by Paul Goldman

I ceased putting off any longer all

that needs doing now?  Immediately

I set to recast the canvas of my life,

to paint anew each of the karmic

stains carried from lifetime to lifetime

accumulated now above palette

and paints.

Pure white shimmered around the perimeter

as I emptied each act, thought or deed gathered

from the myriad moments of eons

onto the empty slate.

To my surprise each splatter dried, casting

clues to unseen mysteries heretofore not

revealed.  Still, the picture painted did not

yet satisfy these eyes.

With brush raised, I begin to channel all

the masters: Van Gogh, Monet and even

Titian—

new hues dotted, stroked and spattered

as whole bits and chunks of karma

transformed until a beautiful panoramic view

unparalleled dropped me to my knees as

I settled on the scene of my life set before

me now.

What if I had finally solved the puzzle

of my self-created Zeno’s paradox to reveal

a continuum in space and time where I —

a motionless runner—

had always been?  Unvarnished now, I sit

waiting— beside the tender shoots of the

newly planted Bodhi Tree in my own

backyard.

Paul Goldman is a published ecstatic poet whose work can be found online at www.stonespiritlodge.com, www.kansaspoets.com, and www.artistshelpingthehomeless.org.  His poetry has been published in Evolving Magazine, Spirit Seeker and in various Midwest literary journals. A video segment of a recent poetry reading can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FTtW1bm7l8.

While Everybody Else is busy Choosing Sides, I am busy choosing stories. Some stories the plot thickens. Some stories it is thin. The characters are Everything Else in some stories. Some stories are like ballads.

Once you choose a side it can be difficult to choose another side. If there are only two sides especially. Some One may have already chosen the other side. It is difficult to know Ahead of Time what side you’re on.

It would be simpler if the Truth was always found on one side or another. The strangest thing is that a story is always closer to the Truth than Any Thing Else that is not a Thing. You may think I am making this up. It seems like the world is a bunch of Opposites, and then Everything Else is fine.

We went to see Vincent together. I remember. I cried. It was a very bad snow day on the Mountain. We passed a cork tree with bark like his painting like the medieval cork forest below the castle in Spain. Renior retrospective in Boston. Matisse at Peggy’s Place in New York. They saw so Deeply it hurt to look.

We don’t get as much Time as we want. Nobody Else does. We get as much as we need. Sometimes I think my heart will grow bigger. Then it is half-empty again to hold the Whole Truth. The more Truth I find, the more it seems to agree with me.

Fundamentally, the Devil is different. I think. That could be a story. I still have Some Time. Not as much as I want. Week 24. Seventy Weeks to Go. Port Gamble – Talkeetna. I am On Time. No sign of the Devil at the Old Crossroads.

Continuing my Vincent series

I heart Van Gogh

Mimuhé me pasa una promoción del periódico onubense Odiel Información que es una maravilla. ¡Nada menos que una serie de libros sobre grandes maestros de la pintura!

¿Van Goht? ¿Y ése qué pintó?

Ya es suficiente delito el que hayan escrito Velázquez sin tilde. Pero ¿Van Goht? ¿Quién narices era ése?

Yo no es que sea un experto en arte, pero me da en la nariz que si Van Gogh viera cómo han escrito su nombre, en vez de cortarse una oreja se sacaría los ojos…

Doves with Messages of Peace & Goodwill

A friend of mine Mary from Malaysia emailed me this beautiful story “Take My Son” & suggested that I might adopt it in my blog. No doubt many of you may have read the story, but a good story such as this is well worth repeating.

A Chinese proverb has this to say: “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I will understand.”

This beautiful but sad story will involve you & awaken your understanding like “a picture that paints a thousand words.” Remember how at times something hits you hard & strong upon later reflection. “Life” as said by Soren Kierkegaad, “can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

Here goes the story: (Source: Unknown)

Take My Son

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael . They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas,there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, ‘Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.’ The young man held out this package. ‘I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.’

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. ‘Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.’

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. ‘We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?’

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, ‘We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.’

But the auctioneer persisted. ‘Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?’

Another voice rang angrily. ‘We came to see the Van Gogh’s, the Rembrandts. Get on with the . . . (agitated words) Real bids!’

But still the auctioneer continued. ‘The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?’

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. ‘I’ll give $10 for the painting . . .’ Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

‘We have $10, who will bid $20?’

‘Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.’

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. ‘Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!’

A man sitting on the second row shouted, ‘Now let’s get on with the collection!’

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. ‘I’m sorry, the auction is over.’

‘What about the paintings?’

‘I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!’

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: ‘The son, the son, who’ll take the son?’

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE . . .” (John 3:16) THAT’S LOVE!

It was love, not nails, that kept Jesus on the cross.

As a gesture of goodwill, just pass this on to two other friends & tell them to do likewise to only two others each. By sheer geometric progression, this message of salvation will outreach globally to every nook & corner.

]]> http://stushieart.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/stushie-art-moonrise-van-gogh/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:08:10 +0000 stushie http://stushieart.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/stushie-art-moonrise-van-gogh/

Back to my Vincent series

To look at my current drawings, click here: http://www.stushieart.wordpress.com

Experimenting with colors and textures

An exhibition rich of masterpieces that tell about the relationship between the Barbizon school of France and the diffusion of realism and naturalism in Central and Eastern Europe brings together from museums all over the world 134 works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and many others who can be compared with the main painters of countries of Central and Eastern Europe. If you happen to be in Udine, visit The Age of Courbet and Monet at the majestic ensemble of Villa Manin in Passariano until March 7, 2010.
more…

Si a la modelo Galia Katz le dieran elegir el lugar perfecto para vivir, escogería un jardín húmedo, con muchos troncos y musgo donde crecieran orquídeas y ella misma sería un hada que habitaría en ese espacio.

De hortensias y orquídeas estaría repleto también el jardín ideal de Joana Ruiz; así lo afirman estas dos expertas en el tema de florería quienes han unido su sensibilidad e ingenio para crear un concepto llamado Jardín de Malva.

La idea parte de la creación de arreglos florales con formas y diseños innovadores y diferentes.

“Todo empezó porque yo, con la ayuda de mi mamá, decoré mi boda. En aquel tiempo me dedicaba al interiorismo y de ahí me dieron ganas de organizar eventos. Cuando estaba en mi luna de miel, Galia me contactó y me dijo que acababa de hablar con un amigo que le había metido la idea de ambientar eventos, así surgió todo”, dice Joana.

Por su parte, Galia ha dejado un poco de lado las pasarelas para dedicarse a su nueva aventura; su experiencia en el tema del diseño la ha inspirado para dar origen a novedosos arreglos.

“He modelado por muchos años y he estado dentro del mundo del diseño con mi línea de zapatos, esto me ha servido un poco para inspirarme.

“Las flores tienen la connotación de que son algo cursi o femenino, nosotros creemos que puedes explotar la materia y el medio para hacer cosas fuera del contexto al que estamos acostumbrados”, expresa Katz.

Gerberas montadas sobre redes de alambre, juegos geométricos creados a partir de hojas que cubren la superficie de un cuadro; orquídeas sobre plataformas cubiertas con corteza de árbol seca -idóneas para decorar pasillos-, elegantes composiciones en bowls de cristal, forman parte de lo que estas jóvenes ofrecen. “Nuestra idea es crear diseños basados en la arquitectura floral, es decir instalaciones de flores”, explica Ruiz.

“Estás trabajando con cosas vivas que tienen un determinado tiempo de vida, es necesario saber en qué momento comprar la flor y cómo trabajarla.

“Es triste que sea tan efímero, pero eso le da también un aspecto romántico. Es crear fantasías e ilusiones, por eso le pusimos Jardín de Malva, porque sientes que estás entrando a un cuento, lleno de nuevas experiencias”.

Muy en tendencia

Así como en la moda, en la florería también hay tendencias. Actualmente hay un poco de todo, nos gusta lo minimalista, hay arreglos saturados que se ven bien, pero depende mucho del evento.”

“La tendencia, igual que en el interiorismo es a manejar los extremos: el minimalismo y el saturado, te puedes adaptar a cualquiera”, afirma Katz.

Dice, “hay que divertirse con las flores. Por otra parte, es importante recordar que hay que cambiar el agua a diario y cortar los tallos para que duren más”.

En cuanto al tema del romanticismo, las expertas están de acuerdo en que es necesario mantener la tradición de dar flores para preservar la tradición. “Se ha perdido un poco el gesto de regalarlas, es lindo conquistar a una mujer así.

“En el caso de los hombres, ¿por qué no regalárselas? Nosotras tenemos arreglos muy masculinos compuestos por alcatraces y otros complementos dedicados a ellos”, sugiere Katz.

I’ve often said that I’m a designer masquerading as a copywriter. Truth be told, the gap between a designer and a copywriter isn’t too wide anymore.

So, here we have it. I’ve decided to apply for a Masters degree in Strategic Design Management at a prestigious d-school (yeah, you’ve heard it right). It’s been a while since I’ve taken entrance exams with animal-esque names. So while I prepare for the examinations, let me take a moment to look at things around me.

Ok. So, I ain’t no art critic or a Vincent Van Gogh, but yes, I do observe a lot of stuff and I can tell a good thing from a not-so-good thing. And increasingly I see a lot of badly designed places and objects on a daily basis. Am I sounding too vague? Let me explain. For all of you who have studied history, you would be aware of the Indus Valley Civilization, which occurred around 3000 – 4500 years ago. This civilization was renowned for the quality of its urban planning and its excellent drainage and sewage system. In fact, it is a matter of national shame that the drainage system of the Harappan era was far better than that of many places in current day India.

So lets get this right. Despite having all the technological gadgets and tools at our disposal we have failed to provide a proper sanitation system to our people living in urban areas. (Rural areas is something we will address later) Honestly, something is seriously wrong with us that we focus on accumulating stuff while ignoring other important issues. Here’s another example: People living in Mumbai would be familiar with the Worli-Bandra Sea Link which recently was opened to the public. In true Indian style, we get a state-of-the-art bridge thanks to our purchasing power (some may say waste of money) but – guess what – we did not bother about building a decent approach road to the bridge from the Worli-end. Which means that after driving over the bridge the poor thing has to navigate through a bottle-neck and take a detour of over 1.5 kms to be able to get on to the main road.

I can point out countless examples wherein our municipalities / railways / other authorities have designed faulty bridges, stations, overpasses etc. These structures have been built at a cost of billions of Rupees and many of them are seldom used by the public on account of it’s poor usability. This is not only a waste of money but also time as it leads to unnecessary traffic jams as people end up jaywalking. Thus we can solve a number of problems by ensuring that structures in public places are designed keeping usability in mind. If aesthetics can also be taken care of, then the designer indeed will have struck gold.

Mon Voyage

(For Elvis, Edith Piaf, and All Whom Paris and New York Have Swallowed Whole)   

11-23-09                         by Mark Nielsen

Some days I feel about as important as a single telephone pole–

That one! There. See it?

Covered in kudzu vines,

Just one in a string of a thousand

across flat, hot, desolate Mississippi.

How important is it to fix a broken bicycle spoke?

Does a lynchpin ever know it is the lynchpin?

Who ever said that by doing something I love,

and doing it well,

The world would come running to hear it?

The world does not need me.

In fact, the world never knows what it needs.

Until it finds it.

At which point it immediately spoils it.

And the journey to glory

Est un voyage court à nulle part.

And as for talent:

Are you listening to these words,

Or just watching the way my hair falls across my forehead?

What profiteth it for a man

to talk real purty?

Or for a woman to belt out a sad song for her father?

Or for a child set adrift to paint a starry night?

The ruts in this road are deep, though.

It will take more strength than I have

On my own, in these arthritic hands,

To turn right up ahead when we see the road home.

(That is, if I’m not asleep at the wheel when it comes).

On the other hand,

at least I can’t turn around, either.

So take the wheel, St. Therese.

Where are we going?

Una fiesta para los sentidos es lo que se vivirá en la próxima subasta de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Louis C. Morton, la casa de subastas.

Un importante evento en el que se darán encuentro los nombres más reconocidos del arte latinoamericano, que en los últimos años ha cobrado gran importancia en el mundo gracias a la proyección que le han dado las más reconocidas casas de subastas, debido a la particular estética que emana de la cultura latinoamericana.

La subasta incluye pintura, escultura y obra gráfica de artistas como Diego Rivera, Roberto Montenegro, José Clemente Orozco, José Chávez Morado, Francisco Corzas, Francisco Toledo, Sergio Hernández, Rodolfo Nieto, Pedro Friedeberg, Vlady, Wifredo Lam, Francisco Zúñiga, Carlos Mérida, Roberto Fabelo, Vicente Gandía y también de autores como: Andy Warhol, Alice Rahon, Joy Laville y Yaacov Agam, entre otros.

Como lo menciona Luis C. López Morton, Presidente y Director General de la casa de subastas: “Nos sentimos honrados en presentar esta excelente muestra de lo que es el arte de Latinoamérica, a través de obras representativas de las más importantes tendencias del arte moderno y contemporáneo, estilos, épocas y técnicas.”

Por nombrar algunas de las obras que se inclyen dentro de los 273 lotes de la subasta, contamos con una pintura de Diego Rivera, “Paisaje”, realizada en 1919, en su pleno período de formación en Europa, en la que claramente se ve la influencia de Renoir y Cezanne. Los colores y perspectivas hacen única a esta obra, la cual tiene mucho de lo que marcará su estilo y lo colocará a la cabeza de la Escuela Mexicana de Pintura.

De Carlos Mérida incluimos la obra “Tres Personajes con Mandolina”, en donde logra fusionar la pintura geométrica con las tendencias vanguardistas y su interés por las culturas populares.

De Francisco Corzas tendremos la obra “Perfil”, un expresivo claroscuro en donde la concepción estética se basa en el material cromático que utiliza  el misterio del personaje retratado.

Otras piezas excepcionales son las de Pedro Friedeberg. Contaremos con sus arte objeto en tres ejemplos distintos: “El transportador femenino”, “El Candelabro” y “El Sol y la Luna” en donde por medio de símbolos esotéricos transforma los objetos comunes en arte y la obra titulada “La Jungla” con la que el autor juega con la percepción del espectador.

De Alberto Gironella, quizás el más radical y apasionado miembro de la generación de la ruptura, destaca el óleo sobre tela: Cuauhtémoc 6.

En cuanto a las esculturas, hay variedad de técnicas y épocas.  Contaremos con piezas de Artistas de la talla de Juan Cruz Reyes, Victor Chaca y Sebastián.

Otras tendencias que encontraremos en la subasta son las vanguardias caracterizadas por el geometrismo, el arte abstracto, el  rompimiento de la figura  y el lenguaje conceptual moderno.

Una constelación de artistas importantes, reconocidos, una variedad de formatos y materiales, obras de arte para todos los gustos y al alcance de su mano, en la Subasta de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo  en Louis C. Morton, México. No tiene que estar presente para ser parte. Contamos con Servicio de Ofertas en Ausencia, por teléfono o vía Internet por medio de Artfact.com

Consulte las obras de arte a subastarse en www.lmorton.com

El Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura de Puebla, invita al curso “Negocios del arte” a realizarse los días 7, 8 y 9 de diciembre próximos con un total de 15 horas.

Dirigido a los profesionales del arte y con el fin de conocer asuntos como la diferencia entre mecenazgo, patrocinio y representación; así como el de analizar las circunstancias actuales de los contratos, del copyright, del cómo se escribe un “statement”, del cómo se redacta un curriculum vitae, así como del registro en caso de que se trate de “arte efímero” y su venta, además del fijar el precio de la obra.

Ha llevarse a cabo en las instalaciones del IMACP, el instituto ofrece becas a quien escriba una carta de motivos no mayor a media cuartilla, enviándola a // <![CDATA[
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are viv + i?
“hallo…” from amsterdam, netherlands!

definitely an interesting place… especially after the scenic, country-side feel we experienced while in southern france. amsterdam is well known for many things: it’s historic churches/buildings, great public transportations: trains, trams, buses + bicycles, windmills and beautiful canals… and probably equally known for their, er… ummm… well, open views (like hatred of google, recreational drug use + prostitution, just to name a few).

steve balmer's favorite t-shirt (had to censor the 'F' word for the younger viewers)...

I AM-sterdam-it!

viv had heard about their “special” brownies so we decided to take a stroll towards the dam square (yeah, i chuckled in disbelief when i first heard this square was actually called “dam square“). anyway, we ran across no shortage of “special” coffeeshops that offered these delectable delights. and in the immortal words of former president ‘slick willy‘: we ‘did not inhale‘. j/k…
viv nor i, partook in any of these delirium-inducing desserts… besides, there were PLENTY of other delicious pastries/treats to munch on… one of my favorites: stroopwafels (thanks for the heads-up on this one, julie)! 

"stroopwafels" - they are AWE-friggin-SOME (and i just found out trader joe's sells them... whee!)

we managed to visit many of their local cafes and eat some killer food. our favorite place was recommended by several of the locals:

viv + i having our hazelnut latte + cafe americano at tisfris cafe...

and our corresponding lunch, a roast beef + avocado samich, a sausage, cheese + tomato samich and the best tomato basil soup i've had!

dam square was dam nice. a mash-up of modern + medival sites and sounds. a bit too touristy for me though.

bikes, bikes and more bikes... heading towards "dam square".

oh so picturesque! i couldn't have staged it any better...

sunset (that's the reflection of it in the building's window) at dam square...

when in amsterdam, do as the amsterdam-ians… we decided to rent a tandem bike and stroll around the city streets.

look how happy viv is to go biking in amsterdam!

and wouldn’t you know it? being rain-less (albeit a little cold) our entire stay in amsterdam, the day we decide to bike, it rains and is super windy! like a gentleman, i was in the front seat and took most of the rain and wind to my face…  :|

viv showing how bummed we were b/c the heavy rain + super wind/gust prematurely ended our biking adventure...

and what is a visit here if you don’t see the infamous ‘red-light district‘? it was quite a shock as viv and i walked and discovered our first bay of windows occupied by women right across the street from the ??? church. and as we strolled more, we found that no matter what street we turned into, we found ourselves facing more banks and banks of these windows.

the infamous red-light district...

it launched viv + i into a discussion about these women, their profession, how they got into this line of work and countless others. these women are someone’s daughters/sisters/and some… even mothers!
wanting to be a father (hopefully soon if the Lord’s willing!), i told viv how my heart was just crushed and deeply saddened by what we were witnessing. this led me to think of countless millions who are trafficked and sold into the sex-industry. it renewed our desire and commitment to the great organizations that are out there wanting to bring justice and liberation to those oppressed (www.ijm.org + www.thesoldproject.org just to name a few).
wasn’t expecting to get on a soap box, but i guess my heart needed to vomit this out. it is something viv + i will continue to wrestle,pray and dedicate our lives + resources to help make an impact for God’s kingdom and His people.

- amsterdam.
  places visited:
    – 9 streets shopping district:  some pretty cool stores. you can definitely spend hours/days walking around and enjoying what each unique place/store has to offer.
    – anne frank huis museum.  
    - van gogh musem.
    – rikjsmuseum “national museum“:  an absolutely beautiful museum… but much of it was under renovation. it featured many european artists’ collections alongside a group of dutch master paintings. 
    – red-light district:  you just have to experience it.
    – canal cruise.

the view from our seat while we did the canal cruise for the day...

another beautiful amsterdam/canal shot...

flight itinerary:
- amsterdam
- gatwick london
- back to -> marseille
- back to ->paris
- back to ->hong kong (total travel time = 27.45 hours… ugghhh)

tot ziens (for now)…

for more reading:
- where in the world… (part 3)
- where in the world… (part 2)
- where in the world… (part 1)