Ecopsychology, manifested on canvas

We are part of something larger than ourselves. Linking the personal to the planetary seems like a natural energetic shift that miraculously occurs, live sparks of inspiration that exist fleetingly. Precious still points of time: we are lucky to have such brushes with them. What if we felt this all the time, each one of us, as we stood in lines at the store, walked past one another on busy sidewalks holding coffee, and lonely alleyways amongst those forgotten and rejected by the masses, even as we waited in gridlock traffic? What if this is not a dream, but a possibility?

Back to the Land: Totem Pole for the 21st Century

“Only after the last tree has been cut down. Only after the last river has been poisoned. Only after the last fish has been caught. Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”

Cree Indian Prophesy

Totem poles, an ancient tradition of the American Indians, are considered metaphorical entities that watch over and assist tribes while seasons come and go, blessing crops to provide for the community, and maintaining a symbiotic harmony with nature. Living so close to nature, respect of the land is unquestionable, and a respect for its thriving life force, an entity that could not be controlled by the hands of man.

In our fast-paced, concrete-coated environment, our relationship with nature has drastically shifted since the days of living honestly off the land. As our water supply dwindles and we continue to follow an unsustainable system of living, the urgency to shift to a more eco-conscious lifestyle becomes more pronounced. It will be a difficult but necessary change that can begin with the food we eat, starting with community gardens like Seeds at City College.

Back to the Land is a totem pole for the 21st century. As the fight for conscious living continues, the Seeds at City College totem pole will stand in the garden as a silent advocate for a sustainable planet, compelling others to make the shift to greener lifestyles, and preserve the world for generations to come.

Big thanks to all those talented artists who made it happen!

Angel Adame, Jason Dalope, Brendan Larkin, Terri Hughes-Oelrich, Danica Mirasoul, Anna Stump, Emir Sundquist, Amy Swart, Ingrid Vigeant, and Maricella Villaseñor

“If artists carry the power to decide what is beautiful, they carry the power to decide what matters"

For more info check out these sites:

www.foodnotlawns.com

www.seedsatcity.com

Electric boxes are boring. Let's redesign this city!

Outside Lila Jolla Studios, 1002 Prospect St., La Jolla, CA

www.lilajollastudios.com

If this project was based in Pacific Beach, its intention would be to keep the wasted from pissing on public property. Instead, I had the fortune (or misfortune) of creating art in a cleanlier part of the City. In this case, it was designed to stimulate feelings of peace to passers-by along this busy intersection of Downtown La Jolla. It's a well-known fact that people are products of their environment: every dull surface in a city is an opportunity to spread a message to its people.

Whether it's tagging for street cred, or an opportunity to make somebody feel something out-of-the ordinary, I now see how semi-illegal street art is a really positive experience to be had by all! We need more Banksys and Shepard Faireys out there. Realist rousers, criminal carousers: catalysts to the life experience. What, after all, is a truly ordinary if you look around?

PARADIGM SHIFT

Mindful Art for the Real Times is going on a break. A trip to India is in order to learn the ancient philosophy of yoga. Variety is the spice of life. Stay tuned for some schemes in the near future! 

Salvage 4 Mart @ Espresso Royale (April, 2008)

Welcome to My Space

Exhibition @ the Middle East Club in Cambridge on 10-26-07 for the Boston One Voice Echo, an event to support peace efforts between the Palestinians and Israelis.

...exhibition theme:

You may call it Mecca, the Holy Land or Bethlehem. Walden Pond if you're a Transcendentalist. Atheist? Agnostic? You have yours, too. It just might be that hidden bench from [your town here] that over looks a dazzling view...where certain things happened that you'd never tell your Mom about. All of these exemplify the sacred spaces where people from all backgrounds congregate, collide, and make attempts to coincide. Despite the collage of footprints amongst our own that blaze trails along our little wedges of sanctity, we still have managed to root some part of ourselves into the soil. As time grows on, this patch of land becomes sentimental. This art exhibit explores the concept of Jerusalem and other "Holy Lands" that people have cultivated as their own. These spaces are not about the land or sea, but the seeds of identity, belonging, and history (ancestral or personal) that we have planted within them. The exhibit brings to the viewer's consciousness a glimpse of the complexities that come with sharing one's own space for the sake of peace.

S*MART @ Boston Convention Center

Salvage for MART is an exhibition designed for Massachusetts Power Shift, a 4-day event on climate change that took place at Boston University (www.masspowershift.org). Salvage for MART showcases environmentally sustainable art created from eco-friendly mediums. Mediums have always been a reflection of the lifestyle and culture in which the art was made. Now in an age where there is a global array of material to choose from, the freedom to create art from innovative yet unsustainable and even toxic materials is a temptation. However, there is a new culture emerging amongst the wasteful, unsustainable culture of the past. As artists in this exhibition choose nature-based mediums over unsustainable products, they set an example for others: they pave the way for a new generation of creative, mindful thinkers who are ready to make the shift to greener lifestyles, and preserve the world for generations to come.

*A warm thanks to all the artists for their generous contributions:  Alex Brown, Scott Cahaly, Allison Gay, Shawna Handke, Elissa Hine, Laura Marotta, Markus Nechay, Alexis Ogg, Yumi Roussin, Boris Savic, Anya Smolnikova, Amy Swart, and Percy Fortini-Wright