In the beginning ...
No one could have really expected this. We were just two weird friends sharing a tiny apartment in Astoria, Queens, New York City. We were always broke--kind of the norm for a couple of struggling artists in the big, bad city. We filled our time with filthy humor and the kind of grotesque experiences that can only be shared within the confines of a very special, very creative, and very deranged friendship that, luckily, spent a great deal of time hidden away from the public eye. It was the summer of 2004. No money. A tiny apartment. No air conditioning. But there was sangria. And there was music. And there were markers. And there was us.
We spent many nights laying on the floor doodling on big sheets of paper while listening to music, talking, laughing and--yes, it should be noted--drinking. Suddenly and without much warning, these little stories and random collections of words came scrambling out across the pages before us. We didn't give it much thought at first--just kept doodling and throwing down some words when the muses seemed to have something to share. However, as the piles of stories and art cards continued to expand and started overflowing the cupboards and the kitchen sink and the toothbrush holder, we started to wonder if maybe we hadn't stumbled into something a little bigger than either of us could have imagined. ... So we pulled them together and counted them. Somehow, and with seemingly little effort, we had accumulated over 400 stories and pieces of art in less than three months.
A bit dumb-struck by what we'd created, we slowly--and with much apprehension--began to show some of the stories to our friends. And the strangest thing happened. People liked them! At first they seemed charmed by the simplicity of the artwork and the whimsical style of the storytelling. But then they seemed to get more and more involved in the words and the connections they found to these funny little stories.
We are sharing this collection as a dedication to our friends--the ones who have been with us since the beginning of time, the ones who make us laugh martinis out our noses, the ones who watch us from somewhere beyond this crazy world, and the ones that we haven't yet met who are going to come along and change everything.
There is no overall theme to the Once Upon A City tales other than they represent Life in Process. There are a thousand stories happening in every second of every day in every city. Funny. Sad. Romantic. Heartbreaking. Lost. Found. Wanting. Needing. Dreaming. Trying. Flying. Falling. Silly. Brave. Profound. Wondrous. Magical. Ridiculous. Fantastic. Simple. Epic. Screaming. Silent. Wicked. Broken. Save. Some days are good. Some days are bad. Some days you're lonely. Some days you wish you were alone. Some days you own the world. Some days all you have is the quiet comfort of a friend who knows all your secrets and still believes in you. And some days you just have to be that friend to yourself. And, really, if there is one clear message, let it be this: you are both less weird and less alone than you think.