I recently ran across a wonderful post on journalism prompts on Spirituality and Health Magazine the post below was originally written by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S on the Magazine. I think it is a wonderful idea and I’m curious about it and tempted to write one prompt each week.
Category Archives: Reflections
Biophilia – Activities – Sunday
There was an abundant of activities throughout the week that made every day an adventure. It wasn’t too much but everything did run a bit longer than expected which made it hard for everything to be done that day also made for very long days. I had been suffering from a low period of energy and was really nervous that I wouldn’t have the energy to do the hikes scheduled. But I think a lot of the low energy had to be from my grief from Minuteman and that this trip was exactly what I needed to be able to bring myself to back to an OK state. As I said on the last night, it was really healing to be welcomed into such an open and welcoming group after being kicked out from a place where your heart was still very much there…
Sunday
Our week started off in the National Gallery cafe and having lunch with the group. We introduced ourselves and got a bit of an orientation of the week. Afterwards, we drove to the hostel where the rest of the group stayed – I stayed with a host from airbnb because being a psychic and medium and the hostel claiming to be haunted I wouldn’t have gotten much sleep! After picking up everyone’s gear we drove to the ranch.
Once we got there we had a chance to explore the property and take photos and find things for our artworks. We then had our artist talks and dinner in Wakefield at Cafe Chez Eric. We ended up staying at the restaurant a bit longer because we had a flat tire! We had a really interesting discussion that night about 3D printing and I got some interesting inspiration for my photography that maybe I could do one of these days.
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Reflections: You Don’t Care…
Below are just some thoughts regarding something in my life. Feel free to scroll on if it doesn’t interest you. 🙂
Biophilia – Getting there and Arrival
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 
beneficial 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 
vegan, 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 go
to Pine and Birch Ranch and once we got there we checked out the property and did our artist talks and had dinner.
Return to the Table of Contents
Biophilia – Table of Contents
I – Getting there and Arrival
II – Activities
i. Sunday
ii. Monday
iii. Tuesday
iv. Wednesday/Thursday
III – Art, Science, Spirituality
IV – Going home and Departure
Writing: Biophilia – Ayatana Artist Researchers Group
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.
An Update
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.
Biophilla Residency First Impressions
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.
Inner Work
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!
The Sun
Just like the sun,
you brighten up the darkness
Just like the sun,
you healed the deep wounds
Just like the sun, you warmed the cold within
On the day I left,
the pain returned
the darkness engulfed
the clouds covered
Just like the sun,
you came and went
“I Like Your Style!”
I have been recently working with a client based out of Universal Studios in California doing an on-going series of posters for club events. It’s good experience, and feeds my creativity – keeps me busy. Recently, said client acknowledged my style and said it was ‘cool’. I thanked him, but it began to have me thinking about what my style is – exactly.
I don’t think I have any particular style… I do my visual and intellectual research and build the design from there. Visual research – as in – paying attention to photographic details or other visual clues. For example, in the poster I recently did for a club called – RAIN – located in Studio City, CA – I noticed that the club was a bit retro-like. Their interiors used geometries and straight edges to provide a modern and contemporary feel – not at all organic and earthy. My client wasn’t feeling the fonts I chose originally, and wanted something a little livelier which I then looked to the photographs for details that I could in corporate into the design. In the end, I chose BOLD, THICK fonts with a neon color to speak to the club atmosphere.
If there is intellectual research needed, I head to google. I research my terms and techniques and see what I can apply to my design.
That’s my style. I don’t necessarily have a ‘visual style’. I think having a specific style as a graphic designer is limiting, and restricting. It’s good to show case a variety of different styles. I enjoy being versatile and consider it being a huge core value to me. I guess being versatile is my style.
Internships are more than Experience
I may be really late into the game with this idea, but it dawned on me after obtaining my social media/PR Intern at JetSetter Gypsy this month that doing internships after college isn’t that bad of an idea. I did the We Party Boston one before I was hired at Minuteman Press, and I forced myself to do that one because I realized that by moving out of the Bethlehem, PA area, I literally had no contacts and no experience in the Boston area.
Internships are more than gaining valuable experience in your field, and unfortunately the word “intern” gets thrown around haphazardly in the business world as a way to gain cheap labor by camouflaging the labor as an “intern” but even the Federal Government states that interns must be paid or compensated in some way for their labor and cannot be ‘free’! But there are some decent internships out there you just have to go hunting for them.
Internships are great if you are looking to branch out in your field into a similar but different area. I applied for the one at JetSetter Gypsy because I am trying to expand my blog more and the owner and I share similar writing styles and I am hoping that by promoting my blog in response to the work I do for her I’ll gain more of an audience. I am also hoping the experience MIGHT bring me into a better position in terms of being a better print designer.
I also get to use my psychic senses by writing her travel horoscopes!
Anyway, I highly recommend taking a second look at internships because they are more than just an experience. By working with someone whose established themselves in the business world you gain a connection. But you also gain insight on the way of life within the business. That’s what I appreciated the most while working at Minuteman Press. I never really got to see what a graphic designer ‘acted’ like in the ‘real world’. All I was told that an in-house graphic design position was ideal. But experiencing something is completely different than idolizing or even reading something on paper.
I can definitely see myself doing internships even when I may be doing freelance full-time or working in-house part-time. I have been searching for a textile/pattern internship. When I interviewed for a stationery house out in Santa Barbara, CA it made me realize what direction I want to go in more than ever.