The blue woman~alive
knows the meaning of things
and the hue of His visions.
Thinks to survive.
Absently slipping her sight at the edge
of the reality~
ruins, cracked mountains, and
rolling rocky rains
when the divine penetrates her within.
The rise of more forest fires everywhere in the world. This work was created after I spent a summer in Southern Europe. In France and Spain, in the wonderful mountainous areas, with beautiful sunsets and lovely landscapes that are so dear to me, there were lots of fires in 2023. Smoke was somewhre behind the mountaintops constantly, At noght fire fighter helicopters flew over. And it is happening everywhere in the world. The world is heating up, making our landscapes hot, and maybe unlivable in the future for ourselves.
Someone spilled a drop of me
and now I'm everywhere,
immersing pebbles on the shore,
scaring nesting plovers,
boring their endangered chicks
with unasked-for confessions
that I was young once too,
that I can't fly either,
that I startle myself
when I glimpse my face in the mirror.
The Vital Force - JOY work is from my collection: ”Beautiful Coexistence" which is an ode to the force of nature and the energy that creates life and that consumes life. To the sentiments, emotions and fears that make life an exciting adventure! Visualizing the dynamics and conflicting realities through the use of many fragmentary hand-drawn and digital layers, my paintings are a kind of pentimenti...Unique images of the coexistence that shift between the recognizable and the abstract to build unexpected and memorable pictures.
Unique depictions of the coexistence that move between the recognizable and the abstract, creating memorable images of humanity as an integral part of nature and which invisible forces shape our world.
She sat on the curb and stretched her legs out
and waited for some car to come;
in far nights when her husband coughed, the walls
of their shack got everyone up when they shook,
she wanted to be the one to stand against
the TB he had contracted underground
while looking for stones for the nice lady,
during the days of shackles, blue coal and glass
from the earth, gold for the queen’s chandelier
and diamonds for pink fingers. This is what
the police knew of her. She gripped the edge
of the ledge behind her as a car approached,
and pushed herself in again, her heart certain
that it must know, now, what this felt like.
By Antonia Alexandra Klimenko
The space above the earth
is not separate
from the space beneath its surface
It was not separate
before the earth was born
it is not separate now
though I will no doubt take One breath
and attempt to divide it into two
Nor will it be separate
once this land is no more
and God will perhaps Sighhhh
and release me in Her breath
This land is my land
because I belong to it
It does not belong to me
It was its own
long before I became mine
It will be ours
long after we arrive and depart as spirit
the Land of the Living
All land is for the living
All life cannot be parceled off
will not be bought or sold leased bordered
cut down cut up or used up
like so many logs of experience
inch by inch minute by minute
while we sing songs of innoccence or indifference
around somebody else's campfire
One must give oneself outright
One must give oneself fully as in birth
or in surrender the only good act of war
You my sweet land have taught me this
You my sweet land have taught me
that possession is for those who would be possessed
That owning without sharing without connection
can only choke on its own dust
can only drag under the weight of its own feet
If one is to breathe freely
one must be willing to live on air
One must be willing to give and to receive life
as a labor of love
To stand on the sky as it passes through angels
To stand in the wind as it passes,..
not as water breaking or rushing by
but in the stillness of change
Like the great oak circling the storm
or the finely tuned rainbowed chords of Time--
for Time runs countless rings around us all
There is no turning your back on The Circle
though I have tried
The Great Circle of Life
is the great leveler of all lands and peoples
Once I turned my back on you my land
and in kind you yourself became less kind less friendly
No longer did the arms of your branches reach out
to embrace my vision Nor their tender leaves
wave sweetly to me as once they had
Instead your ground grew hard and cold
halting me in my own tracks
The same earth whose underground trails and root-systems
whose arteries less traveled
burned with the flickering flames of a moment's neglect
until at last we snuffed out their glowing embers
which in turn only turned to char and ash
What grows above ground and reaches for Heaven
is not separate
from that which lies hidden beneath the surface
beyond the complexion of our own Collective Mind
I who had turned my back on you
had turned my back on myself
I who had withheld myself from you
had withheld something valuable from myself
Had I until now looked only with my eyes?
Had I not seen or felt with my being
the most important invisible of life?
That which may only be made visible
through the eyes of the heart
At the core of Any and Every...is there not a living pulse?
At the earth's core is there not a beating heart?
Do we not share the same air?
Do we not fall heir to the same DNA
as the moon and the stars?
This land is my land
because we delight in one another
It is my love It is my lover It is my family
It beckons me with its resonant hills
and the deep contours of its mind
It intoxicates me with the width and breadth of its scent
It waits for me faithfully in both light and in shadow
in faith and uncertainty. through all the seasons of the soul
It waits for me in harmony and trembles at my approach
It rises up to meet me as I come to greet it
She is coming she is coming she is coming she's coming!
my land whispers with the joy from which springs all Creation
from leaf to leaf wing to wing ear to ear
So happy to see you it sings and chants lovingly
gladdened by the return of my own loving presence
All life is reciprocal
Do we not serve ourselves best by serving others?
You my sweet land have taught me this
I understand now and nod to you in continuum
while your trees sway and bough
evermore deeply to me
This land is my land
It is my home it is my birthright
It restoreth my soul
Yea though I walk through the valley
you and I pass through one another
dust to dust breath to breath
You and I pass through one another
like clouds or small fishes or the Great Mother
even as She passes through us
One day I will pass too
as those who have passed before me
and recede into my memory
as the eye its globe
and the land its horizon
One day I shall become part of the moving landscape
as you my loved ones are a moving part of me
The space without me is not separate
from the space within you
That which divides us is merely illusion
There is no separation.
Standing on the sky
owning everything
and nothing but this moment
you must please tell me
(and this sweet land
that is as much yours as it is mine)
when we will meet again
Tell us something about the natural world that you love and don’t wish to lose. What are your thoughts on the kind of world we are leaving for the next generation?
When I think of Nature, I think of Mother Nature and home. I think of the Universe, the breath of sky within and without, and the circle of the planet's embrace in which we are held. I think of our natural world as that family circle.. What i don't wish any of us to lose is the cycle of birth and rebirth, the river's flow, the gentle unfolding of leaf and foliage The gentle unfolding of all things, for everything tells a story. My feet on the ground, my roots in the sky. I love trees, in particular. The branches that reach upward, their root systems that allow for not only nourishment but communication, that allow trees to send messages to one another. The very fact that trees talk to one another and actually have empathy puts some of us to shame. Sighhhh Nature. The force of nature—that Invisible force made visible in mountains, sea, trees, reproduction, growth. So familiar to us and yet becoming less familiar with each passing year due to the force of man's nature, his propensity for neglect. Global warming, the destruction of forests, the extinction of wildlife threaten our very existence. If is crucial, therefore, that we become more aware, more cognizant of what is happening to the vulnerable world around us, as well as our role in it, otherwise we are destined to leave to future generations...a legacy of ill-health, a landscape of drought and destruction. But, Life is all about positive energy; energy never dies and ''hope springs eternal.'' Out of subterranean darkness, young plants continue to shoot into the light and find their way back in the dark. And, with this kind of awakening, we pray that we, as human beings, will follow their example.
The earth was entrusted to us. We are its caretakers. We must protect and conserve the earth's resources, our resources; It is our responsibility to nurture it, as it nurtures us; to raise awareness and support
that consciousness no differently than we would water and raise a plant or any living be-ing. Those who struggle to create, survive in the more meaningful way and are thus re-created. Whatever energy we can put forth with the breath of good intention can never be lost. Human be-ings are connected to one another by invisible healing threads of light—-light-waves and vibrations which bind us together and weave the fabric and pattern of our lives. Words, sound and images that impart meaning and spark connection are stronger than steel and have the ability to lend understanding, to inspire to move us to spring to action. And this is the kind of action that is desperately needed. The kind that inspires not only with words, but by our example. We are Living Poems. Living Art. We must constantly remind ourselves that each of us can make a difference. That no positive action is too insignificant. As the world turns, we must, in turn, do good turns for one another and our planet.
surface mixes the weather,
cowed, potent clouds then kisses
of fire stolen together
with vapors purse-proud, hisses
Watching my daughter climb this majestic live oak, unfettered and unafraid, the visual metaphor was abundantly clear. Who could resist the lure of that tangle of branches that travel so high to a magical perch with the owls? Of course, I want her to feel this pull and feel her strength to climb to the top. But from the ground, I see the treacherousness of all of it, all that I can't control or protect her from, and all of the letting go that lies ahead. As a painter, I wanted to capture how the gesture of her body was in unison with the tree--I could see the specific and the infinite at the same time--and the rhythm of the shapes, negative and positive, that seemed to tell the story for me.
Through my work, I strive to bring together the multifaceted aspects of life experience as ingredients for a fresh and exploratory worldview. It is an attempt to present these phenomena in a visual language that is focused enough to address the issue at hand, yet broad enough to transfer coherent concepts without being colloquially or culturally exclusive. In essence, I see them as contemporary visual sutras, to be pondered, absorbed, and considered. The various facets of an image are in essence seeds which are planted upon viewing, then integrate with the viewer's sense of self, stimulating and provoking a broader mindset.
Hollow-eyed shades
of human beings,
human beings
cogitating on jazz music,
jazz penetrates the deep silence
of the bleeding angels,
angels in a fight for
the awakening of this blind reality,
On the edges of the thruway
threading New York
to New Jersey
a stone’s throw from the Whitney Houston
service area
find the real heart of America
stubborn icon
of America’s plains
rough grass growing
quietly
taking in
the landscape
of trucks crowding
all of daylight
rough grass remembering
the feet of five nations
The arts and humanities open up our imagination. They encourage critical thinking and broad viewing of our present on the one hand, and allow for day-dreaming on the other. And the ability to imagine other futures, other realities or existences - is what allows for change.
I wrote this for my mother,
for her mother,
for my grandmother’s mother,
and for her mother before her.
Once, long ago, I asked a taxi driver to tell me the worst thing about his job. I expected him to complain about the long hours or mechanical problems. Waiting to stop at a red light before answering, he said, ’The worst thing about my job is that I never hear the end of the story. People enter my taxi halfway through their conversation and leave without finishing it.’ I often think about that taxi driver and how the fragments of a story inspired me the most. I want my work to feel open-ended, like a snapshot of a much bigger tale, a springboard for one’s imagination to go on an unexpected ride.
What stands out most about this project is the appreciation that is being expressed towards artists of all backgrounds and generations. The non discriminatory nature of this project truly allows us to resonate with each other in a non judgmental manner, thus further examining what it truly means to make art and put it out into the world.
The arts are important because we express the beauty of being human within it. That capability of creating out of ideas and materials is precious. And I believe that this is what constitutes us, or better, what defines us. Maybe some people do this job in somehow more expressive and outstanding manner. Still, the creative process begins its motion every time that we look at the sky, we pay attention to a human expression, or we care about Nature. It is precisely there when the magic begins.
I love hiking in the woods, listening to bird songs and seeing different shades of greens, yellows and reds in the vegetation. It’s a time to be with other species and appreciate the multitude forms of life that allows our planet thrive. There was also a rare moment in the city of Shanghai when a squirrel suddenly landed on my hand as I was walking on the street. It was a split second of touch, yet a true moment of intimacy (the paws pressed on my skin) felt from our kin. Life is a planetary phenomenon, and its biodiversity is something I don’t wish and we can’t afford to lose. We need to rebuild our kinship with life on earth that’s deeply rooted in evolutionary time and understand our place as a node in the mesh of the more-than-human world.
By RUNA (aka Rute Norte)
The Importance of Arts, Culture & The Creative Process
We cannot celebrate anything in the arts, culture, or human experience without considering the impact of our actions on nature: flora and fauna. Human experience cannot ignore the infamous way we treat the raising of animals for consumption, for instance. Many artists are already addressing this issue in their work, such as in the newly inaugurated Gulbenkian Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, where a painting by the Portuguese artist Rosa Carvalho (b. 1952), dated 2013, is on display, tackling precisely this theme. It would be interesting to see some focus on this matter from "The Creative Process" as well.
What was the inspiration for your creative work?
During my master's degree in Painting, at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, I presented a written work on this topic: “Thanatos & Eros”. Today I continue to approach it in painting. The God Eros is the god of passion, love and eroticism, in Greek mythology. It represents the “life drive” and probably everyone has heard of it. Perhaps the god Thanatos - god of death - won't be as well-known; and he was, and continues to be, my great interest, so I dedicated most of my study to him. Not to be confused with Hades, the god of the dead. Thanatos inspired Sigmund Freud, who determined that all instincts fall into one of two main classes: the life instincts or the death instincts. The Life Instincts (Eros) are those that deal with basic survival, pleasure, and reproduction. Regarding the Death Instinct (Thanatos), Freud proposed that “the goal of all life is death”. He concluded that people have an unconscious desire to die, but that this desire is largely tempered by life instincts. In Freud's view, self-destructive behaviour is an expression of the energy created by the death instincts. When this energy is directed outward and toward others, it is expressed as aggression and violence.
Below the window is a city, but there’s only enough space for two
in the hotel room. There aren’t any dreams, it’s too hot to sleep
anyway. I’m putting down word after word. Letters. Quotes. A
traveller’s diary. The forgotten roads travelled to be closer to my
loves. Trust always comes later, as well as the discovery that I’d
missed it. Not only the street, but the entire continent.
The desire for beauty has accompanied man at all times. It found its expression in paintings, frescoes, sculptures, literature, and other works of art. Each generation made its contribution and gave rise to a new direction in creativity. For any person, art is an integral part of his life. We sometimes do not notice this, involuntarily admiring all the beauty that surrounds us. Works of art inspire, shape thinking, and also answer questions that many would be afraid to ask themselves. Art opens up new perspectives for society and also allows us to understand the physical and metaphysical world around us. It allows society to grow and develop.
The Creative Process: Podcast Interviews & Portraits of the World’s Leading Authors & Creative Thinkers
Inspiring Students – Encouraging Reading - Connecting through Stories
The Creative Process exhibition is traveling to universities and museums. The Creative Process exhibition consists of interviews with over 100 esteemed writers, including Joyce Carol Oates, Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Tobias Wolff, Richard Ford, Junot Díaz, Marie Darrieussecq, Michel Faber, T.C. Boyle, Jay McInerney, George Saunders, Geoff Dyer, Etgar Keret, Douglas Kennedy, Sam Lipsyte, and Yiyun Li, among others. Artist and interviewer: Mia Funk.
