On May 14, 2016, 805 Artist Collective presented “These Aren’t the Boards You’re Looking For” Skateboard Art Show which was a Star Wars theme throughout the entire venue at legendary Skatelab which is located at 4226 Valley Fair St. Simi Valley, California. This was actually my first time attending an event hosted by 805 Artists Collective and thanks to Frida’s new fond love for SKAting; we found out about this dope event. I reached out to Tony Ross, the Master Mind behind this event and I must say that it was awesome to hang out with them and join their passion for Star Wars, skating and art.
The evening started with the invasion of Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers; they checked their perimeter and marched through the entire area. Such an exciting sight to see for the fans and especially the kids hanging out at the Skatelab. As you entered the gallery space, you get an overwhelming feeling in every step you take due to the overload of vivid colors and striking decks representing a unique creative perspective of what Star Wars means to the artists. And I must say that it was enjoyable to check out every art work because of their originality; you got a new experience in each deck. From 40oz booze bottles such as “Cloud City Malt Liquor” by Tony Ross, to a bloody eyeball Princess Leia “Zombie Leia” by Shelby Ross. And my favorite of the night “NSFW Wars” by Mad Melo, this deck was entirely done by Sharpie, big ups to you Mad Melo and please let your son know he is doing a great job with his own style in painting. Mad Melo’s son had on deck his creative style skateboards made out of cardboard, keep creating and you will see how far you will go. Art is life and as you guys are representing in the streets: SMILE! And this is the type of individuals that inspire me everyday, they believe in creating, beautifying our streets, brighten someone’s walls with the freedom to say “this is good, yeah this is Art”.
For those who genuinely have a passion for art and understand the dedication behind a piece of work; you can agree with me that all the artists from “These aren’t the boards you’re looking for” kicked ass this night! I did not fully understand the entire Star Wars history and it is a lot of pressure on knowing about it because Star War fans are hardcore and loyal to their popular subculture but this show allowed me to enjoy Star Wars in an artistic point of view and suddenly I was not an outsider to it anymore. In other words, the artists brilliantly sucked us into another galaxy of fantasy, stormtroopers and the power of the Dark Side, surrounded with laughter and cold Pabst Blue Ribbon tall cans.
I want to thank all the artists and all the team from 805 Artist Collective for your great company and to Tony Ross for letting us kick it in the Simi Valley Art Scene much love to you all from Los Angeles and I cannot wait for the next event. And none of this would have been possible without the support from Skatelab, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Gabe Clement, EJ Heintz and The 501st Legion.
For those of you that missed it, please click on the link below, hit the Like button and check out the entire photo gallery recap of that night:
https://www.facebook.com/805ArtistCollective/?fref=ts
Click on the like below to check out what 805 Artist Collective has in store:
http://805artistcollective.storenvy.com/
Much Love & Respect,
Monica Smiles Tobon
mstobon.com 
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