Dramatic and Dready, 2012, by Grey Olavarria

Dreads: Self-portrait, 2012, by Grey Olavarria

Playing Dress-up with Jack, 2012, by Grey Olavarria

Ritual at the Beach, with Mom, 2012, by Grey Olavarria

My mother is a badass. She doesn’t give a fuck about what anybody else thinks of her. She demands answers, speaks her mind, and when I was younger, repeatedly threatened to kill me if I didn’t clean my room. She has a temper. She is fierce and strong. To me, she has the strength of the world inside her. She is my very own super hero. I’m 25, but I seem to need my mother more and more, each year that passes. Yet, she’s also become my sister and my best friend. My mother is inappropriate, that’s were I get it from. We laugh and laugh at the vulgarities we come up with. We gossip and make fun of other peoples misfortunes. But my mother is also a blessed woman, a healer, a counselor. She is wise and emotional. She is a Goddess. She is a thinker and a fighter- she put of with a fucked up marriage for years while still managing to get her Masters degree at 50 from Hunter College. She’s my hero. She is determined, nothing can get in her way, nothing can compete with the ferocity of her passions. She used to embarrass me when wearing bright-witchy clothing, only to find, in horror, that I’m developing the same taste. She was domestic when I needed her to be- as a kid I woke up to smells of cheesecake and cranberry muffins. She made cheesecake from scratch- it was divine. She always encouraged my passions, taking me to ballet school, swimming school, private singing classes, even when she couldn’t afford them. She took me to museums and to performances- she introduced culture to me. She took me to church, for years, to punish me, I suppose, but there I learned to be still and quiet in my thoughts. She later encouraged me to find my own spirituality and together we found it. My mom marches in Gay Pride parades even if I don’t bother to show up, because I have no pride. She doesn’t reprimand my arrogance because she knows that she raised a wonderful kid, so yes, I am actually as awesome as I think I am. She doesn’t judge me when I change my career plan again and again. She is patient with me and believes in me. I lack the discipline that she has- we blame my dad. She treats my cats like they are my children, because they are. She dances in public and screams WEEEEEEEEEPA. She loves to dance, and she loves life, no matter how cruel its been to her. Give gives to people, even when she shouldn’t. She keeps everyone in her womb. My mother is brilliant, intelligent and unique. She’s creative and crafty. I admire her. I love her more than she knows. I want to grow up to be just like her. I love my mommy. ♥

Cremation, 2012, by Grey Olavarria

First batch of postcards and stickers for sale! Everybody Wants to be a Porn Star, Pink Fish- Dead Fish, Antlers and Balloons, Birth of Venus sticker set, and Wanderlust-Starstruck sticker set. A buck for a postcard, a buck-fifty for a sticker set. I’m planning on selling these at street markets during the summer, but if you want to grab some now, hit me up and I’ll take your order & direct you to my paypal. Second batch with new designs, coming soon. <3

Cat Nap, 2012, pencil and watercolor by Grey Olavarria

My kitty Nana-chan has taught me a lot of things: How to stretch, how to be unapologetic, how to walk with swag, how to eat with gusto, and most of all how to love myself, dirty paws and all. Here is a watercolor of our love. <3

Wanderlust #2, 2011 by Grey Olavarria

Part of the series, Wanderlust: Peel off the Layers, a photo project of nude portraits shot in the Icelandic landscape. By Grey Olavarria, 2011, All Rights Reserved. For inquiries on this series, please contact me at: greyolavarria@yahoo.com.

My kitties are the cutest! Here is a photo of Nana, Bailey, and Kiku, reblogged from Kiku’s blog, kikudoingstuff. (Yes, I made one of my cats a blog. Don’t judge me!) <3

Maggie 3000 is Perfect, by Grey Olavarria, 2012
Sketchbook dump/ Why do I draw these things?!

Bubbles: A Self-Portrait (x2) PART 2, by Grey Olavarria and Ryan Rosa, 2012