http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/arts/design/30alive.html?src=twt&twt=nytimesarts

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

Dead or Alive, at the Museum of Arts and Design, includes Kate MccGwire’s “Discharge,” made of feathers.

Fun With Feathers and Bones

By KAREN ROSENBERG

Published: April 29, 2010

Instead of insects under glass, you’ll see Fabian Peña’s collages of cockroach-wing fragments. And in lieu of taxidermied birds, there’s Susie MacMurray’s cave of rooster feathers. As for botanical specimens, Xu Bing’s landscape “drawing” — actually an arrangement of dried leaves and flowers behind a translucent screen — is a more than passable substitute.Combine some of the materials in “Dead or Alive” at the Museum of Arts and Design, and you’d have a potent witch’s brew. A single piece by Tessa Farmer, for instance, makes use of a ram skull, a mummified frog and bat, bladderwort, hedgehog spikes, weasel skulls, a spider web and sections of a wasp’s nest. (Another sinister-sounding substance, volcanic ash, delayed the piece’s installation; it will be up by Tuesday.)

Among the other materials on view are mouse skeletons, silkworm cocoons, kelp, emu feathers and fast-food chicken bones. This being the Museum of Arts and Design, however, few works have the visceral, stomach-turning presence of, say, the cow bones scrubbed clean by Marina Abramovic or Damien Hirst’s vitrines of rotting animals.

There is a work by Mr. Hirst in the show, one of his butterfly paintings: a gorgeous but tame arrangement of blue wings, evoking stained glass. Most of the artists in “Dead or Alive” use organic matter in safe and conventional ways.

One convention that’s normally tiresome is the obsessive gathering and reworking of small objects into a large, often abstract form. Yet in “Dead or Alive” this practice results in some stunning design objects. An overhead light fixture by Ango Design clusters some 12,000 silkworm cocoons on a wire matrix; the silk filaments diffuse the light beautifully. Just as delicate and labor-intensive are the dandelion puffs glued, seed by seed, to LED lights (by the team of Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta).

The same detail-oriented approach works well in a section of wearable art, by Nick Cave, Sanford Biggers and Maria Fernanda Cardoso. Mr. Cave’s “Soundsuits,” hooded garments designed to make a ruckus as the user moves, are well known; the example here is covered with twigs and looks something like a woolly mammoth coat. But the standout is Ms. Cardoso, a Colombian-born artist who works in Australia and makes delicate capes out of emu feathers on fiberglass netting.

Other works succeed because the artists don’t let the original source of the materials dictate the art’s form. Claire Morgan arranges bluebottle flies in the form of a grid, rather than a swarm, by stringing them on lengths of transparent thread. And Kate MccGwire shapes pigeon feathers into a giant arc that creates the illusion of spouting water.

A division between hunters and gatherers starts to emerge, one that’s further detailed in a catalog essay by the museum’s chief curator, David Revere McFadden. Some of the gatherers actually use edible materials: the shellacked anchovies in Tracy Heneberger’s “Moon”; the herbs and spices in Helen Altman’s fragrant “Spice Skulls.”

Lucia Madriz’s “Gold Fever,” a bit of agitprop made of rice, beans and corn kernels, bears the message “Modified Seed/Contaminated Food.” Meanwhile Tanja Smeets’s ceiling installation of red lentils suspended in knotted pantyhose doesn’t seem to have much to say about consumption; it does suggest that Ms. Smeets has been looking, maybe too closely, at the work of Ernesto Neto.

Notable hunters include Tim Hawkinson, who fashions a prehistoric tool or weapon by joining concave pieces of eggshell, and Christy Rupp, who assembles skeletons of extinct birds from enough fast-food chicken bones to have fed a football team.

It’s harder to envision Shen Shaomin’s “Sagittarius,” which combines human and animal bones, in a natural history museum. Likewise Billie Grace Lynn’s “Mad Cow Motorcycle,” a bovine skeleton attached to a motorized bicycle frame. (It comes with a helmet designed to look like upside-down udders.) In an accompanying video the artist rides the bike around the streets of Miami, stopping to talk to naturally inquisitive passers-by.

Organized by a team of museum staff members — Mr. McFadden, the curator Lowery Sims and the assistant curator Elizabeth Edwards Kirrane — “Dead or Alive” has more depth than some of the museum’s previous group shows. The artists come from all over the world, and only a handful are big names on the level of Mr. Hirst or Mr. Hawkinson.

And while the art is made of things that are no longer living, the show is certainly lively. Almost everything in it will arouse some kind of curiosity, whether material, scientific or historic. The 16th-century wunderkammer, it seems, is an excellent model for a 21st-century art and design museum.

“Dead or Alive” continues through Oct. 24 at the Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle; (212) 299-7777, madmuseum.org.

Spring trip to the hills, W. Asheville, NC

Welcoming Oak ©2010 Greg Patch

Wild Grape Wave ©2010 Greg Patch

RedGreen Spring ©2010 Greg Patch

Appalacian Spring Blooms ©2010 Greg Patch

Green Artists League

an interesting group to check out...


http://www.greenartistsleague.com/
galvanizing eco responsibility


The Green Artists League (GAL) is an interdisciplinary artists' collective that creates public art addressing the global environmental crisis. GAL is a forum of contemporary artists exploring art and ethics in an era of ecological degradation. GAL engages the public through interactive art experiences and hopes to raise awareness and inspire environmentally healthy behaviors and attitudes.

Weave 1 accepted into 53rd National Juried Art Show at Rocky Mount (NC) Art Center

             Weave 1  Beeswax & natural pigment on Papel de Amate

Juror Amy Freeman 

June 4, 2010 Artist Reception & Award Presentation – 6-9pm – presentation at 7pm

The Rocky Mount Arts Center at The Imperial Centre, 270 Gay Street,

Rocky Mount, NC 27804. Free and open to the public.

September 19, 2010 Exhibition Closes

The Starns’s Big Bambu

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/sustainable-art-the-starnss-big-bambu/

By ALIX BROWNE

Big Bambu, the massive installation by the artists Mike and Doug Starn, is green is every sense of the word. It’s green, literally. It’s made from one of the most sustainable materials around. And it’s even recyclable. The original 50 foot tall sculpture, which was assembled from a network of 2000 bamboo poles at the former Talix Foundry in Beacon, New York, was reconfigured into a T for the cover of our 5th anniversary issue. And it recently moved to the roof of the Metropolitan Museum where it will be on view from April 27 through October 31.

                                   color                                          

WebGround 5

in progression

Solar Path Recorded By Pinhole Camera (wave)

http://ow.ly/1zZXd

Solar Path Recorded By Pinhole Camera Over Six Months - Mr mallon solar path - Gizmodo

Between the months of June and December last year, “Mr. Mallon” was filming the sun’s activities on a single film cell, which lay forgotten in his back garden. This is the beautiful result.

It’s a pretty example of what you can do with pinhole photography, where you simply place a roll of film in a handmade camera (very easy to do, Mr. Mallonfollowed these instructions here), and leave it outside, ready to record the path of the sun in the sky. The film was scanned, and then made negative to illustrate the solar path clearly. Doesn’t it look like vapor trails from a UFO, or some sort of warp field? [Help My Physics]

Mercury Retrograde (a day late!)

from Jeff Jawer 
http://www.stariq.com/pagetemplate/cosmic_weather.asp?Pageid=2117

April 17 until May 11 by Jeff Jawer

Mercury, the planet of communication, short trips and details, appears to stop dead in its tracks on December 26 at 22 degrees of Capricorn. The planet then turns backwards in its apparent path through the zodiac. It stops again on January 15, then turns to resume its direct motion at 5 degrees of Capricorn. Mercury turns retrograde three times a year, spending a bit more than three weeks in "reverse" gear each time. The retrograde cycle is due to the fact that we are viewing the planets from a moving platform, the Earth. The planets, in fact, do not actually change direction, but appear to do so from our perspective. This geocentric, or earth-centered, point of view is the basis for astrological measurements. In a sense, what you see is what you get. What Does It Mean?A retrograde planet is generally considered more introverted than when it's in the normal direct motion mode. Astrologers have traditionally considered Mercury retrograde to be a time of difficulty in Mercury related endeavors like communication, travel and matters of detail. Some counsel the avoidance of launching new projects or signing contracts at this time. Glitches are considered more commonplace now, as are misunderstood or poorly delivered messages. There are, fortunately, more optimistic views of what Mercury retrograde means. Rather than hunkering down in your bunker, this is a positive time to tie up loose ends, reconnect with people from the past, make mechanical repairs and get systems in order. This can also be a productive period for psychological review as new information can be gleaned from old experiences. How Long Does It Last?The primary effect of a retrograde is felt during its backward phase, in this case, from April 17 until May 11. However, there is an additional period of lesser influence called the "shadow" that extends the Mercury retrograde effect for roughly two weeks before and after the retrograde. The "front end" of the shadow began on April 4, the day when Mercury first hit 2 Taurus, the point where it later turns direct. It ended on April 17, the first day of the retrograde. The "back end" of the shadow begins on May 11, the last day of the retrograde, and ends on May 28, when Mercury returns to 12 Taurus, the place where it first went retrograde. The greatest likelihood for Mercury mishaps is in the actual retrograde period, but issues associated with this cycle may start as early as April 4 and may not be resolved until May 28. Mercury retrograde, in spite of the fears of some, is not a "bad" time. It is, rather, a period in which the flow of information is easily diverted and can be associated with a variety of challenges. Yet, the purpose of astrological prediction is to increase, not limit, our choices by describing the energies of the moment. Pay attention to how you communicate and gather information now. Look at the details in your life more carefully. Take the time to be introspective. These steps may not only reduce the risk of undesirable snafus, but open doors to new levels of awareness and effectiveness. Who Gets It? We all do, but in different ways. The idea of being more careful with communication and details is a good one for all of us now. Yet, some people are more sensitive to Mercury retrograde than others. Generally, those with strong Gemini or Virgo (the two Mercury-related signs) in their charts are more tuned to this cycle. About fifteen percent of the population was born with Mercury retrograde. Experience shows that some of these people do quite well with this planet moving backward, yet others struggle even more than usual. Each case is unique. Individuals with planets close to the station (turning) points of 2 and 12 Taurus are more likely to be touched by the current Mercury retrograde cycle. Also, each of us has these degrees somewhere in our charts. The house(s) where these fall can show the areas of life in which communication issues are most likely to arise at this time.

Ocean Driftwood Wave

Ocean Driftwood Wave with three coats of low VOC "clear finish". 
There will be a few more coats at least. Will then attach doweling 
for setting the angle it will be with the wall and remove alot of the 
gloss with a fine emery cloth.

"what it says really depends on the viewer’s history"

http://www.callane.com/page3.html

Cal Lane


I like to work as a visual devil’s advocate, using contradiction as a vehicle for finding my way to an empathetic image, an image of opposition that creates a balance - as well as a clash - by comparing and contrasting ideas and materials.This manifested in a series of “Industrial Doilies”, pulling together industrial and domestic life as well as relationships of strong and delicate, masculine and feminine, practical and frivolity, ornament and function. There is also a secondary relationship being explored here, of lace used in religious ceremonies as in weddings, christenings and funerals,
With this notion of desirable oppositions I created the structure “fabricate”. In this Structure I hand cut lace trimming patterns into 9 I-beams, then constructed a tower, simultaneously macho, and of delicate finery. The metaphor of lace further intrigued me by its associations of hiding and exposing at the same time; like a veil to cover, or lingerie to reveal. It also introduces a kind of humor through the form of unexpected relationships. Like a Wrestler in a tutu, the absurdity of having opposing extremist stances is there for reaction and not rational understanding; the rational discussion arises in the search for how one thing defines the other by its proximity.
My new work has become more political, the consequence of living in a time of war and feeling the guilt of a bystander. With the first political piece titled “Filigree Car Bombing” I focused on creating a tasteless relationship of images. Images of flowers and “prettiness” in the form of a violent and sensitive situation. The crushed steel of the car is cut into fine lace creating a drapery of disruption and sadness, a conflict of attraction to fancy work and the attraction to a horrific image.
In my most recent exhibition entitled “Crude”, pulled together the relationship of God and Oil. Though the images are dealing with overt political topics the images do not point to anything specific - they merely coexist - and what it says really depends on the viewer’s history. This work consists of a series of oil cans that have been flayed open in the form of a cross shape or a gothic cathedral floor plan. The cans are then cut into Christian or Medieval like Icons. Fine, like tattered paper, the jagged edge of the thin metal becomes both an ancient and contemporary image, thereby appealing to both those who cling to history, and those who ignore it.Along side of the cans are three 45 gallon oil drums. The drums are skinned and unrolled to create a surface. The surface is then pulled up the wall and cut into a multiple of images from tattoo patterns to fabric patterns to religious and hazard symbols. The collage of images create a war of symbols which become a medieval-like tapestry.
I have always been interested in embracing the very thing that repels me in order to understand it: I prefer to make sense of things or in order to suspend (or pass) judgment.

Extremes, though contrary, have the like effects. Extreme heat kills, and so extreme cold: extreme love breeds satiety, and so extreme hatred; and too violent rigor tempts chastity, as does too much license.
George Chapman

Ocean Driftwood Wave

Ocean Driftwood Wave with the grid applied to/with the motion of the piece. At this stage am looking at final trimmings of the painted grid and the angle that the piece will have in relation to the wall that it will hang from. Will move along next to applying the clear finish...

from http://yogainmyschool.com/2010/03/26/john-friends-yogic-prescription-for-health/

John Friend’s Yogic Prescription for Health

On Monday, March 8th John Friend, founder ofAnusaraYoga and pre-eminent yoga teacher, gave a lecture at USC, Health Science Campus, entitled “Yogic Prescription for Health.” This was the first lecture of a series to bridge the gap between western medicine and homeopathy. Having grown up with a homeopathic Grandmother, I find western and eastern medicine wonderfully complementary. Each can build off of the strengths of the other.

Friend underlined how yoga can assist western medicine by working on balancing the whole person, increasing mobility, and cultivating a positive, loving attitude. He said: A patient’s mental state is now acknowledged as a key contributor to physical health. Yoga helps develop a positive, strong-willed attitude.

Natacha Sagalovsky Lovering was able to attend the event and graciously shared her notes with Yoga In My School. Our favourite concept was:John stresses that there is a pulsating consciousness that underlies everything that is physical, our bodies (and everything in this physical world) are made up of an energy that is supremely intelligent, that is orderly and that doesn’t want us to suffer, it is benevolent. Our body knows where proper alignment is, and how to heal itself if we give it space and help it pulsate. Bend over, twist, move around – get your blood, cerebrospinal fluid and lymph system moving – increase your vitality so that the cells and organs in your body can pulsate. Stand up straight, give your spine a healthy curve, don’t collapse into your lungs and heart, they need space! Cultivate a positive and life affirming attitude, and never underestimate the power of a caring look, a loving touch, a sweet smile, kind words and humor.

New Moon and Mercury Retrograde

Astrologer Jeff Jawer at http://www.stariq.com/newmoonreport.htm

New Moon in Aries 

Wednesday, April 14, 5:29 am PDT, 8:29 am EDT

The New Moon in Aries is the true beginning of the astrological year. It's a time for taking initiative and getting projects off the ground. However, this year's Sun-Moon conjunction in spontaneous Aries occurs three days before Mercury turns retrograde and five days before the Sun enters earthy Taurus. Therefore, we have a brief window of opportunity to ignite inspirational sparks that will soon require the fuel of patience and commitment to fan enduring flames of change.

Mercury Retrograde 

Saturday, April 17

The messenger planet's backward turn marks a three-week period when double-checking data, maintaining equipment and communicating carefully are recommended. A tendency to make more errors than usual is common during this cycle. Yet the gift of Mercury retrograde is that it provides a second chance to reconnect with people and to tie up loose ends. Completing unfinished business and reviewing systems to make them more efficient are constructive uses of this transit.

LONG HORIZONS: AN EXPLORATION OF ART AND CLIMATE CHANGE

from http://www.sustainablepractice.org/2010/04/12/long-horizons-an-exploration-of-art-and-climate-change/

 Long Horizons is a collection of personal reflections about art, artists and climate change. Commissioned by the British Council working with Julie’s Bicycle the piece includes contributions from Antony Gormley, Jay Griffiths, Professor Tim Jackson, Professor Diana Liverman and KT Tunstall.

Click here to download Long Horizons as a pdf.

Antony Gormley’s essay appears in The Guardian Review on Saturday February 13th.

You can read the full article by clicking here.

Click here to read a blog post on Long Horizons by Michaela Crimmin, Director of Arts, RSA.

Arts, Climate Change and Sustainability

Climate change is one of the defining issues of the age. It is affecting, or will affect, everyone on the planet, though differences in infrastructure and locality profoundly affect vulnerability. One size will not fit all and local communities will need to find creative solutions that respond to their specific vulnerabilities and needs. The impact of climate change will be social and cultural as well as environmental and economic, and solutions need to be social and cultural as well as technical and scientific.

Arts, Climate Change and Sustainability is a British Council programme aimed at harnessing the inspirational qualities of the arts, along with the trust felt towards artists, to demystify and energise the debate about climate change. By energising and invigorating others, it will help find creative and local solutions to the challenge of climate security and encourage the necessary behavioural change in the UK and internationally. Art and artists can help move the climate change agenda from intellectual understanding to emotional engagement, and then on to action.

Just as the challenge of climate change is international and inter-connected in nature, so is the global arts market, and any attempt to create change needs to happen on a global scale. The British Council, with its vast network, is one of the very few agencies able to create dialogues and communities of interest around this subject with leaders and opinion-formers in governments, funding agencies, NGOs, and our cultural analogues in the UK and worldwide. These institutions and individuals share an interest in the support and promotion of their artists’ work, and we will work with them to strengthen understanding of the role that artists can play in the fight against climate change, and the need to support and encourage that role. This will include working together to facilitate sustainable practices around the international presentation and touring of art and artists.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/climatechange-longhorizons.htm

Adaptogens

from the back cover of the book Adaptogens by David Winston and Steven Maimes.
"We all deal with stress every day, and every day our bodies strive to adapt and stay balanced and healthy.
...adaptogens, nontoxic herbs such as ginseng, eleuthero, and licorice, that produce a defensive response to stress in our bodies. These rejuvenating herbs and tonics help the body to "adapt" to the many influences it encounters. They increase stamina and counter the normal effects of aging and thus are becoming important tools in sports medicine and in the prevention and treatment of chronic fatigue and other stress related disorders."

Ocean Driftwood Wave

Am feeling enlightened with this phase of Ocean Driftwood Wave (closer to the title!). I like it as it stands, with a few tweeks with the shape outlines and bringing it away from the edge perhaps. It struck me when I laid in the first layer of color how these shapes bring to my mind shapes/forms seen in traditional culture's art and Matisse with his Lagoon Series. Later some of the Pop artists of the 60's (Wesselman, Warhol, Lichtenstein and etc.) The important artists, the ones really needing support, playing with cutouts; Boruchow, Jolynn Krystosek, or Polish Wycinanki. Enlightenment can be reinventing the wheel, realizing one's allignment with the other?! We are one. Anyhow, will cut these out to apply to driftwood and keep in mind a direction to go in future work. These things happen all the time with artists, and other professions. Notes of possibilites for application. They may, or not, merge at some time. There's the contrast with the color on Papel de Amate and the purity of Papel de Amate on its own for artistic merit. Negative space. Shifting space. There's just so much here! The shapes are cut and the leftover ready to recycle into more art....

Conspicuous Consumption

Revisiting conspicuous consumption

Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/04/revisiting-conspicuous-consumption.html

The reason you have a front lawn? It's a tradition. Lawns were invented as a way for the landed gentry to demonstrate that they could afford to waste land. By taking the land away from the grazing sheep, they were sending a message to their neighbors. We're rich, we can happily waste the opportunity to make a few bucks from our front lawn.

Conspicuous consumption has a long history. Wasting millions of dollars on a shark in a tank, or on $50,000 platinum stereo cables that sound an awful lot like $2000 stereo cables (which sound a lot like $200 stereo cables). And on and on.

In fact, the origins of the luxury goods industry lie in this desire to waste, in public. 350 years ago in France, Jean-Baptiste Colbert dreamed up the idea of bespoke, rare goods as a way of improving France's balance of trade.  LVMH and other huge corporations collect brands that telegraph scarcity above all else.Not that they're better at performing the task at hand, merely that they are expensive and rare.

(Interesting note: it's estimated that 20% of all the women in Japan in their 20s own a Louis Vuitton bag... scarce?)

In every city there are expensive hotels that are noisy, with $56 breakfasts, no parking, blinds that don't make the room dark and rooms that don't have enough closets. But the very waste of paying extra to stay there ensures that you'll be surrounded by others just as wealthy and just as interested in proving it.

Rich people will always indulge the desire to stand out, but I wonder if there's a new version:

Spending on and investing in time, not stuff.

And it's not so wasteful, this focus on craftsmen.

The new trend in spending money is to buy things that are painstakingly hand built instead of efficiently mass produced. It might not be a better price than what you could buy at Target, but the very fact that you can pay for an artisan to create it, an artist to design it, a talented worker to bring it to life--that act makes a powerful statement about what you can afford and what's important to you. Instead of a bigger house, it's a house that's built from scratch by craftsmen. Instead of a bigger steak, it's a handmade dish of local poached vegetables...

All marketers tell a story. The "this is the best price and value" story is just one of those available, and in fact, it's rarely the most effective for the audience you may be trying to reach.

Ocean Driftwood Wave

the first photo is of the templates drawn to the innate wave in the driftwood. I superimposed a thin rice paper to see the lines in the wood that I wanted to accent. once satisfied, after trial and error really, I cut the papers and then superimposed them onto the Papel de Amate and marked for reference to where I want the color waxes to be. an interesting phase of the piece; working three dimensionally with fabricating a template for transfer from the piece to the Papel de Amate and then that back to the piece.

Infinity 6 is in the mail...

... on its way to the ecoartspace/NYC What Matters Most? Benefit Exhibition at Exit Art that runs April 15th - 28th. What Matters Most? is a benefit exhibition and sale of original, 8" x 10" size artworks on paper by established and emerging artists. All works created for this exhibition will be sold first-come, first-served for $150.oo each. The purchase of an artwork helps support ecoartspace's mission: to create opportunities for addressing environmental issues through the arts. Contributions can be made w/o purchasing an artwork. The ecoartspace web is www.ecoartspace.org and its blog is http://ecoartspace.blogspot.com/ and the exhibit website is http://ecoartspacewhatmattersmost2010.blogspot.com/
From their blog; "All proceeds from this fundraiser will support ecoartspace activities and programs. ecoartspace has been operating as a bicoastal nonprofit platform for artists addressing environmental issues since 1999. In our ten years of programming we have worked with over 400 artists, curated 38 exhibitions, 70 programs and collaborated with over 140 organizations. To celebrate our achievements as well as raise money for future programs we recently held our first benefit auction at Mina Dresden Gallery in San Francisco on December 4th, 2009."
Exit Art, in the Exit Underground Space at 475 Tenth Ave at 36th St, NYC. The Exit Art website is http://www.exitart.org/site/pub/main/index.html

Infinity 6

Continuing the Infinity Series in Beeswax and natural pigments on Khadi paper. This one is  8” x 10”.

                                                                   

      

Prana

http://veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/prana.htm

Prana

Prana is a Sanskrit word for "life air" or "life force". In China it is known as cchi, in Japan as ki, in Polynesia as mana. It is present all over the universe both in macrocosm (space) and microcosm (bodies of living beings). Its proper flow in our bodies assures their healthy state.

Prana is a subtle material energy arising from rajo guna. It works as an interface between gross and subtle body, enabling all the psychophysical functions (i.e. animation - from Latin "anima"). This sometimes leads to confusion of prana with jiva. Although they are very closely connected, prana is witnessed by the jiva which is floating in prana in the heart cavity. Katha Upanisad 1.3.1 says:

rtam pibantau sukrtasya loke

guham pravistau parame parardhe

chayatapau brahmavido vadanti

pancagnayo ye ca tri-naciketah

"O Naciketa, the expansions of Lord Visnu as the tiny living being (jiva) and the Supersoul both stay within the cave of the heart of this body. In that cavity the living being, resting on the main prana, enjoys the results of activities, and the Supersoul, acting as witness enables him to enjoy them. Those who are well-versed in knowledge of Brahman and those householders who carefully follow the Vedic regulations say that the difference between the two is like the difference between a shadow and the sun."

Prana's movement leads to jiva's identification with the gross body (SB 4.29.71). Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.9):

esho anur atma cetasa veditavya yasmin pranah pancadha samvivesha

pranais cittamsattvam otam prajanam yasmin vishuddhe vibhavatyesha atma

""The atomic soul can be perceived by perfect intelligence as floating in the five kinds of life airs (prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana). When the consciousness (that pervades from the soul through the entire body) is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material airs, its spiritual influence is exhibited.""

Prana is one but acts in different ways. Lower pranas control the senses and are under the control of main prana controlled by the Paramatma according to desire and karma of the jiva. Vedanta-sutra, Bhagavata Purana 4.25-28 (serpent analogy), Prasna Upanisad and other scriptures contain elaborate descriptions of prana. Various Eastern healing methods and martial arts work with prana.

Prana is mentioned in many Upanisads as well as Vedanta-sutra. A story in the Chandogya Upanisad describes how the senses had a dispute who among them is the most essential. The ear left for one year, returns and asks the others how they were doing without him. In a similar way the other senses also quit for a while. When the breath (prana = life) gets ready to leave, the other senses all understand that he is most essential. Without breath the body can't live.

Ten pranas ("life airs") - Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, Vyana, Naga, Krkara, Kurma, Devadatta, Dhananjaya (for definitions see below the commentary to SB 3.6.9) and their actions are mentioned by spiritual masters (acaryas) in their commentaries to Bhagavad-gita 4.27. The life airs circulate in the 72.000 nadis and meridians of the human body.

Ocean Driftwood Wave

Am preparing work on this new piece. This driftwood will mount on the wall. Its inherent wave and grid like character  is what initially interested me. It sat outside for a couple years and during that time due to weather changes the color changes were fascinating. In the couple months its been inside drying its taken a blue tint grey along with the ochre and other tints. Have test varnished* a strip of Papel de Amate with wax colors and found no bleeding of color and insignificant color changes. With the sheen of the finish the color takes on more luminosity. Will attach color waxed Papel de Amate form with wheat paste to the driftwood working in accord with the wood's wave and grid like character.

*The varnish is AFM Safecoat low odor Acrylacq Clear Finish water-based laquer replacement. AFM Material Safety Data Sheet download is available at http://www.afmsafecoat.com/downloads/dccgpx5101%20Acrylacq%20msds%202008.pdf.

Webh morning

Sun rose this morning through Ocean's mist reminding me with dewed webh (the Proto Indo European "root" of web) and gentle waves of colors that all are related/connected.

WebGround 4

"Gaia Matrix" / Peter Champoux

                                                              Trees o'Peace Wheel

http://www.geometryofplace.com/trees.html

Peter Champoux: presents this latest study on the ‘field’ phenomena of landscape geometry. Champoux (pronounced shampoo) born to a pile of rock in Holyoke, MA, has been a professional classical stone mason, an environmental artist, self educated geographer, farmer, author (Gaia Matrix), teacher, geomancer, dowser, techno- peasant... Peter’s landscape geometries are environmental models developed from a synthesizes of ‘what is’ into a new myth and potential model for spiritual, social and planetary cohesion.

His vision blends geography, ecology, history, art, math, myth, and mystery, hence the name GAIAGRAPHY. Peter’s gaiagraphic field phenomena geometries are two dimensional graphics of 3D etheric bubbles suggestive of an ultra dimensional field effect. Gaiagraphy is an art, science, and practice that maps consciousness: human and terrian. Like the wind and water or Feng Shui, ether, or the field, GAIAGRAPHY is a force of nature revealed in our shared sacred landscape.

TREES of PEACE WHEEL
A miracle is occurring in western Massachusetts in the form of a co-creative ring of spiritual communities.

With a common intention of peace these communities live the lessons of The Great Iroquois Peacemaker, Deganawida when he advised in unity there is peace. Evolving over millennia this ring of conscious communities at the center of North American projects this intention of unified peace across the land.

The ‘Trees of Peace’ are mythic centers of a self organizing circle honoring Native Peoples, encircling communities of love and healing the living memory of the land. The Trees of Peace Wheel is a myth of, by, and for the People.This wheel is a symbiotic and co-created network that coheres matter and energy spontaneously transforming into a newer, higher organizational state at this threshold of complexity, implying the presence of a self realizing co-creative spiritual power in the earth, Gaia.

Centering on the Trees of Peace grove in Mohawk Trail SF this frequency of peace is set by the axialtonal alignment of the grove of trees and two Peace Pagodas. The Trees of Peace grove was an inspired co-creation of Jani Leverett, a Cherokee Grandmother now in spirit, who in wisdom dedicated these trees to contemporary living native elders as a place to hold their prayerful intention in form as a living old growth forest. In symbolic resonance with the tree of life, this grove of White Pines of Peace coalesce the diverse communities and spiritual centers into a coherent whole; a wheel of prayer whose grace and power heals the heart of the world.

America has myth of war a-plenty, but what is it’s myth of peace? The anglo Pilgrims imagined this new land (to them) to be a ‘new’ JerUSAlem (a place of peace). Thus, they set a new mythic ‘Image’ as an expression of peace in place names. Ultimately the purpose of both the land and its people is to live in peace.  They saw it in the landscape.  That mythic "image" is still there!

The expanded ring (x4) of the Trees of Peace Wheel, marked by New England's JerUSAlems, includes on the ring a concentration of museums holding sacred objects of America's native peoples, and contemporary tribal centers of the Pequot and Naragansett Peoples into a wheel of life encircling and supporting the Trees of Peace Wheel with ancestral memory and love; healing and reconciling the Holocaust of the People whose Trail of Tears still flows in the waters of the world.

Central to a network of Lei (ley) Lines and Earth Rings that draw a matrix of life from the land itself; the Trees of Peace Wheel is a contemporary sacred site expressive of our time and peoples. We Americans have traveled far and wide to experience the sacred landscape seemingly missing in our own land and lives. Look no further for this Wheel reveals the sacred character of this land. For America's native people to co-create such a sacred geometry is a testament to their co-creative link with Creator. It is through this matrix of Gaia (our living earth) that balance is brought to the world.

While Western Massachusetts has no pyramid or Stonehenge its sacred essence is proclaimed by nature’s many cities, rivers, mountains and coasts lines that all point to this holy ground. Western Massachusetts' sacred character is further attested by these spontaneously self organizing colleges, communities and monasteries. Nature and human culture conspire and point to these ‘Wisdom Hills’. Implicate to this conversation is a world view where western Massachusetts is the geologic, cultural and spiritual center of North America; giving local action a global context. Peter reminds us of our duties as gaian terraist empathizers to be good, as ‘we are the world’.

Completing the Trees of Peace Wheel in scale Buddhist dharma centers nested in the hills of Western Massachusetts give this wheel shape and context from: hub, to spoke, to wheel itself. Virtually every sect of Buddhism today has found center, clustered around the center of the North American Plate, holding space for the Trees of Peace to do what they do best.... GROW.