Countdown to the night of some Persian Magic

As we are approaching the Persian New Years or as we call it - Nowruz - there is another ceremony for me personally to be excited about. One of my pieces will be among other artist's creations to be auctioned by Christie's in Dubai. Established in 2004, Magic of Persia - MOP - foundation promotes Iranian art and culture to a wider audience outside of Iran and strives to make a notable contribution to its long-term advancement worldwide. The selected piece was chosen by the amazing Shirley Elghanian. She is the Founder of this amazing foundation and it was an honor that my piece was chosen by her and her lovely team. For the past few years, this event has been one of the most prestigious art events to attend and to be part of this magical night truly is a privilege and I can't wait to share the updates and photos.

The Gala will be held in the Emirates Towers in Dubai on March 21st 2015. This is the best way to start the new Persian year.  See some great art during Art Dubai, catch up with friends and family in Dubai and of course be part of MOP event and featured artists.

It is an honor to be part of this amazing event. More photos and news coming up as we get closer to the event.

KK - New artist on my playlist, and on yours after reading this!

Best part of living in a city like Chicago is that you can always expect a normal night to turn into an amazing experience. I got to know about KK King through a dear friend of mine. He asked me if I wanted to go and see her perform which of course I said yes. I was looking forward to listening to some good music and spend some quality time with my friend but I had no idea what to expect and I surely was blown away. It was refreshing to see something so different yet so amazing. The music was great and as well as the images on the screen behind the artist. The sound, the story and the images were all a great way of telling a story to which anyone could relate to in their own way. Kaki King, this amazing young artist has been also admired by Rolling Stone, in which she was included on a 2006 list of "New Guitar Gods" along with 19 others. King was ranked ninth, the only female on the list and also the youngest person on the same. At an early age, she was convinced that her music break would come from drumming, so she started playing in bands in high school. However once she graduated in Atlanta in 1998, she picked up the guitar again and revisited the finger-style techniques that intrigued her as a child.  As a long time ovation plater, she was invited to design her own custom guitar, the result being the Adams 1581-kk model.

Whatever mood you are in, don't miss her upcoming shows. It will surely blow your minds away as it did mine.

Click on below link to watch her Kickstarter campaign to get an idea...

WATCH KAKI KING ON THIS LINK

Watch the video of our rewarding Habitat trip to Cambodia

  The most amazing things happen when you have two of your other biggest passions in life combined; traveling to a new country and doing charity for those in need. Last November we travelled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to build two houses for two needy families.

During our stay, we worked with an amazing group of friends who became our family, people with beautiful souls, great energy and the will to help others. We sweated  together with local workers and the future homeowners under the leadership of an amazing couple for whom we all have tremendous amount of respect ; Neale and Maureen Kemp.

Cambodia has an energy within its soil which is hard to describe. It's incredibly tragic history and what went down during the dark era of Khmer Rouge is upsetting yet it makes you appreciate what you have in life; its amazing to see although they went through such a painful time, yet still the first thing you will see on their faces, is their beautiful smiles and their gratitude towards whats being done.

I decided this would be a more interesting way of sharing our experience with you all. I truly believe every person need to at least do one habitat trip once in their lifetime. That feeling when you hand the key to the new home owners is just indescribable.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1US8vC7st4[/embed]