GONZO247

Looking for something different to do Saturday, so I got on Artshound.com to see what I could find. I saw that the Aerosol Warfare Gallery had an exhibit called American Women. Hey, that's me, so I decided to give it a shot. I looked up bus routes and figured I'd ride #81 or #82 to Pierce, then board #88 to St. Emanuel. Since is was a semi-nice, breezy day, I thought I would skip riding #88 and walk from Louisiana and Pierce to The Aerosol Warfare Gallery at 2110 Jefferson, Ste 113. What a scary, friggin' walk! If Houston has 4 million residents, I would say that 1 million of them on living on the streets around the Pierce Elevated/St.Joseph's Hospital area. The downtowners I've talked to never threatened me for $$$ like the Pierce Elevated folks. I think it's the first time I've jogged since volleyball practice my senior year in high school.

Finally I arrived at my destination. The gallery is about a block southeast of Kim Son's in the shopping center where Jenni's Noodles used to be. It was well worth the trip once I met the owner, GONZO247. He is the friendly, talented artist/owner of The Aerosol Warfare gallery. This is a street/urban art gallery and resource center. They invite artists to show their artwork in between quarterly featured exhibitions. Aerosol Warfare is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; open from 11am-7pm on Wed, Thurs, Fri; and open from noon to 8pm on Sat and Sun. GONZO247 has been a part of the urban art scene since the early '9os. He started out having grafiitti art parties in abandoned buildings/warehouses. I wish I'd known since 17 years ago I could have still been into a little breaking and entering in the name of art. I'm too old to out run the po po now, so I'll just hang out with street artists like GONZO247 in a safe environment. He has had Aerosol Warfare Gallery for three years, and Carolyn Casey of CKC StART conducts youth art classes here when there's a need. All teenagers and tweenagers who are interested in urban art should contact CKC StART for more info.

GONZO247 gave me a tour of the gallery. I was so impressed. I will definitely make a return visit to make a purchase. Some artists that were showing were GONZO247, PILOT(my favorite), Dirk Strangely, Tommy Castillo and Jim Mahfood. Google Aerosol Warfare Gallery and check out the upcoming events. Call 832-748-8369 for directions and more info. See y'all May 15th at the Haters Make You Famous dvd release party!