Art

Chrysanthemum

October 15, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Across a waste of moorland, bleak and bear,
A lonely bird is flying, calling low—
The last of all the feathered host to go,
And loth to leave still lingers, calling, there
Within my silent garden-passes, where
The flowers are withered that in summer blow,
I walk with murmuring ghosts, that to and fro
Sway gently in the chill November air;

When, lo! I mark a little way apart
The sovereign glory of this waning year
That now, alone, unheralded hath come,
In gorgeous robes — alas, my fickle heart
Forgets the dead, and laughs that she is here,
The royal queen of fall, Chrysanthemum.

“Chrysanthemum” by Albert Bigelow Paine (Rhymes by Two Friends, 1893)

Júhuā

Chrysanthemum was first cultivated as a flowering herb in China more than 3,000 years ago, and is a symbolic and therapeutic element of Chinese and East Asia traditions, culture and art.

Chinese scholars and poets frequently praise the chrysanthemum in ancient writings as a noble flower of elegance and strength, beautifully flowering during the cold days of autumn and early winter. It’s also designated as one of the Four Gentlemen, or Noble Ones, four plants depicted in Chinese art ‘bird and flower’ painting as far back as the Song dynasty (960 -1279), and later used by other artists in East Asia to represent the four seasons: orchid (spring); bamboo (summer); chrysanthemum (autumn); and plum blossom (winter).

Drinking chrysanthemum tea also dates back to the Chinese Song dynasty, and is still enjoyed today. It has a delicate floral aroma and light, refreshing taste, and is typically prepared by steeping dried flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium or Chrysanthemum indicum in hot water, with sugar often added, and sometimes wolfberries (goji). The teapot of chrysanthemum flowers is customarily refilled with hot water several times during tea drinking, lightening the flavor and potency of the tea with each serving. While drinking chrysanthemum tea is believed to have cleansing and special healing properties, its effectiveness is uncertain, and it can cause side effects in some people. Therefore, best to consult your doctor before indulging. If you are allergic to ragweed, pregnant or nursing, avoid chrysanthemum tea and any type of supplement containing the flower. SHOP here → for chrysanthemum tea *Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via this link to Amazon. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Information/Resources:
You’ll find more history of chrysanthemum as well as planting/gardening information, tips and resources on the National Chrysanthemum Society (USA) website.
Chrysanthemum: Uses and Side Effects, WebMD
Be Careful – Chrysanthemums are toxic to dogs, cats and horses (Learn more about toxic plants ASPCA website)
General informational resource: Wikipedia – Chrysanthemum

See Spring Flowers blooming – right before your eyes

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Football mums feature photo is courtesy of Erol Ahmed/StockSnap CC0
Chrysanthemum (1722-1735) Xian’e Changchun Album by Giuseppe Castiglione/Wikimedia PD Chrysanthemum tea photo courtesy of Ornella Binni/StockSnap CC0

Birds of America

September 19, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Some time around 1820, French-American artist and naturalist, John James Audubon (1785-1851) started work on a personal project to paint every bird species located in North America, using unique methods and materials as well as extensive field observations. It was a tremendously challenging and costly endeavor, and many doubted Audubon’s ability to pull it off. In fact, the idea would seem a little wild & crazy even today with 21st century technology. But, Audubon was no ordinary guy. He was also totally committed to finding and illustrating every bird in North America for publication, working more than 15 years toward his goal and raising cash by teaching, selling art works, taking oil painting commissions, hunting and selling animal skins, and conducting exhibitions and demonstrations.

How to view and download John Audubon's extraordinarily beautiful illustrations in The Birds of America. — Common American Swan (The Birds of America, plate 411) is courtesy of the National Audubon Society, John James Audubon Center and Montgomery County Audubon Collection

The result of Audubon’s work is The Birds of America, first published in England as a series of 87 sets of prints between the years 1827 and 1838. Now considered to be the greatest study of birds in history as well as one of the greatest examples of book art, the original publication included 435 hand-colored, life-sized prints of North American birds on handmade paper that were produced from copperplate etchings and engravings with water-coloring applied by assembly-line colorists. An accompanying text (‘Ornithological Biography’) was written by Audubon and the Scottish ornithologist William MacGillvray and published separately in five volumes (1831-1839).

The cost of printing the first edition of The Birds of America was an amount equivalent to more than $2 million US dollars in today’s money. Audubon financed the massive print project with pre-paid subscriptions, but only the wealthy could afford the subscription price which limited the publication to no more than 200 complete sets. Consequently, more affordable editions were later produced using lithography and published during the mid-19^th century.

“The Birds of America’ will then raise in value as much as they are now depreciated by certain fools and envious persons.” — John James Audubon

Almost two centuries later, Audubon’s bird art is still captivating and revered among birders and art collectors, and his influence on ornithology and natural history has been widespread and enduring as The Birds of America and Ornithological Biography significantly contributed to the understanding of bird anatomy and behavior. Watching the short video, ‘Audubon’s Birds of America’ from the Lost Birds Project, you’ll get a sense of the massive beauty of these works of art as David W. Carson, curator of the History of Science Collection at Cornell University, conducts a private viewing of The Birds of America.

Six of the birds illustrated by John Audubon in The Birds of America are now extinct, and many more are endangered. Also — According to a recent study, North America has lost more than a quarter of its entire bird population during the past 50 years. [North America Has Lost 3 Billion Birds, Scientist Say by Nell Greefieldboyce (NPR, September 19, 2019)] ⇒⇒ Learn how you can help by visiting the National Audubon Society’s Action Center.

A copy of the complete The Birds of America series is available FREE of charge for viewing and high-resolution downloading via ⇒⇒ the National Audubon Society’s digital library, courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania and the Montgomery County Audubon Collection. Be sure to check it out, and let John Audubon inspire your own creative work.

Audubon’s personal copy of The Birds of America is held within the Stark Museum of Art Rare Books & Manuscripts Collections in Orange, Texas. An original, complete series is on public display (one page is turned each week) in the Audubon Room of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. It was purchased by the university in 1839 for the astonishing price of $970 (equivalent to approximately $80,000 today). Undoubtedly, a wise investment. In December 2010, a complete first edition from a private collection was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in London for US$ 11.5 million (a record breaking auction price).

Other permanent public display locations: Trinity College (Watkinson Library) in Hartford, Connecticut; University of Pittsburg (Hillman Library); Liverpool Central Library; Woodstock Inn in Woodstock, Vermont; and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Ewell Sale Stewart Library) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Look around– there are surely more opportunities for viewing a first edition as there are currently 107 held by institutions, and many periodically offer special exhibits.

Information/Resources:
The Life of John James Audubon: The Naturalist (1869) [FREE ebook] The primary source material for this biography was Audubon’s notes and journals, written/edited by Lucy Green Bakewell Audubon and Robert Williams Buchanan. The JJ Audubon image is an engraving by H.B. Hall based on a portrait by Henry Inman that appears in the book.
John James Audubon – The Making of an American (2004) by Richard Rhodes*
Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’ at Yale: Creating a masterwork one feather at a time. Article by Mike Cummings, Yale News, June 30, 2015
“Ornithological Biography” or an Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America Vol 4, (1838) by John James Audubon [FREE ebook].
Featured photo of Columbian Hummingbirds is from plate 425 of The Birds of America
Wikipedia: The Birds of America

If you just can’t get enough about birds, there’s more here ⇒ Bird ID Challenge (test your birding skills); Birdsong Melody (the music and magic of the mockingbird); The California Brown Pelican; and Fast and Fearless (the Hummingbird).

Audubon was the first, but there’s a new illustration of birds to get excited about! The Wall of Birds* tells the remarkable story of artist Jane Kim’s 2,500 square-foot mural celebrating the diversity and evolution of birds at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It took her 2 1/2 years to create the one-of-a-kind, life-size mural showcasing all 243 modern families of birds, and the book “is a visual feast, essential for those who love art, birds, and our natural world”.

*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via a link to Amazon within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Sacred Shadows

September 8, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Intersections (2013), is a sculptural installation created by Anila Quayyum Agha, a Pakistani-American artist. Simple in its materials and artistic method, the effect is a powerfully elegant, original work of art that wondrously transforms a room into an ethereal space filled with intricate shadowy geometric patterns enwrapping gallery visitors who then become a reflecting element of the artwork. Agha said her art is influenced by personal experiences as well as the complex social and political issues of our time, and the intent with the Intersections installation was “to give substance to mutualism” while exploring the disparate views of “public and private, light and shadow, and static and dynamic”. It was awarded grand prizes in the 2014 international ArtPrize competition, and later exhibited at the Rice Gallery in Houston, Texas as well as the Peabody Essex Museum and Indiana State Museum.

The video documentary, “Intersections”, produced by Walley Films, is an exceptional opportunity to view this transcending work of art as Anila Quayyum Agha recounts her inspiration, discoveries, and creative process.

Agha’s installation pieces focus on transforming public spaces using Islamic architectural motifs, light and shadow, casting viewers of all cultural backgrounds under shadows that allow all to contemplate and reflect.

Resources/Information:

Anila Quayyum Agha website anilaagha.com
Past Installation, Rice Gallery
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids Michigan (Intersections). ArtPrize is an annual public art event and international competition.

Watch: CREATIVE PERSPECTIVES A diverse group of artists reveal thoughts and feelings about their work and living a creative life in this On2In2™ collection of short video documentaries. It’s an interesting and inspiring bunch.

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this post, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy.

Feature photo: Still shot from video documentary, “Intersections” © Mark & Angela Walley

How To Beat the Bull

June 30, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

“No matter what your problems are —it’s just like going out and facing that bull every day: Look at what you’re up against, and figure out a way to make it work.” —Gary Leffew, Champion Bull Rider

We face many life challenges, big and small; consequently, there are many advisors, coaches, experts and various motivational guides offering advice on how to make a success of it all. You may have noticed, social media is full of it. But, really nothing beats the shared wisdom gained from personal experience, and sometimes the very best advice comes from an unexpected source, like a skateboarder, shipyard welder, yo-yoer, or rodeo cowboy. Spend less than 10 minutes with Gary Leffew and learn what it takes to be a success in bull riding and all other endeavors. (Hint: It’s a mental game.)

“The Bull Rider”, is a short film from “I Am Los Angeles”, directed by Joris Debeij, featuring Gary Leffew, PRCA World Champion Bull Rider and member of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

The taming of bulls has ancient roots that have been traced to a Bronze Age civilization of the Aegean islands (2600 BC – 1100 BC), and bull riding developed from a 16th century ranch skill competition known as ‘Jaripeo’ among the haciendas of Central and Southern Mexico where a rider rode a bull to death much like is done in bull fighting. It eventually changed to the traditional charreada sporting event, ‘Jineteo de Toro’, where the rider attempts to ride the bull until it tires and stops bucking.

The Arti of Bullfighting — Νο. 24: El mismo Ceballos montado sobre otro toro quiebra rejones en la plaza de Madrid (1816), Public Domain, Francisco Goya (1746 -1828), via Wikimedia Commons

No. 24 (The Same Ceballos Mounted on Another Bull Breaks Short Spears in the Ring at Madrid) is from a series of 33 prints “La Tauromaquia” (The Bullfight) created by Francisco Goya using techniques of etching and aquatint. The scenes depicted in the series focus on the violence, rituals and styles of 19th century bullfighting. A portfolio of these works of art is currently located at the National Gallery of Art.

The Most Dangerous 8 Seconds in Sports

“Everything’s in slow motion. He’s floating in the air, and it’s just weightless.” — Cody Campbell

The modern rodeo sport of bull riding requires a rider to stay mounted on a bucking bull for a specific period of time. In the ‘American style’, both rider and bull are scored by judges, and the rider must hold onto the bull rope (fiber rope wrapped around the chest of the bull) with one hand for eight seconds and not touch the bull with the free hand. It’s been referred to as the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.

Information/Resources:
Gary Leffew’s Bull Riding School – for all ages and levels of bull riders
Professional Bull Riders, Inc. Touring Schedule
Event Schedule, Bull Riders Canada, Inc.
Professional Bull Riders – Australia Schedule
Charreada Event Schedule, Asociacion de Charros de San Antonio
“Facing the Bull: The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports”, by Zoltan Istvan, National Geographic News (February 25, 2004)
American Veterinary Medical Association News, The Bovine Athlete by R. Scott Nolan (July 18, 2012)
The Jackie Robinson of Rodeo by Christian Wallace, Texas Monthly (July 2018) – Fifty years ago, Myrtis Dightman broke the color barrier in professional rodeo and became one of the best bull riders who ever lived.

Cutting Horse Competition
Horse & rider teams compete in a rodeo sport that began in the American West
Watch LIVE & FREE, but OK if you miss the live stream broadcast because there are video recordings of the competition to watch.

You’ll find more inspiration from the stories told by this diverse group of pathfinders on the video bio- documentary channel “Life Inspired“.

“How to Beat the Bull” is an edited version of an article originally published on the “Zblog” by Zeester Media LLC.

Feature photo is courtesy of Adam Morse/Unsplash CC0

Ephemeral Art

June 22, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“Building a sandcastle is ‘about capturing a moment’ amidst the forces of nature.” — Renzo Piano

How to build a sandcastle with a few simple tools and a basic structural and sculpting techniques — Photo: Flickr user, Amanda B, CC BY 2.0

The first references to sandcastle building on a beach go as far back as the 19th century. Since that time, the love of sandcastles has grown worldwide to include all ages as it remains the perfect beach activity for creatives, and the sculptures have progressed from small to massive, simple to complex art forms.

Building beautiful sandcastles requires simple tools, a few structural and sculpting basics, and understanding it’s all about having fun in the moment.

Here are a few sandcastle building tips for the beginner:

First, there’s an art to sandcastle construction, and success takes patience and practice. [See ‘How To’ information and free video lessons listed further down this page.] You must also understand and accept that a sandcastle is a temporary structure, and it’s destruction is part of the creative process. So, don’t forget to take a few photos and enjoy the moment.

Get Help. It can get hot on the beach, and those buckets of sand and water are heavier than you might think; therefore, you may need friends and family to help with the heavy lifting.

Plan. Sketch out your castle design before getting started. Gather up the tools (basics: buckets, shovels, spray bottle, mason’s trowels and artist’s palette knives)

Sand Quality. The best sand for building is fine-grained because it can be tightly compacted. If the sand is course, full of shells or debris, you’ll have stability problems trying to build the castle up high or at a steep angle.

Location. Watch the waves, and find a tide schedule. Try to build your sandcastle above high tide to save it from early destruction.

Building. Fill a bucket with very wet sand. Pound the top, and carefully lift it straight up (no twisting or tilting). Push sand up around the castle foundation at an angle for added support.

Cracks. Patch them up right away by packing them with more wet sand, and reduce the structural stress by slicing off some of the top and/or sides with a trowel.

Carving. Use various tools and your imagination to create windows, doors, and steps. Start from the top down. Keep the sandcastle moist by spritzing with water using a spray bottle.

Decorate. Make your palace special. Search the beach for bits and pieces that can be used to decorate the sandcastle or collected for a separate art project.

Get Inspired. Attend sandcastle/sand sculpting festivals and competitions as a spectator or participant. [See short list of events we’ve discovered at the bottom of this page for information.]

How to build a unique drip sandcastle using dribbling technique — Matt Kaliner, CC BY-NC 2.0

A ‘drip castle’ is a variation of the traditional sandcastle, created by dripping a slurry mix of sand and water from a fist (the technique is sometimes referred to as “dribbling”). In the short video, King of the Castle, Matt Kaliner, university sociology lecturer & sand sculpting hobbyist, demonstrates the dribbling technique while building his weird and wonderful sculptural sandcastles.

‘How To’ Information/Resources:

Basics for the Beginner Jenny Rossen, a professional sand sculptor and artist, explains the basics of sandcastle construction in a short video.

How to Build a Sandcastle In 8 video lessons, expert/international champion sandcastle builder, Mark Venit, explains each step in the process of building a grand castle in the sand.

How To Build a Sand Sculpture – choosing a good sand, building forms, and best sculpting tools

Blueprints Before High Tide: An architect explains the perfect sandcastle (Heard on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday ,August 1, 2015)

Sandcastle and Sculpting Festivals and Competitions:

Major Sand Sculpting Events Around The World – Discover exhibitions and competitions in Australia, India, Indonesia, Portugal, USA and more!

US Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Expo – Called the most creative atmosphere in the world, World Master Sand Sculptors come from all over the world to compete at this event. Entertainment, Food & Activities (Labor Day weekend 2019) Broadway Pier and Pavilion, San Diego, California

Weston Sand Sculpture Festival – Something for Everyone! Marine Parade, Weston-super-Mare BS23 1BE, UK

Neptune’s International Sand Sculpting Championship – Virginia Beach, Virginia (September 27 – October 6, 2019) festival, competition, clinics

Sandcastle Days – South Padre Island, Texas October 3 – 6, 2019 (Admission FREE) demonstrations, competition & lessons

American Sandsculpting Championships – Fort Meyers Beach, Florida. For more than 30 years, held the last 2 weeks of November. (Free Lessons)

International Sand Art Competition – Key West, Florida

The Siesta Key Crystal Classic – Siesta Key, Florida, November 15 – 18, 2019 (Free Lessons)

Texas SandFest – Port Aransas, Texas, April 26 – 28, 2019 (Rain or Shine) festival & competition

Cannon Beach Sandcastle Festival & Contest – Cannon Beach, Oregon, June 7-9, 2019

Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic – Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, June 2019 (dates to be confirmed) Free Lessons

Blue Water SandFest – Port Huron, Michigan, July 2019 (dates to be confirmed) Free Lessons

Revere Beach Art Festival (September 15, 2018) & International Sand Sculpting Festival (July 2019, dates to be confirmed) Revere Beach, Massachusetts

We’re the social type as well as beach lovers. Please register via the ENGAGE page to join the conversation, share your inspiration, ideas and creation, and network with On2In2™ playmakers.

Feature photo by Benjamin Carlson/Unsplash CC0

Art Underwater

June 2, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“For Art may err, but Nature cannot miss.” — John Dryden, The Cock and the Fox

Underwater public arts projects created by the visionary Jason deCaires Taylor are not just unique exhibition spaces for divers and snorkelers to enjoy. They’re also examples of successful marine conservation efforts as the sculptures serve as habitats for all sorts of sea life which transform Taylor’s work into living, constantly evolving art that inspires an appreciation for the natural beauty of the mysterious world underwater. This video takes you there.

He had a very big idea — create giant cement sculptures and place them on the ocean floor in areas with barren sea beds. Then, in 2006, Jason deCaires Taylor founded and created the world’s first underwater sculpture park off the west coast of Grenada in the West Indies. It was a great success, and has been listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic. In 2009, he co-founded an underwater sculpture museum, Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA), that includes a collection of over 500 of his art works in the waters of Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc, Mexico. More underwater sculpture gardens followed in the Bahamas and Spain, and he’s currently working on a new project in the Maldives. In this TED Talk, Taylor shares his story and breathtakingly beautiful photography.

Jason DeCaires Taylor talk is courtesy of TED, CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International

Information/Resources:
Gallery: The sculpture garden at the bottom of the sea, by Kate Torgovnick May, Ted.com blog article (December 23, 2015)
Locations Map of the underwater sculpture exhibits around the world (Jason DeCaires Taylor Projects)

Underwater Sculpture Park – Granada, West Indies, Molinere Beauséjour Marine Protected Area

(listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic)
Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF) Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden (Included in the sculpture garden is, Ocean Atlas, a young Bahamian girl who appears to be holding up the ocean, and at 60 tons/18 ft tall, it’s the largest underwater sculpture in the world.)

Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA), Museum of art under the waters of Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc (Viewing via glass bottom boat, scuba and snorkeling)
Museo Atlántico, Located near the south coast of Lanzarote, in the Bahía de Las Coloradas, Spain
Alluvia, Sculpture lies at bottom of the river Stour running through city of Canterbury in Kent, UK
Pemuteran Temple Garden (statues of Buddha, Ganesha, Turtles behind an ornate Balinese gateway, constructed as one of three Bali Reef Foundation/Australian Aid funded projects)

Dive In2 deep waters and explore the otherworldly beauty of ocean life Watch: Underwater Discoveries, an On2In2™ collection of short videos, Free-to-Watch, On-Demand

BIG, POWERFUL (sometimes dangerous), and a beautiful BLUE, the Ocean does more than its share to sustain life on Planet Earth. Saving Our Ocean

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from the Jason DeCaires Taylor Ted Talk video

Upsurge

June 1, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“When it all comes together… it’s like, man, this is the moment.” — Ray Collins

Chris Bryan loves filming in the ocean more than anything. In fact, it’s his passion, and he says capturing the rare moment when first rays of light hit the ocean without any other person in sight is “unexplainable, its one of the most amazing feelings ever, its like my own personal therapy” to experience such “absolute beauty”. Chris shares some of these beautiful moments in his latest video project MOCEAN. Views captured by Chris for the video are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, and watching is nothing short of awesome.

In the water, Ray Collins creates works of art with his camera, and cinematographer/photographer, Armand Dijicks, brings Collins’ seascape photographs to life in the short video, The Infinite Now, by transforming the stills into cinemagraphs — beautiful and mesmerizing. Cinemagraphs create the illusion of motion by applying image editing software to composite a series of still photographs into sequential frames. The result is amazing.

Love the Ocean? See & Learn more On2In2™ ⇒ Underwater Discoveries Saving Our Ocean Cranking Surf

Ray Collins started out his working life in a coal mine, and has become an internationally acclaimed, award-winning ocean photographer. In the short video, Sea Stills produced by Malibu Media, Ray describes his inspiration and technique in capturing moments of water and light in a wave.

Information/Resources:
Chris Bryan Films – Cinematographer (watch more surf and underwater video)
Armand Dijicks (online courses, video tutorials and ebooks available)
Photographer Ray Collins (info on photos and book ‘Found at Sea’)

More FREE To WATCH, and Learn from the best photographers
→ Watch: Photography video channel for inspiration and → Pro Photo Tips for how-to-tips and advice

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from Ray Collins video, Sea Stills

Lost in Wars

May 13, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“The sun has gone
A long time ago
We’re waiting for the dawn
That will never show
Our hearts are getting hard
Souls covered by scars
We are made of stars
But we are lost in wars”

— Battle Beast, Lost in Wars

2^nd LT John Robert Holt, Jr (1978-2009) was a graduate of Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, Texas and the University of Texas – San Antonio. He served as a US Army combat medic in Iraq, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

In the short video documentary, Vincent Valdez: Excerpts for John, produced by filmmakers, Mark and Angela Walley, Vincent tells the story of his friendship with John Holt while he works to create a memorial to John and all the soldiers ‘lost in the fog of war’.

San Antonio native, Vincent Valdez, is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, and a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors. He focuses his creative work on cultural and historical themes with contemporary portrayals of human struggle, loss, sacrifice, war and injustice. In recognition of excellence in the arts, Valdez was designated a ‘Texas State Artist’ in 2015 by the Texas State Legislature. Exhibitions and collections include: Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Ford Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The National Portrait Gallery, Blanton Museum of Art, Parsons Paris, Bullock Texas State History Museum, OSDE Buenos Aires, the McNay Art Museum and Southwest School of Art. [Vincent Valdez website →here]

John, oil-on-canvas by Vincent Valdez, 2010-2012. It’s an intimate portrait of Vincent’s friend “in the midst of battle, an explosion and billowing smoke behind him, his eyes focused on an ominous sight that is invisible to the viewer and that anticipates John’s demise.” (Taina Caragol, co-curator, The Face of Battle: Americans at War)

Excerpts for John (2012) depicts the unfolding sequence of events and emotions Vincent Valdez experienced during his friend’s military funeral in a series of paintings created as an homage to Lieutenant Holt and “a eulogy for those who can’t find their way home”.

Information/Resources:

After more than a decade of war in the Middle East, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become a critical health concern among American war veterans as the number seeking help for PTSD has dramatically increased and the number of suicides exceeded 6,000 each year during the years 2008-17.*

Soldiers of Conscience, Q&A What is PTSD & how to get help, PBS (October 2008)
National Center for PTSD: US Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Families United: PTSD healing resources and helpful reference materials for veterans & families
*2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report

Artists reveal thoughts and feelings about their work
and living a creative life in “Creative Perspectives”,
an On2In2™ collection of videos– FREE To WATCH, On-Demand

Go to next → Watch: Introspection, an On2In2™ collection of videos featuring personal reflections on life that will move and inspire you — FREE To WATCH, On-Demand

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from the video, Vincent Valdez: Excerpts for John, produced by Walley Films

Art Therapy

May 11, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

The term “art therapy” was first introduced in 1942 by British artist Adrian Keith Graham Hill (1895 – 1977) after realizing the drawings he had done to pass time while convalescing from tuberculosis at a UK long-term care facility had been helpful in his recovery, suggesting other patients could be similarly benefited from both the creation and appreciation of art. The idea caught on.

Adrian Hill later taught drawing and painting at hospitals, and wrote that art therapy seemed to release the creative energy of patients and relieve mental stress by “completely engrossing the mind” and diverting attention from illness and injury. [Adrian Hill’s books on art therapy include Art Versus Illness: A story of art therapy (1945) and Painting Out Illness (1951)] He also believed the practice of art “in sickness and in health” was essential to the well being of all society, and continued throughout his life to write art instructional books (including Drawing and Painting Trees (1936, 2008), still in print*), and promote the use of art therapy in public health services.

Today, art therapy as a curative technique varies in definition, process, application and approach, but the primary purpose is restorative healing by means of any type of visual art, including drawing, painting, sculpting, photography and digital art. The benefits, however, are more far-reaching as the act of creating an artwork seems to calm the body’s nervous system and provides a means of self-expression that can be enjoyed by anyone searching for a relaxing, enlivening pastime.

Listed below are a few artwork ideas to get the creative juices flowing (no training, experience or special talent required!). You’ll also find creative inspiration from On2In2™ video selections on the Art Works and Creative Perspectives channels and more arts and crafts project ideas in the posted article, “Artisan”.

ο Go outside and sketch or photograph something you find beautiful or interesting

ο Build a sandcastle or draw in the sand

ο Cut and paste clippings, images or whatever you find to create a paper collage or sculptural object

ο Finger paint or make scribble drawings

ο Create a unique greeting card

ο Experiment with digital art by using a paint/sketch app

ο Get a coloring book for adults, some gel pens, markers & pencils, and start coloring

COLORING BOOKS

Previously considered child’s play, coloring “inside the lines” is actually fun for everybody and has become a popular hobby for adults. (An estimated 12 million coloring books were sold in 2015/US, Nielsen Bookscan) It’s a do ‘anywhere, anytime’ creative process of design and color that appeals to so many because it doesn’t require a big investment in art supplies, training or work space and can be enjoyed solo or with friends in social ‘coloring’ groups. The best part— there are no rules. Make it fun. Color in a way that makes you happy (inside, outside & between the lines). Your work of art can be displayed, given as gifts, used in other arts & craft projects, or saved and collected as part of a personal journal.

The variation of coloring book creations is endless, and colorists love to share their inspiration and works of art. Take a look at a few beautiful examples in this slide show.

An abstract flower design coloring creation. — Beautifulcataya, Flickr CC BY-NC-ND

Hello Angel Creative, Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Coloring a fish design in coloring book is fun and relaxing. — Melissa Dinwiddle, Flickr CC BY-SA

a beautiful abstract created from a coloring book — Beautifulcataya, Flickr CC BY-NC-ND

Wildlife coloring book creations are unique — Aimee Ray, Flickr CC BY-NC-ND

There’s a wide selection of coloring books available in bookstores, hobby shops, and online via ebooks and digital apps (for purchase & free of charge) that are filled with pages of line drawings designed uniquely for adult creative colorings.

My first attempt at using coloring book app "Colorfy" — Seashells in digital color by Zola Zeester

Most coloring apps are free to download on phone, iPad or tablet via App store, Google Play, etc., but pay attention to the basic v. premium offerings as there are often in-app purchases required for select designs, colors and brushes. [Editor’s Note: After downloading “Colorfy” (by Fun Games for Free) on an iPad, took it for a short test drive, and created the simple seashell design you see here in about 10 minutes (could make a nice greeting card?). It worked ok and was fun to play with, but quickly discovered there are very few coloring options and tools available for free (which is not fun). There’s convenience and novelty in using these cool creative digital tools, and Colorfy was easy enough to navigate. Really like the feature that allows uploading of personal, original drawings and sketches for coloring. However, using old school paper and pen coloring books as a means of escaping phones and screens for a couple of hours is likely more appealing to many of us.

Coloring Tips for the Beginner

3 hrs of coloring in 2 min (Thomas Johnson, Randolph Smith/The Washington Post)

♦ Use color pencils, markers and/or gel pens. Experiment with different kinds, but test them out for ink bleeding through the paper before starting.

♦ Place a piece of paper under the color book page you’re coloring to protect the other pages in the book from indentions and ink bleeds.

♦ Color from the outside ⇒ in.

♦ Build up layers for more depth of color rather than pressing too hard.

♦ Keep pencils sharp and caps on pens and markers.

♦ It takes practice. Slow down and enjoy every moment.

FREE!! COLORING BOOKS

We love freebies, and free coloring books make it fast & easy to begin a coloring art project. The NYBG 12-page “Color Our Collections” coloring book (a favorite) is provided absolutely free to print courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden and the LuEsther T. Mertz Library [To download/print from this page: Click/Tap the arrow within the small square located top right corner (the “pop-out” box) of the NYBG coloring book below. It redirects you to a separate page. Print and/or download the coloring book pages from there.] Now, just gather up some pens and pencils and start coloring your one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

Find more free to print coloring books from the On2In2™ resource page here ⇒ “Free Coloring Books“. During the first week of February, special collections libraries, museums and archives promote coloring using copies of historical drawings and sketches, making it a good time to search social media for one-of-a-kind (and free!) coloring books using the hashtag #ColorOurCollections.

Resources/Information:
Wikipedia: Art Therapy, Adrian Hill
“Why Adult Coloring Books are the Latest Trend”, The Washington Post (May 2, 2016)

Feature photo of art paint mess is courtesy of Unsplash, CC0

Art Transforming Trash

February 29, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

“The opposite of beauty is not ugly… it’s indifference.” — Richard Lang

There are many complex issues involved in the elimination of pollutants from the environment, but there’s at least one problem easy to identify and understand — trash. Take just one walk on a beach, and you’ll quickly see the ugly truth.

More than 8 million tons of plastic makes its way into the Ocean each year, and the stuff doesn’t go-away or disappear. Just one plastic bag takes 1,000 years to decompose. Much of this garbage can be seen floating on top of the ocean surface. Between California and Hawaii, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is more than double the size of Texas, and it’s just one of many similar floating debris patches.

Ray Ives, a retired Royal Marine and commercial diver, saw even more during his 40+ years of deep sea diving,……“You can’t believe some of the things people dump in the sea. It’s like the biggest rubbish dump in the world”.

Artists are using their creative talents in amazing ways to help make positive change as their works of art bring attention to the plastic pollution problem the world faces and inspire all of us to “rethink plastic”.

Gyrecraft is a short film about crafting objects at sea, in the past with whale’s teeth and in the future with plastics collected from Ocean waters.

Studio Swine went on a 1,000 nautical mile journey through the North Atlantic Gyre, from the Azores to the Canaries, collecting plastics as they sailed. (The North Atlantic Gyre is one of five large systems of circulating ocean currents. The vortex of currents traps man-made marine debris into a large, dense floating debris zone called the ‘North Atlantic Garbage Patch’.) Using a specially designed ‘Solar Extruder’ machine, the plastic pieces collected during the trip were melted on board ship with heat from the Sun, creating a ‘sea plastic’ material used to create art works.

In the short video, Sea Chair, watch as a stool is built on a boat from the plastic collected in a fisherman’s nets.

Since 1999, Richard and Judith Selby Lang have been visiting a special spot at Kehoe Beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, collecting plastics that have washed up on shore. The Lang’s then take their treasures home, wash and sort the items, and create works of art. Over the years, they’ve collected tons of the stuff, learned a lot about ocean pollution, and discovered each little bit of found plastic has an interesting story to tell and provides an insight into human culture.

Aurora Robson is a multi-media artist known for her work with waste materials, and the founding artist of Project Vortex a collective of creatives who work with plastic debris as a medium and support organizational efforts to reduce the amount of plastic littering the oceans and shorelines of the world. She has said the intention of her art is “to take something negative, try to change the direction it’s going, and turn it into something positive”.

Inspired to create your own “environmental art”, but not sure how to start? David Edgar creates marine life art forms from plastic bottles, and his instructional fish project video is a how-to guide for beginners. In the demonstration, you’ll learn that creating a sculpture requires scissors and a couple of simple tools, and reshaping plastic can be accomplish with heat from a hair dryer. Really, the possibilities are endless because unfortunately, so is the trash.

Information/Resources:

Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, supporting a large diversity of species throughout the food chain and ecosystem.

One Plastic Beach The Lang’s offer workshops, presentations, art sales, commercial and residential artwork commissions

Aurora Robson See more art and media

Washed Ashore – Haseltine Pozzi, an artist and longtime art teacher, made it her mission to collect garbage that washes up along the Oregon coastline and use it to create large art sculptures in an effort to bring awareness to the enormous amount of plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and inspire change.

Project Vortex is an international collective of artists, designers and architects creating art works with plastic debris in support of projects that intercept plastic waste in innovative ways and help water cleanup efforts.

Plastic Ocean by Tan Zi Xi – an inspired art installation simulating the environment of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch created the experience of being immersed in a space covered with trash.

Healthy Seas – a joint venture of non-government organizations and businesses dedicated to cleaning ocean of litter and recycling it into new products such as socks, swimwear, textiles and carpets.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually the third Saturday in September to encourage people to join in efforts to rid beaches of the garbage plaguing beaches, and around the world, conservation groups organize cleanups along coastlines and waterways.

Plastic Oceans Foundation – a non-profit organization with a mission to engage people through education and media projects, campaigns and global partnerships

You’ll be surprised to see what lies
beneath the waves – Art Underwater

Our Oceans are suffering from many decades of
abuse and neglect, but each of us has the power to help heal it

Feature photo is courtesy of Free Stock Pro/Pexels CC0

Art

Chrysanthemum

Júhuā

Chrysanthemum was first cultivated as a flowering herb in China more than 3,000 years ago, and is a symbolic and therapeutic element of Chinese and East Asia traditions, culture and art.

Birds of America

Sacred Shadows

How To Beat the Bull

Ephemeral Art

Art Underwater

Upsurge

Lost in Wars

Art Therapy

Art Transforming Trash

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FOOD & DRINKS

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Art

Júhuā

Chrysanthemum was first cultivated as a flowering herb in China more than 3,000 years ago, and is a symbolic and therapeutic element of Chinese and East Asia traditions, culture and art.

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MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS