research day

Lubna Chowdhary // Artist Profile from Jamie Isbell on Vimeo.

"no matter...

...what it is there's something to learn...
that feeling that there's always something under it...
there's always something meaningful laying underneath..."

Clay from Zane Clampett on Vimeo.

love!

please read & share her article if you love it...i think it's pretty fantastic 

http://www.glassheel.com/single-post/2016/08/31/Buried-Treasure---The-Admiration-Of-Inspiration

I met Janna working as a summer intern...to me then, at 16ish years old, she was this fantastic, creative, professional, caring, giving lady who I thought man, if I could be like her, maybe even have a gig like hers, and get some of those sweet colored markers she has up in her office,
I think life might be pretty good.  she laughed a lot, mentored me in the sweetest way, and now she's off doing something new and amazing :)





<3

where

to go?
where to grow?
where do we grow (and go) from here?

blue sky

i find these little pockets of sadness and fear inside myself.  usually they burst open unexpectedly, and usually at inconvenient times.  i have an intense fear of losing the people (and animals) that i really love, and i borrow sadness when i fear the (inevitable) future when their hearts no longer reside on the earth.  and instead of focusing on my belief that hearts and people and animals do not disappear when they leave the earth, i easily become trapped in the sadness.  and i know that part of this is the kid-gloves artist thing, the bit about the unavoidable fact that i feel things intensely.  i rarely feel a little happy, or a little sad, or a little frustrated, or a smidge disappointed.  instead i feel feelings intensely, with my whole being, and it is hard to stuff them down or let them go.  so i feel them.

and today, i look to the blue sky and consider awareness.  consider that i could perhaps, with great love and great practice, learn not to get stuck in the cloud of feeling and emotion.  perhaps, one day, i can carefully and with very great love gently press through the translucent cloud of feeling to see that there is blue sky beyond.  the clouds are transient, the clouds are encompassing but do not have to be.  i am not clouds, i am blue sky.  i am blue sky that experiences clouds, and the clouds are not good or bad they just are.  some days they are good.  some days i fight through them.  but i am not them, i am the blue sky.  and when i realize continuously that i am bright blue sky, i will more easily accept and let go of the clouds.

didn't they say that

only love
will win
in the end

grow baby, grow!

i'm observing

a pattern.  a string.  whatever, it's important.
Chase,
Phil,
and another.

anger = fear, covered up.
acting out = an unmet need, often entirely unrelated to the situation.
hurting others = being hurt, either currently or an unresolved previously.

maybe not always are these things true, but there is a pattern of cases that support them.

diving deep

by Kara Kelley Hallmark, who has been freed to dive deep again.

I long for the waters of my life to be calm.  To have a smooth surface, to be deep and comforting and glistening in the sunshine.  But lately, for the past few months, the people I love most in this world have been splashing around.  Not for fun or of their own fault, but they've really been splashing.  The kind of splashing that not only causes ripples but causes little pulses of disturbance into my life pool.  An uneven surface that isn't at all waves and isn't unsafe, 

but it is frustrating because I have this unanswerable and deep desire for calm.  A deep desire that I'm pretty sure can not be met by any actions I take.  Nothing I do, no matter how hard I try and work and kick and tread water, nothing will bring about the calm that my heart desires.  I am both frustrated and humbled that nothing I do will bring about the calm that I desire.  

bringing in the strings, we're all in the same body of water.  Never will the waters of my life be the kind of still I desire because every human on this earth is in a body of water with me, and never will earthly life be still.  there will always be struggle, there will always be splashing, and even if it is from the furthest body of water, and even if it causes a ripple so small that it could only be detected by machines, it disrupts the still I desire. I am humbled because I get to be part of a life force that connects the whole world, I am humbled because I was gifted with eyes and a heart that can detect tiny ripples.  as much as those ripples disrupt me, I have hope that one day the waters of my life will be so big, so vast, so deep that the splashing of another human can be softened when it reaches my little section of water.  maybe my sea will be big enough to absorb some of the splash, maybe it will be calm enough to calm someone else into splashing less.  

and if nothing else, i remember that the waters we all share were provided and are overseen by someone bigger.  someone so still, so vast, so deep, so calm.  unchanging.  unending.  the one who never tires, who is never disrupted by the biggest splashes we make in his sea.  the one who not only can bring the calm and the still, but promises to.  that is the safe haven i cling to.

the big ask

from an e-mail from 5.7.14 at 6:38pm: (edited, clearly)
"Hello, my name is A and i was wondering if you would be willing to donate about a cup of black glaze to my school. You see, I go to a public charter school known as ___ and due to the flooding we had our school is rather broke. We recently did a clay project in art and everyone else used up the little amount of glaze we had from last year and due to lack of money my teacher can't buy any more. So i was wondering if you would mind lending me a cup of glaze for my tea set I made. It would really mean the world to me. "

"Really! Thank you so much!!! Is it ok if my mom picks it up on her way home work tomorrow? Oh and i will be sure to stop by and show you my tea set when it is finished. :)"

hope she knows i'm looking forward to seeing something like this:

Samita Masami | "Remoteness" 1992. Porcelain with gold and silver pigments over black glaze

or these:

Hedwig Bollhagen via rawearthopensky

via rawearthopensky

I like when people go for the big ask.  many many people in my life are where they are because they weren't afraid to just ask for what they want.  seriously, it doesn't hurt anyone to ask.  it builds your own confidence, reminds you what goal you're reaching for, and builds character.  even when you receive a whole bunch of 'no's' in response to your big ask (which you will)…chances are it's an opportunity to work harder.  an opportunity to refine your shpeal, to ask in a different way, to look for a different kind of place or person to ask.

i think god appreciates the big ask, too.  not every opportunity is going to fall out of the sky into our laps, people.  some opportunities god has fully in the works and in his plan, but he's just waiting for us to figure out that we really want it.  that we'll appreciate it.  that we'll see it as the huge opportunity and blessing that it is and act on it.  it probably takes a little work to orchestrate opportunities and miracles…I wouldn't blame him for waiting until we're in the right mindset to observe the miracle and jump into action because of it.

even jesus went for the big ask.  before being killed he went and asked god 'i'll do what you say because you're the boss man and i trust you, but couldn't we do this any other way?  it would be really really great if there was another option that we could explore here…'
and god said no and the way we understand jesus has forever been enriched by that observation of the big ask and receiving a big fat no.  you've got to remember that sometimes your big ask will result in a big fat no for a big fat good reason, but it doesn't mean you should stop being awesome. or that you should ever stop asking :)

sometimes

you think you're headed down one rabbit hole and then life says, nope, here's an entirely different and much deeper rabbit hole. enjoy!

Painting after Right-Hemisphere Stroke –Case Studies of Professional Artists 

A GRANDFATHER who suffered a life-changing stroke has amazed family and friends with his artistic talent.

Art Appreciation Boosts Stroke Recovery, Study Suggests

and the artists are equally intriguing:

"I'm Helping" by Tesi Sanchez-Halpert

"Leo the Lion"

"SueSally Rides Again" 

Tesi Sanchez-Halpert: a stroke survivor's story. Sanchez-Halpert of Moorpark, CA is a stroke survivor who shares her story to help others…(more here)

Pink Lilles and the Mood IV

18x24, limited edition giclee

Gary E. Bachers

Glorious Orchids #8

18x18, limited edition giclee

Gary E. Bachers: silent conversatios

Gary E. Bachers never planned to become a visual artist.  He was a popular family practice physician in northeast Texas, where he lived with his wife and three children after moving from Winnipeg, Canada, in 1977.  In 1987, at the age of 38, he suffered a debilitating stroke that forced him to retire from medicine.  The stroke robbed him of the ability to speak or produce conventional language (a condition called expressive aphasia), and he also lost the use of the right side of his body. (more here)

and it goes on and on longer than I have right now.  

floored.

crowdfunding...

is popping up everywhere. to fund a honeymoon, the competition…and our future business? perhaps...

just like Bogdan said...

that was fun but back to work

observe. notate. make something that points it out and explains, visually.

then, make something that causes the viewer to change.
change thoughts, change actions, begin conversations.
go!

not like gary

this goes over in the "is it ok?" column where this clip below has been living:

Tupac hologram live at Coachella 2012 from Ampm Films on Vimeo.

2:35 and 4:40 are the key problems if you want to save yourself time and skip some language.  it is tupac, guys.

unrelated?

via K

Lakey the Poet

"Lots of people have been questioning me about why I don't show in a gallery. I have a whole book of reasons why I don't, but instead of the negativity I'll keep things positive and tell you why I prefer the street.

On the streets I get to share my art, passion, and philosophy indiscriminately. I speak to whoever takes the time to appreciate my sign or art. Sometimes it's homeless people that stink to high heaven, sometimes it's business professionals, sometimes it's Anarchy patched train hoppers, sometimes it's cute sorority girls, sometimes it's 5 year olds, sometimes it's grandmothers, sometimes it's cowboys, sometimes it's red bandannas and sagging blue jeans, and that's just the tip of the ice berg. I'm happy to speak to, learn from, and sale to anyone. I'll take a compliment from a crack head just as happily as I'll take one from an art professor. I love a job that will allow me to do that. This would not happen in a gallery.

When I sale an original on the streets (3 this year, literally on the streets, for $300-$400 and several less expensive) I get to appreciate the person buying my art. I know they are not buying my artwork simply because a gallery, or a curator, or a critic said it was good. They are buying it because they say it is good. I didn't need to pay a marketer to convince them it was good, I didn't need to TRY to sale it to them, I didn't need to put on airs. They're just that bad ass, self-confident, and well off. I love having customers like this.

I was born in Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) and named Joshua (Yehoshua aka Jesus) and I grew up in the church. So even though I stopped going to church almost a decade ago I've got mad respect for Jesus. I fall short in several other ways but I'm very comfortable sharing the same company as Jesus. I'm shy when it comes to talking to "normal" people. (BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE FREAKING MEAN!) Homeless people/street kids/train hoppers whatever, I feel comfortable sparking up a conversation with. On top of that most beggars really just want someone to talk to, someone to treat them like they're a human. It's easier to hold a sign saying "give me money" than it is to hold one saying "Treat me like a human so I don't kill myself" though, so most people just dismiss them as lazy or crazy. Being on the streets makes me available to speak to any of them.

Lastly, I get to challenge stereotypes, culture, and counter culture. I proudly wear the business man's attire, sitting at the homeless man's business desk, while creating art. I suggest the business man rethink his actions, I urge the homeless to help themselves, and I show artists another path. I protest against society because I know the government will never REALLY change until society REALLY changes.

Eventually I will pursue a gallery show in Austin, TX. A massive one with 50-100 pieces of framed art, prices double or triple what they are on the street, with the whole gallery packed. Until then I'll do my street thing, travel occasionally, and maybe make exceptions to further my street cause when opportunities arise." -6.22.13

https://www.facebook.com/LakeythePoet

aboriginal

"...early in the Aboriginal art movement, the People were concerned that non initiates may be able to understand or learn the sacred, secret or restricted parts of their stories.  Drawing a painting in sand had previously posed no problem because it was generally smoothed away after the telling, or if left on the ground, it was done so only in their own lands, safe from prying eyes.  But the permanent quality of acrylic paints gave birth to a concern about inappropriately revealing secret information and the subsequent practice of 'overdotting'  served to obscure the sacred or 'classified' information beneath..." (more here)

the time has come...

to stop doing what i'm supposed to do, and start doing what i'm meant to do.

made to do, built for, excited about...what i love to do.

(Pollock was supposed to paint like everyone else,

but he did what he was meant to do instead,

got hell for it..still gets hell today for it...

but he had to do it because he loved it)

got this print at a craft show...beautiful design and i took a horrible picture.

see her work at LittleThingsStudio.com

some days, most days, it is a blessing to be a creative person.
some days, like today days,
it is not such a blessing when your wonderfully gifted brain just won't stop making great ideas in the middle of the night. c'mon, let's save those for the day time!  for when normal people function best! for when you can actually work on the ideas rather than just write them down in hopes of getting more sleep!

sigh. first world problems, bm.  for sure :)
check out the lovely lady's work here