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It was wonderful to have the opportunity to work with Richard Nelson on his latest album, "Pursuit." Richard approached me to use one of my photographs as cover art. He chose an image from my Fire Extracts series. These images were made as new compositions by photographing details of one of my media media paintings. I was interested in exploring the world within the larger composition as distinct perceptions within a related whole. In photographing them I extracted new paintings which stand on their own as potent designs. You can read a review on this work that was exhibited in 2008 at the Addison Woolley Gallery in Portland, Maine here. To see more of the images in this series click here and look in the Photography/Extracts section of my gallery. Richard's music too, explores the complexities of composition, moving freely between tight riffs and free jazz improvisation, creating distinct aural perceptions that engage the listener in a rich tapestry of sound, at times spare yet never simple. Enjoy a journey of surprises through his music, featuring Richard's electric guitar and all original compositions. Richard teaches music composition at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. To hear more of his work go to: http://richardnelsonmusic.com/ |
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A brush with death and a breathtaking sunset steered Rebekah Younger on the
path to become the Gradient Queen of the knitting world and the founder of
Younger Knits, a clothing company she runs from her home in Woolwich. Younger spent her childhood in Cleveland and received Fine Arts training at Beloit College in Wisconsin. After college, she purchased a do-it-yourself framing company, The Great Frame Up, in Chicago and devoted her life to being an entrepreneur for the next nine years. She learned she had Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of lymph tissues, at age 30 in 1985. As she fought the disease into remission, she realized that it was time to focus on her art. “I’m definitely working on my nine lives here,” she said, smiling. California’s warm colors led her to the Pacific Coast where she
worked as a production knitter and sample maker. Younger Knits was born
in 1988, but production was slow. |
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This 152 page full-color
book is designed not just as a catalogue of work completed over the past three
years, but as an experiential artwork as a whole. It explores awakened
perception, by guiding the reader on a journey through the energetic riches of
the phenomenal world. Each page is "eye-opening", encouraging the viewer to
linger and reflect on the full size images filled with vibrant saturated color.
From the coolness of blue water to the intensity of fire red and the openness of
light filled space, there is much here to feast on and feed the soul. The world
indeed is filled with magic, if we but take the time to look. I created this
book so that it might enrich the viewer and possibly affect how they see the
world. After viewing the book from start to finish, it is my hope that one might
use it as a visual resource for renewal and contemplation, coming back again and
again to different energetic images for rejuvenation.
One friend commented upon viewing the book, "Your
book is very good, not only as a feat in itself - all the work and time and
publishing, but it seems to be more than just another art book. It has a lot to
teach about the magical power of our perceptions and their energy."
Born out of my graduate study in contemplative photography, perception and
Buddhist philosophy, I share in spare writing some of the meaningful moments of
my own journey of discovery and how it has affected my perception of the world.
Mostly though I let the images speak for themselves. You can see a partial
preview of the book online and order copies at:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/920234
Announcing inSite Contemplative Design, a design
consulting firm that engages my aesthetic expertise and meditative mind in
designing contemplative public and private space in homes, offices and
institutional settings. This enterprise grows out of my work with art
installations designed to create contemplative space. The first installation,
"Rest...Room," was created on the Goddard College campus in an empty office
space as a temporary intervention for the benefit of the students and faculty.
You can see more of that installation and read comments on my Installations
page. For more on inSite Contemplative Design, my philosophy and approach
to the design process, take a closer look at the insitedesign menu.
The Goddard College Alumni Magazine, Clockworks,
featured my photograph, "Released" on the cover of its Fall 2009 issue.
My work is often about capturing moments of clear seeing. There is magic in the phenomenal world and a certain sacredness that is accessible when the world is experienced anew, unfiltered by our conceptual ideas about what we are seeing. To wake up to the world as it is can feed the soul. My images are intended to encourage the viewer to slow down and contemplate the wonder of our world.
This image records the morning light through our front door onto the hand of my sculpture, "Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion", a life-size porcelain and mixed media figure of a Buddhist monk.
"Avie" for short, was created in 1990-91 as part of a powerful journey of self-reflection. Through his creation I began to explore the story of the Dalai Lama and developed an interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Through the intuitive process of creation, this figure became a teacher to me. Slowly over time his symbolism has been revealed to me as I follow the path of Vajrayana Buddhism. He is but one example of what I have come to trust as the ability of the creative process to access deeper levels of knowing, so that the work itself becomes revelatory for the maker as well as the viewer. The rainbow light on his hand caught my eye, calling me to record the moment of magic with my digital camera.
This picture of "Avalokiteshvara" was taken during a Shambhala Art Festival at the Brunswick Shambhala Meditation Center in Maine in the Spring of 2007. I was working on a group exhibit of artists from our community. The silk wall hanging behind the figure is also my creation. You may recognize the image as "Scarlet Tulip" in my Flowers collection. The actual tulips I arranged for the opening night. I have been studying ikebana for several years, though I am still very much a novice.
