All posts by Kristi

Kristi Beisecker is a graphic designer, photographer, printmaker and alternative scientist whose interested in making images through two contrasting elements. She is also a blogger in lifestyle, travel, wellness and health, art and design, beauty and fashion.
Art, Ayatana, Biophilia, Blog, Canada, Excursions, International, Reflections, Residencies, ◆◆◆

Biophilia – Getting there and Arrival

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It was about a 9.5 hour drive in total, probably the most I have ever driven alone. It seemed a straightforward trip and after driving an hour and a half for work when I worked out in Western MA back and forth, I felt like I was prepared. I had also been driving all over the region for the past two years doing art drop offs and receptions so driving that much shouldn’t be a problem.

WELL, it wasn’t that bad of a drive up north as the GPS took me through upstate New York during peak foliage season. The drive itself was amazing, peaceful and almost healing. It took me back to driving around Big Sur in California. It had that same dramatic effect. But I had a DRs appointment that morning at a very early hour and with pre-travel anxiety I had gotten little sleep the previous night. Lack of sleep makes for a very LONG drive and falling asleep at the wheel… I wouldn’t recommend it at all if can be avoided.

After driving 7.5 hours north I finally got to the Ontario border and went through the Border, it was pretty painless. But after driving a 140+ mile stretch I wasn’t too happy when my GPS told me I had about another 100 miles to go before reaching my destination. I was also very nervous about missing my arrival time with my host in Ottawa. It was very difficult for me to get a room for Friday/Saturday evenings since I was arriving late and I didn’t want to be left stranded somehow.

I did manage to get to my hosts’ house OK. I actually ended up arriving 30 minutes earlier than expected. My host, Clemence (from airbnb.com) was very gracious and did a wonderful job of welcoming me into her space. Her apartment was very nice and spacious and in a convenient location.

Saturday

I slept in on Saturday and then spent mid-late afternoon driving around Ottawa. I stopped by the Crystal Dawn Shop and bought an evil eye charm. Something told me that it would be very 10598246_377519615744484_145269713_nbeneficial to have on this trip!

From wiki,

“The evil eye is a curse believed to be cast by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when they are unaware. Many cultures believe that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury.[1] Talismans created to protect against the evil eye are also frequently called “evil eyes”.[2][3]“

I went to Byward Market and stopped by Peace Garden Cafe for a late lunch. The Peace Garden Cafe is a well known vegan restaurant in the area and it is very good! I don’t normally eat 10693472_589183677854027_905841335_nvegan, but I wanted to stop by a cafe that fit in with the new age/zen theme I was going for that day.

 

 

 

After an afternoon out in the city I came home and did some preparation in my art journal for my week and went to bed on the earlier side to get ready for my week ahead!

Sunday

I left Ottawa after having breakfast with Clemence who graciously bought me a small coffee and croissant! We went to a near by mall so I could by some postcards and we ate breakfast and ended up talking about our lives and plans for the future… I left to meet up with my group at 12pm at the National Gallery for lunch. I finally was able to relax a bit after meeting up with them and eating something more substantial. Then I followed the group to the hostel that most of everyone stayed at. I didn’t stay at the hostel because it claimed to have been haunted and being a medium in a haunted place I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep.

We then left to goDSC_0051 to Pine and Birch Ranch and once we got there we checked out the property and did our artist talks and had dinner.

 

 

 

 

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Art, Ayatana, Biophilia, Blog, Canada, Excursions, International, Realize, Reflections, Residencies, Travel, ◆◆◆

Writing: Biophilia – Ayatana Artist Researchers Group

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I recently went to Ottawa, CA and Wakefield, QC for an artist research group for the week. The residency was research based so we didn’t have to produce something.The research group is called Ayatana Artist Research Program.

From it’s website,

 “The Ayatana Artist Research Program is a Canadian, artist run, residency program dedicated to encouraging hands on research, adventure, experimentation and collaboration between visiting artists. Ayatana workshops focus on experience and encounters with the natural world. The residency facilitates field research and contact with scientists and experts in a diverse range of settings.”

I was really excited to have found a residency that spoke to artists who focus their work on science, art and spirituality. This community in the art world is very small, but exists. It’s hard to know what’s out there if you don’t go searching for it. For example, I recently applied for a conference in Bilbao, Spain to present my work in Kirlian Photography. It is a completely fully funded experience… but the conference is geared towards artists, technologists and bioartists!

To commemorate this residency, I will be doing a series much like my California Seventeen series.

I also took up the task of designing and completing the group’s publication for the week. It’s almost done, I just need to get everyone’s info for the book. So excited to debut it!

I was also assigned to do an Ottawa,CA feature on Jetsetter Gypsy through my internship and wrote about Pine and Birch Ranch where we stayed. This should be posted soon.

The next post in this series will list the table of contents.

Art, Blog, News

Exhibition News

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bluebellMy piece “Bluebells” was accepted into A.I.R Gallery’s 11th Biennial Exhibition for this summer! It was chosen out of 786 applicants and will be in Brooklyn, NY from December 4th, 2014 to January 3rd, 2015. The reception will be on December 4th from 6-9pm at the Gallery.

Blog, News, Publications

NYSAI Press and Weasel Press

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MISSION

NYSAI Press publishes Staten Island based literary journals featuring artists and writers with distinct voices in a borough forgotten.

We are city, we are suburbia; we are deformed, we are beautiful; we are America, and we are forever cut from the mainland. We are NYSAI Press and pledge to present it all, break it down, fuck it up, and move it forward because we can and we know you can too.

“Fern” was recently accepted for publication in NYSAI a literary magazine based on Staten Island in New York! It is also a print magazine as well and the following locations in New York carry it:

120 Bay Cafe
Beans and Leaves Coffee and Tea Cafe
Deep Tanks Studio
Everything Goes Book Cafe & Neighborhood Stage
Everything Goes Thrift & Vintage
Jim Hanley’s Universe
New York Public Library (various SI locations)
Pepper Jack Grill
Richmond Hood Co.
Staten Island Dance & Arts Center
Staten Island LBGT Center
The Studio

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Weasel Press

About Weasel Press
Weasel Press is a new independent publisher still figuring things out in the literary world. We’re dedicated in seeking quality writers and helping them get a voice in an already loud world. We’re a little rusty at the moment since things are still under construction, but we hope to build a great reputation!

Our first publication was Vagabonds: Anthology of the Mad Ones, a literary magazine that is still printing and still growing. From there we’ve grown into a few other titles. This past year we’ve released two issues of Vagabonds, partnered with Mind Steady Productions to bring an electric issue of Open Mind, and dove into the darker world with The Haunted Traveler. We’ve got a lot of plans for the near future, so stick around and watch us grow into something awesome!

“Kelp” and “Bluebells” were accepted into this cool Anthology:

Degenerates: Voices for Peace
Weasel Press is now calling for submissions for a poetry and arts anthology called Degenerates: Voices for Peace. The purpose of the project is to awaken, enlighten and maybe even provide a bit of shelter to those who need it. Poetry has some immense power in the world, either through healing its readers or inspiring them to become involved. We’re looking for Poetry, Photography, Artwork, Prose Poetry, etc with passion. We need to be able to feel and experience your work. There is a wealth of social justice and other topics that we are looking at to put this anthology together. Things such as: Bullying, sexuality, Homelessness, Free Speech, Animal Rights, Rape Culture, and much more. Artwork and written work does not have to be strictly political but must address something that would be a voice for peace

Blog, Reflections

An Update

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I am home! I came back from my residency in Canada on Saturday – very late must I add – but home nonetheless. I feel refreshed and a brand new person. Before, I felt like I was being consumed by my grief and it sure got difficult to do certain things and to get certain things done for my trip. But now, I feel like I can take on the world… but I’ll admit I’ve felt my grief creeping back…

Anyway, despite getting sick and everything else that happened, I’m happy to have gone. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything with a group of artists. I think the last time was in June when I hung out with the Younger than Amy crowd in Provincetown. I’m just happy that I feel like I’m finally moving on from Minuteman – more or less anyway.

I think I’ll be doing another series of posts like I did for California. I’ve been doing a lot of catch up with my publishers, applications, etc. So much happened outside of my residency that week!

My work was accepted into a few more publications which are listed under “News > Publications” on this blog. I also wasn’t accepted into many things. A few things I thought for sure would come through oh well. The wheel of time did just only turn a few weeks ago, it takes time for things to turn around.

But it’s finally October, heading full swing into fall. I have somethings coming up this month that should be exciting. A few exhibition opportunities hopefully and a couple of contests later in the month.

Art, Blog, Excursions, Reflections, Travel, ◆◆◆

Biophilla Residency First Impressions

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I’ve been able to fit this blog post in because I came down with a cold! I vomited twice last night, have chills, a sore throat and vomiting. I decided to stay home to recover a bit and fight it off. With my fear of vomiting I decided to not go today. But it’s nice to have some ‘me’ time this week. It’s been difficult to do that – not that that is a bad thing, the group is fantastic, it’s just I miss my ‘me’ time.

This residency is better than I expected… which is always a good thing and has given me some fresh ideas and inspirations for new projects but at the same time I didn’t really know what to expect. I went in with an open mind and so glad I did. It is SO nice to be able to talk to like-minded individuals – talking about science and art.

The first two days we did a bit of hiking. The first one was down a mountain we climbed through a chairlift to see the foliage and the second we hiked through a forest in a national park. We were supposed to meet with an arborist to talk about the trees but I had to drive the group that day due to the group van breaking down the first night. The park didn’t have a specific address so I couldn’t plug it in the GPS and it was hard to orientate yourself. But we got there and focused the hike on finding things for the Kirlian workshop I did later that night! The kirlian workshop also came out really well and we got some cool negatives! So well, they want to do it again!

Yesterday, we went on a third hike into the forest to see the reptiles and amphibians with a specialist. We just happened to see a beaver, three types of tree frogs and a salamander. I’ve got some really cool photos.

I can’t wait to see how the rest of the week unfolds and to see where things go.

 

Art, Blog, Excursions, Projects, Realize, Research, Travel, ◆◆◆

Residency: Ayatana Research Program

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]From Sunday September 28th to Saturday October 4th, I’ll be at Pine and Birch Retreat here in Ottawa, CA for the Ayatana Research Group residency. I’ll post infrequently, if not at all throughout the week. I need sometime to unplug and reground and figured this week would be a perfect opportunity.  I quite honestly don’t know what to expect, but I hope I come out of this program as a more enlightened artist![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=”Other Pieces” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C500%2C500italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic” el_class=”widget-title”][vc_masonry_grid post_type=”ids” element_width=”6″ gap=”10″ item=”masonryGrid_OverlayWithRotation” grid_id=”vc_gid:1534894494196-34e8d5d5-dc08-7″ include=”3715, 15095, 15102, 15201″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Blog, Reflections, Spirituality

Inner Work

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I’ve been spending this past week trying to get my mind in the right frame of mind for my residency. I’ve been tying up projects, working on cleaning, meditating, preparing, etc. I’d just go with the flow, but I’d want to have some creative preparation for the week so if I have an idea for something in the future I am prepared.

These past couple of months have been really emotional for me. I’m waiting on edge in hopes of a prediction to come through, but for whatever reason it keeps being delayed and whenever this happens my anxiety is through the roof and I’m just on edge and uncomfortable until it passes; I’ve been feeling this way since the end of July and my predictions keep saying it’ll come through… Advice has been to just let it go, but I’m afraid if I let it go, I’ll end up being disappointed! And I have a fear of disappointment, so trying to let it go and to be allowed to be disappointed is what I’m afraid of. But I keep being reminded that maybe, if I do let it go, for once I may not be disappointed!

The waiting is just bringing up old wounds and dealing with old wounds is never pretty. And the person I am waiting on knows very well what has happened to me in the past that has hurt me and keeping me hanging and waiting, is a sure damn way to continue to hurt me. It shows to me that I’m not a priority, that maybe you really don’t care about me in the way I thought you did, and just by keeping me hanging it shows that maybe you don’t have respect for me and that maybe you’re not the person I thought you were… I realize all of this is extreme, and I realize that people are busy and have other important things in mind… but still it is what goes through my head when someone just leaves me hanging and it just creates an emotional roller coaster for me. It’s one of those things where I know without a doubt that the prediction will come through but my fear of failure and disappointment is what is keeping me from believing that this is true! It’s such an uncomfortable contradiction!