Our Creative Arts – In Photos & Video

[Kev]

Hmmm, so I’ve had an idea I thought I’d throw out to this group.. I recently shared a bunch of my nature and flower photos with a lady in my building that likes to paint.. Don’t know if she’ll use any of them as inspiration, but she did love them, and I did pick ones I thought were compatible with her style..

And so I thought that could be a good idea here, for us to upload photos and images as a sort of offering to others to use as subject matter.. Don’t know if the idea will go over, but visual inspirations I find can lead somewhere or another.. And, one of my motivations is that when I look through my photography, I can sometimes imagine other people using the photos for a painting or whatnot, and sometimes I think of very specific people whose style would work well with a particular photo, etc..

So why not??.. So this thread is a place where we can upload photos or images that others might like to use as inspiration.. Methinks that’s a fun and creative idea..

Thanks y’all!.. 🐒

Discussion

[Kev]

Oo oo, I’ll go first.. Was gonna upload just one photo, but had to make it three.. So here ya go…

[Bea]

Hi Kev – I like that idea and your flower photos ( especially with the bee) are colorful, gentle and lovely… I am going to send a couple too…🌴🐝

[Kev]

Miss Bea.. I love these!.. That appears to be a top-down photo of the leading bud of some kind of conifer tree, yes??.. Love that geometry.. And that Bird of Paradise has some personality, yes??..

That right there is a fresh idea — anthropomorphized flowers, maybe with a bit of the unusual and freakish.. 🤠

[Eliza]

Love the idea! I’m obsessed with children’s book illustrations (nice, soothing relief from deeper truths-related to books I’ve collected for the flowering library) – I keep trying to work them into the agenda! How about a “pesticides kill fairies” face masks guys lol 😉

also general store sorts of imagery that plants the seed of community, strength and abundance. Revisiting the “rare” books as I built complete collections I wonder if these illustrators didn’t adhere strictly enough to the NWO…and look for signs as to why they were discarded from our libraries… referring to it as the “legend” of new amsterdam, never mentioning taxes in “we own a store” which inspires kids into entrepreneurship. Dunno if this is the little season or the kali Yukon potato (I don’t know about that stuff yet!?) but I feel like these cozy vibes and a hug are almost as valuable as a medicinal cocktail. I wish that I could give you one right Now! (A hug…that is…although that son-carried Crystal watermelon treat looked divine @alfawarrior shared yesterday)

Thank you for all of your sharing, Kev. Jena – those are amazing! These other pictures are so pretty and inspirational! I’m still pining for an original ilia on the wall here. That kind of materialism is the “good” kind of goal to set – I believe. Something to aspire to!

Love you! Can’t wait to see more pics. Should we dispatch more emissaries into the artists of the internet? Maybe Alfa Vedic aught to interview an artist with lots of eye gravy! (And not the wake up in the morning kind. Hehe) I know abe is doing his part in this respect.

+1 More Photos

[Bea]

Hi Eliza !!! I like what you just presented !!! Looks as though Kev may have started something very creative here !!! ❤️🌴🐝

[Eliza]

Fyi – folks – I tried to fix my reference to jena (meant Bae-Bae)

Kev! You are a flower! Love you guys.

[abram]

thanks for the (unintended?) reminder eliza, to include more pictures of the art work from my guests…one assumes (ass-u-me’s) that most will look them up on their own, when it is likely few will, and it is nice to see the works of people as you are engaging their word and story in the interview…i will put my PA on it!

I like the photo posts to view each of our unique perspectives on beauty, thanks!

[Kev]

Your PA??.. Lol..

Hey, I did look up the work of that muralist you interviewed a while back.. Completely forget his name, but I think he was a prof muralist, and I liked his work, especially the sidewalk art, particularly the Yin-Yang image..

I love what you say there, Mr. Abe, about how we all have our own perspective on what we consider beauty.. Love that expansive view.. 🐇

Man, this thread got me charged up.. I’m working on building a frame out of sticks to go around a painting I did for a buddy of mine, so I’m fueled to go out looking for some sticks and make it happen.. Good vibes, good vibes..

[abram]

PA=nephew living here to go to college…put the young man to work! he is well suited and likes to do the sorts of things i have need of, win win!

Jason Botkin, bad ass. lovely man and hoping to get him to M&S next year…

[Kev]

Ah yes, Jason.. I remember an accent, so maybe French Canadian.. and I think y’all may have spoken about M&S and organizing a sort of art making focus at the event.. I had thought of that myself (even though I’ve never been, so no idea what it’s like there).. My idea was to get bulk canvas off the bolt and then mount it up for folks to paint on (big to small sizes), and then they could roll it up to take it home with them.. that was the first idea.. And here’s Jason’s yin-yang that I love so much.. 🤩 thanks Abe!

[Jena]

COOL IDEA!

[abram]

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[Jena]

WOW SO MOVING!

[abram]

i will share more of his unpublished work as i am able, he is supper talented, and very articulate!; i posted my interview with him in my timeline if you enjoy a good listen…his website is in the show notes too!

[Eliza]

This site is for you Abe, my homie from NYC he also started a company called “maniac pumpkin carvers” – gosh I love my magical friends! Haven’t talked to him in a long time though…

https://www.chrissoriacreative.com

chrissoriacreative.com

CHRIS SORIA

CHRIS SORIA

[abram]

thanks, his art is soooo rad!

[abram]

i reached out to him via his website, if you are able to give him a heads up about my exceptional awesomeness…😊

[Kev]

Hahahaha!

[abram]

an opportunity for you to connect with him again, too! winning

[Eliza]

Abe, business 🔥 man on fire…welp, I wouldn’t reach out during carving season because the last time I visited / stayed with him I witnessed it first hand…and when I say hand…I mean a claw Paw, 🐾…their hands cramp up and they would tape the knife to them to keep carving for 20 hours straight. My boy doesn’t choose easy art. When I first met him he was taking those collage photos in an abandoned textile factory -** super **- dangerous and later the whole place went up in flames…he took pictures throughout the year and pasted the different seasons together…

He had a pixel mind at the end of an analog era. He has a beautiful wife and kiddos now too! Busy man…probably avoiding the cabal as best he can and never, ever selling his soul. https://www.maniacpumpkincarvers.com/favorites

maniacpumpkincarvers.com

Maniac Pumpkins - Professional Pumpkin Carving - Portfolio — Maniac Pumpkin Carvers

Maniac Pumpkins - Professional Pumpkin Carving - Portfolio — Maniac Pumpkin Carvers

[Kev]

An endlessly-ambitious creative — my kinda man.. would love to meet someone like him, for no other reasons, but to be inspired and amp my vibes.. The work and internal vision are incredible..

[Eliza]

I decreed to meet him! I don’t remember the story exactly…but basically I was writing ✍️ down that I wanted to meet someone like him…and just like that…we met

And then being the kinda of ephemeral sprite that I am…I ended-up not following up for a while…

But then he was having a BIG Halloween party at a loft…with like a snake in a plexiglass floor with a stripper pole on top…

And I brought my girlfriends and went in a mask and finally at the end of the night revealed who I wazzz! Haha 🤣 he was so cool and I was rather a shy country bumpkin in comparison – probably still the same dynamic – but I am not really into “keeping in touch” using technology …

Every city and every day is pure magic – it’s just what you make of it..or how much mischief you’re willing to conjure 😉

[Kev]

Was this perhaps during the period when you were in CT in school and went into the city, where you met him??

[Eliza]

Nope – haha – my life requires a wall with strings and pins lol

[Kev]

Oh wooooow, his work *is* rad.. So so good, all of it.. I screenshotted a few standouts for me.. Love these..

[Eliza]

I call Kev as my pa! Dibs

[Kev]

First you want me to work for free in your husband’s landscaping thing, now your PA?!!.. Lol.. 🤠

[abram]

don’t work for free for nothing, Kev

[Eliza]

To clarify – Kev was talking about a volunteer based landscaping company so I’d offered to pick Jed’s brain – and the joke was Jed said: “sounds like a great idea, i’d hire him” lol.

I was thinking the other day that there were some rather large multimedia projects that I did for people in my career and never invoiced them…I don’t know why. They were very happy with the work…but I guess I figured that life is long and…the energetic connection was too fragile…the currency…putting a price on it seemed wrong. Exchanging beast system money didn’t interest me.

All of my workers were paid though, handsomely – and the projects were the Crown Jewels in their portfolios.

I suppose this is another place I could have used Abe-ABCs —- tools, etymology and $$/art alchemy

[abram]

come along to the workshop i posted…

[abram]

@eliza

[Kev]

I have to say, Eliza — I’ve never been generally comfortable taking payment from people for doing things for them, at least if it’s person-to-person.. That’s why I’m compelled to offer to work in people’s yards and help with their landscaping for free.. If they want to donate, that’s fine, but I don’t “need” it.. I’m so deeply compelled to just be of service, it’s just not entirely comfortable to make it a business transaction..

And I also figure that working this way will help foster a move to voluntary agreements and an economy based in real people and real things, and nothing fake or made up money, or boundries.. and I have to also be honest that the client-contractor relationship is cold to me.. I don’t care to be a “businessman” working for others for-hire.. I’m looking to cultivate authenticity one-on-one.. Soon as you have a client-contractor situation, people act differently, a wall goes up, and they treat you like a “service”, not a human.. and there’s hardly much authenticity there..

I worked as a housecleaner years ago.. just hustling, getting jobs where I could.. I offered a non-toxic service, before that was a thing.. I was the only one in Portland doing it, and I was hustling it so hard, I took the bus to my jobs, carrying my supplies with me.. I encountered a few people/clients that looked at me as a service that was “working for them”, and not a real person, hustling, trying to do right by others, and do really fucking good work.. So I know how icky that whole thing is, when others look at you as a non-human entity, a “service”.. Honestly, it can get into the realm of dehumanizing if you encounter a specific type of person..

Plus — I just want to help people where I can.. that’s my make-up.. Years ago, I did a few little jobs installing gardens around my old neighborhood, and I just didn’t like receiving payment in the form of fiat.. Kinda sullied it.. and it was in the vein of “come in and install a garden, and that’s the end”; whereas, such things are a living organism, and it’s an ongoing thing that requires follow-up over time.. That never happened, it was cold and barren to me, and unfulfilling, and so payment didn’t feel right.. So, learning experiences there..

Unfortunately (long story), the “job” with the 72 year-old lady down the street fell through in June.. I was gonna overhaul her front landscape and yard this summer (or at least get started), and then probably work through the winter into spring, to prep for next year.. Remember the crazy woman I told you about back in maybe March that I tried to get this free service going with?.. I tried to bring her back into the fold, and she stank up the joint, and the old lady was so put off, she dropped me.. BIG learning lesson with all that..

[abram]

i kept reading Eliza’s post as “Pa” as in i want Kev to be my father…🤣

[Kev]

Hahahaha.. Synchro!.. I just noticed that again about a minute ago, and wondered if anyone would mention that it looked like “pa”, as in father.. Seriously.. Hahahahaha.. 🕺

[Kev]

Eliza!.. Thank you for this glorious stream of consciousness, as only your brilliant mind can do.. This has made my day!.. Hmmm, “Pesticides that Kill Fairies”??.. I think that’s a monumental idea for a work of art, but in my version, the fairy will be the bad-ass that can’t be taken down by any force that tries to poison us.. It might be entitled something like: “Don’t F with a Fairy, Y’all”.. Lol..

I too have been pining for some artworks from Miss Illia.. 🤩

And I seem to have missed the Crystal Watermelon.. Lol.. Not sure..

And these images from children’s books are so sweet.. I have been looking into antiques the past couple days, so this old timey style is front & center in my mind.. A friend of mine here is taking a month-long trip across the country, and as she passes through Missouri, it turns out she was planning to pass through my hometown (without even knowing such).. So I’ve been drawing up plans for her and directions, and a little nudge to hit a local antique shop to bring us back souvenirs from my homeland.. Been on the Old Timey Antiques vibe the last few days.. So these images are super sweet..

And I love that rabbit too! 🐿

[Kev]

Miss Eliza!.. Also, I wanted to share this image I acquired last week that I’m soooo in love with and so inspired by.. The lady in my building that likes to paint that I referenced above — she collects picture books of old art and photography that are just treasure mines of beauty and inspiration.. While thumbing through one of them, I happened across this image of a self-portrait of an artist done in 1884.. It literally took my breath away, the image is so handsome.. She cut it out of the book and now I got it on my wall, as a point of inspiration..

One of the things we talked about was how seemingly sophisticated and proper folks were back then, and the time they took to take care of themselves and present themselves, but when you really look at the images, you realize how creative and probably downright freaky they were on top of it all.. So much we need to glean from their intelligence.. This guy could pass for some young man today actually, with the messy hair and handlebar moustache.. And it got me to thinking about how style and creative expression is universal and goes in cycles, as opposed to a linear progression..

And since I’ve been vibing this week on old timey notions and antiques and times past, and the fact that I used to watch old timers at the 4th of July picnic at the county fairgrounds in the ’70s dancing in-hold to old timey country music — literally folks born at the turn of the 20th century.. Those are my vibes this week.. 🤩

[Eliza]

I’m down with your vibes, Kev! Don’t forget the library…always such a treasure trove of “old timey” images. It’s so very cozy to harken back to the part of the timeline that we actually know existed. Homesteading and merriment and love! 🙂

[Jena]

lots of great ideas guys!

[Jena]

2 of our celeb photoshoots….handknits in silk cotton, hemp….silk sheer pant…lots of great photographers…models, hair, makeup artists…..all collab-ing for the fun and the ART of handmade couture

[Kev]

It’s about time you learned to upload photos!!.. 😆

Love this, and hope to see more from your fashion world.. I’m about to embark on some handmade junk jewelry creations and wonder what ideas I could glean from you.. I’ve been picking junk up off the street and I already got some jute & hemp twine, and got some fresh copper wire on the way.. Gonna see how I can fashion up some unique pieces.. Already got a pretty cool piece I made from a heavy piece of steel that looks to be an industrial machine part.. It hangs right over my heart chakra, and I call it my “Heart of Steel”.. Ha!

[Jena]

VERY COOL.HEART O STEEL!!..WE RECYCLE ALL ELEMENTS…THEY CALL TO US…GOTTA FIGURE HOW TO UPLOAD VID MY SON’S HANDMADE MACRAME WALL HANGING AT HIS EARTHING GROUNDING CLUBHOUSE *HEALING CENTER IN MX* HE PUT IT ON UTUBE …IT HAS THE 5 ELEMENTS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVAondMtfvQ

😀 YYAYYYY ITHINK I DID IT!

[Kev]

I love your son’s YT channel!.. Fun!

[Jena]

Thanks Kev! He and I engineered macrame and knit fashions for many years,,,,wall hangings with crystals and gems….but he is the one to video it!

[Eliza]

Wow! What a great idea to do a macrame in this way! Love it. Tell him to ditch the Teflon though, no bueno mamita haha – but young guys that age think they’re Teflon lol

I’m really impressed, Jena. You guys are awesome.

Kev, this prob should be in bartering group or something, but if you ever wanted to give a “course”, zoom training or hand drawn overview to botany – sign me up! I don’t know how to “identify” a plant and…I don’t want to rely on my technology to do that. It would be a special thing to learn from a special person. 🙂

[Kev]

I started to watch a course from the young man at the YT channel “Feral Foraging” who was teaching how to identify plants you don’t know by discerning and identifying the plant family (in the taxonomical system).. That’s the way I do it, but I wanted to watch his thing to hone and sharpen my skills.. He covers the most common 12 plant families.. However, the YT video on the course only starts with the first 3 in his series, and then he points you to his website to “sign up” to take the course.. It’s free, but I like to minimize the number of groups/people/sites whose mailing lists I get on.. I still might do it though.. The kid is smart and knows the science angle on it, which distills it down into a succinct methodology..

For example, I was able to identify the Abutilon Tartarian weed of yours from the shape of the seeds, at least in part.. it gave me a hunch.. the seeds are very similar in shape to other Mallows, etc.. Also, I did a cursory look at that Abutilon’s medicinal uses, and they’re exactly like all the other Mallows — can be applied in similar ways due to being in the same family, having similar chemistries, and being chock full of mucilage, the stuff that makes a goopy tea — (think of the “slime” in Okra, which is a mallow).. Etc., etc… See how all that works if you have a framework??

Anyhoo…

Fun story on the origins of the Marshmallow candy we know today, as well… 🕺

[Jena]

Thanks Eliza…I reminded him to ditch the teflon too….he is 100% raw vegan when in tropics….so he never cooks! lol

[Eliza]

I did write velvet leaf in my initial post so that may have given you a clue haha…

But I wouldn’t have known without a friend or online search…

when it comes narrowing it down and the names…I just always find the videos boring. Seems like a special thing to learn from a real life person.

Sign-up for the website! lol. Life is too short! You can always unsubscribe…or start a plant mail account.

[Kev]

Well, when I saw the common name “Velvetleaf”, that was confirmation for the most part, as you described it in those terms..

I literally have a list of 1279 things I really really want to do, but the time and focus??.. Lol.. But the thing is, and this frustrates my brains out, the info. in his tutorial on plant family identification can be summed up in a very succinct way with literally a few paragraphs of text and technical drawings, and that’s it.. I just can’t wade online through the bullshit though — everyone knows everything, but don’t know jack.. Lol.. Most are just seekers of attention and influence and importance.. Hahahahahaha.. 🕺 ..But the feral foraging guy — smart kid who knows how to present things..

[Eliza]

You are so awesome! That is exactly why I wanted it through kev’s eyes. I’d had the same exact idea. Maybe we can commission someone’s home school kid on here. Haha

[Kev]

That’s a *really* great idea! — commissioning of smart young ones to distill things into instructional material or overviews on various topics and areas of interest.. That would be good experience for them in terms of teaching and leadership, as well as honing their reasoning skills.. If you can guide them to focusing on definitions, foundational principles, the what’s-what, along with example of application (when appropriate), without the nonsense, then that’s top-notch..

If we want to pursue such a project, I’d suggest we jump over to the Homeschooling & Unschooling discussion thread in the Homesteading group.. At the very least, we could approach it as giving ideas on some things that kids could look into, with the thrust being to formulate and present instructional and informational overviews.. Might also be interesting for parents who guide their children to have outside influence, or fresh new ideas that others might have.. “It takes a village!”.. Lol.. 👨‍🏫

[Kev]

A good sister shared this image with me yesterday as a point of inspiration for a colored pencil sketch.. I like it, and it very much inspired me to integrate aspects of it into an idea I’ve had brewing, which puts a whole ‘nother thing on what I was conceiving of up to that point.. Love the idea so much (“next level” Lol) that I thought I’d pass it on to the group..

[Eliza]

Mayyyybeeee…I could draw this? (Ps, Kev, thank you for teaching me what an Aster is)

[Kev]

Oh wooooww, this is beautiful, and really excellent inspiration.. I’m listening to a podcast with Robert Gilbert, and there was a lot of talk about the sun and it’s creative energy, and the yang and how it interacts with crystals and metals.. and, I have a thing for sunsets.. sunsets are my go-to.. if I don’t have a specific idea when I sit down to create, my default is sunsets (and landscapes in general), or I’ll stick whatever I’m thinkin’ of into a sunset.. Lol.. And so, this image is *very* inspiring.. I like how she’s standing with the sun right up next to her, and I can visualize “reaching out” and interacting with the sun itself, reaching into it, linking-up, a connection of consciousness.. Things I’ve discovered in sungazing.. Love that idea..

[Jena]

IN ALFACAST TODAY WITH JAMES TUNNEY….SOMEONE NAMED ACHILLEA IN CHAT ASKED IF WE KNEW ABOUT THE DEEP “HUNG” TONE DOWN IN THROAT TO REPEL HOSTILE EMF RADIATION………..ANYONE KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS HUNG TONE?????

[Eliza]

I missed this message initially – I think that the ommm vibration does repel hostile EMF and it engages the vagus nerve to reset…one’s vibrations? Sorry…I don’t know the correct terminology…I just realized this from experience. Ommm vibration may be my most sacred healing modality…it sounds like “hung” vibration, no? And it takes place in your throat.

My friends from Africa and the islands can do it totally differently…wicked powerful, almost percussive

[Kev]

I came across these 4 murals painted on a utility box down the street.. Loved them and was really inspired and resonant with them.. very much so.. I like the message in these, and I love me some rivers through a landscape.. Enjoy!.. 🐦

[Kev]

Was in the market today and this thing caught my eye, and immediately felt like an art inspiration (as most things do these days), and it was good fun texting it around and the jokes about wasting money on something like this.. Interesting thing is how terrified these little creatures appear to be, especially the poor duck in the back, who looks like he’s hiding from an abuser.. Either way, I thought, hmmm, the facial features and colors, and juxtaposition of happy circus colors and terrified characters struck me as a potential “character study”.. Lol.. Or, just silly cartoons with glitter.. 😉

[Kev]

@eliza .. Hey Eliza! .. Saw this mural last week, and the style made me think of you.. I thought you’d like it, especially the rabbit.. 🙂

[Eliza]

Very children’s illustration! How fun for you to see the sights of a city environment and enjoy the cuisine!

[Kev]

Thanks to Bea ( @Bea ) for this photo, done by artist Neil Hague.. I love this imagery, as well as the “simple” or stripped-down black & white.. reminds me of what can be done with pencil sketching.. enjoy.. 🙂

[Bea]

Hi Kev !!! I have a feeling that you will be creating something fabulous because as you mentioned to me ,on the other group’s site , that lions are important to you and you liked Neil Hague’s simplicity with the medium he chose …You’ll have fun and I,for one,will be looking forward to seeing what you design !!! ❤️🌴🐝

[Kev]

Thanks for the nudge!.. Long time ago I had a vision for a piece featuring a dragon (inspired by a tattoo I saw on a gentleman based on Chinese paper cut art).. the idea was originally something in the vein of the dragon being the Creator, and the source of light & dark, yin & yang, blah blah.. in my mind, was gonna be colorful but with a fair amount of darkness and blackness (visually), the void from which Creation emerges.. now I have a renewed vision — black & white (done in charcoal maybe), with maybe a wee-bit of color pastel.. But I also have 7 pieces currently in-process, so, gonna get a round tuit, yes??.. Lol.. 💜

[Bea]

Hi Kev-I liked this black and white piece that Neil Hague did- Actually,I really feel this has more impact than color…Art doesn’t punch a clock and because you are an artist if/when you create with a black/white medium will be the perfect moment…I think this is more of a challenge using black/white than water colors to get the depth and every line counts – ❤️🌴🐝

[Kev]

Yes, I agree, black & white without color is more challenging & more impactful in the end.. A basic pencil sketch, when you capture it, can be monument.. it’s prob the main reason why I like using vine (soft) charcoal — it affords you the ability to create shading & blending, quite easily.. very challenging to get it “just right” sometimes, but there’s no crutch there, you’re laid bare in the process.. I’ve always enjoyed doing human faces with vine charcoal — the challenge is in the form and the shading, yet it also gives you the opportunity to create new and different characters out of the ether.. discovered something new last year — charcoal with just a touch of color in the form of oil pastels.. that’s fun.. .. .. 🙂

[Author]

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