Her name is TIMOI. She became active in 1995; although drawing had always been part of her life it wasn’t until she moved to Los Angeles from Guatemala in 1990 that I was introduced to Graffiti art. She couldn’t keep her eyes from the art on the freeways, windows, poles, billboards, letters and characters telling stories.

Ayer LTS defined graffiti for her. She didn’t grow up on graffiti magazines or books so she based everything on what she saw on her daily commute in LA. Growing up in LA county she was really inspired by crews like LTS, KOG, TKO, MSK, AWR, WCA, RTN and artists like Tribe, Zes, Retna, Gkae, Chaka, Oiler, Cre8, Mear, Verse, Aybon, Atlas, Klean and Revok.

Other artists in the graffiti realm she admires are Banksy, Saber, Lady Pink, Jerk, Jel, Aroe Msk, Cope2, Indie184, Craola, Rime, ROID, Kween, Askew, Ezra, Chor Boogie, Augor, Apex, Risk, Seak, Os Gemeos, Nina, Vulcan, Chaka, Charlie DTK, Dream DTK and many others. The reason why she likes these artists as well is because they define graffiti and spray can art to her. As simple or intricate these artists are passionate about what they do/did.

Photos taken by Pep Williams.
Website: timoi.com

TIMOI quotes

• I believe the tag is a seed that can one day become a beautiful fruitful tree if given the opportunity.
• I love Graffiti and there is no doubt or fear about it. Graffiti is my life and being a female is like the ‘a la mode’ on an apple pie.
• I do not allow myself to be limited by what others might consider good or bad ‘for a girl’. Such comments usually come from ignorant individuals who just don’t know any better.

Instead of criminalizing graffiti artists, we should be given scholarships and grants to grow.

• I love Graffiti and there is no doubt or fear about it. Graffiti is my life and being a female is like the ‘a la mode’ on an apple pie.
• As corporations profit from the commercialization of graffiti, the ones who are practitioners of the art who profit from their own culture are seldom.

It’s a blog project dedicated to the influence of female graffiti writers in Los Angeles street culture. We will be posting photos, video interviews and more about these women living the dream that is graffiti art.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Mear One, born 1971 as Kalen Ockerman in Santa Cruz, California, is a Los Angeles-based fine artist, famously known for his often-political street graffiti art. Commonly referred to as the ‘Michelangelo’ of graffiti, Mear One is commonly associated with CBS (Can’t Be Stopped – City Bomb Squad) and WCA (West Coast Artist) crews. As a graphic designer, Mear One has designed apparel for Conart, Kaotic, as well as his own Reform brand. Mear One has done album covers for artists like Freestyle Fellowship, Alien Nation, Limp Bizkit, Busdriver and Daddy Kev.