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Planet MakingBuilding a Universe is a complicated business, and many different masters of crafts are required for it. There are the star inflators, the black hole punchers, the comet spinners and, of course, the planet makers. For most of the known history of our Universe, the chief master of planet making was the illustrious, and somewhat unorthodox Cárnathach Bob, whose work makes up most of what astronomers are finding in their lenses today. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Two SistersOnce upon a time, there lived a little woman who only wanted to read and write, but had the great misfortune of being loved by Madness. Madness is a passionate and relentless lover and she was ruthless in her pursuit of the little woman, who finally ran away from her home, leaving her loving husband behind, but taking her children with her.
The little woman took refuge in that great thoroughfare between our dingy world and the valleys of Faery and Death, Bedlam. Madness did not follow her in, being rather terrified of the great black dogs that prowl its tear-stained corridors with Despair toddling in their wake. The little woman took to making jute dolls. Gazing upon their squat faces with anxious care, she forgot her own two children, who sat solemnly upon her table and gaped at her. One of them had lamp-like eyes and was sweet and easy to please. Even the most dour of nurses —and the nurses of Bedlam are a dour breed—would fall in love with her innocent ways and would ferry her about the disinfected wards in their scarred, forbidding arms. Soon, she had the run of the place. No one much cared for the other girl, who had sullen eyes and something of the aspect of a firecracker about to explode. In any case, she made it clear that she preferred to be left alone, to gape at her oblivious mother as she tended to her jute dolls. And one day, the girl with lamp-like eyes discovered Sinbad crawling out of a psychiatrist’s handbag and through a tiny hole in the wall. She followed her into Afghanistan and shook her fists with great delight as Sinbad lectured an assembly of women on the finer aspects of Egyptian handlooms. Much perplexed, Sinbad journeyed with her into the valley of the children and placed her on the overflowing desk of her best friend, the headmistress. And then, she leaped through the window into the Queen of Taiwan’s bedchamber. The Queen was about to have a daughter. The headmistress, a very wise older child, knew that the girl was like that wildflower best left to itself in a glass bottle. She gave her a darling little room to herself and the free run of her library and the girl was as happy as that stray wraith of fire that discovers it can stretch its frail arms into the ever-accommodating air. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
8 Steps to Becoming PeacefulCreating illustrations will always be one of the main reasons why I am an artist. However, illustration has also led me to creating art outside of a design or narrative. Zen Art, or art inspired by meditation and a single thought or emotion, is my second attempt to create art that is outside of illustration and maintains focus on one specific idea. Toward the end of my Spring semester, I came up with a concept to dismantle labeling and stereotyping from the human psyche through a meditation session. The fundamental ways to “un-think” negative notations consist of compassionate acts; i.e., calling living things as well as objects by their given name and mindful speaking and listening. These fundamental ways of thought consist of living peacefully in what some call a violent world. This accordion book was created solely as a collection of these ways of thought and being. The paintings on each spread within the book are what I personally feel each thought looks like. Indeed, they are very abstract paintings, but I referenced photographs of nature, water, and sunsets for specific color schemes that felt like the thought I was portraying. This allowed the process of creating these individual paintings to be very natural. This also led to the decision to tea stain the pages and handwrite the titles and the sentences. Since the book is giving information on how to be peaceful, it is promising that the design of the book is as natural as the information and images inside of it. Jordan is an Illustration major at MICA who defines Zen Art as meditative art that consists of a single thought or emotion. #Zine #Peace #Illustration #Painting #Watercolor #BookArts #8StepsToBecomingPeacefull #HandmadeBook Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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If My Island Could Speak“Mary finally took off yesterday. I was really hoping I could catch her before she left.” Jill was standing in the kitchen thinking of her friend over a hot cup of tea, looking towards her husband, while talking to the air.
“Yeah. But I’m glad she left, you know? Ever since Dwayne passed, she’s been a shot image of what she was. Really depressing stuff.” Phil said this while flipping lazily from one sports page to the next, not looking all that interested. “Well, I guess we can’t really say passed like we used to, but I’m glad that she found that place that might give her a bit of rest.” The television in the living room continued playing that man’s face on a repeated loop. That odd smile that you could trust had the rest of his face not been present to add exaggeration to what he said. The eyes would squint as he begins to poke and prod your heart before changing to that smile. The type of smile that could be heartfelt, but you weren’t quite ready to believe. Then, on queue, the words pour out of his mouth, covering each viewer with a blanket of warmth and motherly love. Those words that act as the most heavenly of safety nets. “It’s alright. You’re going to be fine now.” Jill alternated now from washing dishes to looking out the window. “Maybe I’ll give Franz a visit this weekend. I don’t think she’s left yet, and even if she has, it would just be nice to see her.” She stood a moment thinking about her words before spurting, “Is that horrible? That wasn’t meant to be horrible.” “I think she left, hon.” Without missing a beat, Phil continued, “Sorry to bring it up again, but I think we oughta consider going, too. Tyler is off in college now, and Cham hasn’t needed us in a long while. I think it would do us good.” The man in the living room’s face now seemed to contort itself into a whirlpool of different emotions, each of them sincere to a point, but Phil still held his reservations. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Sexy Taxation#Imaginative #RobinHoodTax #WallStreetBankers #TaxWallStreet #TaxTheRich #GiveToThePoor #Taxation #Comics Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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Pour Me Pour YouThis slip-cast porcelain Big Double Llama is just one iteration from my Functional Llama project. I see Big Double Llama as a multifunctional object: This is a modern vase, a candelabra, and a dinnerware object suitable for serving beverages. I am most excited by its functionality as dinnerware, where two or more users negotiate its use. "May I pour for you, and will you pour for me in return? Whose spout is a handle and whose handle is a spout?" #Ceramics #Llamas #JacyNordmeyer #FunctionalLlamas #Object #Function Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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Perfume and Cigarette SmokePerfume and cigarette smoke: The aroma to which I woke, To find empty space in my bed, Filled with phantoms of truths, unsaid. Like a total eclipsing moon, We met and parted all too soon, But not before merging our lives, So that some sick wet dream survives. Perfume and cigarette smoke, Imbued love songs in which she spoke, Rose nectar, flowing from her tongue, In seconds, made my soul grow young. Heavenly gates, red and ribbon-lipped, From which each languid letter dripped, Before fading with grey billows, Orphaning my lonesome pillows. Like her cold, yellowing fingers, Her bodiless breath still lingers, Upon my skin, inside each bone, The sweetest chill I've ever known. Dedicated to R. Y. #Imaginative #Perfume #CigaretteSmoke #SickWetDreams #Poetry #Poem #CreativeWriting #GhiaVitale Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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Where Strippers Go To DieLouisiana Film Resources, LLC is based in New Orleans, Louisiana and is focused on creating films that deal with "real" issues. Our goal is to start conversations. We want to help people talk about tough subjects, and our vision is that conversation will lead to productive solutions for all involved. These films take on complex issues, and we are do not believe we have the answers... yet. They were created by an all New Orleans based cast/crew for almost no money and we are proud to offer our "conversation piece" to you. Thank you for watching. #Film #LouisianaFilmResources #NewOrleans #WhereStrippersGoToDie Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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For You: Perfect FifthsFor You: Perfect Fifths was produced out of the For Me / For You Project, an ongoing, submissions-based project that aims to bridge the gap between artist and audience. The main purpose of the project is to experiment and play with the constant conversation between artist and audience, and see how these two voices can be united and used to create art. For You: Perfect Fifths is a response to a submission that was a list of words and phrases; ranging from "the neck of a cello" to "vessel." The words were unrelated, but all had some relationship to containment and sounds. Interested in this, I began to do research into music theory and found out a little bit about perfect fifths. Essentially, they are just two notes that are five intervals apart on a major scale. I then looked at composers who wrote concertos for cellos, and chose sections of those songs that include perfect fifths frequently, and wrote poems based on those sections. I chose the stairs of the Museum of Contemporary Art as my stage because they were a fairly clear reference to notes on a piano, and the rising/falling of a pitch. With the For Me / For You pieces, it's very important to me to stay within the language of the submissions; I think that's the way that they remain truly collaborative between myself and the person who sent me their submission. Photos by Adam Mansour and Henry Jordan. More images here. Luis Mejico is an artist living in Chicago, Illinois. Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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The Humor in Clever CreaturesMy artwork has one goal: to make people smile. Creating charming characters and silly situations is something I love to do and I want share with other people. Humor, as well as visual narrative, is deeply interesting and I strive to create amusing situations that require little or no text at all. It is important to me that characters speak for themselves and that the audience must try to infer what is happening. Most of my illustrations are snapshots of a bigger story that is only hinted at. Half of the fun is trying to infer how a character got into that situation, and what will be happening next. My style is a blend of cartoon and design, using layers of playful shapes and thoughtful color schemes throughout my work. Color is very important to me as well. By pushing colors in certain directions, the illustration can create a specific mood, giving the audience even more clues about the story than just the characters and setting. Children’s book Illustrators, comics, and cartoons are my largest inspiration pools, as I have always been drawn to the bold yet comforting aesthetics of each. However, like many cartoons and books, my work has a broad accessible humor that can appeal to anyone. By combining lighthearted humor with bold colors and design, it creates an aesthetic that anyone can enjoy. Grace Carpenter is a Michigan based artist from the sleepy suburbs of Westland. Born in 1992, she has been drawing since she could hold a pencil. Using Adobe Illustrator, Grace creates charming and humorous illustrations that spread smiles. #Imaginative #Otherworldly #FeaturedArtists #Artist #GraceCarpenter #Illustration #Animals #Humor Visit our shop and subscribe. Sponsor us. Submit and become a contributor. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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