Gamer dream team
After hours of work, the birth of a video game comes to reality for 18-year-old Leilani Toone. Face etched in deep concentration and buried in drawings, moving objects appearing on two computer screens, a short-haired blonde head bobs up from a desk smiling at her partner in crime, her dad.
The game started for Toone, a student at Pierce...
Creating the Odd
The exterior is painted a dull red color. The outside walls, chipping, are holding large windows together. The building is more window than wall. If one were to walk by the storefront on a regular day, they might think an abandoned building was situated between a coffee shop and a film studio. But on certain days, this dusty storefront...
At peace with meditation
Photo by: Jing Shi
He is sitting on Venice Beach, wearing an orange robe, with the beautiful ocean and sky behind him. He looks like a Buddhist statue, and seems to be spectacular and dignified.
He normally can meditate for five hours. His eyes are half closed, you can see a slight smile on his lips and you can see his...
Emotionally Strong, Mentally Empowered
Photo by: Monica Salazar
It’s third down from the 25-yard line and the Pierce College football team is looking to hold its ground against Santa Barbara City College. Bodies are flying and colliding explosively. Amid the violent clashes, Brahmas’ defensive lineman Ron Young Jr., maintains a smile. The thought of going into battle would make many people tremble, but Young’s...
Life Behind Elote
A lime green cart bumps along Vanowen Street, a pop of color against the gray concrete. The cart’s bell jingles as the wheels maneuver over the cracks in the sidewalk. With its chipped coat of paint, the wood near the bottom shows its true signs of wear.
A man pushes the cart as he honks his horn. The honking serves...
An out of body experience
Photo by: Alan Castro
As he glides across the concrete ground with a hypnotizing stare, his body seems to shift form to a liquid-like movement. Resembling the motion of a contortionist, pair of arms are brought over a tilted head that is followed by a shoulder that rotates all the way around without popping out. He stares into his audience’s...
Jamming with the Lord
The ambient light glares upon a pearl white drum set arranged on the sound stage encompassed by an array of instruments, while the musicians accumulate to perform a piece. A mocha-skinned man in glasses, tattered jeans and a plain T-shirt strolls over to his drum set looking nonchalant. Devell Riley has played the drums for as long as he...
Strawberry Sundays
The Chavez family shares their wares at Encino Farmers Market
Carlos Chaves places brocoli on the C. Chavez farm stand at the Encino Farmers Market in Van Nuys, Calif., on April 4, 2020. Photo by Katya Castillo.
On a cool breezy Sunday, rays from the sun gently shone upon a...
Mother Plucker
Photo by: Sonia Gurrola
Five blocks from MacArthur Park, on a gloomy secluded street east of downtown Los Angeles, you will find the Mother Plucker Company. Entering the concrete building there is a showroom full of feathers. Willy Zelowitz, a true artist, is the owner of this magical feather shop.
Over 40 years ago with a $40 bag of feathers, Zelowitz...
Guitars for the Stars
Eric “Chaz” Czechanski is one of the only true guitar luthiers in the San Fernando Valley. Working out of his small shop in Los Angeles, Czechanski’s guitar shop is carved into the side of the same complex where the legendary Sound City once stood. He has provided, and continues to provide, a one-of-a-kind service to a clientele, both local...