Getting better...
SELF AWAKENING
Almost ten years ago, during an intense period of self discovery, an impulse to draw geometric designs awoke within me. Utilizing rulers and compasses, I drew precise images based upon measurement and mathematics.
I shared these images with someone who said, "The Flower of Life! You're drawing the Flower of Life!" and I responded with "What?"
This guided me towards learning about sacred geometry, kaballah, and other aspects of mysticism.
FREE HAND MANDALAS
During a year of transition, I didn't do any drawing. After taking a month-long course to learn Thai Yoga, I began drawing again. This time, I dropped the measurement tools and did everything by hand, using my eyeballs to create symmetrical images. This required a lot more time and focus. I poured hours and hours into single images, staying up late and waking up early to work this craft.
Starting with no idea of the design to be drawn, I would first find the center of the page, and then allow the image to unfold from there. After a little time, a pattern emerges from the drawing, and may give rise to an idea of a theme to the drawing.
Drawing is a deep and contemplative work for me, and while I am lost in thought, sometimes words will float to the surface of my mind, which may be written with the original art, or become part of its name, representing the focus of my meditation.
The resulting drawings are so much more intricate and detailed than those I'd done when confined by measurement tools. The personal rewards are also compounded, as I find that drawing like this helps keep me very centered and balanced.
Since I started drawing free hand, I've never gone back to using the tools. All my images have continued to be drawn all by hand, with no ruler or compass. I'm always amazed by every new image that comes out.
SCREEN PRINTING
After a few years of drawing, I had accumulated a number of designs, and did not know what to do with them. I was living with a few friends who were also artists, and looking to do something with their artwork.
We, being were inspired by the screen printing work done by Koko Pauli at the Sew-Op on Chicago, and we began to learn the art of the screen printing. We originally shared a screen printing setup, and taught ourselves and each other how to do it.
We took our screens to art and music shows and would do live printing, where people would take the clothes off their back, choose a design and color of ink, and we would print it on for them, right there.
The three of us have moved to different places and each have our own printing setup. We each separately continue to take our printing to shows and perform live printing. After years of running our own businesses, we are coming together again, to create a screen printing syndicate, that prints large and small events, all across the country, and even internationally. We've been at a number of transformational art festivals, such as Sonic Bloom, Lightning in a Bottle, Burning Man, and Envision in Costa Rica, to name a few.
THE LUMINOUS FLOWER
My personal business is The Luminous Flower. I have a personal appreciation for high quality clothing and fabric that comes from socially responsible companies. Seeing that there is not enough of this clothing available to the public at low prices, I decided to utilize it to showcase my artwork. So now I sell clothing that has been decorated with art, and the price is generally lower than the retail price of the garment alone.
I want my business to be doing good for the world. Part of how I do this is by using clothing and fabric that doesn't require a large input of environmentally detrimental pesticides and herbicides. I also use earth friendly items in my screen printing shop, many of which are soy and citrus based, and don't contain harsh solvents.
That's good and all, but I want to do more than just that.
During a trip to Peru, I was greatly impacted by the culture of the local and indigenous people of the Amazon basin. I encountered an organization there that I found to be doing good work, and decided to help support them personally.
So now I donate to Allianza Arkana, a Peruvian-based grassroots organization that protects the Amazon by supporting its people and traditions. To assist them with their projects, I contribute 5% of our sales to them, along with giving direct donations.
I also purchase Shipibo handcrafts and tapestries from the artisans in Peru, purchases that directly contribute to the people. I resell them, and donate proceeds to Allianza Arkana.
So far I have donated over $2000 to aid in the construction and implementation of an innovative intercultural school that interweaves Western education – critical for survival in a rapidly globalizing world – and traditional indigenous knowledge.
Each purchase you make will help empower these wonderful and financially impoverished people.
Please visit alianzaarkana.org for information about Allianza Arkana's visions and projects.
