Elegant Mystery has shared several images of Leonora Carrington's surrealist artwork, and the short documentary film about this amazing woman's life. What a wonderful, inspired, and deeply moving story! Leonora Carrington's story gives one example of what happens when a... Continue Reading →
I wrote recently on "The Hidden Meaning and Beauty" of vandalism, neglect, and graffiti -- including the graffiti that we might not see as beautiful or sacred, but as (and fairly so) an example of ugliness and desecration. Blog brother... Continue Reading →
“I don’t criticize ...That’s not my approach. I look for avenues of transformation, and I feed them. I’m always looking to generate something, as opposed to just taking something apart.” “The way I think of it is, every time we... Continue Reading →
I appreciated the collection of musings and blog-shares that artist and fellow blog-sister Janet Chui shared in her blog post. Janet gathered up a few of her favorite web-finds and musings of recent days, and the selection includes an invocation... Continue Reading →
Happy Summer Solstice to all of you in the Northern Hemisphere, and Happy Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. We have the unusual pleasure of a Strawberry Full Moon falling on Solstice day, so it's quite a power-portal and 'thin... Continue Reading →
Music-wisdom from Nahko Bear & Medicine for the People - very applicable to the energies of now. "hell, good thing i don't require much. makes it easier to move and stand straight up. a little tough love and the gentle... Continue Reading →
“The arts are not a way of making a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s... Continue Reading →
This is such a beautiful and evocative painting from Sandys. I saw it when I was browsing images in my files and, though I wasn't aware at the time its connection with Winter and, in a way, the Spirit of... Continue Reading →
David Zinn is a street artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who turns cracks and dusty corners into surreal fantasy scenes. His imagination spreading out on to the streets of his city, it’s as if characters from children’s books have escaped into the real world, with a mission- to bring smiles, spark imaginations and warm hearts…
"In each of us dwells a wanderer, a gypsy, a pilgrim. The purpose here is to call forth that spirit. What matters most on your journey is how deeply you see, how attentively you hear, how richly the encounters are... Continue Reading →
The Sower of the System, 1902, by George Frederic Watts. Public domain image via Wikipedia.
“Authoritarian societies recognize the power of art, which is why they so brutally censor their best artists. Free market societies, on the other hand, adopt a strategy of suppression by appropriation.” ~ Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice (via Elegant Mystery)
Read through the excerpts from Elegant Mystery’s post for some powerful insights about the shaman, the prophet, and the artist … the power of the dream — and the power of homogenizing, soul-deadening engineered mass communication — in a culture of non-dream.
“I think the weird is present in all great artworks, if by that we mean works that lays reality bare instead of placating us with illusions.” – J.F. Martell
(From the publisher)
“Part treatise, part critique, part call to action, RECLAIMING ART IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICE is a journey into the uncanny realities revealed to us in the great works of art of the past and present.”
“Received opinion holds that art is culturally-determined and relative. We are told that whether a picture, a movement, a text, or sound qualifies as a “work of art” largely depends on social attitudes and convention. Drawing on examples ranging from Paleolithic cave paintings to modern pop music and building on the ideas of James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Gilles Deleuze, Carl Jung, and others, J.F. Martel argues that art is an inborn human phenomenon that precedes the formation of culture and even society…
Modern Art Wall Dripped Free-Form, by the Creatively Maladjusted and Transformed Non-Conformist Aquarian Artist, Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956). Public domain image graciously shared by Tomwsulcor via WikiMedia.
Yesterday was the birth-anniversary for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (and the day before my beautiful Capricorn Sun niece+God-daughter’s birthday!).
I wrote this post (see link below) awhile ago, but the wisdom is fresh no matter what the day, month or year.
And that’s no less so than right now(when a healthy dose of Aquarian-style creative maladjustment and transformed nonconformism would be good medicine as psychopaths run all willy-nilly, rough-shod rampant, leaving wreckage in their wakes).
The Rev. Dr. King inspired many during this lifetime — when he surely walked this talk! — and his courage, vision, and daring Wisdom has inspired many more since.
This particular bit of wisdom will resonate with any of us who have Aquarian-fibers running through our own unique tapestry (like moi!), and it’s a theme right now with the Uranus square, extra Aqua energy coming through (with the Sun soon to join that party and send Aqua-trons our way), and the two — read it, two — Aquarius new moons coming up.
And this particular speech of the Rev. Dr. King is brilliant not just for what he’s saying, but who he’s speaking to (check it out).
Prepare to stir your Aqua Stuff (or get acquainted with it for the first time and do some experimenting) and beam it out into the world (how else will this Aquarian Age come into being?).
And if you need some believing mirror support, bolstering, light-sparking encouragement and spiritual direction — or help figuring out just which fabulous freak-flag is yours to fly — consider scheduling some Aqua-Authenticity-Sparking sessions with me, send me an email and have a look here.
Until then, enjoy this inspiration from the visionary Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wishing You Big Love and Lots of Quirky Courage, Jamie
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Photo from Seattle Times archive] Today is the anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s epic “I Have a Dream” speech.
In another of his powerfully challenging and inspiring speeches from 1967, he talked about when we might want to adopt a bit of creative maladjustment when what we would otherwise be ‘adjusting to’ (and thus empowering) is, well, pretty much normalized insanity.
Here’s a snippet of the Rev. Dr. King’s speech on creative maladjustment:
“I’m about convinced now that there is need for a new organization in our world. The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment‐‐men and women who will be as maladjusted as the prophet Amos. Who in the midst of the injustices of his day could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a…
"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or... Continue Reading →
"We are indeed at a critical juncture in human history. Our collective initiation from the love of power to the power of love is the motto of our time. In this time of global transformation, it is essential that we... Continue Reading →
"I believe that it's time to say our first relationship and responsibility is with the Creative Spirit." "Not to brand it, not to sell it, not to convince others with it, but to have a relation first and foremost where... Continue Reading →
"The creative act is a courageous, ancient gesture, a dynamic exploration of the dark mystery that is human existence." ~ Adriana Diaz, as quoted in Roderick MacIver's Art As A Way of Life. The creative gesture means many things. Yes,... Continue Reading →
"When I was a younger man, art was a lonely thing. No galleries, no collectors, no critics, no money, yet it was a golden age for we all had nothing to lose and a vision to gain. Today it is... Continue Reading →
"Along with the Great Turning, the Great Unraveling is happening too, and there is no way to tell how the larger story will end. So we learn again that hardest and most rewarding of lessons: how to make friends with... Continue Reading →
"Holy Spirit, giving life to all life, moving all creatures, root of all things, washing them clean, wiping out their mistakes, healing their wounds, you are our true life, luminous, wonderful, awakening the heart from its ancient sleep." ~ Hildegard... Continue Reading →
Speaking of Imagination (in recent posts) ... "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ― Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
I've been reflecting deeply on the topics and experiences of home and exile for several years now, and probably longer. Since I hear from so many who feel uprooted and unmoored in this 'plugged in' yet too often disconnected culture, I'll continue... Continue Reading →
![The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Photo from Seattle Times archive]](https://sophiaschildren.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/martin-luther-king-jr-seattle-times.jpg)
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Photo from Seattle Times archive] Today is the anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s epic “I Have a Dream” speech.