Fall Issue 03 | A Moving Target | 2011
FALL 2011, ISSUE 03 c/o Katie King 255 McKibbin St. Brooklyn, NY 11206 Method Press-ident Katie King Grammar Guru Sara Montague Miller
MP logo: Julia Williams Front cover: Allison Dandrea, Glimmer Page 3: Diane Miller, Migration Page 6: Susanne Helmert, Back to the Future Page 25-26: Flora Bowley, Light Trio
Design Ninja Ashleigh A. Coyner
Page 48: (bookmark) Emily Clarke, Through the Ages
Design Sidekick Nancy Falso
Back cover: Shannon Eddings, Pensive Gorilla
Resident Renaissance Woman Galia Alena Wannabe Wordsmith Jen Jae Stanley
Any typos will be addressed with great to-do in future issues.
Method Press Superhero Diane Miller Marketing Maven Marico Fayre
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A MOVING TARGET FOREWORD
QUARTERLY 5
Katie King
A MOVING TARGET | FAITH
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CREATIVE SPACE | Flora Bowley
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Galia Alena
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Jen Stanley & Marico Fayre
PHOTO JOURNAL
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Ashleigh A. Coyner
Diane Miller
METHOD
PASSIONATE PLACES | Columbia River Gorge
FOUND | Herbalist
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Ashleigh A. Coyner
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Nancy Falso
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MAIN SPOTLIGHT | Lee Tracy
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BOOKMARK
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Marico Fayre
FEATURED ARTIST | Elle Moss Photography
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Galia Alena
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Meet Method Press Ashleigh A. Coyner is a wannabe ornithologist. She gets irritated at the word seagull and can identify birds by song. She drinks her coffee with too much creamer and eats anything that contains raspberries. | www.ashinbleu.wordpress.com Diane Miller is an atypical soccer mom, compliance guru and photographer who's trying hard to have it all. When not taking pictures of her cats, you can find her napping in the quiet car of the commuter train or yelling from the sidelines of a peewee football game. |www.theshutterbugeye.com Galia Alena is a part-time renaissance woman, part-time juggler and full-time dreamer. An unashamed coffee snob currently residing between countries on the precipice of her whims and an overly stuffed suitcase. | www.galiaalena.com Jen Jae Stanley lives in Austin, Texas. When not lending a hand at Method Press, she spends her time trying to capture this wide world within a tiny frame. | www.FiveFootThreePhotography.com Katie King created Method Press in 2011. | www.about.me/katieking
She knows about stuff, yeah that kind of stuff.
Marico Fayre is MP’s marketing maven and occasional writer. She is also a shoe addict, bibliophile, full-time photographer, and soon-to-be photography teacher, living in Portland, Oregon. | www.mfayrephotography.com Nancy Falso is a self-taught photographer, a graphic designer and a lover of all things orange. She is an avid tea drinker, and wants to travel the world but always ends up in New York City. She’d probably fight you for a piece of cheesecake. | www.nancyshoots.wordpress.com Sara Montague Miller is the grammar guru who edits the magazine. She lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband and works as a full-time mental health therapist. | www.colorsnotyetinvented.blogspot.com
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HOME: A Moving Target Katie King
my suitcase hitting every crack on the sidewalk while walking down andersonville at midnight that damn wonderful mississippi night owl, wooing us from outside our bedroom window on morrison ave, the 26 pounds of brown & white fur curled up by my ribcage in the mornings the sweaty walk to school in heredia post papaya homesickness: twice. both in 2011: i- Chicago, a city I had a large crush on. I arrived on Sep 4th, the same day Oprah did but not the same year and slept in my car on the streets for two nights with a rhodesian ridgeback in my lap, and a sense of happiness that seemed like it could mean something. ii- Guam, because it housed the place where I could find his arms and the seven years spent in and outside of them. Not to mention the young pumpkin in the backyard, the wedding album in the living room, the series of romantically cornball polaroids lining the wall, the fruit juicer in the kitchen and the strange pure idyllic merriment in spite of a slow & slipping hell. electric blankets hearing the doorbell ring in the heat of a denver august the internet, the invisible world 5262527 I 70 & I 80
q. “is it safe to go out after 6 p.m.� Age: 21. location: 96th street | upper west side relationship of said questioned: husband.
150 + plane flights shyla's couch heather's lawn chair pasta, the dog not the dish swiss cowbells the creaking of the evergreen tree too late at night and too heavy for the morning
the mint my brother & I planted in the front yard chris & sara childhood home; the concept that a warm english breakfast tea and three tablespoons of sugar can get you through the woods, or at least to them. waking up to snow hostels. hostels in the bernese oberland, in ireland, flagstaff, lautrubrunnen valley, london, costa rica, new york city, hostels with guitars in them, with rock gym/ food oder in them, hostels that charge you one dollar for a 5 minute shower, check in check out, hostels with communal meals in them, hostels with kids and families in them, hostels that throw parties with hot tub heidis in them. mail. those 6 weeks in the spring of 2009 I lived in various navy hotels, washing plastic tupperware in the sink, sharing half ramen rations and the 9 months sleeping on the floor afterwards. the stomping grounds of unfamiliar head spaces being a newlywed at 8 1/2 Glorietta Lane w/ with orange ice cream smoothies in bed served by a naked chef in the mornings camera on the car dashboard. out the window. under the armpit. the rootless itinerant. the transplant game i. begin: ii. I'm a colorado springs-austin-flagstaff-seattle-girdwood-luganoheredia-london-olympia-gimmelwald-tuscon-san diego-virginia beach-new york city-biloxi-guam-san francisco-new york city transplant. iii. begin again iv. send the flood solo visits to churches on sunday mornings that 7 hour china bus ride and the songs I wrote during a 3 hour maintenance delay walking the path to the 18th hole (with my eyes closed), past the red velvet poppies (with their eyes closed), towards the house with the light on. a blank piece of paper and a ballpoint pen the warm smell of the new york city subways
tall trees. tall buildings. tall men.
phonecalls to tiffany
leggy sky
takeoff
my very first movers, signing the lease papers, a 3BD castle with a view and watching Steven shower in the the gutter run off on a particularly rainy day movement & the rush rush parade lost items: purses, cell phones, the dirt that piles up in the bottom of your purse that you feel with your fingernails when you are trying to get to your favorite chapstick. that piano I spent 9 years on ::heated & muffled chords <--- [if there are roots to be had they would be found here] the place under the antique bench, pressing the pedal for my sister when she nodded her head. the blood stain where my first dog was run over pike's peak 5 method press
A MOVING TARGET | FAITH Diane Miller
clearly expressed through my love and duty to my family, my husband and my son foremost. The duty to care for my son, to look out for his well being; to love and be faithful to my husband; and most importantly to care for, feed and cuddle the cats who undoubtedly are the masters of the universe.
©Emily Clarke, As We All Clasp Hands
When I first set out to write about faith and my experiences with faith, I had a very clear idea and plan of what I wanted to write. I knew how I felt on the matter and what I wanted to say, but faith truly proved to be a moving target.
Before I had a chance to start, my dad was diagnosed with cancer in his liver. My world—both inner and outer—changed in an instant. I stared at a blank screen and found myself paralyzed, not knowing where to start, and I found my sense of faith in anything drained and empty. So I started with the dictionary.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines faith as follows: 1 a: allegiance to duty or a person: LOYALTY b (1): fidelity to one's promises (2): sincerity of intentions
The rest of the definition, relating to belief in God and a system of religious beliefs is more difficult for me. My personal relationship with religious faith started when I was a child. My family did not practice religion; we did not go to church. It was sometimes hard being the only kid in school who didn't attend church, and everyone in my area seemed to be Catholic. A mixed response of envy and concern was what I received when kids asked me what church I went to. "You are so lucky!!! But aren't you worried about going to hell?" Well, I hadn’t given much thought to hell. Should I be worried about hell? Won’t God be understanding (if heaven and hell exist) so long as you were a good person in your life?
So I explored religion some, attending church with friends. I even made my mom buy me a Bible that I would read when she would take me to her bowling league on summer mornings. I suppose all of that taught me something about religion, but not so much about faith. I had faith: faith that my parents would care for me, faith that the bullies at school would tease me, but none of it had anything to do with God. The stories in the Bible and told at church by the priest were all good stories, and they all had a lesson, but they didn’t connect me to anything spiritual. They didn’t leave me with any more faith that God existed than I had before I read and heard them.
2 a (1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust 3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs"
The first part of the definition is easy, for me; it is most
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I pressed my mom about this, and she finally told me we were agnostic. I remember being so happy when my mom told me this because I finally had a word, even if I was not sure what exactly it meant. Maybe it’s that I believe in something but don’t know what that is or that I’m clueless, or maybe I don’t think God can be defined. Maybe nothing is known or can be known about God or the supernatural. That works for me, and the kids at school didn’t ques-
tion me when I told them I was agnostic. They sometimes asked what that meant, but aside from that, they let it be, so I let it be and stopped worrying about religion and God so much.
As a teenager, I completely forget these thoughts and questions about God as I was far more preoccupied with friends, music, boys and maybe faith that the perfect hairstyle would solve all of my problems. I didn't really ponder the subject of faith or religion again until college. I read about lots of faiths, including Buddhism, Wicca, Hinduism, and more. All were very interesting, but none truly spoke to me, and it wasn’t a big worry of mine, so I didn’t spend much time focusing on it.
and intelligent person. Now, with my father’s diagnosis, I try hard to have faith and I try hard to be positive. Faith in his strength, faith in the doctors, faith that the chemo will work, faith in my family, and faith that whatever happens in the end is what is meant to be.
To me, at this exact moment in time, faith is simply belief. I have faith... ... That I will be there for my son always. ... In my parents to love me no matter what. ... In my husband to be faithful and supportive. ... That nature always finds a way.
In fact, I didn't give much thought about faith after college until the wonder of pregnancy and my son’s birth inspired me. I still feel amazement that I played a role in creating another human. If that doesn't make one contemplate the wonders of life and spirit, I don't know that anything will. I also found a pre-natal yoga class to give me the closest thing to feeling spiritual that I have ever had, and that includes taking yoga after my son was born. I don’t know if it was the yoga, that specific class or teacher, or the awe of the baby growing inside of me that gave me that feeling, but it was a sense of complete peace and connectedness. I felt connected to everything.
... That my cat loves me.
Now, I work at a company that is owned by Catholics and serves Catholic institutions combining faith and finance. Odd how it seems I’m back where I started. I still do not attend church or associate with any religion, and agnostic is still probably the right word to describe my religious faith. Working for a for-profit company that is owned by and caters to religious people is a bit different than most places I’ve worked. Religion does come up, but there are not questions about individuals’ religions or faiths. I do appreciate that the company I get a paycheck from tries to better the world, help those who are less fortunate, and encourage companies to have ethical practices as opposed to just going after money and profit. At home, I take the approach my parents did. I have faith that I can teach my son good morals and that he is a caring 8 method press
METHOD | Jack StockLynn & Jennifer Micallef Marico Fayre and Jen Stanley
This summer in Portland, it takes until late August for the sun to finally come out in force. On the hottest day of the year, water mixes with sweat and chalk on the hot pink torso climbing down from industrial rigging in a warehouse that seems more fit for the clang of machinery coming over the plywood wall than the electronica that accompanies gravitydefying spins and twists. Though the river beckons enticingly beyond the train tracks, the hands grasp fabric, rope, and ring again, and again, content.
Art is not merely about the final product; art is in the making, the method to the madness. It includes simple days spent living, thinking, creating, breathing, working, and carrying on the routine activities of daily life. Inspiration can be something as random as a sock hitting a shirt while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing laundry, revealing a color combo that you hadn't previously considered, setting off an idea that funnels back into the world of your art. The shape of a building can spark a performer to move their body in a direction they hadn't thought of before. What may seem to be familiar, mundane details are truly the backbone of an artist's toolbox.
Sparks, little inspirations, move artists forward, urge them to create in new ways and bring these fresh views to others. The fact is that daily life is different for everyone, and oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past is mingling along with each new experience. Diversity is naturally fostered among these minute differences, along with the intriguing and sometimes unexpected similarities between people (like artists using the body as their brush and canvas).
To examine that notion closer, we got into the minds of two impressive and diverse dancers/performing artists, Jennifer Micallef and Jack StockLynn, to find out what makes them tick and how they view their crafts in relation to the world.
Q. Talk a bit about a typical day for youâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the process behind the scenes, personally and professionally. Jack: A typical day involves breakfast, and then I head to work, whether that is going to DoJump! for rehearsal or doing my own training. During the on season, I train and rehearse anywhere from 4-8 hours in a day. After that, I usually teach for a couple hours, and then go home and collapse, or spend time with my dog and family. Personally, this means I am preparing myself and mind to be highly physical, creative, and accurate for large parts of my day. Lately I have been getting up really early and journaling for 30 to 45 minutes at the start of my day, to clear my head so I can bring my most vibrant and creative self to the work. It helps me to get all my worries and self-doubts out onto a page where I can look at them. It has been making it easier for me to focus. I guess like most artists, I am plagued by those 9 method press
doubts, so I have been trying to come up with new plans to foil them. It has actually been a really fun game. HA!! So maybe that is my advice for aspiring artists. I know someone said it to me, and it helped. Make it a game; find the fun in it. Being creative sucks sometimes. It is hard and painful and scary. Make a game out of it so you can keep going even if it is awful. I was talking to my students about this tonight. We were stretching (which can be really painful) and talking about ways to stay in a painful stretch. I make a game out of it. Some people say the ABC's. Really it is about experimenting and finding what works for you. Jennifer: Like many performers/artists I am also a working professional. So my typical days involve going to work, in a business setting, where I do training and organizational development. Since I am an independent choreographer and performer, my art processes look different depending on the project I am involved with at the time. Some days I sit outside and source material, or listen to music, or have process rehearsals with dancers and musicians, and some days I create choreography. I generally have rehearsals and do performing on nights and weekends.
Q. How do you define your type of performance? Jack: I do several different types of performance. Aerial dance and clowning are the two I do most often. When I do my original work, I tend to incorporate some acrobatics into my clowning or some clowning into my aerial work, and so on. I tend to prefer things that are not completely defined by one genre. When I do my own creative work, I suppose it could be defined under the genre queer art. Queer culture, where gender and relationship styles are not givens, is an integral part of my personal work. The interplay of societal expectation and what I experience are continual artistic fodder for me. And so still I am working in in-betweens. Oh well... I guess I must like it there! Jennifer: Within a range from modern dance, to experimental theater, to performance art.
Q. What style of performance do you prefer? Jack: Lately I have been focusing on Aerial work, particularly on the lyra, or hoop. I have always been drawn to things that make very clear architectural shapes and possibilities, and so the lyra, which is a steel ring about 3.5 ft. in diameter, is a perfect implement to play against. Jennifer: Improvisation, usually with some structure, directives, or a score.
Q. How do you use your body movements, costume, makeup, or other tools to express your feelings? Jack: When in process on a new piece, I often use costume and music to help me define the emotional content of the piece. I usually have some idea of the choreography of the piece but then find the exact content through working with music of different types, until it coalesces into the right form. Often I will play with variations on choreography for a very long time, before it arrives as a finished piece. Jennifer: Since I do my art for love, not money, I keep costumery very simple, relying on basic colors to convey mood or motif. It is usually the last element I make decisions about with any piece I create. The performers, musicians included, are the spotlight of my work. Their exchange, their expressions, their movement is what conveys the artistic expression that I choreograph, direct, or perform.
Q. How far is the concept of a classic dancer from how you see yourself? Jack: Very far. I use many concepts of dance: line, flow, rhythm, repetition, etc., but I use them off the floor, and from a different perspective. My background is in theatre and clown, so I often draw from those modalities in creating performance, which also draws it away from the classical dance form. Jennifer: For myself, I deviate from the simple definition because I create and perform in work that involves theater and performance art, as well as dance, and perform in other people's work. I'm not in a dance company, though I am a member of a theater company. My role is to produce improvised or hybrid dance and music shows a few times a year. I am a dancer, classic or not, because movement is my main medium of expression. In this way, I, too, am a classic dancer.
Q. What's the most important part of your body? Jack: Strength and flexibility. Mmâ&#x20AC;Ś oh,
Jack StockLynn
Photos of Jack StockLynn ŠMarico Fayre
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Jennifer Micallef
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Photos of Jennifer Micallef ŠFiveFootThree Photography
body part. My hands. Jennifer: The mind. One’s state of being, feeling, intending, awareness, responsiveness begins in the mind’s connection to the body. Even the most somatic, bodyoriented expressions of dance are intimately rooted in the mind.
Jennifer: Both are critical for a good performance. You can't have too much passion or too much technique; however, when you don't have enough of either one, depending on what the performance calls for, the performance itself is compromised.
Q. When and how did you first get started in performing arts? Q. Do you believe every movement in a performance has a meaning? Jack: Depends. Sometimes it is just a matter of "I need my hand here to do the next move," but I try to bring the feeling of whatever I am working on into the movement, i.e., "What is the best and most relevant way I can move my hand into the position it needs to be in for the next move?" Jennifer: I don't believe that every movement has or must have meaning, but on stage every moment is full of potential meaning for the audience. They are the ones that define the expression as they receive it. No matter what my intent, they interpret what they see, hear, smell, and feel within their own context. In performance, I am in a state of total expression, even the sound of my breath is the performance. What meaning the audience derives I have found to be often surprisingly rich and full of their own personal narrative. It’s very powerful to participate in those moments.
Q. Isadora Duncan once said: "If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it." Do you believe that dancing/performing can convey more effectively than words? Jack: Absolutely. Often I don't know what I am trying to express until it comes out in the movement. Jennifer: Dance has such universal qualities, it can transcend language barriers and sometime offer more discrete messages to the audience. For me, dance can communicate feelings and circumstances that are sometimes difficult to describe with words and keep the same intent or intensity. I don't see dance as more or less effective than words; I see them as specific choices used to impart an experience. In my work, I also use words with movement, sometimes as Narrative, and sometimes purely as aural layering....offering more to the performance for the audience to receive.
Q. What is more important, passion or technique, and why? Jack: Oh my. Both need to be present. 13 method press
Jack: When I was in second grade, the middle school students came and did a presentation about the play they were doing, and I saw that and said, “THAT is what I want to DO!!!” So, when middle school came up for me, I auditioned for Peter Pan, and didn't get any parts, so I said, “Can I come help?” I showed up every day and eventually ended up with a bit part and two lines. I was a pirate. Delightful! Jennifer: I didn't begin my dance life until college. Unlike my peers in my dance program, I didn't take jazz and tap and ballet at the dance school around the corner when I was a child. I did do community theater, however, and for sure had a passion for performing. I believe that for performance, there needs to be passion first but also technique. Not all dancers need a ballet background, but the basics of classic technique offer more to one’s palate personally and to their ability to perform other persons’ work. I feel like I'm more passion than technique, but it depends on what techniques matter for the performance and whom you are performing with. I'm privileged to dance with some extremely technical dancers here in town. There are times when I wish I had taken more ballet or begun dancing at a younger age. I have to work harder to learn sometimes. But I also, through training, have the ability to learn choreography and because of my passion, perform it well. Then when I'm working with actors and improvisers, I see my dance and improv technique help me navigate theater work in a unique way. So again, it’s about having certain measures of both technique and passion.
Q. What is a tip for artists just starting out (maybe something you wish someone told you)? Jack: Sounds cheesy, but keep working at it. Show up everyday, train hard, and be professional. Really. Be nice to everyone. This doesn't mean don't have boundaries or standards, but there is no need to be rude to people, no matter how brilliant you are. Jennifer: I guess I would tell an emerging artist to keep exploring what intrigues you, delve into your curiosity even while studying or doing formal training in your medium. Keep following your instincts and create your own art so that you can continue to arrive and arrive and
arrive in your expression.
Q. What do you believe are the benefits of performing arts or art in general? Jack: Self-knowledge, and also community knowledge. You know someone so much better if you also know what makes them laugh. Mm… I think it has the ability to help us understand our individual potential, and also our communal potential—that whole "art shows us who we are" thing. Also, there is not enough real joy in the world. Not just the sweet syrup joy you are supposed to buy from TV, but really joy at fully experiencing a moment and other humans in a moment. Even if the art isn't joyful, there can be joy in experiencing it. I have been coming to terms with the dark parts of my artistic self and finding a way for them to be joyful, even within unhappy subject matter. It has been extremely helpful. It can be just as delightful to fully cry or hate or laugh. Jennifer: The performing arts are critical to humans. We have collectively performed since before recorded time; it is a part of our weave. The power of performing, the power of witnessing performance has, can, and always will offer a connection to our greater humanity. And we need that connection.
Q. Animal you identify with? Jack: A gibbon. Jennifer: Lions have always been a favorite. I just dreamed about a lion and lioness last week; they were trying to claw at me, of course! But they were so beautiful, regal, vicious, yet calm.
Q. What places or other types of art inspire you? How does your psychology affect your way of performing? Jennifer: Music and visual art, particularly architecture, inspire me. I love working with musicians and prefer to perform with live music. Improvising a performance with a musician as my partner is one of my favorite things in life. I am inspired by nature, animals, people out in the world doing their thing. I'm inspired by my life experiences, the emotions and lessons that affect me. Often I have emotional reactions to life experiences, and when I'm out on a trail or at a park I will see some plants or bugs, and there is a resonance which causes me to pay attention to their movement and their interconnectedness. That imagery connected to my emotional state often inspires dances or show concepts.
Q. Why did you decide to begin teaching? / What do you enjoy about it? Jack: I decided to start teaching because I didn't want to work a 9-5 anymore and needed to be making a living. I have since found that it is something I really enjoy, especially students with whom I can have artistic conversations—people who are pushing themselves, discovering their voice and physicality. I really like to take things apart. I come from a long line of engineers, so in many ways I approach movement in that way: What are the components of the final action? It becomes a puzzle for me to solve. In solving that puzzle, I become a better teacher and also a better performer.
Q. Where can we find you next? Jack: Well, starting in late November, I will be performing in the DoJump Holiday Show, at the Echo Theatre in Portland, Oregon. We will also be touring Ahh Ha this spring, including a run at the New Victory Theatre on Broadway in New York. (Oh, YES!!!) I also perform as a solo aerialist and clown around town. Look up www.jackstocklynn.com for more information on how to bring me to your stage! Jennifer: "dwelling in the fragments of mysterious dreams", which is a five performance series taking place under and around Austin, over the course of three months...this October, November and December. It's a collaboration piece between myself and musician Thomas van der Brook inspired by dreams, our own and others. More details can be found online at: http://www.dwelling.tonehaus.com/
PHOTO JOURNAL | A Moving Target Nancy Falso
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PASSIONATE PLACES | Columbia River Gorge Ashleigh A. Coyner
“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings, while incense is ever flowing from the balsam bells and leaves. No wonder the hills and groves were God’s first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself.” —John Muir
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CREATIVE SPACE | Flora Bowley Galia Alena
“I like to think of myself as an open receptacle for whatever needs to move through me while I’m painting. It’s like I’m giving birth to this thing that is supposed to be in the world for whatever reason, so I’m really trying to just get out of my own way.” —Flora Bowley, a Portland-based “new” landscape painter.
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Occasionally we stumble across an artist’s work that appears to come directly from our subconscious; it is familiar, yet it is shocking to see it manifested in a physical form, a reality rather than a shadow of our mind and whisper of our soul. This is how I felt when I first gazed on Flora’s richly layered dreamscapes. It was as if someone had given form to my imaginings, imaginings I wasn’t even conscious of before I saw them. I quickly and deeply fell in love with these works, captivated by their beauty and intrigued by these magical landscapes so removed from “reality” and yet so intensely familiar. These abundant landscapes sat so comfortably with me, seeming to offer a view into a psychic landscape where the physical world meets our souls, our dreams, and our imaginations.
Flora, currently between studios, has just gone through the process of designing and building her ideal working creative space, which will be in her garden, connecting her working life more closely to her personal life, filling both with warmth and light. However, it was at her last studio in Portland that I was able to visit her. In an old warehouse divided up into artists’ studios, her studio was filled with vibrant paintings hanging from the walls along with paper lanterns, and decorated with little inspirations from nature. Buds, leaves, feathers, twigs, pictures of birds, moths, and butterflies adorned the walls accompanied by mantras to remind or inspire her: “breathe,” “be brave,” “be present,” “there are no mistakes,” “surprise yourself.” She freely wrote on the walls as desired. It was a cozy, inviting space with plenty of room to splash paint around as well as a comfy couch and a tea station where she connects with other artists who share the old industrial building, as well as friends who drop in.
Like many working artists under the pressure of deadlines, she keeps fairly regular hours for her painting life when she is not teaching and traveling. When she first arrives at the studio, on goes the music, which she listens to while clearing away the previous day’s working space, making way for the new day’s work, a ritual that triggers the subconscious that the work will begin. Then, she might sit with a cup of coffee and observe the work she is in the middle of from a place of non-judgment, just noticing what is there, what is still needed, and what is working. Often, this is enough to inspire her to
begin. A former yoga teacher, Flora’s approach to painting is very much a yogic one where the physical is brought into alignment with the mind and the soul, each nourishing the other to bring her seemingly chaotic way of working into harmonious alignment as the layers of her paintings are. One of the ways she taps into her creative flow is through movement: yoga, dancing, walking. The result, she says, is that she is able to bring her “mind and body back into a place that is receptive, clear and energized.”
Flora’s method of painting echoes her belief that “there are no mistakes.” She has no fear of the blank canvas, as her process is to eliminate it with paint and mark making; anything will do to get started. She simply applies paint, doesn’t overthink it, plays, has fun, stays present. Her approach is very corporeal, often using her hands and her fingers to paint, feeling the paint, feeling the canvas, feeling the work itself.
Layer upon layer of paint is applied to the canvas in this process of staying in the moment and having no expectations. The Buddhist monks, creating their sand mandalas, which blow away when they are done, come to mind when you see Flora layering paint on top of layers of paint. So much beauty gets covered up, but her philosophy of nonattachment requires this to be an integral part of the process. She believes that all marks that are there, those seen and those not, are meant to be there, and it echoes her belief that there simply are no mistakes in the creative process. This belief in non-attachment dances with choice-making where she is required to stay fully present, observing, noticing what is working and what is not, working back and forth between wild abandon and thoughtful decision making. Out of this quiet observation of what is working and what is not, and always moving towards what is joyful, emerge these exuberant, bright and playful paintings with such depth.
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Another way that Flora likes to keep herself inspired is to step outside of what is comfortable and do something new and bold, either in the painting itself or in her life. On the canvas, she might splash some paint about, turn her canvas sideways or upside down, or try some new technique. She is always looking for something new to add to each painting, a move that takes trust in the belief that there are no mistakes but still manages to excite her about the work again. In her life, she tries to stay open to new experiences, to expand what she calls her “growing edge.” Whether by traveling with no expectations or mingling with other artists, inspiration comes into her life as she lives it.
down. Talk about non-attachment.
work: www.florabowley.com musings: www.florabowley.typepad.com teaching retreats: www.florasbowley.com/#/extra1/0
Look for her Bloom True e-course coming out this winter and her book Brave Intuitive Painting: Let Go. Be Bold. Unfold.
Flora’s holistic approach to painting and to her creative space reflects a way of life, a philosophy, a way of being. Her work is like glimpsing through the layers to see the essence beyond, yet all the layers are still entwined and interconnected seamlessly; it is impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. In the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the moment, and what a joyous one it is.
A Further Glimpse:
What are you reading? I’ve been reading “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp and “Life, Paint and Passion” by Michelle Cassou. I’ve also been writing my own book over the past six months, so I’ve been doing more writing than reading lately. My book, Brave Intuitive Painting: Let Go. Be Bold. Unfold will be released by Quarry Books this spring.
Rooted in Love
What are you listening to? I’ve been obsessing over my friend Kyrstyn Pixton’s new album, called “Embyrs.” It’s amazing! I’ve also been loving Sean Hayes, Beats Antique, Radiohead, Tinpan Orange, Lykke Li, and Cristina Orbe.
Who is currently inspiring you and why: I just returned home from Burning Man, so I’m feeling really inspired by all the incredible art installations I saw out there. Months and months of effort goes into creating these pieces and getting them to the desert, and then they have to withstand intense weather and people crawling all over them for a week. This year’s temple was especially amazing. It was gorgeous and as big as any temple you’d see in a city. All week long, people wrote what they were letting go of directly on the walls of the temple and on the last night, they burned it
Ripple Effect
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FOUND | Herbalist Shannon Hess Ashleigh A. Coyner
her plastic tools. She has been bitten by the crafting bug; she says so every time she discovers another plant growing abundantly, her favorite plant changes. Right now it is jewelweed. It is new to her and a new favorite for its healing properties for poison ivy. All this work with plants must lead to some cool health tips or recipes. Shannon believes that St. Johns Wort is a good remedy for most body aches. She says you make your own tincture by buying some St. Johns Wort dried and then covering it in an inch or so of alcohol for a month. Another good recipe she gave me was one for poison ivy. A good one to have for sure! Shannon Hess is an herbalist from Rochester, New York. She is transitioning from her apprenticeship, where she says she was working in a “very romantic, dungeon-like apothecary.” Sounds pretty interesting to me, but what exactly is an herbalist? In Shannon’s words, “Herbalism is a very romantic symbiosis of person, body, and plant. An herbalist is someone that holds the knowledge of a plant and can facilitate its potential medicine for whoever seeks it.” So if I studied botany, then I could be herbalist, right? Well, not exactly. Shannon believes that herbalism has a little more magic to it than most studies. She states that having a bit of knowledge about botany as well as chemistry, folklore, and anatomy can be helpful and deepen your abilities to prescribe and work with the body. She is currently taking her first botany class now and realized that there are strong medicines growing just about everywhere. She practically runs herself off the road everyday trying to identify plants! Okay, so I have some plants here that are medicinal, what now? When Shannon is trying to make a medicine, she focuses on the patient first. She tries to hear and listen to what is going on in their body. Then she attempts to find the best combination of plants to hit their entire system. Her apothecary is slowly growing, so she is working with a small collection of plants at present. I remember picking flowers and drying them as a child. Is this something that an herbalist would enjoy doing or has the time to do? Shannon says she is always making stuff, whether with plants, glitter, glue, toilet paper rolls, fabric, etc. She was a pretty big tomboy and liked to follow her father around with 31 method press
Shannon advises incorporating more plants into your life, and one way to do it would be to make tea and soak oatmeal in it—great advice for those who may not like tea. When asked if she thinks naturopathic medicine will become more mainstream, she answered with, “I think we are getting there. People are starting to reject western medicine more and more. They want to have a say in how they are treated. Pharmaceutical companies have a huge hand in western medicine and sometimes, doctors ignore the root of the problem and prescribe a heal all from whatever company is dishing out the most dough.” It would be great to see naturopathic medicine become more common but in the meantime, we could all do with taking in more herbs. I think I will go make myself a cuppa tea right now, Earl Grey in fact.
Recipe and photos from Shannon Hess, Herbalist
Every new circumstance forces me to evolve and adjust my recipes. Right now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been playing with poison ivy, or at least something to help ease the irritation on my guyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaking and blistered face. First, get poison ivy. Then try this:
St. Johns Wort going into olive oil
3tbs jewelweed tea 1 tsp. sea salt 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar 2 tsp. kava kava tincture 2 tsp. each of calendula and mint Essential Oil of Lavender, Roman Chamomile, and Fir Needle
Wild oats, not crickets!
Calendula, Sage, Thyme, Lavender 32 method press
SPOTLIGHT | World Rivers Project by Lee Tracy Marico Fayre
â&#x20AC;&#x153;World Rivers is a global project uniting
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people through the element of water.â&#x20AC;?
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Moscow River, Artist Alexandra Semenova
Facing page: Levitsa River, Seviieo, Bulgaria, Artist Stanka-workclothes Tsonkova
Volga River, Artist Gennady Troshkov
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Chicagobased artist Lee Tracy is a selfdescribed “tornado” of energy. She said, “I work on a ton of things all at once. It can be confusing and I am fine with that because I live in the bigger picture.” Speaking with Lee, I realized that she is not only the sum of her six current projects, she is her own work of art. Lee’s statement that, “I just try to work all the time, I'm not very friendly,” is belied by the humor and compassion she shows over the phone and in person, and the passion and patience that is evident in each of her endeavors. World Rivers Project is probably Lee’s best-known project, and certainly the longest running. From the website: http://www.leetracy.com/ projects_worldrivers.html
“World Rivers is a global project uniting people through the element of water. Individuals from around the world dip white fabric in a local river. The fabric pieces are embroidered with the name of the river, location and date and then sewn together into a magnificent curtain. International participants, like rivers flowing to the ocean, join together to form a larger whole. World Rivers reveals a story of water, through the personal experience of many and makes mention of how similar we all are and yet how unique. World Rivers reveals civilization's connection to water while documenting our time in history.”
World Rivers Project provides a beautiful and dignified look at our waterways, rather than being bogged down in the (political) debates that can so often spring up around conservation and caring for the earth. One thing I love is that Lee asks people to take action, but in a very different way than one typically sees is conservation efforts. Instead of signing a pledge, donating money, or attending a lecture, she asks participants to physically engage with the water, creating an object that becomes part of a larger whole. 37 method press
Lee has many people contact her to say they are interested in participating, especially with the advent of social media, specifically the blog and Facebook. “I don’t want to pressure anyone, but when I see someone shoot across my screen that is from somewhere far away, I have to know that person!” The project began among artists but has expanded to include anyone who wants to be part of the process. “It is very easy when you come across World Rivers Project to imagine yourself doing it. I think people like that imagery of seeing themselves out in the wild communing with nature.” However, not everyone who initially wants to be involved follows through and physically commits to the project. Lee describes the act of dipping the fabric in the river and documenting the process like passing a threshold, where once one engages in the act, they feel the surge of energy that so many artists feel when creating. This surge of energy, and the memory of that energy, is a big part of what keeps Lee creating. Besides this immediate feeling, once someone sends their piece of river to Lee, they are part of a larger whole, something bigger than themselves that their contribution will live on in, forever.
Lee describes her role in World Rivers Project as a facilitator or guide, to orchestrate the project and keep it moving forward, but without too much force. “Like a river, I am just coasting along,” she said. Perhaps this is why she sees World Rivers Project as part of her life for the long term. Like many people, I inquired about her timeline—when she will feel the project is complete. At first, she thought it would be when the curtains reached a certain size (there are currently six panels), then she thought maybe she should choose a date (“Everyone is thinking about 2012, why don’t I just finish it?”) Since the project began in 2004, “there have been times I just want to quit, that I am just going to walk away from it. I want it to be large, large, large, when is that going to happen?” However, at this point, it has become such a part of her life that she sees herself growing old with World Rivers Project, working on it until the end of her life, and at that point it can be complete. “I am living this art.”
World Rivers Project stirs up people’s emotions and thoughts as Lee looks for more people and rivers to include and now begins looking for places the current curtains can go and be seen in order to touch a wider audience. The more people involved, whether reading the blog, looking at the panels, or sending in fabric from their own rivers, the more people think about our
drinking water, the thing that first inspired the project. “I first had the idea because I couldn’t drink water from a running stream in the woods...I felt like that was wrong, that I missed out.” At first the idea behind World Rivers Project was to send the samples from various rivers to a lab to be tested in order to document the pollution of the world’s rivers, but, “not all of the water is bad, it’s not all ugly.” The reasons for not drinking water from a stream vary, though they come back to the fact that there are elements in the water that weren’t there before due to the world’s population and people’s actions. World Rivers Project traces people’s actions and shows the beauty in our rivers in order to start talking about how we can protect them. “There is still time, but we have to work quickly.” Once someone participates in World Rivers Project, they become an ambassador with a vested interest in their local river.
larger than it is now, at 76 rivers.” I would like to have 500, 600, 1,000. Maybe that should be the goal – 1,000 rivers. I think people might respond to the goal.”
Lee’s others projects are widely varied, from meditations on the future to declarations of womanhood to miniature paintings that allow everyday people to own one of Lee’s creations. “I'm probably a painter - I was schooled a painter and tend to starve myself from it. I don't know why. I want to make the best paintings that I can. “
The photographs that accompany the fabric and document the process of immersing the fabric in the water show physical things about the river, whether there is a dam or a city, if the water is muddy or clear; they also show interesting details about the participants, like how they hold the cloth, whether they get in the water themselves and, if so, if they are up to their ankles or waists. In this way, it is possible to see how this process touches people from all different backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems, and how the process can be educational, spiritual, and personal.
“World Rivers Project has always been something I have been trying to understand, just like anyone else. Over time, I began to enjoy the learning and the sewing.” Lee has a routine developed, and just in time to deal with the queue of new submissions brought on by her actively seeking participants through her online connections. “It is new, and it feels good. After all these years, I am highly organized to manage it.” When Lee receives a package, it contains the fabric as well as photographs and anything the participant wants included in the blog post. The pieces go up online, and the fabric goes into a pile. Every six months the fabric is embroidered, then sewn into panels, and the process is repeated all over again. This project feeds into all aspects of Lee’s life, “because it is art and it is about nature, and it is a community.” Though it will continue to evolve, Lee wants the project to be much
Exploring each new tool of connection and communication, Lee details these and many more projects on her Google+ profile at https://plus.google.com/113812528964395348210/ about?hl=en.
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FEATURED ARTIST | Elle Moss Galia Alena
Who is Elle Moss, or would the real Lisa Sieczka please step forward?
Lisa Sieczka, the creative genius behind Elle Moss, is the type of woman who exemplifies the saying “If you want something done, ask a busy woman.” Superwoman is always what comes to mind for me. Not only does she run two successful Etsy shops, but she is also the founder of fPOE (Female Photographers of Etsy-where she gives tirelessly and generously of her time and knowledge), co-creator of two collaborative books: She’s a Rainbow and Still: The art of Living, a whiz at social media, and recently she put together 110 gift packs for the Emmy’s, and, like most women, she also juggles a family into which she has recently added home-schooling her daughter. Yet she still manages to find time to plan out and create her magical and haunting images, which intrigue us with their stories.
Elle Moss is the photographic mask that Lisa Sieczka created when she first started shooting herself as both subject and object for her photographic self-portraits. The name “Elle” was chosen for the L in Lisa and “Moss” has some family name connections. This alter persona that she created with Elle Moss offered her a safety net in the initial stages of her foray into the sometimes confronting art of self-portraiture and the intimidating act of sharing it with the world, particularly on such a large scale as the internet. A few years down the track now and Elle Moss has taken on a life of her own, one that Lisa at times finds stifling such that she now chooses to move on from shooting more and more as herself.
Lisa has always dabbled in photography, but it is only in recent years that she has begun to take the practice seriously. Her cinematic-like images are inspired by the movies and books she reads. An idea will percolate with her as she makes notes, plots her shots, plans, sources props and locations, shoots, and then processes. Meticulous planning makes her an image maker; she employs a whole mise en scene within a single image that tells a story, asks a question, or quietly invites the viewer to enter into her quietly haunting world, yet always with the feeling that perhaps her tongue is wedged firmly somewhere in her cheek.
Unlike the traditional fairytale concerned with innocence and “evil,” Elle’s fairytales are about the self and the multiple layers within. A lot of this comes about because she uses herself, or more specifically her pseudonym Elle Moss, as the subject. Lisa’s work involves turning the camera to point at herself, the art of reflecting back—back to the camera and back to herself. This theme is echoed with her twin series and mirror shots and the photos out of which she stares quietly at the camera, not challenging, neither confronting nor shying away, simply just saying “Yes, here I am”, or else questioning the act of looking by obscuring the act of looking itself with masks, buttons, or some other external restraint.
Whilst self-portraiture is perfect for allowing the photographer to capture both the shadows and the lights within, Lisa now feels it is time for her photography to move in a new direction, and she is exploring this by shooting models, feeling like this will open up a whole new dimension for her work. If you love Elle Moss’s work then you will need to keep an eye out for the new work coming out by Lisa Sieczka. ------
Tell me a bit about your background, schooling/education/ training, work, when did you first pick up a camera/get interested in photography? I have always taken photos. As a young girl, I owned many cameras, both 35mm and polaroid and thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures. My grandmother loved photography, as did my brother - it was always around me. I took a film course in middle school, which i loved and dabbled in it again when i was in my early 20s, but i didn’t take it seriously until after i was the ripe old age of 35, when my husband bought me a Nikon dSLR and I decided to take some classes.
What are your main inspirations and influences? I’m often influenced by movies and novels. Most recently Never Let Me Go and Jane Eyre. Lately, I have been trying to create images that are surreal, but natural and not overly processed and images that are dark, but in a beautiful way, not scary but maybe a bit haunting.
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As for artists that I am drawn to, Mexican painter Remedios Varo has always fascinated me and I love what Janietta Eyre creates.
How did the pseudonym of Elle Moss come about? I was just starting out and taking self portraits when I thought having an alternate name might be good idea. I was putting myself out there and getting some odd emails and wanted to distance myself a bit. I think it also helped me creatively at first to step out of my skin and into a sort of character. My name is not easy to pronounce and not particularly memorable, but Elle Moss is both of those things and it served me very well. I now sometimes find it stifling. I have moved on from it a bit and use my real name more often. I was never a fan of people creating personas (remember Garth Brooks' Chris Gaines?, ick), but I did it and can’t exactly turn back. I don’t know if I would do it differently.
How does it feel to be so visible, are the characters and the persona a removal from you or glimpses, is Elle Moss like going on stage, into a safe character? Yes, it is like a safety net. Or, at least, it was. It was very liberating at first to be able to create as someone other than myself and to even interact with people who didn’t know that I wasn’t "Elle Moss". It was a lot of fun and I think it helped me create a mood or a look to my images that may have been more random had I not had the character to work with. This was at the time that MySpace was at it's peak and everyone had a persona and wasn’t going by their real name, so its not like I was doing something new, but just having fun and then it grew into something bigger.
Tell us a bit about your process. Every shoot is different, and now that I am working with models other than myself, it has changed my process. I have several pads of paper around the house and for a specific shoot I write out ideas that come into my head and as it starts to come together more (which can take days or weeks), I then make a detailed plan with shot ideas, costume/prop ideas, location etc. Then I find my props, scout a location and print out inspirations on 4x6 cards that I make into a little booklet to take with me to the shoot. 41 method press
I shoot digital with my Nikon D90 and use mostly my 50mm 1.4 or 50mm 1.8 lens. My 1.4 is broken and has a lot of lens flare, but I like it more than the 1.8, so I still use it. I also use the kit lens or my 85mm 1.8.
I take a lot of images and bring them home and work on them in Photoshop. I am trying to be more thoughtful and take my time during shoots so I can take less, but better shots and really tighten up my processing time.
As for ideas, it's just so random. The shoot I am planning now has been in my head for awhile, but after hearing a piece on NPR about bullying, I decided to take it in a slightly different direction. I was severely bullied as a child and the piece really moved me. So, like I said, it's pretty random.
Two reoccurring themes in your work are the mask and the twins- can you elaborate on this? I love the idea of a twin. I think it spawned out my loneliness as a child. I have a rich imagination and spent a lot of time in my head dreaming things up. I never had a sister, but always wanted one. Anyway, twins are very interesting to me. It is like another you, and yet a completely different person. Creating a twin through self portraiture is an interesting way to explore our own inner self that maybe is a bit different than our "true" self and yet, is you. I’m actually planning a twin shoot with twin models so I can explore the theme further. The mask was interesting and fun, but it has been picked up by everyone and I don’t really feel the need to explore it further. I don’t really think I used them to hide myself in my photos, but to express different sides of my self. I don’t know why, but I have always been drawn to anthropomorphism and find it both whimsical and a bit frightening.
Many of the artists who influence you are more graphic and employ more shock value to their work, yet your work does not cross into that place and remains whimsical and playful whilst still being mysterious. Is that a deliberate choice or ...? It is somewhat deliberate. I did explore a bit more darkness early on, but found it is just not me. There are so many dark artists right now, and I love it, I do, but I
don’t take myself so seriously and it isn't something I want to put out there. I like a bit of humor and to not take myself so seriously. That doesn't mean I don’t like to go to those darker places, but I want to do it with a sense of humor and some beauty.
How do you think that this move into shooting other models is going to influence your work and future directions? I think it is going to take me to places I have wanted to go for a long time. I wish I had done it sooner! I feel I have more control over the image with a model other than myself, which is, frankly, kind of bizarre. To be controlling the scene and able to really work with the model and the light and shot - its pretty fab.
4.
I love making mix CDs for friends and recently discovered this site: http://8tracks.com/ellemoss
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Lisa can be found here: FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/torchlightlms BLOGS: http://ellemoss.blogspot.com http://diaryofamodhousewife.blogspot.com EMAIL: ellemossphotography@gmail.com Other Shops: http://alicebgardens.etsy.com http://birdandbloke.etsy.com
Any up coming projects of interest, new directions to explore? I am at a strange place with my photography. Every day I wrestle with wanting to quit completely or the opposite, try things I haven't done yet. I have lots of ideas, but not a lot of time. I would love to explore some new themes, and have wanted to do a series with a Ouija board for some time. I have always been drawn to them and they scare me as much as they make me laugh. I also have some plans for a shoot inspired by some of my favorite books: Jane Eyre, Carrie, Lolita... Experimenting with film is something I have always wanted to do and I'm thinking of taking a class in alternative processes so I can explore playing with the print itself. Photographing other models is what I am exploring now. It is so much fun and so much easier than self portraiture! I have several shoots in mind and have a lot to learn, but I will get there. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
Uncommon facts: 1.
I am a soy-free vegan and because of this I can't really eat out and I have to do a LOT of cooking at home.
2.
I was 35 when I started this journey as an artist. It is never to late to create.
3.
My grandmother was a fabulous photographer and when she died, I inherited boxes of her photos from the 1930s to the 1980s. My "Bunny on Bicycle" (on the following page) is a montage I made from that collection. 42 method press
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Equus5
Feather_Elise5
Ophelia6
Jodie1
Ringleader
Listen_2011 The Butterfly Releaser2
The Escape Artist69
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http://www.workman.com/products/9780761163589/
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Method Press is extending a call for submissions to all fresh and emerging thinkers (or even old dogs with some unruly tricks) for consideration of their work to appear in our future issues. By thinkers, we mean people who think about stuff. Maybe you're a professional clown or an amateur photographer. Maybe you're a house-husband, a struggling stamp collector, or a 9-5 non-creative and all this artist stuff gives you the heebie-jeebies. We don't care. And we don't really have heebie-jeebies. We just want your ideas & to see them presented in an interesting way that respects your individual method. We celebrate the creative process and welcome all ideas on presenting not just your final pieces, but the method of your madness in bringing them to life as well. All submissions must be original. We cannot presently pay for the use of work, but strive to gain exposure for artists and writers through our digital and print media. We just ask one thing; give us the real deal.
If interested in having your art included in our magazine, submit to methodpress@gmail.com.
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Announcing the theme for Issue 04:
An Unfortunate Event submit photos to http://www.flickr.com/groupsmpvault/ and writing to methodpress@gmail.com.
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Enjoyed the read? Feel like helping us out? We're looking for comrade low-fi method press distributors, guerilla style. Drop your copy at your favorite hair salon, the empty seat next to you on the metro, or nonchalantly in front of that cute guy at the grocery store. Leave it there for the chain to continue. Then tell us all about it. We may even run a feature about it. Now, disperse!