All artwork by @AbstractSunday, Christoph Niemann on Instagram
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Category Archives: artists
Andy Kehoe: The Edge of the Unknown
Around 2007 I lost my desire to appreciate art; to both view and create it. Every invitation to go to a museum or gallery opening was turned down. (While living in NYC, it’s easy to get several invitations per week to view artists and their work, especially if you are connected to the art community there.)
It’s 2015, and I haven’t fully recovered my desire or former passion for art viewing or art making. Something in me has been pulling towards the ephemeral and intangible — more so the spiritual. Over the last seven years I’ve felt much closer to spirit (energy) than to matter. I seem more interested in fleeting moments, plant matter, super-powers and phenomena. It’s what I spend my time thinking about, it’s what I want to get to know, it’s why I moved out of the city and closer to nature.
Whenever I view the deep tree saturated mountain vistas and the magical ever-changing sky, I’m reminded of my own nature, my own spirit — the spirit that is life itself. I feel at ease, and I feel at home. It’s a feeling that I wasn’t getting from big city art gigs or fancy art gallery openings. And since I wasn’t seeing it (or feeling it), I stopped connecting with that world — completely. I disconnected from art and art lovers.
There are very few artists that try to capture the ephemeral or the unknown, and simply represent mystery, spirit or energy. Alex Grey is someone who is wildly famous for illustrating what can not be seen with the naked eye. I can appreciate his work, but I don’t feel that it touches on what I feel, or what I know. It doesn’t draw me in. With such a small handful of artists that speak with their work and participate in the conversation of the Unseen, it’s hard to find one that resonates with me.
Only recently have I found an artist that speaks to my current journey and how I feel. His name is Andy Kehoe, and he has a large following online. That’s how I found his work. I’d love to buy his “At the Edge of the Unknown World” piece. I haven’t wanted to buy art in years! I’m really happy that I found Andy’s work, because it means that I haven’t lost my love or interest in fine art, I just lost interest in work that doesn’t represent what I currently feel, and the desire I have to connect with nature and spirit.
Below is a christmas list of Andy’s art. I love all of these pieces! But he has much more. I’ll leave his information below, so you can view his whole body of work. I chose the pieces that speak to me, but there might be others that speak to you.
Mother of the Lone Wolf
Roamer of the Subterranean Forest
Onward Again My Friend
Dream Chamber
Mutual Enchantment
Together in Love and Wonder
Information on Andy Kehoe:
Filed under art & film, artists, spirituality
John Frusciante – Oneness Revisited
While having a conversation with a friend, I was reminded of the Oneness of everything. Not in the way we usually hear it, “we are all one”, said in a euphoric tone. We’ve heard that so many times, I think most people are num to it. What I was sharing in that conversation I had, is that there is no beginning and no end, and we really never go anywhere. By ‘we’ I mean spirit. I think of it (us/spirit) like water. There is no such thing as new water. Scientists are constantly correcting themselves, and currently declare water to be billions of years older than previously thought. Right now, the theory is that water is older than the sun, older than our solar system (which means that water is older than 4.6 billion years). I think scientists simply don’t know, and may never know exactly how ‘old’ water is. In my mind, water simply is.
Water takes many forms; some seen, some unseen. From the visible sweat on your skin, to the invisible air you breath — there is water. Water is everywhere. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t. It takes on many forms, and it makes up what we are, and where we are. It’s constantly changing & shifting. Water is integral to our lives, and when we (our bodies) die, we (our spirit) take on a new form. Just as water becomes vapor — transitioning from the seen to the unseen. I think of life/water/spirit as ever changing, and seen or unseen at various stages — with no final stage.
Once something is apparent to us, we feel that we know it. We take it as truth. As final. As having a beginning and an end. When something is unapparent to us, we are unaware and that unseen/unknown something doesn’t exist (to us). This lack of awareness can create confusion and often fear. This is why most of us fear the unknown and don’t like when things become too unpredictable. It makes people uncomfortable, vulnerable — it gives us the feeling of being out of control (which we are). This is why people live their lives in fear of death and endings, and often live their lives from a place of confusion.
Somehow this ‘all is one, all is connected, all is seen or unseen, all simply is’ rambling reminded me of a blog post I wrote in 2012, titled John Frusciante: It’s all one thing. I’m going to re-post it for you below. I’m only sharing it to say, that some things are beyond the mind. Beyond the telescope. Beyond our imagination. When I talk about Oneness, I’m simply saying that we/it/everything is connected on every level. Some of those levels are clearly seen, but most are not. If something appears to happen to a piece/person/thing, and not the whole — it is in appearance only. If something appears to age, there is a part of that something that never ages (spirit).
Anyway… this is all just me sharing thoughts. Let’s just leave it as that. If you’d like to read the John Frusciante blog post. I embedded it below for you.
I was trying to explain the unexplainable this week. I was teaching meditation online, as I do from time to time, and it’s always such a strange thing to try to describe the indescribable, or explain the unexplainable. Saying things like: “Moving away from the idea that someone is doing something, or that someone needs to do something in order for something to happen” and “If suddenly I tossed a ball your way, you would catch it without thinking. It would be effortless & thoughtless.”
We get so wrapped up in the ‘survival of I’ world. So embedded, even lost, in the world of distractions, that we have drowned out the subtleties of life. Our innate & intuitive knowing, and our spontaneous effortless nature, has become a mystery to many of us. Beingness & awareness have become words to explore, instead of who we are as a whole.
No one does anything. No one makes anything happen. There are so many factors involved in everything — in even the smallest most minute thing/action. It’s all joined forces together at work beyond our comprehension.
If I think of the greatest things, or most significant things in my life right now. What I love most, what means the most to me, what is truly contributing or important to my life. If I make a list — not one thing on that list would be anything I would have/had control over. Nothing on that list would be something that I solely put together or chose for myself. They are things that happened for whatever reason. Things just fell into place. They all happened because of many factors and many things at work in unison.
I stumbled upon this John Frusciante video a day or two after that meditation session. As I listened to John speak, it reminded me of so many thoughts that I had.
As John Frusciante was speaking, I felt such an affinity to so much of what he was saying. Many mental notes of past thoughts I’ve had ran through my mind…
Nothing is new
Love is unconditional
Creativity births itself
They would pop into my mind as he shared his ideas.
John also exuded an energy like he had so much more to say, but that it couldn’t find its way out. Somethings can’t be expressed in a structured limited language. The written word can never fully describe what one can only feel or intuitively know. But as I continued to listen to John’s interview, I continued to jot down thoughts…
We have no control
Get out of the way
Give up control
Embrace the moment (as it is)
Love who you are
Trust the unknown
Have compassion always
It’s never about you
Don’t take it personal
Allow life to flow
Spontaneity is the key
There is only now
Stop thinking start listening
Intuition is everything
Follow your feelings
Let yourself be moved
Don’t be afraid to risk (you have nothing to lose)
Understanding is overrated
Live without reason
It’s all so interesting. The paradox that life is. How simple life can be when we stop trying so hard. How effortless life is when we allow ourselves to be.
Just like we look at earth like it’s one thing, or the solar system, or our bodies — why not see that It (Life) is all one thing? From the micro to the macro, it’s all the same force. Everything is moving, everything is being moved.
[Photo credit: Nabil]
The Brilliant Mind of Laura Berger
Last week my sister sent me a link to some really funny notecards for sale. They were very creative and refreshingly candid. My first thoughts was, “Who is making these? They’re brilliant.” I quickly found the artist’s name — it was Laura Berger of Chicago, Illinois. I’m so happy I found her work, and I’m thrilled I get to share it with you today.
I’m going to share a few of her notecard images from her Etsy shop (the actual notecards are paper, not digital — and there are 60 more to view or choose from!) In the shop there are also art prints and other goodies for sale (I fell in love with this lil’ notebook and bought it for a friend). You can also visit her website , there’s lots to see there as well. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot… you can find her on Tumblr too.
Sita Sings the Blues
I posted this movie 5 years ago… but it’s so great, I am sharing it again!
“Sita Sings the Blues” is based on the Hindu epic “The Ramayana”. Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina Paley is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Ramayana. Set to the 1920’s jazz vocals of torch singer Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as “the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.” It is written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley.
For more about the film and about Nina Paley’s other work, see: http://sitasingstheblues.com
For more about how retroactive copyright restrictions almost prevented the release of the film, see this interview with Nina Paley: http://questioncopyright.org/nina_paley_sita_interview
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