Artist Inspiration: The Karma Kitchen

This past weekend I spent two days in DC seeing shows at the Capital Fringe Fest. This is the first year I didn't perform in the festival, but I have a lot of performer friends up there, I love the fringe vibe and I was there to support Becca who was performing in one of the shows. This note is about a very interesting experience I had while I was there.

I booked a hotel room near DuPont Circle which was close enough to walk to Becca's theater and it ended up being a really cool area to walk around in with a Sunday Farmer's Market, a really cool book store and a lot of castle looking architecture.

I had the hankering for a Indian food and so on Sunday we flip-flopped around in search of some. We passed a restaurant called the India Polo Club that looked like it might fit the bill, but there was something odd about it. Over the sign there was a make-shift paper sign that read "Karma Kitchen." I thought maybe the place had switched owners and they had been too cheap to replace the sign and so we flip-flopped on by.

After a thirty minute walk and a huge loop, we found ourselves back in front of the India Polo Club/Karma Kitchen and went in. We were greeted by a friendly white guy who mumbled something that I couldn't understand and he seated us. He poured us water and I asked if he took credit cards. He said, "No," and I said something about going to an ATM to get money and he said, "Don't worry about it." When I stood up, he insisted I just stay and chill.

He walked away leaving Becca and I with a one page paper menu. The odd thing - there were no prices on the menu. Odder still was the set up. When I looked around, everything looked a little too makeshift. There was a cork board at the entrance way, a large piece of colorful clothe draped over a bar as if to disguise it and a small box by the door.

What I was about to experience in terms of abundance, prosperity and my relationship to money was something no book could have prepared me for.

The young Indian waitress introduced herself to us and asked if there was anything on the menu we wouldn't like. Thinking I had mis-heard her, I told her the two entree's Becca and I had both decided on. Her explanation pushed me into a discomfort zone.

"Our vegetarian meals are served family style, which means you'll get everything on the menu, including dessert and drinks (Mango Lassi, Chai or Passionate Fruit Juice). Your meal was also paid for by someone else. At the end of the meal you will get an envelope to make a gift offering to place in the box by the door. There is no recommended dollar amount and no one knows how much you put in."

The food came beautifully served and as I ate, I have to admit I felt a little strange with money removed from the equation. I was out of cash and Becca only had $11. Feelings of self-worth and what was right or wrong crept into my mind.

During the middle of our meal, the pretty waitress came back and asked if we wanted more and I began to tell her about my experience and asked many more questions.

"Each Sunday, we make the Polo India Club into the Karma Kitchen," she said. "It started in Berkly and now we have it here in DC. As a customer you can stay as long as you want and eat as much as you want. If you want to stay for 3 hours and eat once every hour, that's fine. No one tries to push you out the door and no one will rush you."

She explained that all the waiters and waitresses were volunteers and most had never done that sort of work before. She also said I didn't have to pay by money if I didn't want to and gave me a card of ways I could "Pay it forward" that included: buying a dozen balloons and taking them to a retirement home or telling someone in my family how much I appreciated them.

I asked her about a large table off to my right where a lively conversation had been going on.

"That is our community table. Strangers sit with strangers and become friends by the end of the meal.Last week a young journalism student met a writer for the Washington Post. The next week, the WP writer took the student on the tour of their offices."

Three times during our meal we were "tagged." In one instance Becca was given a box of beautiful stationery, in another I was given a candle and in the third we were both given karma cards that were meant to have us reflect on our experience.

At the end of the meal, our bill came in an envelope with the final price of $0.00.

As odd as it sounds, as I left the Karma Kitchen, my entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and I wondered if this sort of thing could be replicated in other places, in other types of restaurants. Odder, still, I knew I wanted to come home and write about the experience in a Facebook note.

I hope you'll get a chance to experience this for yourself.

For more about the Karma Cafe visit http://karmakitchendc.wordpress.com.

Serving Karma in DC every Sunday.

Karma Kitchen

Every Sunday, 12pm-3pm

Polo India Club Restaurant
1736 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20009
(202) 483-8705

Closest Metro: Dupont Circle (North exit)

To give you must receive. To get an answer, you must also ask.

Many of the artists I know have limiting beliefs that are related to low self esteem. In fact these types of artists who live in a “If I only had…..” world, far outweigh those with decent self-esteem. Unfortunately, these beliefs directly affect one’s success in life as an artist. Truth is, if most of these artists had everything in place to ensure a perfect, abundant career in the arts, they would still be in the same place, lurking around with  their un-abundant attitudes.

Through the years, I’ve had many highs and lows in terms of finances and how they related to my artistic career. For instance, my first year out of the gates as a visual artist I netted 30k. Four years later it was down to 7k.

Regardless, I’ve always maintained that everything that I’ve ever needed was easy enough to manifest. I believe that coming from a family of immigrants has helped me immensely in regards to manifesting. (I’ve heard it said that first generation Americans actually make the most successful entrepreneurs).

Here are some things I’ve manifested even when I didn’t have a penny to my name. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to think outside the box too:

1) Consider the student health clinic at a nearby medical college or alternative medicine school. You’ll receive care from students who are in the final stages of their program at greatly reduced rates. I’ve gotten excellent work from naturopaths, counselors, dentists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, and chiropractors just to name a few. The average price range for these services? $20.

2) Ask for a free gym membership. Although it’s not advertised, with a well written letter and a clear, professional plan most gyms will take your financial situation under consideration and offer either free membership or membership at a greatly reduced rate.

3) Ever considered a dentist barter? Art in exchange for care. When I noticed that my dentist had horrible taste in art, I made a definitive pitch he couldn’t refuse.

4) With a freshly minted bankruptcy and over $30,000 in student loan debts. PBS asked me to raise $65,000 to produce my special. I set up a living room tour and got down to business. A year and a half later I handed them a check.

5) In grad school, I was required to buy nearly $1,700 in books. I wrote to each of the publishing houses, told them my situation and the books started rolling in.

6) Needing $3,000 for massage school, I sent out a family fundraising letter, giving family members the option to donate or loan me money for school. Within 6 months I had all the money I needed.

Get with it. Quit lurking around thinking about what you don’t have and come up with a plan to create what you want. You’re an artist after all, creation is what it’s all about.

Artist Inspiration: The Mentor

I'm one of those people who you can always call when you're moving. I'm the guy that will show up to help when all you're other friends have bailed on you. Why? Well, as a guy who's lived in 134 different apartments in 8 different states and 2 different countries, I know that when I help someone else move, it's like putting a karmic deposit into my bank account. Because of this, I've always been blessed with friends who have helped me pack my stuff away. Luck, strategy or a good investment of time? I'm not sure.



Which is a good tie-in to the subject of mentors and mentees and the often overlooked idea that a mentor may be able to help you with your artistic career.

In the golden days of art, it was standard practice for a young artist to apprentice himself under a professional who had been working in the field for quite some time. The artist would shadow his mentor, learn the craft, hopefully pick up some business tips and then be sent out on his own. The advice, given in exchange for work, was meant to save the budding artists time and energy from learning his craft strictly through trial and error. One day in the future, as the young artist’s career blossomed, he might be expected to take on an apprentice himself, thus perpetuating the cycle. 

For instance Alessio Baldovinetti served as a mentor to Domenico Ghirlandaio who served as a mentor to Michelangelo. Williams James served as Gertrude Stein’s mentor who later served as Ernest Hemingway’s mentor. 


Having someone on your side who has created his own map of where you’d like to take your own career can save you a lot of time. From learning about someone else’s patterns of success first-hand to having someone high up in the career food chain listen to and respond to your unique questions can be invaluable. Why recreate the wheel when someone out there already has the plans for it? 

Looking for advice on your next CD project? A potential venue? In the process of finding out how to get agent? Make sure you hit Google, but think about hitting it for a potential mentor as well. Why not  partake in this tradition that is part of the very fabric our artists culture?