he learned that they don't come out here until June, so all his bug hunting plots have been futile. On the upside, they let him play with bugs there, and he got some frozen in resin to bring home.

After a trip into town, we had a nap to get ready for the evening. Then we headed about 100 meters down the road to a house called The Mike's. It was a huge villa, with guards (or the local moffia?) waiting on the street to direct us in. It was a desert potluck and Elesa had picked up some treats for us to bring form Kue, a bakery in town.

We went upstairs to a large circular room with about 50 people seated on the ground listening to a band. We found some spots in the back, and about ten minutes later Alex and Allyson Grey came in.

For those of you that don't know Alex Grey (http://www.alexgrey.com/), his best known for his collection Sacred Mirrors (http://www.sacredmirrors.org/mirrors_view.html) and his psychedelic art. In other words, his is a very talented hippie who's done a lot of acid in his life, and out of that has come some amazing art.



Although I am not as into his art as other people I know, I have a deep respect for his talent and vision. It was a once in a lifetime experience to hear him talk about his passion. He is very calm and patient in answering questions about his life and work. But he also doesn't take himself too seriously, and is easy to laugh. He also gives huge props to his wife, which was awesome. I think she keeps him on task.

After he was done speaking, it was off to another once in a lifetime experience, heading to the house of a Frenchman who has lived in Bali for over 15 years. Still a little awestruck at the villa we had just come from, I was blown away when we got to the next one.

We headed about ten minutes out of town, out into the jungle. After parking on the road, we walked down about 60 stairs to this massive..house? It doesn't seem right to call it a house. It was straight out of an artists mind. We walked by a huge communal kitchen, and art gallery space, and down to a dance floor. The dance floor was covered, and in front of it was a dj booth, surrounded by four tall pillars carved like vines. Behind the dj was a rounded balcony, which opened under the stars. I gather that there was a huge canyon behind it, although I couldn't see much in the dark.

The dj was An-ten-nae, who had just played at Rainbow Serpent Festival in Australia. For those who have no idea who he is, I don't know how to describe how rad this was. For those who do, rad eh?

We found our dear friend Mark Lee, who Hitoshi lived and worked with on the Sunshine Coast. He had just arrived in Bali the day before and was staying at this artists paradise. He was also doing the visuals for the party, so we only got to chat for a few minutes. But I look forward to going back there during the day to visit him, and see that place in the day light.

Elesa and Hitoshi danced away, but I am still suffering from a sprained ankle. I hurt it in Mexico right before Christmas, and it flared up with the flight and humidity and all the walking we are doing. So I'm trying to take it easy, no mad dance partying for me. (Also no yoga, which I was planning on enjoying a lot of, but I have plenty to occupy my days.)

The music was killer and I had a perfect night sitting under the stars and listening to it. I guess these are the benefits to coming to a country and staying with people who live here, you get to find out about all the secret little things going on around town. We never would have seen Alex Grey if we hadn't been staying with Sven, and really it was chance that connected us with him. We all notice how well things are lining up on this trip, and can't wait to see what else Bali has in store.