Conceptually Driven - Inspiration
A blog about conceptual art, and its drive in my life as an artist.
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What I learned from Alex Grey and Allyson Grey
Occasionally in our lives there comes the chance to grasp or to pass by - to meet people who are "Great" or who have contributed to culture and thought in ways that can be measured. I had this chance a couple of weeks ago, and I jumped on it. I attended the Paradise Artist Retreat with a handful of great artists, right here in Bernalillo, NM; at the same resort where I married my husband. I couldn't believe my luck. When I found it on Facebook, just a couple of weeks before it was scheduled, it just so happened that this retreat for artists had openings available and I could spare the time (and the chunk of change) to go. With no local promotion, it was attracting talent from a very select group throughout the US and abroad - mainly in Tattoo art. It was organized by a Tattoo arts support organization and most of the "greats" on deck were well known tattoo artists - even published authors as such, though none of the literature eliminated other sorts of artists as being welcome. Addit...
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Why I paint spirals
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away; I took Geometry. Like most of the other ninth graders in my class, I found it to be a refreshing diversion from arithmetic and equations (otherwise known as Math), and in getting to know and draw shapes, I was introduced to the spiral, properly. We had these nifty graphing calculators, black and brown screens and spirals would animate right out of the axes once the correct equation was entered - though by this time, bringing equations back to the shapes was a brilliant way to rekindle my fading interest in math. And then, there was the geometric theorem (I cant find a reference) that stated that all spirals are similar, as depending on the dimensions on the axes on which they are mapped, they can be made to look exactly like one another, even if arising from very different equations. So if the shape is a spiral, no matter how it looks, its just like every other spiral. cool. It wasnt long after this that I began to draw spirals...
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Back from being home, in France
Vacations are always good for renewal of perspective, but Paris (and France in general,) for me, is a walk in a whole new paradigm. Theres more to this perception than a simple physical transfer to another continent; there is separate, more natural nutrition. There is human-designed space, architectural and landscaping, to suit design principles and the running away of the imagination. There is a long, well-documented history and elements from various times co-existing like a poorly organized museum. There are differences in weather, water, shelter, rhythm, and other very basic influential elements. We stayed with my Aunt Susan who lives in the French Alps in a little town called La Roche sur Foron (meaning, the rock on the Foron river.) The town has existed since the medieval era and left to illustrate this are a sizeable tower (on a rock, possibly "La Roche") and a surrounding walled-in village complete with narrow roads and an old market area where grain basins in stone still exi...
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Real work for peace -13 Grandmothers at a time
The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers is working for peace; spiritually, energetically, and in other ways we might not expect: In October 2005, the Grandmothers Council sent a letter to the Vatican for the repeal of papal edicts dating back to 1493, which granted dominion to European nations over lands occupied by tribal peoples for thousands of years. Read more Were you even aware that such an edict existed? I wasn't. I want to be sick, yet I'm also thrilled and grateful to this group for unearthing such acts of history and not tolerating their current standing. As a person who truly believes that all people are equal and have equal gifts to share in coexistence, I see dire need for this work all around me. I try to make my contributions through my art and web development, as well as every day in the presence of others, yet these efforts are young and minimal. Though they won't stop, it can still be frustrating to see their lack of impact. I believe that this work...