In a Creative Context

Savory Sage Cornbread - Gluten Free and Delicious

2012-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

Gluten Free Sage Cornbread

I walked out in the yard the other day and was surprised to see that there were still herbs growing in the garden, in the middle of February. We have had a mild winter in New Jersey this year with little snow, but I was amazed looking at the parsley, rosemary and sage plants that were still alive and fairly healthy. The sage in particular surprised me. It's usually dead, frosted over by the end of November when I try to pick the leaves to use in my Thanksgiving dressing.

I decided that since fresh herbs were still alive and available, I ought to at least respect Mother Nature's gift by cooking with them a little more frequently. I had been working on perfecting a gluten free cornbread recipe and decided that a little sage would make the perfect addition.

I made the Sage Cornbread the other night and served it along side a wonderful 10 garlic clove chicken soup my husband had prepared. (I'll be sharing that recipe another time). The cornbread was fabulous! It was light, raised nicely and was not dry. The savory flavor of the added sage definitely elevated the bread to another level. I think the sage and the golden flax meal I added also helped the cornbread retain moisture. Even the few slices we had leftover the next day were still moist. Not dried out at all.

Savory Sage Cornbread

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 cup brown rice flour (I used Bob's Organic)
3/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal (I use Arrowhead Mills organic)
3 tablespoons sugar (organic)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of xantham gum (helps in rising)
1 tablespoon organic golden flax meal (Bob's)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg plus 3 tablespoons liquid egg whites (or you could just use 2 eggs)
1 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup melted butter (I use Earth Balance Soy Free Margarine)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together all ingredients,
pour into a greased pan 9 inch baking pan, square or oval. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve warm.

* There are a couple of substitutions that can be made in this recipe. White rice flour can be used instead of brown rice flour. You could also leave out the golden flax meal entirely if you choose. 2 large eggs can be used in place of the 1 egg and 3 Tb liquid egg whites. Regular butter or margarine can be used instead of Earth Balance. If you don't have the xanthum gum, you could probably leave that out too, although the cornbread might not be quite as fluffy.

Notes about eating gluten-free:
When a person finds themselves having to embrace a gluten-free diet or any allergy related diet, although there are restrictions with some of the ingredients you would normally use to cook with, you still have a choice about the "quality" of ingredients that you do use. It really bothers me to read gluten-free cookbooks that conveniently defer to using recipes that rely on the unhealthy, high sodium "dump a box or can" method of cooking. Trading a diet of white flour and white sugar for a diet of white rice flour, tapioca starch and white sugar... does nothing for you nutritionally. Gluten free baked goods are never going to be the same as those baked with white flour. Why so many people try to completely replicate it and pretend it is just amazes me. It is what it is. But by taking the time to learn to cook using new grains and new ingredients, you'll be amazed at how delicious the dishes really can be.

Brown rice flour is more nutritious the white rice flour. Automatically adding a tablespoon of flax meal to anything boosts the fiber and nutritional content. It has also been proven that flax meal helps reduce cholesterol. Sure...you could use 2 whole eggs and butter in your batter, but why why not save the fat and cholesterol by making substituting with some egg whites and margarine? Take responsibility for what you are eating and accept eating a gluten-free diet for what it is. Not what you want it to be. Appreciate the foods you can eat. By being given the gift of having to eat gluten-free, you are being given a chance to improve your eating habits and also become more educated about health and nutrition. You will end up being healthier as a result.

Another Buddy Fergurson approved recipe!

Winter Warm-up Favorite! Potato Soup with Caramelized Vegetables

2012-01-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

I know it sounds stereotypical to associate soup with only the winter months, but there are many good reasons why people continue to do it. There is just no other meal quite as comforting when you are cold, or that make us feel better when we are under the weather.

Potato Soup with Caramelized Vegetables has been a standard "go to" in our family for several years. The recipe was originally published in 2004 in the December issue of Bon Appetit Magazine, which featured an article on Montreal in the Winter. The recipe is from La Gargote, on the Place d'Youville, in Old Montreal - one of the city's oldest squares. The article states that the soup is a "warm-up masterpiece". It certainly is.

A few notes: We always double the recipe. The directions say it serves 8, but we have found it normally only serves 4. Leftovers heat up wonderfully! In addition, the key to the soup's tasty success depends on how well you caramelizing the vegetables. So make sure you take the time to caramelize them well - until they look almost burned. Don't just saute them. We also use an immersion blender instead of a regular blender, which is much easier.

This is a very healthy soup. It is low-fat. No broth is added or milk or cream and it does not contain cheese. It is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and very hardy. Can't beat that! enjoy!


Saute carrots, leeks, celery and onions


Cook until vegetables are caramelized

Soup before the puree

Potato Soup With Caramelized Vegetables

6 tablespoons vegetable oil (we use olive oil)
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 12-ounce russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add onions, leeks, celery and carrots; saute until most vegetables are very deep brown, about 20 or 30 minutes. Add potato, 6 cups of water, and 1 tsp. salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat medium; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Working in batches, puree the soup in blender until creamy. Strain back into the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Another Buddy Fergurson approved recipe!

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Amy Zerner

2012-01-25T16:22:00.000-08:00

When I started the Artist Interview Series for the Mind Body Spirit Odyssey back in January, I never imagined that by the end of the year I would be interviewing one of the leading collage artists in the world. You may already be familiar with the Enchanted World of Amy Zerner and her husband Monte Farber through one of their many publications, such as the Enchanted Tarot, but Amy's work is much more far reaching. A recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts, tapestry artwork that has appeared in over 40 books in twelve different languages, a jewelry line, handmade garments that are sold at Bergdorf Goodman - Amy's work has touched and inspired many people in numerous ways. It was really a pleasure to interview Amy for this series and I appreciate how generous and forthcoming she was. I was also very happy to hear how much she has enjoyed reading our Artist Interview Series this year. Thank you Amy!
~ diane fergurson

MBS: Can you tell us a little about your background? How you got started in art?

Amy: I come from a family of artists. My dear angel “Ma,” as all of my friends used to call my late mother, Jessie Spicer Zerner, supported our family as an illustrator of literally hundreds of children’s books and greeting cards. She made it seem normal to me to make books and illustrate them and I am still doing it.

My late father Raymond was always admiring and encouraging of his children’s talents and made us feel special because we were “artists,” like the woman he loved. My grandfather, Clayton Spicer, was a painter. My very first memory in life is sitting on his knee painting leaves on the trees of one of his paintings. For this and many other reasons, I cannot think of a time when I did not think of myself as an artist.
Ma was always creating fun and exciting things for me to do, projects of every kind and not just artistic ones. She used to do ESP experiments with me a lot starting when I was eight years old. I think that is one of the main reasons that I developed my imagination, my intuition, and my sense of wonder and faith in the absolute magic about every day of life in equal measure.

It may have been because of my family history, but making my living as a professional artist was a normal thing for me to do. I never had a second choice as to what I should do. I just always felt like being an artist was my natural state. Unlike many artists who work at other jobs to support their making art, I have never worked as anything other than an artist; I have never even considered it.

MBS: I'm sure growing up in an environment that valued and fostered creativity
made a world of difference in how you developed as an artist. It sounds like you were very lucky in
that respect. How do you think the imagination and freedom you were allowed as a child has
influenced how you work as an adult artist? The choice of materials that you use in your pieces (mixed media), for example, or how you approach your work? Also the subjects that you choose to explore.

Immortal Love

Amy: Looking back now, I see how my own art career has included elements from the careers of my mother and maternal grandfather. I have been a commercial artist and a writer, but first a painter. However, when paint seemed too inadequate a medium to convey the multidimensional nature of life I was starting to see, I started making paintings out of layered fabric, trimmings, appliqués, ribbons, and found objects.
I believe our consciousness is connected to the Higher Forces and I make images that use existing fabric elements to surreally portray the unseen forces the surround, sustain, and connect us. To me, we strive to be directly connected to the God Force, the Higher Self. So, we are trying to make this clear channel between us, and the Higher Forces.

This image has appeared in many of my tapestries. The image is a sort of ladder or a veil or a connection that reaches from the earth to the Higher Plane. Still always having the opposites, they become much more symmetrical with a seemingly architectural basis for the whole energy pattern, whether it is swirling or glittering. Moreover, the outer symbols I feel are representative of the flashes of insight of the invisible world that affects us now.
All those energies are described in my work, all the way down to what is right here, the flower at our feet, up to the Higher Forces of the planet. I try to put it all in there – that complexity, and make a balance out of it all. It’s just the vibrations of energy that change as the light changes and as our moods change. It elevates us from the mundane and lifts us out – definitely entering the world there that reminds us that this perfection and this symmetry exists and this truth and beauty. It’s definitely about beauty! It’s about reaching up and reaching within. It’s an active, sort of feminine, approach, but it’s all heaven and it’s grounded.

I think that I was influenced by my idyllic childhood in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania, but I am also influenced by the fact that Monte and I have actually created in our own life the kind of heaven most people think is impossible to create. We show each other more love, respect, and support in a day than some people ever have their whole life, unfortunately. We have no doubt about whether or not we love and trust each other completely. That alone can change your life and I think it has helped me feel secure in creating the worlds of wonder that I make because I know that heaven can be created on earth.

MBS: I first became familiar with your work years ago when I was researching tapestry artists. All the tapestries that you created when you did the Enchanted Tarot Deck - just breathtaking. A couple of questions... As I sit here and look through the book I have that came with the card deck (1990 St. Martin's Press) I've always wondered what the original dimensions of those tapestries were. Also, how did you become interested in the tarot and creating a deck from tapestry imagery?

Atlantia - Goddess of the New

Amy: Thank you so much! Monte and I have used the primal concept of the oracle as a starting point on many exciting creative collaborations. We have married together my art with his interpretation of the intuitive and universal wisdom in my images as well as the wisdom of the ancient metaphysical traditions to bring these beautiful, eminently practical, and timeless truths up to date for all of us to use in very practical ways. We can turn to oracles for wisdom, inspiration, and solace when life is so rapid and chaotic. Oracles help us to make poetry out of chaos and to bring light to the self with conscious knowing and participation. In 1974, when I met Monte, I was studying astrology and the tarot, and these archetypal languages became our language of love.

In 1988 I began work on The Enchanted Tarot. It is an epic series of seventy-eight fabric collages. Rather than work on one fabric collage at a time, I chose to work on the Major Arcana as a piece and then on one complete suit at a time. My work area lies beneath a cathedral ceiling twenty feet high with skylight. It was here that I would lay out all of the individual background fabrics for each suit. The creation of one piece would bring inspiration regarding another and so I would move from one to the other like a bee in a flower garden. In this way I was able to give each suit a look of continuity and make sure that all issues relating to each were symbolically represented by either the human figure(s) portrayed, by the images, shapes, and colors surrounding them, or by the card's border. I worked so intensely on this project. Nearly every day and night was completely devoted to making sure each piece was true to itself while fitting in with the rest of its suit. It was only after I had completed each suit that Monte would write down the meanings he saw in each piece to "illustrate" my art with his words in the deck's full-color companion book. Each finished original tapestry from The Enchanted Tarot (I prefer to call them tapestries, not quilts) is 12" X 24".


Divine Order

MBS: For our readers, can you explain what you mean when you are referring to " the primal concept of the oracle"?

Amy: An oracle like the tarot is a form of do-it-yourself analysis – a way of unlocking secrets of the self and providing directions towards manifesting your goals. It is a support system that can be relied upon as a friend that can give you helpful advice. It is also a great brainstorming tool that can enhance your creativity. Using an oracle as a meditation tool helps you to dialogue with your higher self. Consulting the cards creates a safe, spiritual haven where you connect to positive energy and positive emotions. It helps us discover what we really want in life and what we must do as our next step on the path. And you can use the cards whenever you need clarity on an issue, or as an everyday meditation. When you read your message, your attitudes, desires, and strategies for the best course of action can be reflected upon.

The process requires opening your mind and trusting your intuition to interpret the answers. An oracle is a tool that helps you tap into your psychic power. It is primal because it is a ritual. Rituals acknowledge the existence of a Higher Power in ourselves and in our world. One of the primary functions of ritual is to build a spiritual connection in our daily lives. They also reinforce our desires and strengthen our intent as we work to materialize those desires. At the same time, they remind us of our inseparable connection to the natural world. Rituals can help us to remember that we are part of the rhythms and cycles of Nature. Many people use our oracles every day as part of their daily spiritual practice. We do. too!

MBS: I've noticed recently that your work has evolved into another direction - designing clothing and jewelry. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Amy: In 1991 I started making one-of-a-kind garments for myself, with my tapestry art on the back, to wear to my gallery shows. My gallery owner liked them, so I began creating more of them to include in my exhibits, and they started to sell. In 1999, Bergdorf Goodman took my line, and I have been selling there ever since. I really love designing clothes and I love being in the most beautiful store in the world! Each of my handmade garments is a work of art, a delicate balance of chic, classic lines and unexpected details, composed of rich, luminous fabrics and embroidered with a magical touch of extravagance and romance.

My couture jackets, caftans and coats are unique, created for the woman pursuing her dreams with style and spirit. I feel that my garments radiate serene self-confidence, glamour, imagination, and sensuality because they are works of art. They are in the fashion collections of many amazing women, and also have been collected by some of our culture’s legendary goddesses, including the late Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley MacLaine, Patti LaBelle, Martha Stewart, and Oprah Winfrey.

The intricate tapestry art panels that are my signature are composed from many precious and unusual textiles, ribbons, and trims; hand painting; beading; rare appliqués; and vintage images. Each piece is unique; birds, animals, dream metaphors, mythological beings, and universal symbols are sewn harmoniously together to create lush, layered landscapes that suggest the many complexities of life and nature.

Our creative spirits are full of exciting colors and textures. Dressing up and adorning ourselves give us permission to feel great and grateful allowing our true radiance to shine.
One thing leads to the other, and I have always designed jewelry but last year Bergdorf Goodman took my line and it has been doing great. NeimanMarcus.com also carries it, as well as Liberty of London. My talismans are imbued with special sacred symbolism and mystical messages.

MBS: What is a typical work day like for you?

Amy: Monte and I live a very healthy lifestyle. We do yoga together, try to eat organic food. We don't drink, we try not to eat sugar. We work hard. We get massages and acupuncture regularly. We laugh a lot. We love our cat Zane. We are surrounded by art. We are very blessed.

MBS: What advice do you have for those who wish to (seriously) pursue an artistic path?

Amy: My advice for those wishing to pursue an artistic path is this: We once visited the Library of Congress - I don't know if you have ever been there but it is the most incredibly beautiful place. It was a time in our life where we really needed to remember what was real because it was a rough time. And we came upon this place which had this inscription "For a web begun, God sends thread". WE were so touched that it brought us to tears. I believe this to be true, and it has been true for me. So my advice is, just start…have faith and trust that if you follow your bliss, work hard, believe in yourself, then magic happens.

MBS: What's next for you?

Amy: I currently have shows of my fashions and jewelry every 2 months at Bergdorf Goodman, so I am constantly creating new styles and designs. My next show is January 10-13.

Monte and I are also planning a one day conference "Ask the Oracles" in New York City on Tuesday, April 17th at the 92nd St. Y. Please write to us at info@TheEnchantedWorld for more information.

~ thank you Amy!

Amy's Art, Jewelry & Fashion website: www.AmyZerner.com
Amy & Monte's Books & Oracles website: www.TheEnchantedWorld.com

Amy's Jewelry is Available:

At Bergdorf Goodman: http://bit.ly/qLrSbq
At Neiman Marcus: http://bit.ly/tXh4Kc
At Liberty of London: http://bit.ly/ryvwuR

Universe

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Valentine's Day, Steampunk Heart Necklaces, and the Noyes Museum Madd Hatter Party

2012-01-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

The Noyes Museum of Art, New Jersey

For a few years now, the Gift Shop at the Noyes Museum of Art in New Jersey has carried my jewelry and giclee art prints. They contacted me right before Christmas this year, telling me about a fabulous show opening they were having in February - The Mad Hatter Party - the theme revolving around Alice in Wonderland and Valentine's Day. They thought my Steampunk link of jewelry would fit in very well with all of this - and asked me to design some additional pieces to have available in the Gift Shop to coincide with the exhibit opening.

Last week I finally finished up the jewelry. Steampunk inspired Pendants, Fantasy Heart Necklaces, and Queen of Hearts Earrings. I really enjoyed designing them. Some of the Steampunk pieces I sent to the Noyes were one-of-a-kind. Other Fantasy Heart pieces I was able to replicate and list them online in my Etsy and Artfire shops.

Below are a few of the new Fantasy Heart Valentine inspired pieces that are currently available in my online stores. I think I will be assembling more pieces in the near future. They were so much fun to make!

As ever - thank you Noyes Museum for this great creative opportunity!


Queen of Hearts Earrings

Rose and Pink Heart Necklace


Queen of Hearts Rhinestone Pearl Filigree Heart

Vintage Filigree Heart with Vintage Schiaparelli Glass Setting


Red Heart and Vintage Filigree Alice Queen of Hearts Necklace

Gluten-free Blueberry Buckwheat Corn Muffins

2012-01-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

One thing I missed when I started eating gluten-free was having a really hardy, tasty muffin. I know that might sound silly to some people - but nothing beats muffins fresh out of the oven, especially in the winter. A grain that I have enjoyed incorporating into our diet lately has been Buckwheat. (Buckwheat is a gluten-free). So I decided to try using Buckwheat flour to make some gluten free muffins.

The Gluten-free Blueberry Buckwheat Corn Muffin recipe below is just wonderful. I've been making them for us at least once a week. Lowfat and delicious, the first time I made them I ate 3 right out of the oven! These muffins are also a great food item you can make to help introduce your friends and family to alternative grains. We would all benefit health-wise from eating less wheat. enjoy!

1 cup Buckwheat flour (I used Hodgson Mills)
1/2 cup Yellow Corn Meal (I used Arrowhead Mills organic gluten-free)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt (I use sea salt)
1/4 cup sugar (I use organic)
1 regular egg and 1 white replacer equivalent for 1 egg (total 2 eggs)
1/4 cup melted butter (I used 1/4 cup melted Earth Balance soy free spread)
1 1/4 cup milk (I used low fat milk, you can use soy if you'd like too)
Blueberries (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or grease muffin tins.
Mix together all ingredients. Batter will be thin. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full - muffins will rise.
Put blueberries on top of each muffin, poke down and bake aprox 15 minutes.

*You can try stirring the berries into the batter, but they will most likely sink because the batter is thin.

Another Buddy Fergurson approved Recipe!

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Kelly Tankersley

2012-01-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

I discovered Kelly Tankersley's stunning artwork one day, quite by accident, while I was scrolling through Etsy looking at artists. The fact that she is a printmaker AND makes handmade paper (two of my all-time favorite mediums) made me want to find out a little bit more her and the varied processes she uses to create her beautiful prints. As it turned out, Kelly is also an ex-art consultant. So this turned out to be a very interesting interview, with a twist, as she reflected quite realistically on wearing both hats.
~ diane fergurson

Night Voyage Guided by the Moon

MBS: Can you tell us a little about your background? How you got started in art?

Kelly: Ha Ha! I don’t know why I find that question funny but I do. I’ve loved making art since I can remember. My mother dabbled and was a great art appreciator—she hung a Georges Braque still life (poster) in our kitchen nook as well as some others from that period. Also, I was lucky enough to live in Japan as a little girl and that definitely raised the bar and expanded my aesthetic antenna. In addition to winning a few art contest as a school girl I was also a math whiz. I started college as a math major, but became board and switched to art somewhere in the middle. My father (chemical engineer) was floored. My BFA is in photography and printmaking—go figure! After college, I managed to work in art related fields as a dark room technician, art consultant, gallery manager, grant writer for non-profits art orgs, and so on. It wasn’t really until I joined the regular corporate world that I began making my own art again instead of promoting others’ work. The timing also coincided with the kids growing up—so young mothers and fathers don’t give up on your dream! That’s how I got started but a shout out to a beloved colleague from my past life, creative writer Brad Parks, for coming over one weekend and showing me how to make paper. That was a catalyst moment for me—it all just came together, the marriage of photography and printmaking on handmade paper. Pure bliss . . .

MBS: Ah, the love of making handmade paper... I can relate to that! What did you find magical about it?

Kelly: Making paper is magical, as is printmaking, because so much of the result is, in a way, beyond my control--or "out of my hands." I love the happy accident and the magical transformation that takes place when you cook and beat plant materials. Each type of plant renders its own unique signature. Inner tree bark, such as Polynesian gampi, it super strong and translucent! Rain lily paper is a gorgeous green and the fibers seem to run in parallel pairs—quite unexpected! Banana skins are tough and can make great paper for embossing etc … It is simply fascinating!

MBS: Tell us a little bit about your printmaking process. What kind of prints do you make? What materials do you use?

Kelly: My art really came together for me when I married my love of photography with making my own paper. I match up images with types of paper from white cotton with grass seeds in it to give it an Asian feeling to an oriental paper created as thin and translucent as I can get it to use as a chine colle substrate. The photographs are exposed on a solar plate and printed as intaglio etchings. A typical photo for me is the sky, trees, seed pods, whatever, me and my German Shepherd come across on our walks. I often manipulate the images slightly in Photoshop to increase the contrast and reduce them to their most calligraphic state while still being recognizable.

Moonrise in Charmed Meadow

After I've made a very planned and choreographed suite of prints, such as February Visit, I go into the studio and just play--I call it "free falling." This is how the series "Moonrise in Charmed Meadow" came to be. I printed a photo image over folded paper that had been monotyped on the back. The results were quite surprising and I loved the happy accident that most printmakers enjoy.

Alas, I don't always have access to an etching press. Thank goodness for gelatin printing. Anybody can create gelatin prints at home. You simply create a concentrated "jello" slab, ink it up, walla, perfect printing substrate--very suitable for botanical studies using pressed plants, etc . . .

MBS: That's interesting because I've often noticed that the way people make their art, and also the mediums they choose to work in, reflect a lot about their approach to life and often their spiritual belief systems too. Even for a printmaker...some printing processes are very measured and precise. Very ordered. Other methods allow for more "free falling", as you called it. What are your thoughts about that, and how does the way you work reflect your nature and spirituality?

Kelly: First and foremost, I view my work as a collaboration with nature. Not an equal one, more like I'm an apprentice, learning, observing, soaking it all in. I'm happiest when I have less control--thus the print making versus painting, thus the mad-scientist making paper versus purchasing already made paper. I never tire of just looking and waiting to "glean" the secrets the universe unfolds to me. The understanding is not literal or neat, it's all just a feeling, a feeling of connection—a happiness to be invited to the party.

MBS: What's a typical work day like for you? Do you work on your artwork every day?

Kelly: Unfortunately, I am not a working artist. I have to have a day job. So, alas, I am mostly a weekend artist with plans and preparations happening during the week.

I have been known to take art vacations where I take a week off and go to the studio at 8am just like my day job. Those are a blast and, of course, very productive.

When I make paper, I take over the entire house for three to five days. I dry the paper on our windows so the house looks quite odd to the passerby. For printing, I tend to also do marathon printing sessions. I guess my obsessive nature shows, when I get started, nothing else gets done. no laundry, no housework, oh and yeah? Do I really need a shower today?

My dream work day would be up and out hiking with my dog by dawn. Back to make art all day. Early to bed and do it all again the next day. What bliss that would be.

Double Moon

MBS: I know many artists who are very hesitant about selling their work online. I've noticed that you actively sell quite a bit of of your work that way. How has selling online and social networking worked out for you as an artist? Any advice you can give to other artists who are thinking about selling their work this way?

Kelly: I have been selling my work online for almost a year now.
The amount of sales is low, which as an ex-art consultant, I kind of expected.
The real value to me in selling online is the feedback and encouragement from other artist. Sure, we can't all buy art, but you bet kindred spirits just find each other online--they just do!

What that does for me as an artist is I turn off that negative voice in my head while in the studio, because sales or no sales, I have received enormous positive feedback from the online community so I know I am reaching people through my art. That's all we really need, along with love, food and shelter. The sense of community and bonding is worth every minute spent online.

February Visit, Doves Dip

MBS: I think that's an interesting area you touched on, that someone viewing sales through the eyes of an art consultant is much different then the same person viewing it through the eyes of an artist.
It can be a real issue between artists and their art representatives/galleries, and people wrestle with it constantly. As someone who has been on both sides of the fence, how do you view the issue and how to you balance two things yourself? What advice would you give to people - besides turning off the voice in your head or following your own drummer etc...

Kelly: Honestly, we all know how essential art is to the human experience, and yet it remains a luxury.
The only solution is to make art because you love to make it. Put in some serious marketing time and then don't expect to make a living at it. Another solution, which I am considering, is to merge your art with something functional like wearable art or home decor on an affordable basis. Fine art is like acting, only the top 1% make it--that's just the facts.

Me and several of my friends discuss this quite often. At the end of the day, we would never stop making art. I'm also a normal middle-class "worker-bee" who never mustered the nerve to be the hippie I feel I am inside. And there is something to be said about the value of a work environment--the community can be very positive, I've found. I am rambling at this point, but I guess I'm saying be careful what you wish for. Most artists are alone in their studios, and I actually like the regular daily camaraderie of the work place. I wouldn't want to face just me everyday.

MBS: So it sounds like you are advising people who want to pursue their passion of "being an artist", that they they may need a healthy dose of being "realistic" too?

Kelly: YES
be practical in your expectations of sales
however
shoot for the moon in your imagination!

Moonrise Charmed Meadow solarplate etching

MBS: What are you currently working on and what would you like to explore next?

Kelly: I am going to treat myself to a printmaking workshop and learn pronto-plate.
I hear it is very easy, but I prefer to learn from an expert!
I have a series of cloud images that I hope to realize into prints soon.
It's just a matter of time and money . . .

MBS: Good luck, and thank you for the interview Kelly!

Kelly's gorgeous artwork can be found in her Etsy Shop, 88editions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Navigating the Family Tightrope During The Holidays - Or Anytime

2011-12-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Navigating along the tightrope called "family" can be pretty tricky even during the best of times, but when it is the Holiday Season many of the spiritual lessons and ideas that we try so hard to incorporate into our everyday lives - well, they hit a brick wall. They often seem to be much harder, if not impossible, to maintain. I've noticed this year for some reason, many of the friends and acquaintances that I have were expressing quite a bit of family frustration and discontent. I know there are no easy answers when it comes to family issues and that everyone's situation is unique, but here are a couple of thoughts that may help you with your individual balancing act.

First, I think it's really important for people to remember one simple phrase -

"They are not you... and you are not them".

True with your family, friends, and even in your work situation.
Yes, you may be a reflection of each other and have influenced each other at some point, true. But you are "not" them and they are "not" you. Your choices of how to act, react and live your life are yours and yours alone. Once you fully accept that fact that you are YOU, an individual human being and stop conforming automatically to a family group identity out of habit and history, your life and the choices you make will become much clearer and easier.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world".

As His Holiness the Dalai Lama is quoted as saying:

"If you want to to change the world, first try to improve and bring change with yourself. That will help change your family. From there it just gets bigger and bigger. Everything we do has some effect, some impact."

I believe that there are many lessons for us to learn from and work through during this lifetime, but for some people the toughest learning lessons stem from family situations. Our family members are the people who can provoke emotion from us the easiest. We often get frustrated with them the quickest, and the emotional buttons that they can push ultimately cloud our judgement and clear thinking.

Yes, that's what your family can do, but they don't have to. It's all in how you choose to react to it. Individual choice - individual - that word once again. How you choose to react to a situation "does" cause a ripple effect and effects those around you. It can make things better, and it can also make things worse. Even your very presence in some situations can diffuse a situation or make it much more difficult for everyone involved.

Which leads us to another point to consider...

"You don't always have to go somewhere and be with people just because you are invited, or because you are related to them."

or

"It's OK to say no".

How many times do we accept invitations from family and friends (Holidays or not) simply because we do not want to hurt their feelings or appear rude? But the whole time that little voice inside of us is screaming NO, NO please don't GO! Kids and younger people I can understand, but if you are over 30, even 40 years old and you still feel you can't say no to your parents, friends or siblings - or suggest a revision to their plans - then maybe that's something you need to seriously re-think. The bottom line is, you don't have to always go because you are asked. And if you do chose to go, you certainly don't have to stay.

I saw a perfect, but extreme, example of this in the movie The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this week. Two different times in the movie, two separate characters find themselves in horrific situations simply because they did not want to appear rude by saying no to an invitation to go into a house. Even though most situations are not that extreme in life (I hope), there was a lot of wisdom written into those examples of what can happen to people who can't seem to say No.

"Don't keep making yourself feel bad wishing for a family situation you never had."

Not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up in a healthy and happy family situation. So quit beating yourself up over it and move on. People can find themselves in therapy for years over serious family issues, but at the end of the day it's up to you to let it go and MOVE ON. Not necessarily forgive and forget (although that would be nice) ... but just plain old "move on". You create your own reality in life. The family that you were brought up in does not have to be the family that you create as an adult.

And finally:

I read a lot of quotes that come through on my Facebook page. I know that a quote will often awaken something inside of us that we need to hear or re-think. Right before Christmas I read a quote that said something like: "Ask yourself this... During the Holidays, will the people who are around you find themselves better off by having been in your presence?"

Reflect on the last few days that you have had.

What's "your" answer?

And in turn, what was their affect on you?

~ diane fergurson

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Gluten Free Mini Cheesecakes

2011-12-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

On my continuing quest to come up with some simple gluten free desserts for the Holidays this year, I remembered the simple but tasty mini cheesecakes that I have eaten numerous times at parties and buffets. During a "Sandra Lee" moment of thinking, I decided to combine ready made gluten free cookies and cheesecake filling to make this little dessert, instead of using the normal vanilla wafer on the bottom that the original recipe calls for. The result was delicious, and it really didn't take much time at all to prepare this yummy gluten free dessert!

Getting ready for some gluten free Holiday baking!

Recipe
- 2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese or Neufchatel Cheese
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh if you can)
- gluten free cookies, I used a combination of Pamela's Simplebites Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Extreme Chocolate Cookies. I found them at Whole Foods, but any small gluten free cookie would probably work fine
- 12 cupcake liners
- topping - I used fresh blueberries because I had them on hand

Directions

1. Cream the room temperature cream cheese and sugar together. Add eggs and lemon juice.
Beat until smooth.

2. Line a cupcake pan with the liners. Place the gluten free cookie, flat side down in the bottom
of each liner.

3. Fill 3/4 full with cream cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees around 20 minutes. Check them and
test with toothpick to see if it pulls out clean. You may have to keep them in a little longer depending on your oven.

4. Allow cheesecakes to cool, then refrigerate. Before serving you can top them with pie filling if you'd like...or put a berry on top like I did 6 minutes into the baking time.
These cheesecakes can also be frozen. Also try topping them with a dollop of whipped cream before serving. Be creative!

This recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes.


Buddy and Kevin keep a careful eye on this process...

Finished and on to the dessert table!

More Gluten Free Posts:
Gluten Free Rice Krispy Treats Recipe

Maurizio Cattelan at the Guggenheim

2011-12-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

I've always been a firm advocate of the premise that it's perfectly natural that not all artwork appeals to all people ~but~ if you spend some time with the piece and leave yourself open, you will probably end up finding something about it that will interest you. Such was the case when I went to see the Maurizio Cattelan exhibit at the Guggenheim. Having seen some absolutely stunning shows in the past at this museum, such as Nam June Paik and Cai Guo-Qiang, I have to admit that at first glance I was pretty underwhelmed by the Cattelan instillation. But that didn't last for long.

Was it the nature of the work? No. Was it the presentation? - which I know is integral to the whole point of this instillation - I don't know. Even as I go back to re-evaluate this artwork and all it's individual pieces, I find myself mentally re-walking the maze that is the Guggenheim and re-weaving all those provocotive images and ideas together that is Maurizo Cattelan. Over a month later and I'm still thinking about the exhibit. Art that stays with you. Makes you think, and is not just a mass marketed, vapid image. Imagine that.

The bio on Cattelan is a colorful one and if you are interested in his work I suggest you research him further. Below is a quote from the show description, and at the end of the blog article you can view a YouTube clip of how the instillation all came together (which is just as interesting from a technical standpoint as it is enchanting). Enjoy!

"Hailed simultaneoully as a provocaueur, prankster, and tragic poet of our times, Maurizio Cattelan
(b. 1960, Padua, Italy) has created some of the most unforgettable images in recent contemporary art. His source materials range widely, from popular culture, history and organized religion to a meditation on the self that is at once humorous and profound. Working in a vein that can be described as hyperrealist, Cattelan creates unsettling veristic sculptures that reveal contradictions at the core of society. While bold and irreverent, his work is also deadly serious in it's scathing critique of authority and the abuse of power."

This was probably one of my favorite pieces (below). Designed as a war memorial, it lists European
Soccer Match scores.

Another poignant piece - the child sitting at his desk in school looks transfixed looking at the praying hands in front of him, while there are pencils driven through his own hands and into the desk top, forcing him to stay in his seat.

The show runs through January 22, 2012 at the Guggenheim in New York. Unless you are a member, as is true with all New York museums, be smart and purchase your tickets online in advance. It will save you a lot of time and grief. There are long lines - people waiting to see this exhibit!

Mind Body Spirit Odyssey 2011 Holiday Gift Picks

2011-12-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Season is upon us, and once again we have put together some of our favorite Mind Body Spirit related items that we found online this year. Some of these products may be familiar to you because they were previously featured on the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace Facebook Page, which is updated with new items everyday. Others are personal favorites. Some of the products are handcrafted and available from independent shop owners; others are traditionally manufactured and sold through online retail sites.

I'd like to thank Abby Horowitz from Abby Horowitz Designs for selecting some of her favorites to add to our list this year. For additional gift ideas revisit our 2010 Holiday Gift Pick list.

A lot to look at and enjoy. I'm sure you'll find something for everyone on your list - and even for yourself!

I hope your Holiday Season is a healthy and happy one. Stay positive and thank you for following our Facebook Page and supporting our blog.

~ diane fergurson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Abby's Gift Picks

CropCircleClay
 
I first discovered Diana Bower’s work on Etsy.  She creates wonderful
ceramic mugs, bowls. platters, candle trays, pendants, earrings.  She infuses
the clay with Reiki energy and embellishes them with images of crop circles.
These special elements make her work so original and one of a kind.
What wonderful gifts! Truly magical!
I love this pair of custom made coffee mugs!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CropCircleClay
http://www.cropcircleclay.com/

SacredCircleMandalas

Sue O’Keiffe creates beautiful digital Mandalas from the natural world
around her. Recently she began a new series of Mandalas based on the newly
discovered Auralite Crystal. You can read all about it on her website.
In her shop you will also find a wonderful selection of Mandala
greeting cards.
http://SacredCircleMandalas.etsy.com http://zazzle.com/sueokieffe

Miranda Gray Studio
 
Miranda makes the most wonderful prayer flags from organic cotton.
I love these Hanuman Ganesh Prayer Flags.  What a great gift they
would make!

http://mirandagraystudio.com/Prayer_and_Garden_Flags
http://www.etsy.com/people/MirandaGrayStudio

Glimmering Gems

You’ll find one of a kind gemstones, crystals, and minerals at GlimmeringGems.
This Amethyst Stalactite Pendant Druzy Slice is definitely a favorite of mine.
What a beautiful necklace it would make.  You’ll find an amazing selection of
wonderful gift items in this shop. Make sure to check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GlimmeringGems
http://twitpic.com/photos/glimmeringgems

Catfishcreek Candles
 
I’ve purchased quite a few beeswax candles from this shop over the
past year.  I'm especially in love these Buddha Head Candles.  I have one
in each color! The natural beeswax scent is heavenly!  You’ll find
something for everyone here!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/catfishcreekcandles

Star Essences
 
A few months ago I purchased several flower essences from
this website.  They create vibrationally infused remedies made from
living, organic, wild crafted flowers and specially selected precious
and semiprecious gemstones.  They are simply wonderful!  There are
essences that will assist in every aspect of your life.
Definitely worth checking out!
http://www.staressence.com/

Young Living Essential Oils

I’ve been using these oils for many years.  They make wonderful
Gifts!They can be used for so many things and on so many levels:
physical, emotional, spiritual.  There are so many to choose from.
See what resonates for you or that special someone.
http://www.youngliving.com/

DharmaKarmaArts

Indira Govindan creates jewelry, arts and crafts inspired by India and donates
all the proceeds to the Sukriti Social Foundation, which support handicapped children
and adults in India.  You will find hand made journals, jewelry,
hand painted decorated boxes, yoga art, silk sari scarfs, and beautiful wall art.
You’re sure to find that perfect gift in her shop! 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DharmaKarmaArts
http://dharmakarmaarts.blogspot.com

The Hidden Messages in Water 2012 Wall Calendar

This calendar presents the revolutionary work of renowned scientist
Masaru Emoto, who has discovered that molecules of water are affected
by our thoughts, words and feelings.
If you haven’t read his books, you are in for a treat. This wonderful
gift item and so many more can be found on the Shamans Market website.

http://www.shamansmarket.com/-strse-4594/Hidden-Messages-in-Water/Detail.bok http://www.shamansmarket.com

Soul Connection Double Dream Catchers.
 
I’m always on the lookout for DreamCatchers and when I discovered this
website I think I hit the jackpot!  So many special ones to choose
from. I had never seen a double one before. Here’s what they have to
say about them: “Soul Connection Double Dream Catchers. It is by
sharing ourselves with another that we come to truly learn about who
we are. Soul Connection Dream Catchers honor this relationship between
two people. This beautiful dreamcatcher is detailed with feathers and
a Swarovski crystal.”  This one will be on my Christmas wish list for
sure!

http://dreamcatcher.com/tan-soul-connection-double-dream-catcher.html
http://dreamcatcher.com/

Thank you Abby!

Jewelry by Abby Horowitz can be found in her shop on Etsy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Diane's Gift Picks

ElementalAlchemist

The Elemental Alchemist designs jewelry that reflect the natural and organic world.
Rough, raw cut stones and unusual mineral specimens are combined with a variety
of metals to create this stunning, unique work. This seller is located in Canada, so
please allow a few weeks for your purchase to arrive. I have ordered from this shop
several times and have been very pleased with the quality and craftsmanship that goes
into these beautiful jewelry pieces.
http://www.elementalalchemist.etsy.com

Spellbinderscorp

If you are interested in Runes or know someone who would like a set as a gift,
Lilya at Spellbinderscorp on Etsy creates the most beautiful hand carved and
painted rune sets. The sets are made from naturally shed Deer Antler bone and varied high
quality Gemstones. Each set is cleansed before it is shipped, and also
comes with information on their use. Great gift idea!
If you are interested in learning more about Casting the Runes, here is a link to an article Spellbinderscorp shared with our blog earlier this year.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NycSpellBinder

Children's Animal Spirit Cards by Dr. Steven D. Farmer

I did a review on this set of cards recently for the blog. The Children's Animal
Spirit Card set has won a multitude of awards from Parent and Education groups.
Beautiful illustrations... In the introduction to the deck, the author explains that
animals are unique expressions of Spirit/God, and that where they appear as a symbol,
dream, statue - or even through the cards - there is an important message that is trying to be communicated through that particular animal. The cards can act as a catalyst for guidance and support.
They can also be used as a tool to open up a discussion between the parent and child
using the animal, it's qualities and purpose as a focal point.

This deck can be ordered directly from Satiama, the publisher or through Amazon.

Psychic Intelligence: Tune In and Discover the Power of Your Intuition
by Terry and Linda Jamison (The Psychic Twins)

I'll admit I wasn't that familiar with the Jamison Twins and their work until I
saw them promoting their book on The View (and personally witnessed them predict
the Hurricane that ravaged the East Coast earlier this year). They predicted 911
two years before it happened - and the Government shut down their website
at the time as a result. They claim a 95% accuracy rate for their predictions. That aside,
this book is much more then just predictions. First, it's an interesting look at the relationship
between twins. The book also discuss the connection between the heightened development
of their gifts and their Buddhist Meditation practice. The one thing that really impressed me
with this book however, was their thorough explanation of the Four Clairs...which
many books on psychic development either gloss over or leave out completely.
This book is a good choice to add to your own Holiday Wish List or to give as a gift to
someone who has an interest in this area.

It can be ordered through Amazon or from their website.

Yucca Bloom

Colorado's Yucca Bloom combines the spirit of the West and Southwest, with a
carefree spirit. Beautiful designs, good craftsmanship, this shop is a favorite
for sure!
You can find yuccabloom on Etsy.

Aquarian Bath

In her shop, Aquarian Bath, herbalist Cory Trusty offers a variety of
bath and body products that are palm oil free, unscented or lightly scented with only
the purist essential oils. Aromatherapy items, Holiday gifts, gift sets and kits.
If you have any questions or particular needs, you can always contact her too.

Available through her store on Etsy and also through her website.

Jude McConkey Photos

Michigan photographer Jude McConkey has a new item in her shop! A gorgeous
monthly calendar featuring her beautiful art photography. To learn more about this
artist and her work, you can read the artist interview we did with her earlier this
year on our blog.

The calendar is available through her shop JudeMcConkeyPhotos on Etsy.

The Yankee Woodsmith

You may remember Ken Cayer, The Yankee Woodsmith from our Holiday Gift Picks last year.
His beautiful meditation benches were featured. This year we noticed that Ken has been
designing altars. The gorgeous altar pictured above was handcrafted out of ash and mahogany. To learn more about Ken and his stunning work, visit his website.

http://www.theyankeewoodsmith.com/

Quinoa, The Everyday Superfood 365 by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

I originally purchased this book in Canada when it was first published in 2010.
Since then it has gone on to be an International Best Seller. If you or
someone you know is looking to introduce new grains into your diet or if you
just like to cook...this book is for you! Great recipes...beautifully designed!
Available through Amazon.

JaysMandalas

Probably one of the more unique items I've come across this year, the gorgeous
Ojos de Dios by Jay Mohler is the perfect gift selection for anyone interested in
spirituality and art. Jay starting making Ojos de Dios back in his hippie days,
in the late 60's, after seeing Ojos sent as part of an exhibit sent by the Dalai Lama
of Tibet. The Ojos from Tibet were almost exactly the same as ojos he'd
seen earlier made by Hucholes in Mexico. Over the years, Jay has evolved his own
work to 12-sided designs which he believe encompasses the patterns of many
beliefs systems around the world.
Available through his shop, JaysMandalas, on Etsy.

CrowsFeathers

These lighted Geode sculptures from Colorado artist CrowsFeathers on Etsy are just
beyond amazing. What does the name "Crows Feathers" mean? In Native American folklore
the Crow is often associated with magic & change...bringing thought into physical
form, transformation, the passing from one realm into another. These pieces start much
in the same way: first, a feeling/thought that slowly transforms into a physical form
- a different reality/dimension (the artwork). Each piece being one of a kind.
Pictured above: Tree Of Life Winter Ancient Spirit sculpture on polished lamp;
natural Brazil Geode Agate slice with Citrine Quartz Crystals added.
Available in their shop on Etsy.

JulieMagersSoulen

These beautiful note cards from Colorado photographer Julie Magers Soulen were one
of the highest viewed items during 2011 on our Facebook Page. Just gorgeous!
You can find them in Julie's shop on Etsy, along with her other stunning work!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69538369/purple-blue-lavender-flower-note-cards

Original Artwork, Prints and Jewelry by

Diane Fergurson can be found in her shops on Etsy

and ArtFire.

*Follow our daily updates for the Mind Body Spirit

Marketplace on Facebook.

Enjoy your Holiday Season!

The Holiday Displays at ABC Carpet in New York

2011-11-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

ABC Carpet in New York City is probably one of my favorite places to go to just "absorb" the creativity and be inspired on a totally atmospheric level. Today some of their Holiday displays were up, although I'm sure they will change again several times before Christmas. enjoy the pics!

Mind Body Spirit Artist Interview: Karen Casey Smith

2011-11-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading the Mind Body Spirit Odyssey, or have followed us through our Marketplace over the last few years, you'll probably recognize the work of artist Karen Casey Smith. We have been fortunate to be able to use her artwork on numerous occasions illustrate our articles. Meditative, simple and beautiful...whether through her stunning photographic images or her exploration of the Mandala form, Karen's work makes a specific, focused statement...while always motioning the viewer in for a closer look.

~ diane fergurson

Awakening in Your Spiritual Heart

MBS: Can you tell us a little about your background? How you got started in art?

Question 1: My start in art was through my mother's paper dolls. My mom is creative in so many ways. When I was very young, she used to draw paper dolls for us to play with. I was enchanted with her drawings, and wanted to draw them too. I watched her, practiced, and found that I could draw them, and it was fun! Once I started school, friends would ask me to draw things for them. I feel very lucky to be a part of such a creative, and talented family.

Karen: For many years, I mostly did drawings in pencil, or charcoal pencil. It's a peaceful, meditative activity that I really enjoy. I also loved to write, and by that I mean, the pencil or pen to paper, forming the letters. Handwriting is so beautiful. I've done some calligraphy, watercolor, and was also a comic book letterer for a short time. After reading Judith Cornell's book, Mandala, I was inspired to begin making mandalas in colored pencil. For awhile that was the only art I was interested in making. Once I got a computer, I started learning Photoshop and loved the freedom of it. You're only limited by your imagination, and knowing the program. A dear friend send me a link to flower mandalas, and they were so amazing that I had to try my hand at making one. Because I wanted more of my own photographs for making new flower mandalas, I got serious about photography, and found a new love in that.

Sho Yo

Question 2: You are both a photographer and, as you said, work with digital images to create your Mandalas.
Do you prefer one over the other? Or does one really feed into the other?

Karen: I love doing both! When I go out shooting, I'm surrounded by the scents, the sights, the energy of the place, and filled with love and appreciation for each subject. All these things feel as though they're kind of downloaded into me, and recorded in the images I make. Later when I open the photographs up to work on them, or create the mandalas from them, I have access to all of that information again, and that same wonderful energy comes through in my finished work. When I'm working at the computer, time seems to cease to exist. Each image, each mandala, seems to unfold organically, with ideas and connections occurring during the working process. So yes, one does feed into the other.

Solitaire-White Lotus Blossom

MBS: I've noticed that you really do seem to have a very focused, meditative connection to the energy of your subject matter, both with the photos and your mandalas. How does spirituality play a role in your work and as an artist?

Snow Bunny

Karen: While all aspects of life are important, my spiritual life is my foundation. It's essential to my life, and my art. All things are spiritual, including work, family, our bodies, thoughts, and our talk, so it's part of everything though not separate. We're all spiritual beings. Everything is interconnected. Everything is energy. There's a vibration, that might be perceived as a 'feeling quality', to the energy of each being, place, and object. We can just be more, or less, conscious of this.

Making artwork is a spiritual experience for me. It was always that way, even before I knew it as spiritual, or had the words to begin to describe it. In a way it's difficult to talk about all of this, because the place you create from is a silent space. It's unlimited, pure potential, so full, but the experience isn't in words. Poetry, music, images, any work of art, is a physical expression of the artist's journey of connection and communication with the Divine, and a path that can be used by others to have their own direct experience of connection. Creative expression is one of many paths to this place.

Sometimes while working with an image I feel as though I'm watching the process, though I know I have my part in it. Once I begin, the creation takes on a life of its own. The outcome is better if I remain open to inner guidance, and let the piece dictate what steps come next, instead of holding too tightly to my original vision. It's very much a collaboration.

While I'm making photographs, or editing and creating, I focus on peace, the connection with my subjects, my deep appreciation for them, their inherent divine perfection, and love, so much love. All of this energy comes through the images, and the mandalas. I truly believe that the images, and most especially the mandalas, actually radiate positive energy, and that each one has a unique vibration. They can be used to assist in balancing the energy of people and places, and for contemplation. All of my work is uplifting in nature.

Communion

MBS: Is there anyone or anything in particular that has has a big impact, or influence, on you as an artist, or
on your work?

Karen: A big impact on my work came when I read Judith Cornell's book, Mandala - Luminous Symbols for Healing, based on workshops she gave. She taught people to access their own personal, meaningful, symbols. They would then use their symbols to make sacred art, for transformation and healing. I found the book absolutely inspiring, a book you really want to participate in! Before I'd even read the whole book, I made my first mandala. I still love making them.

Also, for years I've practiced Reiki and T'ai Chi, and use other energy balancing systems, and these all have taught me greater awareness, and definitely influence my work.

Eternalism

Question 6: What's a typical work day like for you? Do you work on your photography and artwork every day?

MBS: The only thing that's typical is the way I begin my day. If I get a good start, set the tone, the rest of the day works out great.
After a nice glass of water, I do Donna Eden's Five Minute Energy Routine, then a modified form of the Tibetan Yogic Exercises, at least five minutes of Zhan Zhuang - the Embracing the Tree form, and then a meditation. Depending on weather, I practice my T'ai Chi outside then, or later in the day. Then it's time for breakfast, brush and play with the cats, and after that, start to work.
As a small business owner, my work includes bookkeeping, packing, shipping, inventory control, creating, and marketing, plus improving my skills, and keeping up with new technology. It's always interesting, challenging, and rewarding. And yes, I do work on photography, or artwork, every day; that's the part I love the most! Some days are filled with other work, or unexpected things come up. When that happens, I spend time on my creative work in the evening. There's either some idea I really want to try out, or I want to do just a little more on something I'm working on. I always make space for my favorite part of my work!

MBS: What kind of photographic equipment do you like to use?

Karen: Other than my camera and my tripod, Photoshop is the "equipment" I like to use the best! Once you know the tools and their functions, whatever you can imagine, you can make visible with Photoshop. It's almost magical!

MBS: Your work really does have a signature look to it...both the mandalas and your photos. Your images are very crisp, clear and clean....colors are often bold. What is it you are striving to portray in your images?

Karen: It's definitely a feeling. My work is about light and energy, about the vibrational aspect of our world. Capturing the peace and perfection present in all things, through the beauty all around us, is my focus. I hope that my work may act as a bridge to connect the viewer to the spirit, the truest essence, of my subjects, and this in turn will assist them in connecting to their own intrinsic beauty, their own peace and perfection.

Danza de la Vida

MBS: I know many artists who are very hesitant about selling their work online. I've noticed that you actively sell quite a bit of of your work that way and are on several different selling sites. Your also pretty active with your blog. How has selling online and social networking worked out for you as an artist? Any advice you can give to other artists who are thinking about selling their work this way?

Karen: Having an online presence has been a positive experience. I love selling online. Sales come through at any time of the day or night. I meet lots of really nice people, and have made some amazing friends that I might never have known otherwise. When you sell online, your work has the potential to be seen by more people than you could ever reach in person. Your work is available to buyers at their convenience, unrestricted by the time of day, or where they're located.

My advice for selling online is to deliver high quality products, give superior service, be easy to deal with, and respond quickly and pleasantly to any communication. Provide quality pictures, and information about your work and processes, but don't be offended if it isn't read. People are busy, and have more information coming in than most anyone could keep up with. :)

Opening a shop, or creating a web site to show your work, isn't enough. Besides connecting with your audience, they need to remember you, and know where to easily find you; this is ongoing work. Marketing and promoting are a huge part of your job, though these things can simply be the ways you connect with people, not a one sided activity. Also, life will be easier and more fun if you're adaptable, and love to learn new things. Make peace with the fact that things are always changing, and there's always something new to learn. Have confidence in your work, and have fun!

MBS: Any advice you have for those who wish to pursue an artistic path?

Karen: If you feel a pull to follow an artistic path, begin to take some action in that direction, and make it a priority. They say that people regret the things they didn't do, more than the things they did do. Don't wait for conditions to be "just right," or for anyone else to approve. You don't have to quit your day job. Begin small, begin anywhere. Do even a little toward your path consistently, and it will build on itself. Make friends who are positive people, are supportive, who share your core values, and are moving forward. Jim Rohn said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Who and what you surround yourself with matters.

Do your work with a feeling of appreciation, keep touch with why you love it, and why you chose it. This way it will always be an adventure, always be fresh.

Thank you Karen

For more information about Karen Casey Smith, you can visit her blog. Her work is also available for sale on Etsy and Artfire.

Additional interviews from the Mind Body Spirit Artist Series:
Ben Isaiah
Emily Balivet
Laura Milnor Iverson
Joanne Miller Rafferty
Jude McConkey
Atmara Rebecca Cloe
Alison Fennell
Fernanda Gonzalez
PattyMara Gourley

Follow our daily updates for the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook

Making the World Smile - Mali the Sheepdog, at the Montreal Botanical Garden

2011-11-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some photos recently of garden sculptures and topiarys, when I remembered the photos I had taken last summer of Mali the Sheepdog at the Montreal Botanical Garden - which is a world leader in mosaiculture art and technology.

This enormous dog greets the guests who have come to visit the gardens. It measures approximately 6 foot tall and is a living mosaiculture made from an ornamental grass, Weeping Brown Sedge, Carex flagellifera ('Bronzita'). Mali on loan to the Botanical Garden as a way of sharing part of the piece created by International Mosaiculture of Montreal (MIM) as Montreal's entry in the 2009 Hamamatsu International Mosaiculture event in Japan. The work was inspired by the Frederic Back film "The Man Who Planted Trees", and took the top international jury award and the "people's choice" award at that event.

The piece symbolizes both nature and culture, along with the story of a single man who transformed an entire landscape through his own actions. It is hoped, that through actions...big or small...people will re-connect with nature and help change the world.

Mali was absolutely wonderful to see, but what was really nice was watching the expressions on the faces of the visitors who went up close to take a look. Pure delight and wonder.
All kinds of artwork is created in this world for all kinds of reasons and intentions. It's always nice to see pieces that make people smile...

Gluten-Free Rice Crispy Treats

2011-11-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

Ever since my daughter became gluten-free, I've been experimenting with different baking options. I've found that introducing new flours into the diet and also experimenting with different leavening agents to actually be rather enlightening, as well as extremely interesting. Since I've always enjoyed cooking, it's been more of a discovery of sorts. Through this process I've also realized that for people with a yeast allergy (like myself)... many of the foods and baking ingredients that you will end up cooking with and eating also tend to be gluten-free.

The other day I was trying to think of something simple to make, that would satisfy my sweet tooth, as well as hers, so I thought about some of the foods she use to like when she was growing up. I decided to make some "Rice Krispie" treats.

It was pretty simple. Instead of using the "normal" brand of cereal I used the Whole Foods 365 brand, Brown Rice Crisps (healthier). The gluten-free marshmallows came from Whole Foods as well (in the baking department) - and I also noticed that they are Kosher. So if you are looking for gluten-free marshmallows in a regular supermarket, if it has a Kosher section try looking there.

All you do to make the treats is melt 2 Tb. of butter together with the sack of marshmallows (7oz) in a non-stick saucepan. Stir quickly. When it is melted, poor the mixture into 6 cups of the brown rice cereal and "very" quickly stir it together. Transfer it to a pre-buttered, non stick 9x13 pan and press down on the top to even it out. One trick to do, is butter a piece of wax paper in advance and press down using it instead of your hands. Cool and then cut into squares. enjoy!

Another Buddy Fergurson approved recipe!

More Gluten Free Posts:

Gluten Free Mini Cheesecake Recipe

Mind Body Spirit Artist Interview: PattyMara Gourley

2011-11-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Many of us first became introduced to the world of artist PattyMara Gourley through the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace when it was located on the now defunct 1000 Markets. To me, her mixed media artwork has always possessed a certain je ne sais quoi- that indescribable magical something which sets her apart from the pack. Is it her personal style? Her immense knowledge base on indigenous cultures and spirituality? Or maybe it's just her invaluable accumulated knowledge and wisdom as an older woman. Whatever it is, PattyMara is PattyMara, and the world is a much more vibrant, positive place by having her and her wonderful art in it!
~ diane fergurson

Skeleton Day of the Dead Platter

MBS: How old are you and when did you become a full time artist?

PattyMara: I'm 62 and I became a full time artist after my children started high school and college, at age 50. Before that I worked as a freelance graphics designer/illustrator and assisted homebirth midwives (five years of being on call 24/7!). I'm never going to retire...I'll just keep making art until it's time for me to go.

MBS: Can you tell us a little about your background? How you got started in art?

PattyMara: I have clear memories of my mother smoothing out the white paper that came from the butcher, then giving me and my brothers rulers and pencils to make geometric designs to color with crayons. I might have been four or five years old then...and through my early childhood, I have many memories of using the simple art supplies, like colored paper, magazines and paste to make mosaics and collages. She taught me to sew and cook and bake. I went to Catholic grade school, high school and two years of college, where art took a back seat to academics. By the time I transferred to UC Santa Cruz in my junior year, I found a whole new world of art opportunities. I wandered into a pottery studio and learned to throw functional stoneware pots, and fell in love with clay. I continued with my academic major of anthropology, but minored in art. After college I pursued pottery on and off through the years until I became a full time artist when my children were in high school and college. I gave my children the same opportunities to play with simple art projects all through their childhood, like my mother gave me. Her gift of creative encouragement planted many seeds within me, and I harvest them every day now. I have never doubted my talents, because she believed in me and gave me all that I needed to express myself freely.

Frida & Diego Skull Travel Mug

MBS: It's interesting that you mention your major in anthropology because I've always noticed that the belief systems of different cultures are predominately reflected in your work. For example your pottery is not just functional pottery. It's much more then that. The same with your Day of the Dead work. What are your thoughts on that?

PattyMara: Anthropology came into my life through a wonderful teacher, who worked in Guatemala. My first class with her in college hooked me to the mesmerizing study of other cultures. What galvanized my attention was the shared role of ceremony, story and art. From Inuit shaman masks to Spiro Mound clay effigy pipes to rock art petroglyphs, all of them were connected to ceremony and story. I romped through anthropology classes at UC Santa Cruz, concurrent with learning to be a potter. Perhaps that is the first connection of the two strands in my life. Later I learned that pottery shards last for centuries and remain to tell the story of their people, long gone. My love for anthropology and pottery has remained entwined.

Ceremony plays a big part in my life, and I found its source in the early matriarchal cultures, when the Great Mother, the divine feminine, reigned, long before the patriarchal Father God(s). My work reflects the celebration of the turning wheel of the seasons and the remembering ceremonies, like Day of the Dead. My teapots made of New Mexican mica clay mirror the Yixing teapots of the Sung Dynasty (also made of burnished mica clay). My painted silks are gilded with words from Rumi, O'Donohue and the Dalai Lama. All of it nourishes my soul and hopefully will nourish others as well.

Mica Clay Blessing Bowl

MBS: You really do have an intense love for mica clay. How and when did you discover it?
As a material, how does it differ from working with clays, such as stoneware or porcelain for example?

PattyMara: You are right. I do have an intense love for mica clay. I discovered it in 2008, when I traveled to New Mexico and stayed at Felipe Ortega's Owl Peak Pottery and B & B (found on a random internet search, what good fortune! www.felipeortega.com. While staying there, I watched Felipe make a mica cook pot by hand and he cautioned me about the clay, saying "Once you touch this clay, you will never want to work with any other." He spoke the truth. I ordered a hundred pounds of his clay to be mailed back to my home in California. Most mica clay artist handbuild, using the coil and scrape method of the traditional pueblo pottery traditions. But I've been a wheel potter for forty years, and even though folks here are surprised that I use my wheel, it is just what comes naturally for me.

Micaceous clay differs from other clays in that it is "shorter", less plastic, and it just feels so good to work with energetically. This clay emerged from ancient clay deposits here in northern New Mexico, was dug with reverent, respectful prayers and it resonates with Mother Earth's song. Throwing it on my wheel and burnishing the surfaces for hours with a stone is like entering a spirit-infused meditation with an old wise Grandmother. What's not to like?

Finished mica clay pottery is sturdy and useful as cookware, ovenware and for everyday enjoyment. I like to make functional pottery, elevating each meal to a feast of gratitude and communion. I believe finding mica clay back at Felipe's studio is what started the magical journey for me and my husband to find a new home in New Mexico after he retired. It cast a spell of enchantment, and I am so grateful!

Buddha Mica Teapot

MBS: As you mentioned, you relocated to New Mexico fairly recently from being in California for many years. How are you finding the creative community in NM and how has the move impacted your artwork?

PattyMara: We just celebrated our first full year of living here in northern New Mexico. I participated in the Pilar Studio Tour last year, three weeks after unloading our moving truck because one of my new neighbors encouraged me early on to do the tour. Crazy, after the rigors of packing and moving, but the tour was a magnificent success for me. This year I joined the team to organize the tour, and will be setting up my display in the next few days. I have found the art community here to be numerous in numbers and warmly welcoming in attitude. Within a few months of relocating, I found a gallery shop in Taos, Coyote Moon, which has actively promoting and selling my Day of the Dead ceramics. Additionally, I've been included in two group shows of women artists, including one at Ghost Ranch (a great honor to me to see my fiber art hanging near the landscape where Georgia O'Keeffe painted). Both shows were successful in sales, but more importantly, gave me the gift of new friendships with women.

Mice Wedding Cake Topper

How has our move has impacted my art? At first blush I would say: red willow and nuno felting. I signed up for a one day willow basket weaving class in a nearby town. The baskets I made introduced me to red willow, which grows everywhere here ('Taos' translates in the pueblo language as 'people of the red willow'). Though I won't ever be a famous basket maker I did enjoy getting to know this native plant. Then I took a felting class from a new woman friend and discovered how much I love working with wool fibers on silk. My 20 years with silk painting has given me a familiarity with silk, but layering the wisps of wool, alpaca and cashmere rovings to a silk ground and then felting them to form a completely new fabric, well, that's just too wonderful for words. I make frames from bound willow branches to stretch and stitch my nunofelted pieces, and what emerges is a feather light ethereal piece, born from this land and celebrating the sky.

I have always worked in many media (often critiqued by the 'art world' experts as unfocussed). I pay them no mind. It's just how I feel the creative urge expressing itself. A three or four week concentration on mica pottery production may be followed by two or three weeks of silk painting or nuno felting or beading or collaging or messing around with fabric. Each foray has its own gift of discovery and fulfillment. I am excited to begin each project, and I learn something new each time. And, to be honest, I just love the collection of art supplies that I *need* to have on hand. The clay, silks, willow, handmade papers, fabric swatches, collage ephemera, dyes, paints and fibers sooth and infuse me with creative sparks. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cherry Blossom Twilight NunoQuilted Silk Scarf

MBS: There are a lot of people who might not be acquainted with nunofelting. Can you explain what it is?

PattyMara: Nuno felting is a fabric technique developed by Polly Stirling, a fiber artist from New South Wales, Australia, around 1992. The name is derived from the Japanese word "nuno" meaning cloth. The technique bonds loose fiber, usually carded unspun wool roving (it looks like a fluffy cloud) onto a sheer open weave fabric such as silk gauze, creating a completely new fabric that is bonded by the felting action of the wool. The fibers can completely cover the background silk, or they may be used as a decorative design that allows the silk to show. Nuno felting often incorporates several layers of loose fibers combined to build up color, texture, and/or design elements in the finished fabric. I also like to add other elements between the layers of roving such as wild silk fibers, called tussah silk, mohair curls, cashmere and other elements like ribbons, yarns and torn recycled silk saris.

I created a body of work which I called NunoNebulae for my group fiber arts show at Ghost Ranch last spring. I found my inspiration in the amazing photographs of nebulae taken by the Hubble space telescope and other NASA sources. I layered different colors of wool rovings over black silk guaze, leaving much of the black silk exposed to represent the far reaches of space. Felting all of the layers involves wetting the whole shebang with warm soapy water, then rolling it up in textured layers of bubble wrap and bamboo sushi mats (for big pieces I use a bamboo sun shade). Then the work begins: rolling (with hands, forearms, elbows and feet) unrolling, rolling in the opposite direction, and finally "throwing" or slamming the big wet mess of silk and wool down onto a hard surface like a deep sink. Al of this aerobic exercise is done to encourage tiny hooks within the wook fibers to grab onto the silk gauze and marry itself permanently to create a whole new bonded fabric. kind of like a relationship, eh? After is felted my NunoNebulae, I sewed tiny beads and crystals in the places where the stars actually are, to catch sparkles of light, then stretched and stitched them onto the red willow frames.

MBS: I enjoy working with a variety of mixed media materials too in my work, so I understand and appreciate the discovery and exploration you described. In working in a variety of mediums what have you discovered about yourself, both as a person and an artist?

Quan Yin Silk Meditation Banner

PattyMara: It reveals my Aries nature! Always looking for a new adventure, a new learning experience. I like to think that I integrate each learning curve that a new technique requires into the accumulated knowledge from my past. But really, I just like exploring unknown territory. I don't mind making mistakes, because they hold big rewards as I learn how to correct and apply what I know to what I didn't know before I made the 'mistake'. Also, I get to gather new materials, and that brings me such delight. I probably won't ever just work in one medium, but who knows? Anything can happen.

MBS: How does spirituality play a role in your work and as an artist?

PattyMara: Spirituality is nothing complicated for me. It is who I am, how I navigate in the multileveled worlds of body (the physical), mind (the mental) and spirit (my Soul essence, the multifaceted being that is both me and All that Is). I can't separate spirituality out of anything I am or I do. It permeates, infuses and surrounds. No separation, no distinction. So when I take a walk up the dirt road beyond our land, and happen upon a basalt boulder covered with old petroglyphs (800 - 4000 years old!) pecked into the rock surface, I can sense the presence of the original artists who made them, the sagebrush still growing nearby which may have spread its fragrance to them as it does to me as I stand in the warming air. I recognize without words or knowing the meaning of these symbols that they are numinous artifacts, still brimming with energy. Mica clay has its own energy signature too, in addition to being sturdy, practical and beautiful. It is infused with an angelic presence for me, who seems to like the name Micah...and this angelic being comes when asked and brings deep healing and other gifts. I don't know how I know these things, they just appear naturally, and I simply breathe it all into my my heart with appreciation and awe. I'm reminded of the Van Morrison album (best played loudly) "No Guru, no Method, no Teacher..."

Silk Wall Hanging

MBS: What is a typical work day like for you?

PattyMara: I wake up early, always have...I love the silence of dawn. I've found that the first things I do in the morning are precious, important. When I'm just fresh out of my dreaming time, I can access all that non-physical information more fully if I pay attention then. So I make coffee and sit in silence, a sort of meditation, and a sprinkling of Reiki distant healing that I send out to my tribe around the country. The images and emotions and perceptions that come through are different then, than any other time of my day. I'll often open my journal to write or sketch. All the while I'm mostly looking out the window watching the birds at the feeders nearby, the hummingbirds at their nectar bottles, the light changing on the Sangre de Cristos. then I walk with my yearling pup Rio, either around our land and orchard to check in with the trees and the clouds, or up the road into the wild places. Often my husband and I go fishing early too. The Rio Grande flows just down the road, and that big mama river is always fun to fish or swim or walk along, full of heart rocks too.

Next I check my online shops (I have four) for sales, and write down the orders on a running list I keep on a clipboard next to my desk calendar. Read my email and Facebook. I try to spend no more than an hour doing this morning check-in, otherwise "screen time" devours my day.

Whatever orders I have to fill, I take care of them right away, packaging and labeling and printing postage. Then I continue working on whatever project is in process. One trick I've learned over the years is that when I am working on a piece, I leave a fun part undone the night before, so that I can jump right in with vigor the next morning to keep the ball of energy rolling...otherwise pieces get stuck, unfinished. For example, I left the final embellishment of some silk banners I was working on last night, unfinished, so this morning, I was enthusiastic about finishing them with ribbons, bells, beads. It's the fun part.

I work until I get hungry, then make a meal usually from my greenhouse garden of lettuce and basil and tomatoes. It gets me outside again and into the air. I love hanging laundry outside on my clothesline, so often I'll do that too. I have to mix up my indoor art making with being outside. I have to, or I get antsy. My eyes need to have a long view to rest on, after doing detail painting work or beading or screen time.

It goes on like that through the day until about 6 pm, when I go downstairs to start dinner and watch the sunset.

Namaste Wall Hangings

MBS: What prompted you to sell your work online? How has social networking impacted your sales and visibility as an artist?

PattyMara: I opened my first online shop in early 2008 on Etsy after I read in a magazine that an artist made a piece, listed in her Etsy shop and sold it within 15 minutes. Yikes! I want to do that too, says me. So I did. I had to learn a whole range of new skills including photographing my art and learning the search engine language and tagging/packaging and customer relations. Within a year, I discovered 1000 Markets, and though that site was later sold, it opened up my world to online cooperation and communication and collaboration with hugely talented artists who formed markets together and promoted one another. I learned so many new skills, and continue to this day to correspond and collaborate with many of them. The Mind Body Spirit Marketplace was one of those markets, and it is still alive and well, evolving daily, thanks to your attention Diane.

Social networking has made an enormous impact on my sales and visibility as an artist. And for me, it's all Facebook. I don't get the tweet thing. Facebook has provided me with an online customer base as well as a connection to my California customers who I used to sell to in person. I will often post photographs of a work in progress on Facebook before listing it in my online shops, and often will make a sale just from that first posting. I've gotten wholesale orders from galleries as well. I don't have tons of friends on Facebook, but I add a few a week, steady as she goes, and try to keep from getting immersed in it during my workday. But I do check it from time to time during the day. I don't have a smart phone (no cell service out here in the boonies). Both of my adult children refuse to accept my Facebook friend requests. Oh well. They still call me occasionally (from their iphones).

MBS: That's just too funny... adult children and Facebook! What are you currently working on and what would you like to explore next?

PattyMara: I'm currently working on a shrine for Our Lady of Perpetual Chocolate, for my Pilar Studio Tour this coming weekend. I have always loved the Dark Madonnas, some of them ancient, all of them potent. I wrote a poem prayer to her, and will have copies of it available at the shrine, as well as many nice chocolates in her honor. I've put up an altar for her every year of my studio tour (this is my tenth year: 8 in CA and 2 in NM) but this year I'm making a nicho (a painted wooden shrine in the tradition of the santeros here in New Mexico).

What I will explore next: after the tour, we're going fishing and camping near the San Juan River, where there are "quality trout waters". That's all I want to do after the tour. Then, who knows? With the weather turning crisper, I'll be doing more nunofelting for sure.

MBS: Is there any advice you have for those who wish to (seriously) pursue an artistic path?

PattyMara: Learn all you can, whenever the opportunity presents itself. Take classes, workshops, seminars from other artists. AND, Be self-taught. Find out what sparks your interest and follow the trail as far as it takes you. Make mistakes. Find ways to "save" your mistakes especially if it uses non-conventional methods. Break the rules. Make up new ones, or not. Support other artists that you meet along the way, by buying their art. Collaborate with other artists, even if they live across the country. Make it work (at Tim says). Pay attention to your dreams. And this is especially for women like me, who raised their children while working either at home, or in an occupation that made money to support their family. To all you women wanting to pursue an artistic path after your children are grown: Go for it. Go for broke. You have so many skills, artistic and otherwise that you honed every single day by being a mom. Use them and have a blast doing it. Spread your wings.

~ Great advice! Thank you PattyMara!

You can find PattyMara Gourly's artwork online at Etsy and Zibbet. The article she wrote for The Mind Body Spirit Odyssey about The Day of The Dead can be found here.

Additional interviews from the Mind Body Spirit Artist Series:
Ben Isaiah
Emily Balivet
Laura Milnor Iverson
Joanne Miller Rafferty
Jude McConkey
Atmara Rebecca Cloe
Alison Fennell
Fernanda Gonzalez

Follow our daily updates for the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook

The Sketchbooks

2011-10-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

I was shuffling things around in my studio today and ran across a stack of old sketchbooks. Looking through them was kind of like having coffee with an old friend. Of course it also made me wonder what goes on in my head some days ~

Buddy Fergurson's Tips for a Safe Pet Halloween

2011-10-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last week when Buddy Fergurson and his mom were at the Vet's for Buddy's scheduled dental procedure, they picked up a print-out listing tips to keep your pet safe during the upcoming Halloween holiday. Since Buddy now has his own blog, he thought it would be nice to share what he learned. Of course he had to dress up a little bit first...

~ Opening your doors to trick-or-treaters can increase the chances of your pet running out. Try to keep an eye on their whereabouts at all times. If feasible, keep cats in a secure area or closed room when opening doors. Try to designate a secure and safe area of your pet's safety.

~ Pets are naturally curious and candles should be used with caution. Pets may be attracted to the bright light of the flame in dark areas. Dogs and cats could either burn themselves by the flame and/or knock the candle over, starting a fire.

~ Candy or gum sweetened with Xylitol is toxic and should always be kept away from your pet.

~ All forms of chocolate can be harmful to your pet, potentially resulting in poisoning or severe pancreatic or gastrointestinal upset.

~ Keep candy well-sealed and out of the reach of pets.

~ Place all festive decorations out of the reach of pets. Refrain from using small or low hanging items that could possibly appeal to pets. Ingestion could cause choking or even result in the need for surgery.

~ If you dress your pets for Halloween, make sure the outfit is roomy, reflective and fire retardant.

If you think your pet may have ingested anything toxic or has been injured, please contact your Vet or Poison Control ( 888-426-4435) immediately.

You can follow rescue pet Buddy Fergurson and his friends on his blog:
What Would Buddy Say?

New Eyeglass Necklace Designs for the Holidays

2011-10-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

The Holidays are just around the corner and I've been busy coming up with new Eyeglass Necklace designs. Always a best seller, they make a great gift for mothers, grandmother, aunts, co-workers...and anyone else you happen to know who have to take their reading glasses on and off all the time. Shopkeepers and Gallery workers find them particularly useful too! To use the necklace to hold your glasses, just slip the arm of the glasses through the bottom loop. Your glasses will stay there, safe and secure.

A much more attractive option to the usual lariat style glasses holder, these necklaces are designed from beautiful vintage filigree and vintage glass. When it is not being used to hold your glasses, it can also be worn as a regular piece of jewelry.

Available to anyone through my shops on Etsy and Artfire at a great wholesale price!

The Creative Vision of Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

Blessings to Steve Jobs on his transition, and for giving mankind such amazing tools for advancement during our lifetime. Let's hope humanity continues to use them in the positive way that they were intended. In 20 years it will be interesting to look back at our individual and collective choices, creativity, actions and behavior. What will we have done with what he left us? Let's hope it's something great!

The photo above was taken in the Louvre; Paris, France September 14, 2011. The Apple Store juxtaposed against the inverted Pyramid in the basement of the building. A great work of art? ...yes, Apple definitely belongs in the Louvre and Steve Jobs in the art history books.

~ diane fergurson

Follow the daily updates for the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook .

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Fernanda Gonzalez

2011-09-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

A love of spirit, nature and travel! A belief in angels, fairies and magic! An underlying faith in the essential goodness of humanity and it's ability to heal. These are just a few of the things that interconnect and combine to create the vibrant, uplifting and spiritually infused artwork of Fernanda Gonzalez. I really enjoyed my interview with Fena, learning her insights on art and healing. I hope you will find her art and words as inspirational and enchanting as I did!
~ diane fergurson

Today I Know There Isn't Anything Impossible

MBS: Can you tell us a little about your background? How did you get started in art?

Fena: I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and from the time I was a toddler I was already engaging in creative pursuits getting into my dad's paints and according to him giving him very honest critiques of his own artwork. I remember at that young age being fascinated by anything that involved craftmaking and loving TV shows where they showed the audience how to paint. I have loved art for as long as I can remember. When I came to the United States at 9, art was my language, my tool of communication. I couldn't speak English, but I could color and paint, and it was my way of emotionally connecting to others and of making this challenging transition a more comfortable one. Art was the thread that weaved these transitions of my life together, and created for me a quasi like safety blanket that cushioned and protected me from the stress of adapting to a foreign land, a new life. I would spend hours in my dreamland painting the afternoons away. Fortunately my parents and my Nana were amazing, always nurturing and celebrating my artmaking, and even supporting my decision to turn it into a professional pursuit when I decided to attend Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

It was my high school art teacher, Mr. Bartman who really allowed me to see that artmaking as a profession was something that was possible. Looking back, I realized that he has been the teacher that has had the most impact on my life. For not only did he teach me about art history and technique, but most importantly, he ignited my creativity to new heights, believing in me unconditionally, showing me how to be disciplined and how to always see the world in a new light. It was as a result of his passion that I was able to be quite prolific at that time, producing enough inspired work to not only have my first solo exhibit at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington by the time I was eighteen, but to also win my first big award given by then Vice President Al Gore. That was the beginning of my art journey which today continues to wind and shift, transforming and teaching me a bit every day.

I Spread My Wings

MBS: How did going to art school and studying painting impact your work?

Fena: In high school, my paintings were primarily oil based with a completely figurative focus. When I got to art school, I was exposed to a whole new world of materials and techniques as well as amazing teachers who pushed the boundary and definition of what painting was. My work became very much abstract and I started to play with lots of different materials including plaster, acrylics, wax, all kinds of papers, beads, sequins, even candy and coffee among many other things. Anything and everything became a potential art material to explore and engage in my work. It was incredibly exciting to discover new mediums. I started exploring sculpture, and paper making. And because I was studying with so many creative people from all cultural and artistic backgrounds, I was also challenged to see in new ways, to alter my definitions of creativity, to go beyond the white canvas, the brushes, and see the interconnected of art in all things, in all of life. My work transformed completely and the art making process shifted for me, becoming less clear and linear as I integrated many new ideas and tried to make peace with apparent chaos and ambiguity. To this day my work has remnants of this time in my life. My passion for collage, for bringing into my work different materials found and created, still remains. My work has sure grown and changed, but some motifs from that time still prevail in my work, particularly the white dots. They are like stitches in a crazy quilt tying all of these different phases of my artistic life together into one cohesive form.

Strength

MBS: You mentioned that your work now has a less linear quality to it now. I'd like to explore
that a little with you, because often artists find that "loosening up" in their work does not come easily to them. Do you feel that this may have developed as your knowledge base about different materials
expanded or was it more to do with your artistic growth and personality evolving?

Fena: I think that the exploration of new materials certainly changed the way I worked. My creative process transformed, and my paintings certainly changed as a result. For instance, in high school, I think of my process as linear because I remember being able to have an image in my mind of what I wanted to create, and just needing a simple sketch to execute the final work. Not that the end result matched my original vision, but I stayed quite true to the original sketch. Yes, there were shifts and changes in the drawing, an element of surprise, an uncertainty in the way the colors played and the way the painting unfolded. The work still had a life all of its own, but it was more contained and predictable. Today, because I no longer work in oils, but rather incorporate a myriad of materials, the painting which is more of a collage takes me on a journey that is a lot less predictable. I no longer have a clue of what the artwork will look like in the end for there are so many layers, shifts, possibilities. There is now more an element of chaos, a deeper unknown. The work takes me on a journey that is much more layered, and profound. I don't feel it is necessarily a loosening up, as it is a going into deeper recesses and nooks that I never even knew existed.

MBS: Currently what are some of your favorite materials that you work with?

Fena: The body of work I am working on these days incorporates a variety of materials. My favorites to work with are all kinds of decorative fabrics and papers including origami, candy wrapper, doilies, patterned tissue paper among others. I also love working with photo images that I have taken over the years or vintage ones that I have collected over time. And of course, acrylic gel mediums. Those are my top favorite materials at the moment.

Le jardin

MBS: How does spirituality play a role in your artwork and for you as an artist?

Fena: Spirituality is an intrinsic part of my work. The creative process for me is an spiritual experience in and of itself in that to me creativity requires courage, faith, and trust in the unknown. In my personal experience, there is a letting go, a surrendering that must occur in order for creation to happen. It is no longer about me wanting to create something, but rather about something wanting to be born through me. So it entails getting out of my own way, of my own judgements of what the artwork "should" look like or how long it "should" take. It is making peace with the fact that it is not for me to know that or control that, but rather to allow the piece to unfold and grow in its own perfect way and time. Acceptance is necessary, as is unconditional love. Embracing the beautiful parts and the ones that my limited self finds not so pleasing is part of my creative process. In terms of the context itself, each of my artworks narrates a story providing little messages, reflections on life. The most recent ones are titled and inspired by my own writings or quotes that find me, which affirm what I may be experiencing at a particular moment. All of my art pieces are imbued with uplifting messages, with Reiki, and with lots and lots of love. They come forth from my connection with spirit, with angels, with animal guides. It my co-creation with them as we converse, dance, play, cry together and laugh.

I Give You My Light

MBS: Besides conveying spirituality in their pieces, some artists feel that their artwork can also be used as a tool for healing. Do you have any thoughts about that?

Fena: Yes, I absolutely find art to be a great tool for healing. I believe everything has a vibration and I find that art in all its forms can access places within one's psyche that may not be possible through other means. In my own personal work, before I even begin a piece, I am already consciously setting the intention to be a pure channel of spirit. My affirmation is that my work may support and uplift others which is healing in and of itself. There is a conscious choice in the intention I set, in the words and messages I ingrain my paintings with. I consciously choose to create from a place of love, of connecting to spirit, to the angelic realm, and in doing so, I am bringing forth that energy. Words, color, intention, scents, sounds, everything in our world has a vibration. And by that I mean, there is power in the way that each of these can transform and affect our consciousness, our body, our whole being whether it be to calm us or energize us, to uplift or negate us, to awaken our fear or our love. In this way I find that art is healing. It can access places that have been locked up within, and in doing so, open our hearts.

MBS: Your work is so vibrant...full of color and life! How has your cultural heritage or even where you live (Miami) influenced your work?

Fena: My work has actually always been very colorful and vibrant. The Venezuelan landscape growing up really influenced my color palette. There was always that nostalgia for the tropics specially during those long Washington and Boston winters. Perhaps it was a way to carry the joy and luminosity of the sun with me despite the weather. I just moved to Miami late last year. My studio is bright, full of sunlight. The work is still colorful, but I have started to notice that I have incorporated colors that tend to the darker side, perhaps my way of balancing so much light.

Tengo Fe I Have Faith

MBS: What is a typical work day like for you?

Fena: My schedule varies a bit each day. But usually I wake up, enjoy my sacred cappuccino ritual, from the smell of the coffee, to the sound my Italian coffee maker makes when it announces that it is ready, to my first sip. It centers me and sets the start to my day. I then look at any messages I need to respond to, do some administrative work and up keeping in regards to my Etsy store or wholesale orders of my prints and cards, and then continue the creative work. It really varies each day a bit, but it always all begins with my cup of cappuccino. Then when I am working on a canvas which is usually later in the day, and not every day, I first have a variety of images that i want to work with, print them out, and start to collage before beginning the process of painting. I can work through the afternoon and into the night. It really depends on how my creative juices are flowing.... And then of course, in between, when it feels right, I head for a walk on the beach and meditate.

MBS: I see that you are currently selling your work online at Etsy. Where else can people
find you and your artwork?

Fena: I just recently started doing wholesale on my line of cards. So along with Etsy, my artwork can be found in stores in Miami, Fl. Right now my line of cards is being offered by Books and Books in Bal Harbor, JPaper in Bay Harbor, and Celestial Awakenings in Coconut Grove. Next month they will be in additional stores including other Books and Books stores and Unity Church. People can also learn more about my original artwork and reproductions by contacting me directly on my Facebook page under FenaArts.

Live Fearlessly

MBS: What prompted you to sell online, and how has social networking worked as a tool towards your increased visibility and sales?

Fena: For a long time I had heard about Etsy and Ebay, and how it really worked well for some people. I hadn't really jumped on the bandwagon because at the time I didn't have an awareness of social media or the importance of networking through this form. I also only had my original artwork which I didn't think was necessarily a good fit because of the price point and frankly because I didn't think that someone would be interested in buying an original piece over the Internet. My shop on Etsy happened as a result of starting to make high quality archival reproductions of my work specifically prints and greeting cards. I thought this would be a great way to connect to other sellers and buyers around the world and to receive feedback as well as collaborate with others. I have met some wonderful people along the way through both Etsy, Facebook, and the Angel Therapy Board, which is my group of colleagues from around the world with whom I studied Doreen Virtue's Angel Therapy course with. They in particular have been incredibly supportive and have introduced my work to their friends. It has been a wonderful way to make friends and to connect to people in other countries who may have never gotten to know my work otherwise.

MBS: What are you currently working on and what would you like to explore next?

Fena: Currently I am working on a series of mixed media paintings that is inspired by quotes and channeled messages. It was sparked by my recent work. The new pieces have the actual quotes incorporated in them. They are the foundation for a project I have had in mind for some time: a series of channeled cards, similar to an oracle or affirmation deck utilizing my artwork and my own messages received in meditation. I have also started a prototype for an art book with images of my paintings and uplifting messages. As well as individual channeled message pieces for clients which incorporate not only the messages I receive for them when connecting to the angelic realm but also healing images and colors to support them.

MBS: Is there any advice you have for those who wish to (seriously) pursue an artistic path?

Fena:

My advice for those who wish to embark on an artistic path is to ask themselves whether it is something that they truly love and having said yes, simply enjoy and embrace the journey. So many times we get in our own way with our judgements and questions, the how's, if onlys and shoulds. The artistic path in my opinion entails joy, passion, innocence, dedication, a complete connectedness to spirit, as well as a total surrender to the creative process. If one has that, one has everything to embark on the artistic path. When one is so connected to spirit so that one cannot be affected by our own ego's or other people's opinions of our path and of our choices, one is then free to create work that is not only genuine, but that arises from a deep place within which transcends human form and which serves others. Having created the work, we then need to share it with the world. The practical aspects vary for each individual. But then again that falls into the how which is something that unfolds along the way. If and when I do get in my own way, I love to remind myself of what really matters with this Martha Graham quote which I think might help others too: "There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open."

Thank you Fena!

You can contact Fena at: mfena@yahoo.com
You can also find her work on Etsy.

Follow our daily updates for the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace on Facebook

Additional interviews from the Mind Body Spirit Artist Series:
Ben Isaiah
Emily Balivet
Laura Milnor Iverson
Joanne Miller Rafferty
Jude McConkey
Atmara Rebecca Cloe
Alison Fennell

The Gossipers

2011-09-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

I know these women. Do you know these women? I've met them and seen them in more places then I can list. They are in every city, every town. Even on my block. Change their shape and size, but they're all the same. 'Les chuchoteres' - the gossipers. These three particular ladies can be found holding court on rue Saint-Paul in Old Montreal. Their stunning bronze statue is by Quebec artist Rose Aimee Belanger.

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Ben Isaiah

2011-08-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

I first met Ben Isaiah around 5 or 6 years ago. He was standing in my kitchen early one Sunday morning with my son Adam, whom he had accompanied home from Art School for the weekend. I was immediately enchanted and intrigued with this artist, listening to tales about his background, travels and some ideas he was perusing in his work. Time passed, I lost track of Ben for several years until one day my son forwarded me photos of some metal jewelry that Ben had been working on. I was just completely blown away. I forwarded those photos to another artist friend of mine to see. Her reaction: "Adam's friend Ben....all I can say is WOW." Wow is right, and I think the art world will be hearing quite a bit about Ben Isaiah and his work for years to come.
~ diane fergurson

MBS: Can you tell us a little bit about your background? How you got started in art?

Ben: I've always been blessed with the ability to just see I guess. I would say its the sense that I am most attuned to. My vision was sharp when I was a child, I could spot a lizard or moth on whatever it was camouflaged against. While my parents weren't artists my mother always used to have modeling clay or paints and crayons around and from a young age I took pride I'm how well I could depict the world around me. I'll never forget winning an award in the school art show when I was in 4th grade for a watercolor blue bird painting I did. That might have been the moment I decided that I, wanted to be an artist. I'd paint or draw anything anytime. But there was a mechanical inclination when I was young too, driving my younger brother and I to buy anything we possibly could from yard sales with my mother, from hairdryers to televisions, and tear them to pieces. We were trying to build "machines" we called them. This urge to build things was satisfied with toys like Legos and our unfortunate yard sale finds was not satisfied in my artwork really until I started making metal sculpture with Douglas S. Salmon around the age of 16. I went to school with his son Perry and lived just down the road from them in Lavale, MD. I'd always be over there playing video games and Doug knew I was into art and one day he made me make a sculpture with him. There was something about the hot steel and the metal melting that really intrigued me. So much so that I pursued a degree in the field of metalsmithing.

MBS: I think that many artists may have an elevated ability to "see", but not necessarily to see and visualize in dimension. What is it about working with sculpture in 3D that is so appealing to you?

Ben: I was weary at first. I had become very comfortable with the flat two dimensional canvas that had started to feel like home. I was most challenged by the fact that 3D art can be viewed from any direction, and thus you have to think about an object remaining attractive from whichever angle you view it. It was easy for me to draw the right lines, converging to make the right shapes and play them on paper. Creating the object though, and walking around it making minor adjustments until it was just right tested me every time anew. I then discovered that I was actually quite efficient at forging and forming these objects in space slightly more so even than I was at creating the illusion of a similar object on paper.

MBS: Where did you study art?

Ben: About the where I studied... well, I really couldn't make up my mind. My family had always moved every couple of years as I was growing up so it almost felt kind of natural to keep switching up where it was that I was living and attending school. I started in Maryland for one year at Frostburg State University for my foundation work and studied metal under the instruction of Douglas S. Salmon with whom I now work and assist in teaching the next generation of aspiring metalsmiths. I decided then to pursue my schooling at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia for Sculpture which lasted for another year before I transferred again to where my family now lived in Phoenix, Arizona where I began in the Metals Program at Arizona State University, where I did finally stick to it and graduate.

MBS: Sculptors sculpt using all kinds of different materials, but metalsmithing really has become your area of expertise. What kinds of metals do you enjoy working with and what processes do you find particularly intriguing?

Ben: Currently I mainly work with nonferrous metals. Bronze, copper, and silver, minus any occasional, unpredictable bouts of blacksmithing with iron. While banging out hot bars of steel is a good stress reliever, I prefer to focus on the smaller more detailed aspects of metalworking. As of late my favorite process is filigree, where two wires are twisted tightly together, rolled flat, annealed, arranged in a pattern within a framework, and then soldered into place. This process is ancient dating back more than 5000 years and when you do it right you can definitely see why we've kept it around for so long. With its minute raised bumps on the wire's edge, when polished produces a stunning effect which has captivated me for a couple years and I incorporate it into many of my projects.

MBS: Your pieces really do harken back to an ancient time and era, and I know you've been working with this particular filigree process for a while now. What is the process called and what cultures or civilizations utilized it? Also, was it used primarily for adornment/jewelry or for other things too?

Ben: Yes ancient is right! It is originally attributed to the ancient Etruscan culture. And within a few centuries it had spread throughout Asia, Europe and the middle east. And practically it made sense for them. Many ancient metalworking techniques built the metal up soldering wore forms together instead of carving or engraving from sheet, as it was much easier at the time. However the Etruscans weren't the only ones producing intricate jewelry in ancient times as you may know. The Egyptian artisans perfected magnificent cloisonne enamel inlaid into royal Pharaonic jewelry and early Asian casting techniques produced some of the most marvelous religious iconic statuary sculptures of their time. And I've always really felt a connection to these ancient artists...

MBS: You have an Egyptian heritage, so I'm sure that there really is a definite, intense connection between you and those particular periods of time. When you traveled back to visit Egypt recently, how did that impact your work?

Ben: I definitely rejuvenated my passion for Sculpture and Metalworking after my trips there. From the great pyramids and the Sphinx in their massive glory to all gold and glass work of the burial Jewelry and masks in the National Museum in Cairo. It baffled me that these craftsfolk could produce such stunning pieces with the level of technology they had available at the time. No torches with pressurized gases or kilns with exact temperature programs and settings. Its just amazing!

MBS: What is a typical work day for you?

Ben: My regular work day is fairly enjoyable. My current main outlet for my work is in Grantsville, MD at Spruce Forest Artisan Village. So when I'm not cranking out new pieces for our displays or out doing a craft show for the weekend, I'm talking to one of our many visitors about the processes, materials, or techniques used in creating the work.

MBS: Is your work available online? Do you sell and exhibit at art or craft shows, or Galleries?

Ben: I had set up a PayPal business account so that I could sell my things on my website but have recently removed those widgets because of the steep cut taken by PayPal if you actually want the money from the sale in your account. I now use Go Payment by Intuit when I am out doing craft shows or accepting cards at the Spruce Forest shop which is mainly where I do business these days. I still also have some work consigned at Square Peg Artery & Salvage in Center City Philadelphia. But my favorite is definitely going out and doing craft shows, getting to travel and meet new and interesting people, and it really pays off when you do have a great show, not to mention more exposure than you would get staying put.

MBS: What are you currently working on and what would you like to explore next?

Ben: As of late I have been working on some larger scale pieced for adornment of the chest, most of which contain geode slices, and play off the internal crystalline structure of the stones. But as far as where I am going to go next I never really can tell. I really prefer not to produce a production line of work. Its far more interesting to me working if I am constantly making new unique one of a kind objects. In addition to that I've also applied to some MFA programs and I'm waiting to hear back.

MBS: Is there any advice you have for those who wish to (seriously) pursue an artistic path?

Ben: For advice concerning those looking for a lifetime in art, test how passionate you are about your artistic endeavors by working everyday. This is very important, you must stay sharp because its not always easy to create really good art ...but if you don't practice your chances just lower and lower. Look around you work other artists for support and also their criticisms. Work hard and never stop.

Thank you Ben!

If you'd like to contact Ben Isaiah or find out more about his artwork you can visit his website: http://www.benisaiah.com/

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Additional interviews from the Artist Series:
Emily Balivet
Laura Milnor Iverson
Joanne Miller Rafferty
Jude McConkey
Atmara Rebecca Cloe
Alison Fennell

Carrots: Do You Know What You Are Eating?

2011-08-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this article for my other blog, The Mind Body Spirit Odyssey a few months ago, and when it was published it created quite a commotion with our readers. The other day I was at the Farmer's Market in the town where I live and, among vegetables I purchased, were some fresh, just pulled carrots. The taste and quality of the carrots was just jaw dropping compared to what is available in the grocery store. They aren't even quite that fresh at Whole Foods. Anyway, the carrots reminded me of this article so I thought I would re-post it. Just remember, be careful what you eat and eat as fresh as you can. It really does make a difference in your health.

I'll admit I never gave a second thought to a baby carrot until I read about them in the latest magazine issue of Mary Jane's Farm. Then I just wanted to gag. Sure, they are cute. And yes, I always thought that they were a good alternative to giving kids chips for lunch. The grocery stores where I live out East have multitudes of them. Organic, non organic. And who among us has not munched on them for a "healthy" snack or at the appetizer table?

Baby carrots are not actually "baby" carrots at all. They are cut down from regular full-grown carrots that have been rejected for size and deformities. The are not as nutritional as regular carrots because, as we all know, most of the nutritional value of a carrot comes from the skin and the area around it...which is peeled away on a baby carrot.

Since these baby carrots are pre-peeled, they are then soaked in a chlorine solution to kill the bacteria and help preserve that lovely right orange color (that never seems to change, if you stop and think about it).
Unfortunately, this is a standard practice even for organic carrots.

Watch what you are buying. Read the labels closely and look for "true" organic carrots, those that are grown and harvested as babies. Better yet, spend and extra 5 minutes in the morning and cut them up yourself for your kid's lunch. It's less expensive that way too.

This is just another small way to "go green" folks, and improve the quality of your diet as well.

~ diane fergurson

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Fishes Eddy On A Sunday Afternoon

2011-08-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't enjoy an afternoon going through all the cool kitchen items at Fishes Eddy in New York? A lot of us remember when the store use to just carry buy outs and discontinued runs on odd restaurant dishes and kitchen goods. Twenty five years later the store has managed to expand with the times, while managing to keep it's vintage, edgy, kitschy vibe fresh and fun. Fishes Eddy is located at 2176 Broadway in New York. There is also a store in Jersey City, NJ and you can shop in their online store. Make sure to check out the line of dishes and serving pieces that Todd Oldman and Charley Harper designed for the store, which I couldn't pass it up!

Artist Marc Quinn's "The Road To Enlightenment" in Montreal

2011-08-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've had the pleasure of visiting the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Beaux-Arts de Montreal) quite a few times, and invariably the one sculpture that always captures my complete attention is "The Road To Enlightenment" by British Sculptor Marc Quinn. It's not just the startling appearance of the enunciated figure that draws the viewer in, but also how the sculpture radiates a complete sense of peace and calm. The Road to Enlightenment is a really good study in juxtaposition.

The Road to Enlightenment was one in a series of bronze sculptures that was originally created as part of the series, "Sphinx", that premiered at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York in 1997. If the figure in the piece looks familiar, it's supermodel Kate Moss. Quinn often depicted the images of real, recognizable people his sculptures. He was interested in using their images to help him convey various ideas and emotions that he wanted to explore.

Coincidentally, a few months ago, I ran across another an image of Kate Moss enshrined in a hologram at the Alexander McQueen Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Seeing her image used by two different artists, in two different exhibits, within a few months time was pretty interesting. And reflecting back on Moss as a central figure in fashion almost 15 years later, I think the general public tends to forget the muse she played for so many important artists and designers.

As with all artwork, the Quinn sculpture leaves itself open to a number of different interpretations depending on the viewer. I wanted more information about the piece and after some research found an interview that Quinn had given Jason Shulman in 2009. He discussed some of his ideas and how they worked their way into this particular series. Copied below is an small excerpt from Quinn's interview which pertains specifically to "The Road to Enlightenment".

"JS: Your sculptures often depict real people, such as Kate Moss, Alison Lapper, Thomas Beatie, your wife, your son and so on. Do you want to depict the subjects as they really are, or do they symbolize an abstract idea?

MQ: Is is not only Kate Moss who is a real person and an image, everyone has both qualities as well. Although they may not be articulated in a public way, in a sense my job is to find people who can represent ideas and emotions which can make sense in my art, and be themselves and somehow refract something about the world as I see it.... So they are about both, and people are both the real and conceptual representation, it depends on the person, how far away from the real person the image is. For instance, in the case of Kate Moss, the image I would say has a completely autonomous and complex life.

JS: So Siren is a continuation of this idea of mapping people and their images?

MQ: Yes, the continuation and the extreme.........

JS: You made a series of sculptures of Kate Moss in the past few years which seem to culminate in Siren.

MQ: Yes I suppose because you had this image which could be anything at all, which moulded by our collective device, and yet moulds us too. It's very interesting to explore it properly.....
.... In The Golden Road to Enlightenment you have the other ascetic extreme where the body is withering but the face is unchanging, that idea that people live in the fourth dimension of time, where images are out of time. In the Buddha life story there is a part where the Buddha to be joins a group of Ascetics and renounces food to the point almost of death but then rejects this as a road to enlightenment and chooses the middle way.
My sculpture is based on a fabulous Gandharan period sculpture of the same subject in the Lahore Museum, however in a modern, fucked up sort of way, that ascetic impulse has been corrupted into the idea of being thin and extreme anorexia, which is an addiction to control really and of course our bodies and lives are really out of our control. In that way we can't stop time, we have to roll with it".

If you would like more information about artist Mark Quinn and his work you can visit his website.
And if you are ever visiting Montreal please visit their wonderful art museums. They are well worth a few hours of your time.

~ diane fergurson

Article "link"

You might also enjoy:
Beaux-Arts de Montreal and the Folkert de Jong Sculpture

Garden of Dreams

2011-07-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

           "In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.
                                    My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts
                                          and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the
                                          flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful".
                                                                                 ~ Abraham L. Urban

Infused Liquor For Summer Entertaining and Gifts!

2011-07-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Back in May I was looking through an issue of Bon Appetite Magazine and noticed an article titled "Infuse your Booze. 5 Easy Steps to Better Flavored Vodka". It immediately grabbed my attention for several reasons. From a marketing standpoint, I've really been amazed at how flavored vodka has developed into such a large growth industry over the last few years. Here, in this article, was a simple way to make it yourself..but..using all natural, fresh ingredients.

Another reason the article caught my eye was that the photo was very inviting. The fruit packed in the jars looked so attractive, it was actually something I "wanted" to make. Also, after I thought about it even more, what a really great little gift this would make!

The article also appealed to me because as a child I remember sitting and watching my Italian relatives making their version of liquor infused fruit. Needless to say- it brought back some nice, and fun, family memories. After reading the article I promised myself that I would definitely experiment with some of these "infused booze" treasures over the summer.

I managed to keep my promise and over the next few months I tried infusing vodka with strawberries and also raspberries. I also cut up a fresh pineapple and infused it with rum. Blackberries with vodka was another successful combination.

This recipe idea turned out so nice, I ended up making quite a few jars of the infused liquor and taking them as hostess gifts this summer to various parties and dinners we attended. They were always greeted with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a big smile! They were also a welcomed change from the usual bottle of wine.

When I made the infused liquor as gifts, I purchased the small decorative glass jars from a local discount shop. Washed them, and packed the raw fruit inside the jar. I then poured the liquor into the jar until the fruit was covered up, put the lid on and then tied a nice bow around it. I also attached a copy of the original article from Bon Appetite.

The article provided further instructions to place the jar in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 weeks to infuse the liquor. When it is ready, pour off the finished liquor, discard the fruit, and store it back in the refrigerator. It keeps indefinitely. The article also gives some good tips for additional tasty fruit-liquor combinations to try.

You can use this infused liquor in any drink recipe, in place of a purchased flavored vodka, rum or whatever. It's also great served with seltzer over ice. My favorite combination is to mix the strawberry berry vodka with lemonade and seltzer, slicing some fresh strawberries in as garnish. However you decide to use it, experiment, be creative and have some fun. Enjoy the rest of your summer!
~ diane fergurson

Mind Body Spirit Artist Interview with Alison Fennell

2011-07-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Chances are, you will find yourself with a very wide smile while viewing the delightful watercolor illustrations by Welsh Artist Alison Fennell. We are quite happy that this internationally known, very accomplished, magical illustrator agreed to spend some time discussing her work with the Mind Body Spirit Odyssey. Thank you Alison!
~ diane fergurson

MBS: Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in art?

Alison: I come from a family of miners and shopkeepers in the Welsh Valleys and I was born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1966.

My grandfather began to paint when he retired and I can remember the smell of oils in his sunny front room where he painted. I did art at school but didn't re-kindle my interest in it until after I left University with a French degree and worked in tourism in France and then in administration for a local builder. I saw an art exhibition locally in 1994 and the artist was there. I asked if he did classes and he did so I signed up. That was the start and his name was Arnold Lowrey.

MBS: What kind of an artist was Arnold Lowrey? What was it about his work that touched and inspired you to want to explore being an artist?

Royal Lion

Alison:
Arnold Lowrey is a Welsh painter predominantly known for his spontaneous and emotive watercolours, although he also paints in pastel, acrylics and oils. What appealed to me about his work was the explosive and fluid way in which he painted. He worked wet into wet which is superbly suited to watercolor and produces very daring and expressive effects. This is what attracted me to it. I didn't want to be painting fussy, stilted paintings with a slower medium as I considered oils to be. Arnold lit the fire for me and from the first weekend watercolor for beginners workshop I took with him in 1994 I was hooked!

MBS: It sounds like he was a very important influence on you. Looking back, what are some of the things you learned from him that have carried over in your work and philosophy today?

Alison: To use tube as opposed to pan paint. Tube paint is moist and easy to get onto your brush making stronger impressions than pan paint which is hard to load onto your brushes. Use the best quality materials you can - ie use Artist's quality as opposed to students quality otherwise you are working against your tools and materials. He also showed me how to lift paint out with a damp brush. This is super useful for creating the illusion of soft water ripples in waterscapes and seascapes. He also used the flat end of a brushes handle to scraped away paint in sharp lines to create realistic branches and twigs with verve!
Arnold was very emotive and you can feel that in his work - if you aren't passionate about what you paint there is no real point to painting is there?

MBS: Fast forwarding...how did your career unfold from the time you were studying with Lowrey until present day, as a professional illustrator? How did that develop?

Alison: I got lucky by being published by a major UK greeting card and poster publisher called Beechwood Publications Ltd. I had spent a year sending off my artwork designs to UK greeting card publishers and had bagged 13 rejection letters before receiving a phone call one November 1997 morning. It was Beechwood and they invited me to bring my portfolio up to London to show them. From that my work was then available in major card shops in the UK. It boosted my confidence no end. Then in 2001 the Royal Cambrian Academy in Wales selected 2 of my originals for their annual show and the selection panel was headed by the late Sir Kyffin Williams (R.A. (Royal Academy member) so this was a major achievement for me.

Last year I collaborated with an American poet Marnie Jones - to have our very first children's illustrated poetry book published. Marnie wrote and I painted and the book is called "In the Morning". It is now available in several Public Library systems in South Wales and has sold internationally in small numbers so far. At present we are searching for a publisher to take it for us and we plan a sequel called "In the Evening" in 2011.

MBS: So you went right from learning to paint to submitting them directly to card companies? Did
you do any shows, sell or have exhibits before then?

Alison: I painted for about a year before doing that and I did exhibit at the South Wales Art Society and the Makers Gallery in Cardiff where I had a tiny show - which was fun:)

MBS: Animals feature so predominantly in your work (that I have seen). Did you always paint animals from the beginning?

Alison: I only started painting animals in May 2010. Before that I was mad on flowers for years and landscapes too. I loved the intensity of florals - the opportunities for drama in the colors of petals and leaves was intoxicating for me. For many years I had lots of people and colleagues ask me for floral paintings and as I enjoyed doing them. I built up quite a body of work and then had another exhibition in Cardiff which sold very well.

MBS: Do you work in a particular format? A specific size...large, small...or does it depend on the project? Also, any favorite materials..paints, paper etc?

Seagull

Alison: Yes - right now I only work in 8x10inch format as frames for this size are readily and cheaply available from popular shops - so framing is easy for people.
My favourite paper is Fabriano Artictico 100% cotton rag paper in 90lbs weight. It is hot pressed and super smooth showing up all my brush strokes and allowing expressive granulations and runs to show which I love.
I use tube paint, always have and always will I guess. My fave makers are Winsor Newton, Sennelier, Rembrandt and Schminke.

MBS: In addition to your work as an artist I also see that you also have a background in Reiki and Reflexology. What is the connection between spirituality, your artwork, and the natural world?

Alison: Since learning to practice Reiki and gaining my 1st and 2nd degrees in it I have treated myself, friends, family, animals and plants. I see that every living thing is driven by the universal life force or ki/Chi. In animals eyes I see that they are sentient beings and should be considered as such. I hope for faster progression in the changing of the human mindset to respect and care for animals at a higher level. This is why I gain great joy from painting animals and more specifically using my art sales to fund animal charities and rescues and their work. They increase awareness of their needs and rights as well as save animals.

MBS: Can you tell us a little more about your artwork and connected charity work?

Alison: Essentially I feel an excited urge to capture the essence of what I see in a subject - be it an animal, flower, cityscape or a face. It is that thrill of creating how I feel about the subject on papaer that is what art is for me. I suppose it is all about how much love I feel for a subject - yes - even buildings can be loveable!

In my charity work I could paint for every animal that is currently suffering at the hands of humans. I have lots of energy for this and feel empowered that through my eye and brush I can help put funds into the coffers of charities all over the world. I also hope that through seeing my painting of say a bee or a fox that people may see more and more how beautiful and integral all animals are in our world and not just things apart that live out there somewhere.

Moon Bear Prince

Question 8: Is there any charity in particular that you are affiliate with?

Allison: Yes - I am currently working in collaboration with Animals Asia Moon Bear Rescue . I have chosen them because I don't think I have ever seen such cruelty in the way these bears are kept in cages and in tortuous conditions for up to 30 years. It is an unimaginabley horrible industry.

MBS: I know many artists who are very hesitant about selling their work online. You sell very actively on Etsy. Are you on other selling sites are well? How has selling online worked out for you as an artist? Any advice you can give to other artists who are thinking about selling their work this way?

Alison: I am also on Folksy, Misi and Dawanda. It has been the best thing for me as an artist. You have a shop that has global exposure open 24/7. No need to go knocking gallery doors and asking them to show your work and them have a 33% plus cute worof it too. I would strongly recommend internet selling. I place a copyright symbol across my work too as this prevents the riskrof anyone taking your work and claiming it is their own. As I sell my work unmatted and unframed shipping is very reasonable and easy to do.

MBS: What is a typical work day for you? Do you keep "hours" and go to work painting like a 9-5 job or are you less scheduled about it?

Alison: My typical day starts at around 7:30 am when I get up, have breakfast, get showered and dressed and the check all emails and Etsy. I respond immediately to thank any one who has bought from me. That is the first thing I do and never delay it.

Then I paint until about 10:30 am and have a break for tea and toast. I check emails and social networks and sales again and either paint or blog or make my handmade cards etc until 12:30ish. After lunch I usually I have a little hour sleep as painting is mentally demanding as is all the social networking that I do as part of my business. Then I prepare packages that need to get to the post office before 3:30 pm and take them down the road to my local branch. Packing everything takes such a long time because I like to do it very well with lots of fuss and prettiness. I create the best parcel I can with extra things in as I imagine how the person is going to feel when they get it. I want them to have fun unwrapping and enjoy the contents !

After that I take the dog out for a walk. Dotty is my Jack Russel and I love her. We walk around the village for about 40 minutes and when I come back it's time for tea and biscuits again. Then I paint until 6:00 pm. Usually working on new images or commissions. Also I pre-cut watercolor paper and printer paper down to my sizes. I buy them large in bulk to save money and so cut them all myself. After I have had my evening meal I do some errands around the house and watch the news then its back to work for a while - doing paperwork like tax /accounts and records etc.

Then another walk for the dog for 30 minutes. Then I paint all evening until about 9pm. I like the evening painting session as I know I don't have to go out again and the household is usually quieter! I live with my parents at present and my sister plus her 3 sons live opposite so in amongst my working day all sorts of things happen and phone calls come and a variety of interruptions occur. Sometimes I get fed up with the phone going but over all I love working at home as I can rest when I want or go out the back garden and look at my mother's flowers or chat to her etc. It is a great set -up.

The only thing that is a problem is space. I have a tiny room in which my whole life is based. My studio space is less than 3feet square! I have recently fixed up a makeshift shelf and bought lots of translucent letter trays in which to stash work and reference images as it gets very messy and I lose things in the piles.

MBS: Has there been any major crisis point(s) in your life and how have they impacted on how your life is heading today?

Alison: As I mentioned above, I am currently living at home with my parents. That's because in 2008 I was diagnosed with a life-threatening inner ear tumor. I lost my house, my job and my partner (we split up) all in 3 months. It was a complete closing down of my life as I had known it but didn't know then that it was the biggest break in disguise. I took 2 years to recover from the 12 hours of neurosurgery I had. The tumor was benign and so far no signs of it ever coming back. I was partially paralyzed but with time everything has come back. My parents looked after me. During my convalescence and obvious free time ( I had to quit my job due to my ill health) I began painting again and little by little I started to sell in 2010 on Etsy. That was the start of me finally realizing my dream of making a living from my art, which as of 4th March 2011 I am!

MBS: What is the significance of March 4, 2011?

Alison: I picked that date to sign off as unemployed and to start my own business as I had enough confidence that I was selling enough to keep me afloat and because it was a new moon and auspiscious to start a new endeavour on!

MBS: Looking back over your career is there any advice you have for those who wish to (seriously) pursue an artistic path?

Alison: Keep painting things that really stir you. Do not use the word "should" as this kills creativity. If you only like painting telegraph poles - paint them. Don't feel that you "should" be painting still lifes. I would recommend having a sketchbook in which to doodle and just let yourself play around with things. I have enjoyed reading load s of art technique books, watching demos on DVD and Youtube and also attending classes. Get a scanner and keep a high res copy of all artwork. I wish I had done that in the early days (I have been painting for 17 years) as some of my best works have now been sold.

Also, think about doing a painting blog. People LOVE to look over your shoulder and see how you put that paint on the paper. It also makes you feel more productive when you then have a blog post that you can Tweet about.

Don't be an art diva and feel that your art is too precious to sell or ask ridiculous prices for your work. I have decided that though I love my paintings - I want to live by my art and so price them so that they are reasonable and within people's reach.

Thank you Alison!

You can find Alison's work online at:

www.eastwitching.etsy.com
www.petalessence.etsy.com
www.urbanmeltdown.etsy.com
www.magicalmenagerie.misi.com
http://www.folksy.com/shops/gypsychick

http://alisonfennell.blogspot.com

Harry Potter, Good vs Evil, and Real English Magic

2011-07-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

The last film with the Harry Potter franchise has finally arrived and, as pointed out by the press, so has many people's childhood - or pretend childhood. Yesterday we went to see the last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2". Like anything else in art, film or literature, it's up to the reader or viewer to draw their own conclusions about the ending. We will each view it through our own personal perspective.

If you have not read the last book or seen the this film I'm not going to spoil it for you. I will say though, that for those viewers who have seriously studied mythology and/or symbology, you will find this last film steeped in it, in all the classic ways. The wrestling of good and evil and/or the light and dark within ourselves, is a theme and belief system that permeates philosophy and religion. It doesn't matter if you approach it from a Christian, Daoist (yin yang), Buddhist (suffering), Native American, Wiccan or any other perspective. It's the same general theme. Same life issues. And in the end, no matter what you believe, life goes on.

That said, for people who still think that Rowling pulled the ideas for Harry Potter out of some magical hat, or that it is simply this generation's version of Star Wars , I suggest you follow up by reading a book called "The Book of English Magic" by Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate, Overlook Press 2010.
I ran across it in a book store one day and it literally jumped out at me - mostly because it did not look like a normal, slick, American mass market publication. This book is very well written, utterly fascinating and educational. It presents an enjoyable history of magic in England in a very readable form. Below are the first two paragraphs from the book to give you a taste. Enjoy!

~ diane fergurson

"Every country has it's magic: in it's wild places, in its history, and in the traditions of its healers and mystics. The lands that border England have a special magic - Wales and Scotland are brimming with tales of wizards and seers - but this book focuses on the country that has grown, by design or quirk of fate, into the worlds richest storehouse of magical lore: England.

Our story begins in a bookshop. Treadwell's in London's Convent Garden is everything a bookshop should be - warm, inviting, comfortable - and yet most of the people hurry past it, because it specializes in a subject they don't believe in: magic."

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American Museum of Natural History Exhibition, Tibetan Medical Paintings: Body and Spirit

2011-07-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

A wonderful exhibit of Tibetan Medical Paintings: Body and Spirit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, will be ending on Sunday this week (7-17-11). We recently went to see it and found the exhibition was well worth our trip, particularly if you are interested in this area of study. On display are 64 paintings from the Museum's collection. It is also the first time that they have been all been displayed together. These are hand-painted, reproductions of traditional scroll paintings which detail some of the history, early medical knowledge, and procedures used in Tibet and are believed to be among only a handful of such sets in existence.

The images are extremely detailed and are painted in vegetable and mineral dyes. Each of the paintings on display was painstakingly reproduced by hand in the 1990s by Romio Shrestha, a Nepalese artist, and his students. The originals were created in the 1600s.

I had taken photos of the exhibition, but ran across an informative tutorial on YouTube (posted below) which explains the Collection pretty thoroughly. Probably one of my favorite pieces, however, was the explanation in a group of paintings that catalogs various health problems and their origins according to the Tibetan Buddhist system.

"The primary, or deepest, causes for disease are three negative emotions or states: Craving, Ignorance and Hatred. These can predispose a person to disease by contributing to humoral imbalance. Secondary causes of humoral imbalance include improper diet or behavior, change of seasons or weather and toxins or poisons. Even injuries or wounds are associated with changes in the Humors.

Evil Spirits or demons are also seen as affecting health in a variety of ways. Many illnesses caused by demons must be cured with rituals."

Negative thoughts and emotions... An obvious heath issue that has plagued the human race for centuries.

If you haven't visited the Museum of Natural History in a while, or at all, you should know in advance that the Museum has become very, very busy due to the popularity generated by the Night at the Museum movie franchise. I recommend that you get there when it first opens and that you go in through the side entrance. We visited on a Sunday morning and were there when they opened, entered through the side and went right in. When we came outside a few hours later there were so many people we could barely make our way out of the front of the building and down the stairs. Double lines were down both sides of the block and I have no doubt that people waited for hours to get in (if they got in). That said, you should still definitely try to go. ~ diane fergurson

Pea, Feta and Spinach Summer Salad

2011-07-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

If you are eating fresh, then you probably know that pea season in the Northeast is just about to end. We have had an over abundance of peas in our garden this year. Buddy Fergurson and I have been outside picking them almost every evening!

Here is one of our favorite pea related recipes that I thought we would share. It has become a mainstay in our household, particularly during the summer months when we cook outdoors. It also goes very well with grilled Garam Masala Chicken. With the addition of some nuts, this salad would also make a very good vegetarian entree. Or leave out the cheese and just add nuts (and maybe soy cheese) to make it vegan. You could also add chicken or shrimp to it very easily. It's pretty versatile.

Spinach, Pea, Feta Salad is from Jamie Oliver's very first cookbook, "The Naked Chef" copyright 2000. A book that I believed not only changed how cookbooks are edited, styled and formatted today, but also greatly helped and encouraged people in the US to try to eat fresher and healthier! enjoy!

Spinach, Fresh Pea and Feta Salad from Jamie Oliver (paraphrased)

...take 2 large handfuls of baby spinach, wash and add 2 smaller handfuls of baby peas (raw if you get them young and fresh otherwise you'll have to blanch them). Dress the salad at the last minute with olive oil and lemon juice dressing (below) and then sprinkle it with crumbled feta cheese.

Dressing: 2 Tb lemon juice, 5 Tb your best olive oil, 1 level tsp. salt, 1 level tsp. fresh ground pepper

Summer Reading Recommendations For The Mind, Body, and Spirit

2011-07-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

Our book review group over at the Mind Body Spirit Odyssey has been busy putting together their summer reading picks. This summer whether you'll be reading using the traditional book format, or using your Kindle, iPad, or NOOK, here are some suggestions for you to add to your list. Covering a wide range of interests and topics, I'm sure you'll find at least one selection to enjoy! Be safe and have a good summer!
~ diane fergurson
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From Diane Fergurson:

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness
Viking

This book renewed my faith in fun and intelligently written fact based fiction. The author, Deborah Harkness, is a professor of history with numerous awards and fellowships. This is definitely reflected in the quality of her book. "A Discovery of Witches" literally has it all. You will not want to leave this story for even one minute once you begin! Adventure, mystery, romance. Interesting historical information on magic and alchemy. A 1,500 year vampire. Witches, daemons, Oxford University, the Knights Templar and the American Revolution...all rolled into one terrific story. A fabulous read that you can learn something from too. Doesn't get any better then that!

The Celtic Way of Seeing
by Frank MacEowen
New World Library

"The Celtic Way of Seeing" takes you on a beautiful journey. A journey through the mind, the eye, the soul and the heart of Irish spirituality. Through the retelling of the traditional story "The Settling of the Manor of Tara" MacEowen explores man's connection to the Universal energies through the four basic spiritual directions (well, five if you count the center) - that are contained within the Irish Spirit Wheel or mandala. What I enjoyed most in this book was the author's exploration of the similarities between the Celtic belief system and a variety of indigenous cultures and traditions. "The Celtic Way of Seeing" is wonderfully written. A true joy to read again and again because something new always seems to find you. After I finished "The Celtic Way of Seeing" I immediately ordered and read some additional books by Frank MacEowen. I love them too!

Parabola Magazine
Summer 2011 Issue: Giving and Receiving

For those folks who may not be able to find the time to read an entire book this summer, I recommend picking up or downloading the Summer Edition of Parabola Magazine. Founded in 1976, Parabola explores the traditional myths, symbols, rituals, and art of the world's religious and cultural traditions. Every issue explores one of the facets of human existence from the point of view of many world religions and spiritual traditions with essays and images. The Summer 2011 issue focuses it's articles on "Giving and Receiving"... something we can all benefit from.

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From Abby Horowitz:

Sastun
by Rosita Arvigo
HarperOne

For anyone interested in the healing powers of plants, Sastun tells the story of Rosita Arvigo and her apprenticeship with a renowned Mayan healer. The narrative is compelling and full of wonderful information. I love this book.

Rosita subsequently published 2 wonderful books on Rainforest Remedies.

The Maya Way To Heal Your Body and Replenish Your Soul
100 Healing Herbs of Belize

Healings Mantras
by Thomas Ashley-Farrand
Wellspring/Ballantine

This amazing book was written by one of the few Western experts in Hindu and Buddhist mantras. It offers an in depth collection of mantras, their uses, and instructions on how to use them. A treasure trove of powerful information!

Spiritwalker
by Hank Wesselman
Bantam

I read this book back in 1995 when it first came out. It is the story of one man’s spiritual journey into the shamanic realms. Hank Wesselman is an Anthropologist whose autobiographical account of his experiences will keep you riveted. A great read!

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From Christina Dudley:

The Zahir

by Paul Coelho

HarperCollins

A story of obsession - wherein the narrator embarks upon a search for his missing wife and finds himself in the process. A meadering story about discovery, love, and enlightenment.

Journey to the Lord of Power: A Sufi Manual on Retreat

by Ibn 'Arabi, with forward by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi

Inner Traditions

This text is an excellent resource for quiet, contemplative solitude. If you're finding yourself alone on a summer day, pick up this book and indulge in the silent Being of Now.

Ishmael

by Daniel Quinn

Bantam/Tuner

"Teacher Seeks Pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person."

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From Nellie Levine:

Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide
by Pamela Miles
Tarcher

I'm on my way to completing second degree Reiki training this summer, and recently read this. It's a great, level-headed and straightforward book that explains what Reiki is and what it does, and offers sound advice on how to approach Reiki practice, for self and others. It is written for those who are already practitioners, as well as for those considering it. There is a big emphasis on how Reiki helps chronic conditions, and how those with such conditions benefit from learning Reiki for self-treatment. Miles also addresses the issue of research, and how as Reiki grows in use among many hospitals, it is gaining more and more respect in the medical community.

Turning Your Mind Into an Ally
by Sakyong Mipham
Riverhead Trade

If you've been putting off beginning a meditation practice, or if you simply want to strengthen your existing practice, this book will offer you helpful guidance, inspiration, and instruction. Written to a Western audience, Turning Your Mind Into an Ally has a very accessible voice - Sakyong Mipham gives us examples of stumbling blocks that we can all relate to, and his sense of humor helps us approach our practice with kindness for ourselves. Although it's very much a beginner's book, I am glad to know this book is on my shelf and I can open it up whenever my practice needs a little boost in discipline.

Vodou: Visions and Voices of Haiti
by Phillis Galembo
Ten Speed Press

Haiti is still suffering from the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. Through the devastation the news showed us images of the hurt and newly homeless, the survivors, and the dead, of this poor country; yet the story has since faded into the background. Vodou: Visions and Voices of Haiti is a book of beautiful photography and insightful words that shows us an undeniably indomitable spirit. Published years before the earthquake, it depicts a rich, steadfast spiritual faith that underlies life in Haiti. Enjoy the beauty in these words and images, and remember Haiti! The people of this country still need our attention.

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Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition at Beaux-Arts de Montreal: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk

2011-06-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday (6-17) I was fortunate enough to be in Montreal for the opening day of Jean Paul Gaultier's exhibit, From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Beaux-Arts Montreal. I had wisely purchased tickets in advance because the line that morning stretched out the door and down the block. In addition to the Gaultier exhibit, the Museum was finishing up their exhibition of China's Terracotta Army, and it's priceless artifacts - which I will talk about in another post.

The show was well promoted. Many of the department store windows in the city of Montreal had displays which tied into the exhibition at the Museum.

I have always been intrigued with Gaultier's designs. To the general, non fashion public, he is probably best known for designing "over the top", unconventional costumes and garments for Madonna and also such film favorites as Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element". His life and career has been much more then that however - and his labor intensive, stunning designs were absolutely amazing to see up close and in person. As an artist, I definitely gained a whole other insight into Gaultier's artistic sensibilities. When I left left the exhibition my ideas and creativity were definitely challenged, stimulated and exalted to a new mental level.

The Montreal exhibition is the first international exhibition for the designer. When the show leaves it's current location, it will travel to Dallas, San Francisco, and then on to Madrid and the Netherlands. I highly recommend seeing it not only from a fashion and design standpoint but from an artistic one as well.

We were probably about 10th through the door the morning the exhibit opened. In fact the ticket person stopped me and asked if I was a VIP! Ha...I wish. I must have have had that serious, intent look or something!

The Museum allowed photography, so I literally ran around the exhibition snapping photos to my heart's content, chatting with the Museum Guards and enjoying rooms virtually free of other people. Seeing every piece up close and in detail was amazing. The space filled up quickly though, and soon it was wall to wall viewers.

When you first walk into the exhibition you will find yourself by a row of animated mannequins (and one animated Gaultier) that sing, talk and explain various parts of the show (all in French). This was really a unique site to behold! Actual moving faces are somehow projected on the the mannequin faces. I really had to do a double take because at first I thought the mannequins were live models. There are 30 of these animated mannequins scattered throughout the show.

In another room there was an oval shaped revolving runway. The mannequins came out from behind a curtain and rotated through the room, simulation a runway show.

The detail work on the garments was just jaw-dropping. On every card it listed the number of hours it took to construct each piece, I didn't see anything under 150 hours. In fact a lot of the pieces the seamstress had spent 300 to 400 hours. It really is amazing that in this day and age detailed work of this traditional nature still exists. This is one of the things that sets couture apart from other fashion. It's art.

When we finally left the exhibit I felt that I had viewed a complete, cohesive, timeless body of work from an artist. There were approximately 130 garments in the show spanning from 1970 to 2011. It was a very satisfying feeling. This is very different then how I felt after leaving the Alexander McQueen, "Savage Beauty" exhibition in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I absolutely loved that show, as I wrote in a previous article, but really felt the body of work had been abruptly cut short. It just stopped and we never got to see McQueen expand his vision. Gaultier, on the other hand... Oh it makes me smile just to think of the possibilities to come!

~ diane fergurson

Summer Solstice 2011, Quite a Year

2011-06-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

There is snow in Boulder today... The wild fires that are destroying Arizona and Texas are now reportedly heading towards Santa Fe. Tornadoes are tearing through the Midwest....flooding in Ohio. Midsummer 2011 has hit us with quite a punch this year. Buddy Fergurson is just dreaming it will all go away, sleeping in his Mom's art studio...under the couch...directly in front of the fan (next to his shoe, of course). Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who is suffering through this terrible time. ~

Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Atmara Rebecca Cloe

2011-06-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

When we put together our 2010 Mind Body Spirit Odyssey Holiday Gift Picks, the artwork of Atmara Rebecca Cloe was one of our choice selections. Atmara's stunning spiritual, healing and therapeutic images have the ability to uplift any viewer into a higher, more positive place. We hope you enjoy learning more about this inspirational artist and her beautiful work!
~ diane fergurson

MBS: Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started as an artist?

Atmara: First, let me say, I have no formal training as an artist. I was working as a music teacher in the 80's and became ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (which I continue to be to this day). I had to stop working, with the exception of teaching a few voice lessons each week, and I dedicated myself to my spiritual growth and awakening. In the mid 90's I found myself in a place in my life where most of the people and social/spiritual community I had been a part of was dissolving; really just a natural progression of people moving on to what was next. What was next for me turn out to be computer art.

I have always had an interest in art, but do not have the coordination in my hands to be successful with traditional painting and drawing. In the synchronistic way my life seems to unfold, I saw an ad in a local paper for a graphic design school which was not far from where I lived. This was just at the point where computers were becoming powerful enough to be used for art. I had no idea where my life was heading, but I was able to take a few classes at this school and manifest funding for my first computer.

Since this was 1996, the Internet was just in its infancy. I started out with the idea that I was going to do web design, and in doing a little of that, someone asked me to create 6 images for portal pages for a site that was going to be a resource for the arts and spirituality. The site never got off the ground, but I created 6 pieces of art, several of which are still marketed today. I had no idea I could do this, but I found I had an eye for what worked, visually and energetically, and the ability to teach myself computer software, and things just progressed from there.

MBS: For those who aren't familiar with your work, your artwork revolves around spiritual imagery. Primarily Mandalas...but also some really great crystal related work. Why Mandalas in particular?

Atmara: I started working first with New Age imagery and a couple of software programs, Bryce and Poser. They are 3D programs for landscapes and human figures. I didn't actually do my first mandala series until the end of 1999. I wasn't well acquainted with the form, but something just drew me to try to make some.

Between 2000 and 2005 I did both figurative work and began to explore more with mandalas and some abstract imagery. Since 2006 I have done nothing but mandalas and a few abstract pieces.

There never has been a conscious choice about what I create. I would say the images call me to create them. I don't know why I currently only doing mandalas. They are just what wants to be created through me. I love them, and I love the process of creating them because I have no idea when I start what they will look like, and I get to witness them emerging on the screen as I play in Photoshop.

So why mandalas? I think you have to ask the mandalas themselves. I'm really not the decision maker in this process.

MBS: Yes, it's interesting how they kind of create themselves! I agree with that! I don't work with computer images so I'm not familiar with the process you use at all. Do you ever start from a particular image that you then work with? Or is it more just starting with patterns and colors?

Atmara: It's a little of both. I use images that either attract my eye because of their colors or their energy. I put them through a kaleidoscope filter first, then I choose 2 or 3 of them and work with them in Photoshop. Each becomes a layer which I blend together with the other layers using the blending modes in Photoshop. I play with color adjustments, with effects filters, really I just play using all the features Photoshop has to combine the kaleidoscope images until the composite image looks and "feels" finished.

MBS: I've seen your artwork sold and marketed under the tile "New World Creations". Is that the name of your company? How did that come about? Can you tell us a little about it?

Atmara: Yes, that's the name of my company. When I began doing digital art in 1996, I decided to work under a company name rather just as Atmara Rebecca Cloe. There's really no story to it. I just asked the question, "What should I call my company?" and New World Creations popped into my head. So I used it.

MBS: Mandalas imagery...I know from experience, that there are a number of people who are not familiar with Mandalas at all. What is the explanation do you give about this beautiful symbol if asked?

Atmara: Actually, I can't remember anyone asking me what a mandala is. I guess when they see my work they at least figure out that it is a circular form of art. I just went to Wikipedia to see what they have to say and this is the first line "Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form." For more details about the history I would refer people to an explanation from Wikipedia.

MBS: For many artists, spiritual development and creating spiritual art go hand and hand.
Can you share some of your thoughts and experiences with this?

Atmara: I would say they have certainly gone hand in hand for me. When I first started creating art the imagery was very New Age which was a reflection of what I was exploring spiritually. I was inspired to create by seeing the artwork other New Age artists were creating.

In the last 5 years, I have been a student of Gangaji (and actually learned the video editing skills I use for my mandala meditation videos while volunteering for The Gangaji Foundation. My work has been almost exclusively mandalas during this time. It hasn't been a conscious choice. As I said in an earlier question the art creates itself through me. Perhaps the truth of who I am (which is the primary discovery I've made as Gangaji's student) finds it easier to express itself through an abstract form. I would find it almost impossible to describe in words that which I have realized spiritually in the last 5 years, so the creation of an abstract form of art seems to be in alignment with that.

MBS: What is a typical work day for you? Do you work every day on your images or are you less scheduled about it?

Atmara: I don't have a workday as such. Because of being chronically ill, most of my energy on any day is spent just doing the things we all do to take care of life. I do try to post on my Facebook page, Mandalas by Atmara, each day. I seem to be an information gatherer. I've naturally falling into a role with this page of not only showing my mandalas and mandala videos, but of posting links to interesting mandala related web pages. I have a Google Alert for mandalas, which means they send me a list of links each day related to mandalas, whatever they have indexed in the last 24 hours I assume. So from that I post anything I think will interest the "likers" on my Facebook page.

But other than keeping up with the Facebook page each day, there is nothing else I do on a daily basis. When I do have some extra energy and am inspired to do so, I'll work on a mandala, or a mandala meditation video, but there is no schedule to that. It just happens when it happens.

MBS: How do you market your art?

Atmara: I have always marketed my work online. Again the illness dictates this since I'm not able to go around to stores to market my prints, or organize shows, or sell at street fairs. When I first started creating art the Internet was very new. Ebay had just started and it was possible to get your work seen there, since there were only a few thousand people using it, rather than the hundreds of thousands that are today. There were also other smaller auctions where I could list as well. In those days I made my own prints and sold them directly through these auctions.

But they got too big for my work to be seen by many people, and it was taking too much energy to make my own prints, so luckily, Zazzle.com can into being. I started with them when they were just in their beta stage, hadn't even officially launched, and they were only selling prints at that time. Now they are a huge company that sells not only prints, but all sorts of gift items as well. I sell exclusively through my store there now.

I've always had a website. Last year I did a complete renovation, changing it from an old html site to a Wordpress blog and content management site. The site still points you to Zazzle to purchases prints, but I do also license my work. I would say that licensing has actually been the biggest income generator for me. It has dropped in the last few years with the economic down turn, but all my work is available to license.

And I also create personal mandalas. You can find out the ”what and how” of that on my site as well.

MBS: Do you have any advice for those who wish to (seriously) pursue an artistic path?

Atmara: Follow your heart. In fact, that would be my advise to everyone, about all their decisions in life. If we all lead with our hearts instead of our minds, from love rather that fear, this planet would be transformed.

MBS: Thank you very much for interviewing with us! Your work is just beautiful and it truely helps make the world a more positive place!

Additional interviews from our Artist Series:
Emily Balivet
Laura Milnor Iverson
Joanne Miller Rafferty
Jude McConkey

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The Tao of Raindrops on Roses

2011-06-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

"The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to."
~ from the Tao Te Ching # 8

Nothing Like A Rose

2011-06-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our roses have really been magnificent this year. I have nine different varieties planted around the gate to our backyard. Three on the trellis on the side of the garage, and six on the side of the house. One of my neighbors said it's like walking into a fantasy land!

I've always loved roses. When I was growing up my father, who was (what they would call today) a master gardener, had an amazing rose garden in our front and a vegetable garden in the backyard that was so big and picture perfect, people use to stop and photograph it. In my childhood rose garden it seemed like there were always plants in bloom and it was one of my jobs to go outside and deadhead the plants. Plucking off the bloom that have died insured that the plant would keep blooming. And boy did they keep blooming!

Historically the rose, along with the lily and lotus, is considered to be a sacred flower. The scent is said to elevate the senses. Roses are also said to have cleansing properties and attract angels.

I wrote an article for my blogs recently on Sacred Flowers. Here is the section on roses:

"The importance of the rose pervades all cultures and religious beliefs. It is the most common symbol of love, particularly if the color is red, and of all offerings made in love that are pure. Love symbolized by the red rose continues to survive in our present culture demonstrated every day through the act of giving roses as a special gift.

Love is not the only the only symbolic meaning of this beautiful flower, however. It also represents perfection, beauty, renewal and the triumph of spirit over matter as the rose bursts open...out of the muddy earth. Because of its perfection and beauty roses are also a symbol of purity.

Spiritually, the rose is a natural mandala (circle or wheel). The petals form a perfectly symmetrical circle around a yellow center, which is evocative of the Sun. The Rosy Cross of the Rosicrucian Order has a rose at its intersection. Here the rose symbolizes the heart, life and life's mystery. Roses have also been long associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Rose windows that adorn cathedrals and churches are her symbol. In India, the Great Mother was called Holy Rose."

~ diane fergurson

The Baby Dream

2011-06-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

I had a dream the other night that I was carrying around a baby. A chubby, healthy, adorable little baby. Everyone who saw the infant immediately fell in love it. In my dream I carried this baby with me everywhere I went. I fed and changed it. Watched over it. Nurtured it. Toted this child around with me constantly, no matter where I went or what I was doing.

I've been interpreting dreams fairly accurately for myself and others for a long time, and I know enough about the symbolism involved that I immediately knew that my "baby" did not literally mean a "real" human infant. Although the symbols that are involved with dreams may vary from person to person, due to points of reference and cultural beliefs, most primary symbols remain pretty constant.

A baby in a dream, for example, symbolizes an idea or project that is in it's infancy or beginning stages. If your project or idea is still small, and you are nurturing it's growth and continually working on it, then in your dream you will be "caring for your baby". In your dream if you are dropping the baby, then you are dropping a valuable idea or project...it's a warning. Bathing and changing the baby means cleaning up any mistakes or messes you have made, and sometimes starting over. Too many babies in your dream refers to taking on too many projects or having too many ideas, goals, responsibilities or problems to effectively handle at one time. If you loose the baby, it means that you are loosing sight of your dreams and ideals. You may want to step back and re-evaluate what you are doing in your life. If you kill the baby, you are sacrificing something that is important to you and may want to ask yourself if your decision is really worth it.

If you are interested in dreams and what they may be try to tell to you, and good book to pick up is "The Mystical, Magical, Marvelous World of Dreams" by Wilda B. Tanner. This is an older book (originally published in 1988), but it came highly recommended to me by some serious dream folks at the New Age Center in Sedona some years ago. It is very practical, reliable, and easy to understand. As an aside, it really is important to be very careful what books you purchase on dreams, metaphysical topics or spirituality in general. Make sure the author is experienced and credible. I've read outstanding books by exceptional authors on many subjects, and others that have been just downright goofy.

Getting back to my dream baby... Yes, I knew exactly what my dream was referring to. It's a creative project I have been consistently working on for a long time. It's been slow going, and the project has been slowly growing, but it is basically still in it's infancy. Everyone who see's what I've been up to falls in love it - that fat, healthy, cute baby from my dream. I think the Universe was just sending me a message to keep going and be patient. That things are coming along just fine!

~ diane fergurson

Photo of Baby Cameron courtesy of Joy Glenn Photography

Birthday Candles, Creative Thinking and Alexander McQueen

2011-05-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I was at a friend's birthday party recently. Her teenage daughter had baked her a cake. When it came time to put the candles on the cake and sing "Happy Birthday", the only candles the daughter could find in the house was a number 8 and two 1's. Since my friend was in her 40's, this was not going to do. I sat at the table, quietly sipping my drink. Not saying a word as the family stumbled around the house visibility upset, trying to figure out a way through their candle dilemma. I kept thinking to myself, "If this were my kids and our house, I would have issued some sort of creative challenge. Something like...OK, well it's up to you to come up with something cool from what you have and what you can find".

We were always doing things like that with our kids when they were growing up. Teaching them to think creatively during the most inopportune times. To create something from what they had around them. Encouraging them to pursue an idea even though the results may not turn out to be successful, or conducive with an adult sensibility. To think "out of the box". Figuring out interesting solutions to everyday problems. How to choose and act upon the most viable of their ideas. Our attention to developing their creative thought process was probably why one of our kids grew up the be an artist, the other a design coordinator.

At a used book sale the other day I smiled as I picked up and purchased a copy of "You Are Special. Words of Wisdom from America's Most Beloved Neighbor" by Fred Rogers. From the chapter on Creativity and Play, as only Mister Rogers could put it...

"One of the most important things a child can learn to do is to make something out of whatever he or she happens to have at the moment".

"One way to think about play is as the process of finding new combinations for known things - combinations that may yield new forms of expression, new inventions, new discoveries, and new solutions. I like thinking about play in this way because it gives play some of the importance it deserves".

"What I have heard from creative people over the years is that their early urges towards unique self-expression were respected and supported by some loving adult in their young lives - someone who would even let them paint a tree blue of that's what they felt like doing".

This past weekend my daughter and I went into New York City to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This exhibit, and it's presentation, has exceeded just about everyone's expectations. Each garment alone is a true visual feast and a definite creative joy for the imagination. As we began walking through the show the second garment that was presented was McQueen's razor-clam shell dress. As I stood there, totally gaping at the dress, the only thing I could think was "Boy... I bet he never had an issue with birthday candles".