R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Keywords!!!

2012-01-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

Keywords to my art portfolio. A funny practice and realy the fastest way to check out my artwork for sale is right HERE.
spirituality art, reborn art, healing art,

Search my art by keyword!

2012-01-28T15:21:00.001-08:00

More keyword links for my artwork on FineArtAmerica.com. They also link to other artists, so they provide an interesting overview of what's out there. Let me know if you have any other adjectives about my art!Thanks:)phish art, fun art, rebirth art, boy art, abstract art, spring art, cosmic art, san francisco art, universe art, silver art, renewal art, realistic art, man art, modern art, energy art, source art, alcohol art, figurative art, enlightenment art, character art...

Now you can purchase my art at FineArtAmerica.com!!!

2012-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Please check out my Profile at Fine Art America! Together, we're offering super affordable high-quality prints, canvas prints, and framed pieces! You can shop for various artwork, by me and from other artists with this same theme, by visiting:

light art, soul art, fashion art, love art, party art, portrait art, woman art, graphite art, blue art, illumination art, girl art, fashionista art, inspiration art, female art, revelry art, celebration art, cosmos art, funny art, urban art, wild artMore links coming soon! These help me get featured by keyword :)

Entrance.

2011-12-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

en·ter /ˈɛntər/ Show Spelled[en-ter] verb (used without object)1. to come or go in: Knock before you enter.3. to make a beginning (often followed by on or upon ): We have entered upon a new phase in history.

In Chinese Feng Shui, red doors provide protection from evil spirits. In Santa Fe, blue doors offer this same protection and aesthetically speak to me more. They got me thinking about entrances and entering: first we enter this world through the womb-door, then a million times we enter, re-enter, and exit through doorways of worship, home, education, capitalism, and celebration. Each entrance offers a chance of renewal, to be yourself in this new place, to close the door on your past, to be here in this present moment.

Hand on door,
pushing inward,
arriving Now.

This darkest day of the year, the sun is reborn and light can grow again. What will we enter into come next year? Who will we be? Where will we go? It's up to us, and this is a great time to review intentions and head towards them.

$F

2011-11-29T15:41:00.001-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

$F
2011 | 12 x 16" | graphite on vellum | price and prints available by request

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'— Jack Kerouac

Careful now.We're dealing here with a myth.This city is a point upon a map of fog;Lemuria in a city unknown.Like us,It doesn't quite exist.-- Ambrose Bierce, San Francisco journalist,poet, and novelist of the early 1900's

It's a mad city, inhabited by perfectly insane people whose women are of remarkable beauty.-- Rudyard Kipling

Your city is remarkable not only for its beauty.It is also, of all the cities in the United States, the one whose name, the world over, conjures up the most visions and more than any other, incites one to dream.-- Georges Pompidou

Perpetual spring, the flare of adventure in the blood, the impulse of men who packed Virgil with their bean-bags on the overland journey, conspired~ to make San Francisco a city of artists.-- William Henry Irwin

It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappearsis said to be seen in San Francisco.It must be a delightful city and possessall the attractions of the next world.Oscar Wilde

The cool, grey city of love.-- George Sterling

San Francisco is 49 square miles surrounded by reality. -- Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane)

Grail-Keeper

2011-11-09T16:57:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

The Grail-Keeper
2011 | 20 x 30" | mixed media on vellum | price and prints available by request

This piece is dedicated to it's model, my dearest friend Jehmima, who brings to her existence such a delightful blend of awareness, play, generosity, and love. Jehmima, you are deeply loved! Thank you for being in my life :)

The Grail is being in perfect accord
with the abundance of nature,
the highest spiritual realization,
the inexhaustible vessel from which
you get everything you want.

~Joseph Campbell

Custom Hats!

2011-10-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

From Custom Hats by Meghan Oona

Now accepting custom hat orders!

Email me at meghan.moreTrees@gmail.com to place your order. Please include size and color preferences. Pay with Paypal and allow 2-3 weeks delivery.

The Mindscape of Optimal Flow

2011-10-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Mindscape of Optimal Flow
2011 | 40 x 60" | mixed media on canvas | price and prints available by request

This marks the largest abstract piece I've cracked out for awhile. I'm now practicing for mural-size. This meant the arm, rather than hand, became sort of an extended dance of an inner flowing movement.

I visualized it for a few weeks before laying pencil to canvas to sketch it. Seven-seven-eleven, (my birthday!) seemed to be the perfect day to lay it down. I woke up to my favorite kind of day: phone calls from friends and family, drinks and dinner with friends; even the air against my skin was my favorite temperature. I gave my dear dog an extra treat, and even finished off dinner at the Millenium with an Americano, a rare treat. It was a good day to be born, and a good day to birth a new project.

Working Notes 8.29.11

>Helllo art, pens, paint, music, inspiration, losing my mind to peace, calm, color, flow, helllo again, there you are.
>Optimal Flow.
>Bella's Lullaby by Carter Burwell.
>Keywords: Waves. Flows. Heart flow. Flow of Love. Love Flow.
>Thoughts: Remembering that passionate love a lot. That most moving, physical kind of love. And this piece is super physical, it's so large I'm standing up a lot, moving with my whole arm and body rather than just my hand.
>Also first time filling in the energetics, wondering why I see / draw them as tubes, empty. >Now they're starting from the ocean of our minds as heavier, filled in, but upon waving out, get lighter.
>These piano songs on repeat are uplifting my heart, my love, my yearning, my remembrance of that unity... and that unity is my favorite of all the optimal flows.

Working Notes 9.17.11

>"Energy" is one of the most important words of our times. How to get it, maintain it, increase it, sustain it, utilize it.
>"It's like freestyle Celtic knotting," ~Rob Davis
>"Being creative is hard because you have every choice in the world, and have to narrow it down to what you want," ~Nurse Dan (paraphrased)
"Energy is eternal delight" ~ William Blake

Final Thoughts 10.25.11

>I've been reading "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and also recently read his "Creativity: Flow and Psychology of Discovery and Invention," so with these topics fresh in my mind, I actually wound up creating a piece about creating!
>Always returning to Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan: "Of all the qualities in your being, that which is most God-like is Creativity."

Commission a Meghan Oona Mural:

If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in commissioning a mural, please get in touch. I can do living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, storefronts, and more. I'll be happy to collaborate with you and your vision. Contact Meghan.RealeyesGallery@gmail.com to brainstorm.

Finding Flow within Form

2011-06-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Alignment
2011 | 25" diameter | mixed media on wood | price and prints available by request

"Order is Heaven's First Law." ~William Blake

Doing some Symmetry work after a long stint of Flow, and finding Source, Center, and Balance. I used to do a lot of mandala work and at first, it felt comforting to return to it. The physical manifestation of Centering the inner world into outer form always functions as a healing modality for me.

I've been more into a visual Taoism of sorts lately, exploring flow and chaos. The universe seems to require both chaotic flow and mathematical order. Apparently, so does my practice. This return to a mathematically constructed form sort of baffled my brain, and I watched my process unfold with amusement at the adjustments.

What wound up happening is I found a place of Happy Medium, a sort of Flow within the Form. During the work I discovered some free white noise mp3s which brought me back to my Center with sounds of womb, ocean waves, and heartbeats.

From this place, the flow within the form started happening with much more ease. The duality that is our world: artist/art, abstraction/conception, tao/order, entropy/structure, flow/alignment began to melt away into Unity, or what I also call "That-Which-Encompasses-All."

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Meghan Oona featured in Surrender to the Flow!

2011-06-06T10:29:00.001-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

So honored for this feature in the 29th issue of STTF! Many thanks to Jonathan Zimmerman and Christy for making it happen. Also thanks to Phish, my many muses, and friends for sharing their photographs.

To read the story behind the featured pieces, visit: Dionysis, Hestia, RAGE, and Ocelot. And check out my updated website for the full spread of all Illuminated Portraiture.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Touched by Divine Sight

2011-05-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Touched by Divine Sight
2011 | 24" x 30" | graphite and paint pen on vellum | price and prints available by request

Remember my post about Amelie? This is my take on The Blind Man, touched by divine sight after Amelie helps him "See." She takes his arm, and leads him through the streets, describing to him everything they pass. He looks up to the heavens, deeply moved and transformed by this stranger's kindness.

I told Cynthia about this, and it turns out she'd only just recently seen Amelie, so it was perfect for her to pose for this piece. Even more perfect, she's the moreTrees' staff photographer, and we've gotten to collaborate on several photoshoots. As visual artists, we humbly aim to provide the same kind of "sight" that Amelie did -- understanding and connections to uplift our viewers.

For the first time, I documented the process by video. Enjoy!

Event Vertex Meets The Light

2011-04-25T13:57:00.001-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Event Vertex Meets The Light
2011 | 24" x 36" | acrylic and paint pen on stretched archival canvas | price and prints available by request

More than anything this piece is about Light and Flow. Light being a metaphor for our higher selves. Flow being those timeless, ego-less experiences like sex, dancing, and engaging with one's truer purposes.

As I worked on it, my thought process brought me to the cosmos, and the opposite of light -- black holes. Black hole theory posits that an object sucked into one would get stretched out forever at the event horizon, never to return. This just freaks me out. It reminds me of when the Murrays tesseract in A Wrinkle In Time. No fun! At least they come out on the other end.

This piece, for me, attempts to turn our current understanding of black holes (at least as a metaphor), upsidedown. (If only to humbly acknowledge our minute understanding of the great cosmic mysteries.) Instead of this scary dark nothingness and certain death at the "event horizon," I'm exploring the "event vertex" on the soul level. In this place, our light within bursts forth into understanding and love and connects with everyone else's highest light as well.

Perhaps it's from this place of unity that we are driven to figure out all the details, math, and science, in order to worship the gift of Life that much more.

Sometimes I work with words on a certain piece. For this one I wrote a list to direct the energetic feeling I was going for. The list: bubbly, flowing, bursting, popping, gushing, gently exploding, propel, emit forth, shine, resurrect, remembrance, waves of Light, glow.

This piece also reflects feelings: of finding the Light. Of laughter, of breaking through a sorrow into gratitude. Of remembering who we are.

(process and detail)

This Week's Obsession: Paper Patterns from Florence

2011-04-11T16:36:00.001-07:00

Years ago I had the delight to traipse down the cobbled streets of Spain with my dear family, perusing artisan shops all day. We stumbled into a paper shop, featuring the famous marbled and antique paper prints of Italy. We came away with several keepsakes, one of which, 18 years later, remains by my bedside, as always. It's a (heavyweight) paper box which holds my dearest charms -- a birth rattle, seashells from Hawaii, a notebook of Phish shows I've seen, old jewelry from old boyfriends, and the like.

Here's a sample of the antique paper patterns, which I love, for their flashes of gold leaf, the swirling motion, and the rich yet gentle color palettes. I only wish we had the full story of who created the original patterns and why!

Dreaming the Soul of the World.

2011-03-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Dreaming the Soul of the World, or: In Which Ian Beholds The Collective Prayer.
2011 | 21" x 25" | graphite and paint pen on acid-free vellum | prints available by request

There's this specific transcendent experience, and though I can attempt to put words to it, for me, this image best articulates it.

It happens on several layers; starting in the Void, then accessing the Collective Unconscious, of which we can converse about thanks to Carl Jung. Within this realm, also, is Émile Durkheim's Collective Effervescence and Collective Conscious, both terms describing a unified hive mind of sorts. I believe there exists on this invisible plane, a unified front for Good, for the Elevation of humanity.

I describe this unified mindspace as the Collective Clarity, Collective Elevation, or Collective Prayer. It's the space of meditation, the serene stillness, the sense of one's true self and true nature; and then, while in this mind, sensing others there too. Then, an outreach towards them, while accepting an inflow from them, to create a sort of Plasma of the Universal Soul of Clarity, intangible and sublime though it may be.

It's prayer, but the prayer of all the people praying Right Now. It's loving-kindness, but the loving-kindness of one's heart opening Right Now and combining with every heart also opening Right Now. It's like a combination of prayer and good intention with a clarity and serenity and bliss. And it's all beyond oneself, to encompass all Souls in that same and immediate frequency.

The quiet, serene, weaving of this experience with my pen reflects the feeeeeling of accessing this mindspace. And the other elements support it too -- Ian's contemplative gaze, the lemurian crystal in one hand, glass of ritual intoxicant in the other... even the pirate wristband becomes important here – He's not only peering over the edge of an oceanside hotel balcony to view Miami's dawnbreak, but also, gazing over the edge of some cosmic vessel in search of the most eternal treasures.

(detail)

Again, I humbly thank my friends for their graciousness in allowing me to explore our human experience through their images and reflections. Photo cred to Rose Barling (www.rosebarling.com).

On Music; My Muse, My Heartbeat.

2011-03-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Thank you for all the music, We will dance forever: An Ode to Sufi Dancers, to Rumi, and to Phish when they dis-banded in '04.
2004 | pen on paper | 8 x 11"

This Equinox I woke up and sustained all day a deep gratitude. Just for the simplest of things: the safe softness of warm dry sheets in the morning, the smell of jasmine bushes throughout and despite my neighborhood's grit, how the oat milk swirls like a galaxy in the mate, and how I lose myself and time in the drawing project of the day... And then, at day's end, the full moon shines through my window and I turn up the MUSIC.

"It was a music more tangible than form or sight. It had essence and structure... It seemed to travel with her, to sweep her aloft in the power of song, so that she was moving in glory among the stars, and for a moment she, too, felt that the words Darkness and Light had no meaning, and only this melody was real." ~Madeliene L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

I remember the joy of reading this as a child, but never dreamed how close to this experience I would actually get.

The music in my life brings me a levity of Spirit, by chipping away our separateness to reveal a shining center of white loving light.

Sometimes I take it for granted, but tonight, I remember we live in such a paradise that musicians like ours, with their angelic voices, exist to connect us all.

These are special times, and as challenging as they are, so too are they Shambhalic, in that heaven can exist here on earth when we help to create it. Thank you, musicians and dancers, promoters and producers, for your part in this culture. It's music that motivates, captivates, and inspires me, it's the heartbeat of my soul and one of the biggest joys of my life.

Here, for example, Radiohead takes it straight to the highest level. When I saw them live it was a mystical experience for sure, as if the sound became the wind which in turn streamed right through my cells and beyond. So haunting how the body can make sound so visceral...check out the Lotus Flower video here... L O V E!

Communion

2011-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Communion, or: In Which Udi Tastes The Abundance of the Soul and Merges Into It.
2011 | 20" x 26" | graphite and paint pen on acid-free vellum | prints available by request

This image, for me, is about Spring, fertility, abundance, and a symbiotic appreciation for the lushness of the water element. Sometimes we really do remember this paradise around us. As usual, Tom Robbins says it best:

As was my custom in such elements I hunkered against the rain, drew my head into my collar, turned my eyes to the street, tensed my footsteps and proceeded in misery. But my hosts, I soon noticed, reacted in quite another way. They strolled calmly and smoothly, their bodies perfectly relaxed. They did not hunch away from the rain but rather glided through it. They directed their faces to it and did not flinch as it drummed their cheeks. They almost reveled in it. Somehow, I found this significant... They were not at odds with it, they did not deny it or combat it; they accepted it and went with it in harmony and ease. I tried it myself. I relaxed my neck and shoulders and turned my gaze into the wet... It was simply falling as rain should, and I a man, another phenomenon of nature, was sharing the space in which it fell. It was much better regarding it that way. I got no wetter than I would have otherwise, and if I did not actually enjoy the wetting, at least I was free of my tension. I could even smile. ~Marx Marvelous, Another Roadside Attraction.

Open up and let it in! Happy Spring Equinox everyone.

More info at The Realeyes Gallery.

(detail)

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Retrospective: "Genesis"

2011-03-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Genesis to the 4th Power
2009 | 11" x 17" | archival giclee and paint pen on stretched canvas | 170.00

Reading an NPR article about our role as co-creators of our personal universe reminded me to post this piece! I think it illustrates his point perfectly.

"It's a life at the center of the universes we manifest through the creative act of being human, creating culture and practicing science." ~Adam Frank, Roll Over Copernicus! It Turns Out We Are The Center Of The Universe

No Evil.

2011-02-22T12:40:00.001-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

No Evil, or: In Which Jordon, Ian, And Meghan Oona Hear No Evil, See No Evil, And Speak No Evil. 2011 | 18" x 24" | graphite and colored pencil on acid-free paper | prints available by request

"We all have bloody thoughts." ~Deadwood. And we all also have the innate ability to let them go. To see them, embrace them, take care of them, and let them go. We can develop strategies to limit our consumption of evil:

"The way we eat, the way we consume, is very important... Our food may contain anger... Be careful what you eat. If you eat anger, you will become and express anger. If you eat despair, you will express despair. If you eat frustration, you will express frustration... The consumption of cultural items is also linked to anger. Therefore, developing a strategy for consuming is very important... When you listen to the news, when you read a newspaper article, when you discuss something with others, are you ingesting the same kind of toxins that you ingest when you eat unmindfully? ...The Buddha never advised us to suppress our anger. He taught us to go back to ourselves and take good care of it." ~Thich Naht Hahn, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames.

I just love Thich Naht Hahn. Here, he offers a formula for preventing and healing our anger. It's not so much about ignoring or stifling, which can cause dangerous eruptions later, but rather, a gentle mindfulness applied like a balm to self-heal our more disturbing emotions. I really believe in the strength of mindfulness; that we can apply it when we experience anger and anger's children: irritation, jealousy, arrogance, and frustration. If we care enough to take the time to develop curative strategies for dealing with our emotions, we can share this by example. It all starts with the individual. Then together we can awake to the potential of more compassionate relating and existing. It's in this place that we'll see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.

(process and detail):

Prōtrahere

2011-02-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

por·tray
/pɔrˈtreɪ, poʊr-/ Show Spelled[pawr-trey, pohr-] –verb (used with object)
1. to make a likeness of by drawing, painting, carving, or the like.

Origin: 1300–50; Middle English portrayen < Middle French portraire < Late Latin prōtrahere to depict, Latin: to draw forth, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + trahere to draw [C14: from Old French portraire to depict, from Latin prōtrahere to drag forth, bring to light, from pro- 1 + trahere to drag]

Continuing down this rabbit-hole of sacred portraiture, seeing our complexities shine through our facial features, and finding the wonderment in this. Even more wondrous is how a mere piece of graphite can translate the message of the soul, via the facial expressions, to paper and eye and then to other souls. Just shadows and light becomes understanding.

I love the feeling described by the phrase "to draw forth" -- it's as if the artist's hand dips into a pot of luminescence to pull out the shadow and light that makes up the soul of her work. In this stew can be found that exact angle the eye must squint to denote a twinkle; the perfect nuance of lip curvature that creates the truly blissful smile.

The Social Netwok Lie

2011-02-08T22:39:00.001-08:00

I saw The Social Network last night. Super entertaining BUT (spoiler alert!).. apparently Zuckerberg's whole "revenge of the asshole nerd" storyline was fiction; according to Wiki, he's been in a committed relationship since 2003. FB was founded in '04. Is it just me or is that a more compelling story? And how does his girlfriend feel about being cut out of the story?

‎Call me a romantic, but I think all of us have a little genius inside that could benefit more from being loved and supported than from revenge-fueled productivity. Thoughts?

American Masters: Andy Warhol

2011-02-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

"He puts meaning back where there is deadness." - Wayne Koestenbaum, Writer

Whew. Finally finished the PBS 4-hour long documentary about Andy Warhol. My favorite interpretations were of how his childhood affected his art ala constant visits to the neighborhood Byzantine church, with all it's glorified deities crafted in simple, flat folk forms

His fascinating life arc, (parts of which mirrors many artists'), taken as a whole quite impresses -- from the Corporate Fashion / Graphic Design World to > The Struggle to be accepted at a full-fledged professional artist > Finding His True Voice and Bringing Something New and Important to the table that is the Art World > Ridiculous Fame and Ego Play > Immersion into a Crazy Scene with Crazy People which winds up being destructive beyond belief > to finally, with sort of a 360 irony, settling into Business as Art.

I love his early graphic work for Vogue and the New York fashion industry (below), and while I appreciate the appropriation of Campbell's, after a 4-hour long viewing of his portfolio, I feel like I never want to see a picture of Marilyn Monroe again.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Illuminated Portraiture

2011-01-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about the Illuminated Manuscript exhibit and how to incorporate those concepts and techniques into my work. I realized I'm sort of doing "Illuminated Portraiture," albeit with no calligraphy. I'm tempted to experiment with a couple upcoming pieces by blending more traditional illuminated technique with graphite portraits. Stay tuned!

Illumination looms especially important to me after recently watching The Secret of Kells. It made me cry as the suffering of humanity, the ignorance, was pitted against the unlimited potential for experiencing bliss and interconnection. The illuminated manuscript seems to encode that bliss and share it with all who view it.

(Aisling of the Secret of Kells):

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

If you live in Madison, definitely go check this out: Hidden Treasures: Illuminated Manuscripts from Midwestern Collections, running December 18, 2010 through February 27, 2011 at Chazen's Mayer Gallery.

Ocelot

2010-12-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Ocelot
2011 | 15" x 20" | graphite and colored pencil on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival giclee prints on paper or stretched canvas available by request

I snapped this picture at 8,750 feet in Telluride. Part of my soul merged with this place so I carry it with me now, always; a piece of Heaven on Earth.

This playground allowed our more wild aspect the freedom to tear down inner walls, dance all night, wander the streets shouting at shooting stars, and lose ourselves in each other until dawn.

Here, our animal selves roam free. The mask hides away our mundane lives and ego, letting loose our *animalistic element. The sun setting elongates our shadows. Is it the shadow of our routines and dramas slipping away with the daylight? Our inhibitions and cautions melting away into nightfall so our animal selves can come out to play? (I'm actually reading Deepak Chopra's The Shadow Effect right now, as the Law of Synchronicity would have it.)

That fence in the background divides our civilized and more wild natures, protecting each from the other. But still, it only takes one jump and you're on the other side...

And the final element: The Green; Hildegaard's "Viriditas," the heart chakra, springtime, new growth... If you're not familiar with Hildegaard, congratulations -- now you know about one of my historical heros! Hildegaard von Bingen was an abbess, artist, writer, and mystic in the 12th century. She equated the Green Lusciousness of the natural world with the potential for inner growth and enlightenment. She's a rare female jewel of insight and transcendence.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Ocelot, ocelot, where have you gone?
Won't you come out to play?
~Phish

That was pure wild animal craziness.
~Mr. Fox

*an·i·mal·ist /ˈænəməlɪst/ Show Spelled[an-uh-muh-list] –noun
1. a person driven by animal appetites; sensualist.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

What's your spirit animal? Please comment!

References for those who aren't sure: Animal Speak, a sort of new age-y book by Ted Andrews...

...and this website seems pretty comprehensive: http://www.starstuffs.com/animal_totems/finding.html
-

For Love.

2010-12-05T20:44:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

For Love.
2011 | 16" x 20" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival giclee prints on paper or stretched canvas available to size by request

We do it all for the love y'all
Check it out, we do it all for the love y'all
For the love y'all, for the love y'all
For the love, for the love y'all
We get the paper but it's still for the love y'all

Yo, we do it all for the love y'all
Just the love inside of the heart y'all
Yeah, for the love for the love y'all
Yeah, for the love for the love y'all
~Tribe Called Quest, The Love Movement

(detail)

photo cred to Rose Barling (www.rosebarling.com) with gratitude :)

Underground

2010-12-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Underground.
2010 | 28" x 34" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival giclee prints on paper or stretched canvas available to size by request

To me this piece captures both an incredibly cool modern moment and an eternal story. Public transport, utilized on a night of celebratory adventure in this romantic city becomes a sort of transcendent vehicle. Instead of some mundane Bart ride, it's Apollo's Chariot, bringing its riders on an epic voyage.

For the energetic flow out the window I looked at a lot of pictures of wind to represent the outside world rushing by despite this inner stillness. Easier said than done, since wind's characteristically invisible. So I looked at horses' hair blowing in the wind and large strips of fabric being blown about. Wind is visible only when interacting with another object. To me, wind brings and symbolizes Change. Maybe change also acts invisibly upon its subject, which then emerges a transformed entity. I know everyone chariot-ing to and from the massive celebration going on that evening emerged newly inspired and uplifted.

(process and detail):

Special thanks to Heather for snapping and sharing this portrait and for Jason for looking so frickin cool.

The Human Face: The Medium for Soul Meetings

2010-11-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about the Mona Lisa.

And this statement by James McMullan: The human head is potentially the most emotional subject an artist can choose. We spend our lives scanning other people’s faces to assess their relationship to us and our feelings towards them.*

And why do I find myself most passionate about faces and human bodies and postures right now? I trained in Interdisciplinary Arts, so I've worked in fashion, animation, video, street intervention, sound, and dance, in addition to 2D, so why faces, and why now?**

My long time interest in archetypes informs my current practice to an extent; seeing those universal attributes expressed in the individual psyches of my very own family and friends provides some sort of link to all of humanity. But my interest goes deeper than just that, because I could study those archetypes in a quicker, more stylized manner, and I have, (i.e. Cultivate, a study of the Demeter/Ceres archetype, based on human form yet so stylized to be cartoon-y, even.)

So why am I now intrigued by the more realistic rendering of photographic subjects? All of whom are family and friends, and who've touched my live in some way.

Part of it is practical; I want to deepen my confidence in technique and practice. I want to really advance my spatial ability with perspective and shading, and crosshatching, but more...

I'm fascinated with this apparent, illusory reality, as it visually occurs via light and shadow expressed through our faces, and how it connects to alternate realities of emotion, meaning, intention, unconscious, subconscious, and our true essence.

Our human social bonding techniques are essential and outstanding in terms of evolution, and depend on the emotional information relayed by faces and postures. But beyond the evolutionary imperative for social bonding: "Your body's whole purpose is to join this visible and invisible realms, and intelligence isn't the only force that wants to express itself through you. So do creativity, truth, beauty, and love."*** And this moves me deeply.

All the humor, sincerity, levity, depth, intensity, concepts, and passions exhibited by our human form are so captivating and sacred to me, I can't help but be engrossed by photographs of captured moments. I want to examine them deeper with my graphite pencils until I can see -- and therefore know**** -- the smiles and eye glints and embraces of these forms. Our masks often serve the ego's agenda, but I'm most interested when I glimpse the higher consciousness shining through.

My investigation often inspires my own interpretations of the energetic quality of the form. While I aim for realism for each face, the rest of the visual field relaxes with my inquiries: "What is this soul expressing to me?" and "How, energetically, does this look and feel?" This exploration becomes more abstract to a viewer, and I hope that it touches their soul too.

Back to the Mona Lisa. I imagine Da Vinci obsessing with rendering the face as realistically as possibly, but then there's this imaginary landscape behind her, which to me, represents a vastness and boundlessness of spirit. What was Da Vinci capturing with that? I comprehend it as a study of the vast wilderness of the female mystique. How bout you? Our answers don't really matter so much as the fact that this painting has fascinated us all for so long. Part of this, too, is the enigma of her expression. The mystery of what lies within.

To my many muses: Thank you for inspiring me, and thank you to your souls, for speaking to mine.

*http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/plumbing-the-head
**Thank you to Craig Carlson, who, years ago, in our I Want Burning class, said, "Ask yourselves, Why Rumi? And why Now?"
***Deepak Chopra, Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul
****Zen of Seeing: Seeing/Drawing as Meditation, by the wonderful Frederick Franck, whose sculpture garden Pacem en Terris I had the honor to visit.

On She-Ra, Wonder Woman, and Queen of the Amazons.

2010-11-18T23:26:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Queen
2010 | 20" x 24" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

This year I re-watched every single episode of She-ra ever released, and it proved an absolutely fascinating study of the moral imprints embedded within each story, not to mention the strong archetypal characters, including both ancient throwbacks and newer personas created for our times.

Cast of She-ra characters and corresponding archetypes:

Adora/She-ra and Adam/He-man of course -- straight out of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey; the great warrior/seeker who lives within us all
Bo -- to me, Bo represents the modern Renaissance man, a team player, comfortable serving under women, while also reminiscent of The Archer, The Sagittarius, and Tantra’s Santipa; steadfastedly aiming for the goal
Hordac and Skeletor-- evil incarnate, Hades-like, lives in a realms of death where nothing grows, driven by fear and greed
Frosta -- elemental figure like The Four Winds, personifying Winter
Glimmer -- Eos, the Dawn
Cat-ra -- Bastet, the personification of feminine cat-like behaviors; sensual and dangerous
Sorceress -- Oracle of Delphi
Tela -- Amazon, warrior princess
Light Hope -- Godly Pure Goodness / Enlightenment
Madame Razz – kindly grandmother white witch
Shadow Weaver -- Hera, wife of Zeus; insecure, jealous, proud, sorceress
Mermista -- water nymph

She-ra, like Wonder Woman, represents Amazonian strength and self-sufficiency. Researching the Amazons turned up all these amazing female characters who fought in wars and built temples and lived separate from men.

Queen Hipp (or Hippo, or Hippolyta), as appropriated by the Wonder Woman creators, gave her this advice: “let no man chain [you] together or you will be forced to obey him...” The bracelets on Diana’s wrists were to “teach you the folly of submitting to man’s domination.” (http://www.wonderwomandvd.net)

In ancient story, Hipp was a famous queen who helped found the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Cyrene, and Myrina. She conquered the Asia Minor and Syria, and then set up a wooden statue of Artemis next to a beech tree in Ephesus. Amazons would often go there to perform rituals like the shield dance, beating the ground in unison to the accompaniment of pipes playing a wild, warlike melody.

"Amazonism is a universal phenomenon. In time and reality, the Amazon Kingdoms not only comprise an extremist end of matriarchy but also are a beginning and a purpose in themselves. In the bright light, their boldness turned into wisdom."
~ H. Diner (http://www.warriors-wizards.com/famous_amazons.htm)

Queen Hipp (process)

For me, this posture, these bracelets, the glint in Virginia's eye, all embody that feisty fire within. It flames up when we're called upon to stand up for each other, as superheros and mythical figures do. But we all do this in our mundane lives too, when we fight for our friends to be treated with respect and when we make choices to encourage justice for animals and when we march against the WTO. These myths imbue in our children the moral code, and they become essential tools for our society to evolve.

With this work I offer up my small glimpse of the sacred heroic strength to add to our human collection of inspiring figures. I can recognize that mythic face right here.

7th Annual Interdimensional Art Show in SF

2010-11-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

From Meghan Oona / Realeyes Gallery Events

I'll be showing new work and would love to see you there!

Sat. Nov. 20th, 2010, noon - 4 A.M. | Work on display thru dec. 20th
Madrone Studios, 1417 15th St. SF, CA 94103 | Tickets at Tribe13.com

Soul Sisters Diptych I & II

2010-11-08T12:54:00.001-08:00

Dedicated to Annie and Jenny for reminding us of the comfort we find in our sisterhoods.

sis·ter /ˈsɪstər/[sis-ter] –noun
Origin: bef. 900; ME (n.) < ON systir; c. OE sweoster, D zuster, G Schwester, Goth swistar; akin to Serbo-Croatian sèstra, Lith sesuõ, L soror (< *swesor ), OIr siur, Welsh chwaer, Skt svasar sister, Gk éor daughter, niece

From Soul Sisters

Soul Sisters I
2010 | 14" x 20" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

From Soul Sisters

Soul Sisters II
2010 | 14" x 20" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

Being raised alongside my sweet sister, I'm so grateful for such a constant touchstone in my life. Evolved sisterhood amounts to a true friendship based on compassion, respect, trust, and shared life experience. Whether of the same womb, same childhood, or same life path, this secure bond among female friends offers a playmate, confidant, sounding board, and protectress who enriches our lives.

Soul Sisters I & II (process)

Props to Rose for capturing these special moments on camera, as she does: www.RoseBarling.com.

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double. ~Toni Morrison

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child. ~Barbara Alpert

Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other. ~Carol Saline

Trey Anastasio

2010-10-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

“Any musician is a channel, there’s no question in my mind about that…the musician's job is to do work in a disciplined way and learn as much about music as possible, so that they can get completely out of the way”

"The musician only has one job, and that's to listen. Listening is the essence of all great musicianship."

“If we let go, and we get our hands off it, I can sense that the connection between the music itself and the audience gets... bigger.”

“And I can tell you, like in many disciplines, it takes work to let go!”

~Trey Anastasio
Anastasio 360 - http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid557904866001?bctid=629295299001

So by affiliation: The artist only has one job, and that's to see. Seeing is the essence of all great artistry.

Sounds about right to me! And very Frederick Franck.

Hearing Trey ruminate about musicianship in such a reverent manner made me so grateful that one of my greatest inspirations experiences his own creative process in this sacred manner as well. His devotion inspires my devotion, and in this way, channels can operate together.

Together.

2010-10-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Together.
2010 | 9" x 12" | graphite on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

A study of yin and yang, especially when yang embodies protective energies to shield the yin into her safer realms.

May we all find a balance between the public and strong yang and the introspective, inner yin world, in whatever form that may take.

(from The I Ching: An Illustrated Guide to the Chinese Art of Divination by Tan Xiaochun)

May our souls speak to each other from our true essence with all clarity and sincerity as we connect to move forward in realness with integrity. May the dual energetics blend to produce an uplifted existence, in which we're supported and encouraged to benefit as many beings as possible, including ourselves.

Individually, let us take responsibility for making ourselves a good part of the community so that together, we can be stronger, more inspired, and the most alive we can possibly be.

--

I never meant to cause you pain
My burden is the weight of a feather
I never meant to lead you on
I only meant to please me, however

And then you tell my "Boy, we can do much more together."

I'm nothing but a selfish worm?
I'm nothing but a privileged puppet
And did you think I'd stay the night
And did you think I'd love you forever

And then you tell my "Boy, we can do much more together."
I gotta tell you "Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure."
I gotta tell you "Boy, we made such a mess together."

~Impossible Soul Part IV, by Sufjan Stevens

Direct Introduction

2010-09-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Direct Introduction, Or: In Which Anne-Lauren, Ian, and Meghan Oona Point To The Light In Your Open Heart, Filling It With Infinite Energy.
2010 | 33" x 40" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

Sometimes, on our tours of this enchanted world with dear friends, our allegiance becomes a playful exploration of balance that perfectly reflects our current moment. Ancient postures can be fortuitously accessed and rearranged for the present.

As soon as I looked closely I realized our pointing posture reminisced the mudra from the cover illustration of Dzogchen master Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, from his book Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State. I rushed to find it in my collection, and indeed: "his right hand is raised in the mudra or gesture of 'Direct Introduction,' while his left hand presses on one of the points that enable a practitioner to control the flow of subtle energy in the body in order to favour the development of a particular aspect of practice."

We study ancient asanas (yoga poses) but we can make room to discover new ones too. If we connect deeply with our bodies and sensations, we can creatively move in order to discover what causes energy to release, build, calm down, center, ground, rise, lighten, intensify and relax. Yoga can be an ongoing process of new discovery, exploration, and experiment. Remember, yoga means "union," and extends beyond just poses, embodying several disciplines, including selfless service, postures, developing wisdom, devotion, etc. All these moments of union serve as portals for our development.

Every spirit builds itself a house; and beyond its house a world; and beyond its world, a heaven. Know then, that the world exists for you. For "you" is the phenomenon perfect. ~Emerson

Here details the serendipitous process of discovering our very own custom asana, then bringing it to canvas, and back to meaning:

Photo Cred to the very talented Rose Barling (www.rosebarling.com)

And for more on yoga with Anne-Lauren, she now offers FREE yoga classes ON THE BEACH in Santa Cruz! Find more info at www.armoniawithannie.com

Here's what thinking of You looks like.

2010-09-17T23:39:00.001-07:00

When you find yourself with the Beloved, embracing for one breath,
In that moment you will find your true destiny.
Alas, don't spoil this precious moment
Moments like this are very, very rare.
-Rumi

Hi from the Studio!

2010-09-04T15:33:00.001-07:00

September, you get me every time. Despite living on the West Coast for 14 years now, I still feel that seasonal twinge of death and loss come Fall.

After all of Summer's rapturous celebrations, I'm retreating back to the graphite, my journals, my hermitic rituals and routine. Time for the soul to recuperate. I'm finishing up a large scale portrait and plotting a couple smaller graphite studies.

Have you seen This is It yet? (The MJ documentary.) It's actually amazing and I've got Earthsong on repeat for the morning. Just glorious; uplifting and poignant and somehow his spirit sings beyond the grave.

I guess that's a good thing to focus on as Fall descends: That Which Lasts -- The Love; that universal, connective energetic stuff beyond our little lives that really transcends birth and death. So cheers to the Love, y'all. Keep it alive and healthy in your lives. More soon...

Romantic Inspiration

2010-08-27T11:47:00.001-07:00

Solitary Amelie skipping stones:

Re-watched Amelie, which left me in tears at the human potential to be empathic, romantic, and hopeful despite all odds. The story-telling transcends your ordinary movie and becomes, instead, a divine parable of True Love.

The Blind Man, touched by divine light after Amelie helps him "see":

Amelie finds True Love:

Time Is Layers Upon Layers : Process

2010-08-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Commissioned to do an abstract piece using browns and blues, I decided to play with a bursting motion, and during the work found myself meditating on themes like the big bang, creation, conception, and time.

We're taught that time is linear, but in our actual experience time functions as layers. Our consciousness can reside in past, present, future, imagination and dreamscape all at once. As a child, the years in my head followed a spiral form, moving counterclockwise towards the future. And even with our physical eyesight, we see starlight that may have extinguished millions of years ago.

Our experience of time is so subjective, and though linear time does us real service, that rhythmic counting can go much deeper and becomes our very own personal interweaving of experience within whatever dimensions.

Anyway, working on this piece sponsored that internal investigation. Here's the process:

Kairos, Or: In Which Time Bursts Into Both Linear And Spiral Being, Ushering With It Past, Present, Future, Imaginary, And Dream Realms That Weave Layers And Layers Together.
2010 | original 23" x 23" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

Two Of Swords

2010-07-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Two Of Swords, Or: In Which Aubry and Meghan Oona Vow To Clearly See Exactly What Is And To Swiftly Cut Away All Obstacles.
2010 | original 20" x 30" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

This piece proved cathartic to create, as I got to examine the powerful Female Destroyer archetype, the flip side of Creative Femininity. Hindu's Mother Kali and warrior Durga, the Greeks' jealous Hera and warrior Artemis, Dzogchen's protectress Ekajati, and Tantra's wrathful Dakinis all embody this energy. This type of female force exists even in our primal earthly experience of destructive earthquakes, floods and volcanos.

Calling upon the destructive feminine remedied my Midwestern Terminal Niceness, a nurtured condition mostly beneficial but at times troublesome due to taking inappropriately deferential positions in times of confrontation.

The Two of Swords (more below) became the perfect title because it focused not on vengeance but more on balancing out dual energetics by relying on one's inner tools to cut away obstacles when necessary.

The aim, at least for me when applying these archetypal solutions, is first to remember the full range of human options available to us within our being. Then to cultivate the skillful means necessary to employ those various modes when necessary, with compassion, for the benefit of the greatest amount of people in whichever the situation, including ourselves.

The Kartika, the Tibetan Tantric ritual knife worn on my bracelet in this piece, came with me to every show on tour last year. It's now retired, so to celebrate my graduation to the Double Vajra, I wanted to explore it's symbolism a bit to thank it for activating these specific energies from within my being.

(http://viewonbuddhism.org/tantra_symbols.html): The Kartika (Skt.) or curved knife symbolizes the cutting of conventional wisdom by the ultimate insight into emptiness. Is is usually present as a pair, together with the skullcup, filled with wisdom nectar. On a more simple level, the skull is a reminder of impermanence. Between the knife and the handle is a makara-head, a mythical monster.

And more about the Two of Swords, in traditional Tarot symbolism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_of_Swords): A female figure sits blindfolded, as she calmly balances two swords across her shoulders. Behind her is a large body of water and above her is the moon.

The woman's seated position, in combination with the crescent moon, recalls the High Priestess card, and we find a link as well in this card's representation of the characteristic feminine strength of intuition. The woman's blindfold and the sea show a necessity to rely not on immediate stimuli but on deeper thoughts and feelings, that part of the unconscious mind that we call our higher self.

Her seated position, when conceptually paired with the balanced swords and the blindfold, may also recall the Justice card. Yet here the concept of justice is not one of retribution, but of making decisions that are balanced, moral and that we trust to be harmonious within and without ourselves.

Unlike the "hoodwinked" woman held captive on the Eight of Swords, this card depicts a woman in control. The scene and the discipline of her pose do more to suggest that she has placed the blindfold on herself, as is done in many cultures, ritualistically, to encourage reliance on the other senses (for example the use of blindfolds in martial arts).

The woman is blind in her situation, but she is safe, not only unafraid, but centered. She wields powerful weapons, but they are not held in a position that is threatening to her or anyone else. The moon and the sea reinforce this sense of calm and equanimity.

detail and inspiration:

I dedicate the Two Of Swords to transcending the limits, obstacles, fears, manipulation and lies imposed on us, to clearly identify the roots of ignorance and suffering in others and ourselves, and to cut them off at the source with compassion. May our lives be full of balance, serenity, equanimity, bliss, awareness, and skillful means, and may we find refuge in dear friends evolving on this same path.

War Artists

2010-07-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

"Raid Outside of Yusifiyah" by Michael Fay

For my current Modern Mystic series, I do lots of research about portraiture, with a special interest in unique portraiture, whether unique in method or subject. My own subjects are representatives of freedom, revelry, and unity.

So reading about this other type of artist sort of blew my mind (wow, sorry, awful pun): the War Artist. The antonym to my free-spirits, the subjects are heavily weighed down with duty, anxiety, and danger.

But their burden is to protect those very freedoms my subjects enjoy and employ for their evolution, so all these humans are interconnected, despite the large swing the life-choice pendulum takes to swoop from these extremes.

Read the NYT article "With Sketchpads and Guns, Semper Fi," here.

Salty Elixir

2010-06-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Salty Elixir
2010 | 23" x 27" | mixed media on sewn book pages | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

In this age of narcissism, with the prevalence of cheap cameras and social networking sites, everyone's now a rockstar of sorts. Does this put us in danger of confusing our true selves even more with our ego instead of moving towards knowing our soul? Is there a way we can somehow use even these challenging conditions to reclaim our true nature?

The images our of "selves" that we capture for display, if we can get past the ego's game, may serve as tools to implement a useful mythology for our very own current lives, and this, for me, is where the fascination with archetypes comes in.

Those who know our subject know that he makes this face for every single picture he's in. Which makes it into a performance piece of sorts, begging the question Why? For me, the frowny face does a couple things: it exhibits this grumpiness with the current narcissistic obsession with image, thus attempting to subvert it. Knowing that our subject is a Zen scholar, it can even serve as a koan (or spiritual riddle) of sorts, attempting to assist the viewer into understanding via it's seeming paradox. This type of direct transmission over scriptural study Zen holds quite essential.

The canvas for this piece had to be pages from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. Seemingly obscured by the flowing energetics, each koan actually remains still readable upon effort; a metaphor for the process of deeply studying scripture and our inner selves. The noise must be quieted, the focus singular, and then this process can often reveal our unity with everything, even what would distract us.

Process:

Therefore, this piece represents to me the knowledge vs. wisdom experience. I imagine the young prince Buddha, educated but isolated, finally leaving the castle to chase enlightenment first hand. As Yogi Bhajan put it, "Knowledge becomes wisdom when it becomes your personal experience." We need academics to increase our mental acuity and skillful means, so the elixir can represent this book learning, but it is the actual drinking from the cup that results in the deepest understanding. This kind of understanding is not only known with our minds, but felt with our bodies, and experienced on the soul level.

The ancient story of the tantric mahasiddha Santipa tells of a renowned teacher of Buddhist doctrine. When he was over a hundred years old, one of his own pupils came to him: "'Following your instructions brought me madamudra-siddhi and the existential mode of pure awareness and emptiness - the dharmakaya.' Whereupon great awareness dawned on Santipa. He realized that during all those years of teaching he had neglected true spiritual discipline... Santipa spent another twelve years in meditation, and then, at long last he attained mahamudra-siddhi. With the attainment of true bliss, he realized that all his book learning and all the honors and gifts heaped upon him were hollow and trivial by compare. The years remaining to him he spent in faithful service to others. In the end, he too gained the Paradise of the Dakinis."*

Detail:

"All the world's genius makes books black with words, but simple knowing keeps whole skies filled with light." ~Rumi.

*Buddhist Masters of Enchantment: The Lives and Legends of the Mahasiddhas, translated by Keith Dowman

Photo cred to Rose Barling!

Hestia

2010-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Hestia, or: In Which Anne-Lauren Sees The Light, Praises Its Splendor, Then Dissolves Into Its Radiance.
2010 | original 30" x 40" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

Hestia was goddess of the hearth, and in ancient Greece the hearth fire was not allowed to go out, unless it was ritually extinguished and ritually renewed, accompanied by impressive rituals of completion, purification and renewal.

The working title of Hestia was “The Light,” and so of course I explored some luminescent realms while painting this one.

I experienced a backwards déjà vu of sorts, as if I’d dreamed about this work before ever conceptualizing it. The dream-memory brought me to a strange timeless place, and it was from there that I put pen to paper, drawing out this eternal energy of the macrocosm.

At the same time I was reflecting on images (below) found online of bursting light sources. This phenomena occurs prevalently on both macro and microcosmic levels, i.e. galactic formations and neural pathways. The omnipresence of this life (light?) force convinced me that we’re not separate from the Source, and it was during a moment of experiencing this truth that Anne-Lauren raised her arms in praise.

There are 45 definitions for "light." Here are some of my favorites:

light/laɪt/noun, adjective,-er, -est, verb,light·ed or lit, light·ing.
–noun 1. something that makes things visible or affords illumination: All colors depend on light.
2. Physics. a. Also called luminous energy, radiant energy. electromagnetic radiation to which the organs of sight react, ranging in wavelength from about 400 to 700 nm and propagated at a speed of 186,282 mi./sec (299,972 km/sec), considered variously as a wave, corpuscular, or quantum phenomenon. b. a similar form of radiant energy that does not affect the retina, as ultraviolet or infrared rays.
4. an illuminating agent or source, as the sun, a lamp, or a beacon.
5. the radiance or illumination from a particular source: the light of a candle.
6. the illumination from the sun; daylight: We awoke at the first light.
7. daybreak or dawn: when light appeared in the east.
10. a device for or means of igniting, as a spark, flame, or match: Could you give me a light?
18. spiritual illumination or awareness; enlightenment.
20. mental insight; understanding.
31. to cause (the face, surroundings, etc.) to brighten, esp. with joy, animation, or the like (often fol. by up): A smile lit up her face. Her presence lighted up the room.
35. to become illuminated when switched on: This table lamp won't light.
36. to become bright, as with light or color (often fol. by up): The sky lights up at sunset.
37. to brighten with animation or joy, as the face or eyes (often fol. by up).
—Idioms 38. bring to light, to discover or reveal: The excavations brought to light the remnants of an ancient civilization.
43. light at the end of the tunnel, a prospect of success, relief, or redemption: We haven't solved the problem yet, but we're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.
44. see the light, a. to come into existence or being. b. to be made public. c. to begin to accept or understand a point of view one formerly opposed: Her father was opposed to her attending an out-of-town college, but he finally saw the light.
45. shed/throw light on, to clarify; clear up: His deathbed confession threw light on a mystery of long standing.

Photo cred to the amazing Rose Barling (www.rosebarling.com) !

(process and detail):

I see the future is less and less there
And the past has vanished in the air
And I’m left in the now with a wonderous glow
I think I’m still me, but how would you know?

I can see the light between me and my mind
I can feel memories fall behind
And the light is growing brighter now
And the light is growing brighter now

It takes a few moments of whirling around
‘Till your feet finally leave the ground
And fending off fears, and hearing the call
And finally waiting for nothing at all

I can see the light between me and my mind
I can feel memories fall behind
And the light is growing brighter now
And the light is growing brighter now

~Phish

Dionysus

2010-06-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Dionysus, or: In Which Ian Pops The Champagne, Unleashing The Sacred Ambrosia Of Sunlight To Tickle The Hearts Of His Retinue With Giggling Delight.
2010 | original 35" x 50" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

Sometimes in the linear, controlled world of this early 21st century, we must unleash an elixir of delightful chaos to balance out the yang with some yin. These sacraments heal our mundane stress and fear, replacing them with enthusiasm and bliss and transcendence.

The taste of such alchemical champagne becomes a bridge to each others' souls, uniting them in celebration and praise. The cult of Dionysus is alive and well, serving up its constituents the nectar of joy and lightheartedness so essential to our evolution.

(process and detail):

This portrait was snapped by the talented and lovely Rose Barling after Phish at the Fox, 2009.

more process:

Land of the Medicine Buddha

2010-05-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Anne-Lauren and I decided to go for a walk in the woods at the Land of the Medicine Buddha, which the Santa Cruz retreat center generously opens to the public. Once we got there, those magic sacred healing vibes so often present in forest groves and ancient cathedrals instantly filled my being with tranquility. Oh, to someday be able to access this kind of quiet everywhere I go!

Throughout the walk, guided verses offer mind-training and spiritual advice. Some took a little hashing out. I especially grappled with "When...others mistreat me... I shall accept defeat," which is reminiscent of Jesus' advice to "turn the other cheek." After being raised Roman Catholic and rejecting the church because of mistreatment towards women, I'm resistant to of any teaching that encourages one to "take abuse."

Upon studying the text deeply, however, we decided the true recommended course of action seemed less simplified and more to be applied as such: 1) Get clear about the true nature of the situation. 2) Find an inner peace about it and Forgive. 3) If something can be done to prevent future abuse/mistreatment of others by the person in question, take steps to help manifest this. 4) Intervene only from a place of deep compassion.

The same verses, plus more commentary, can be found in this book: Eight Verses for Training the Mind by Geshe Sonam Rinchen.

Our little journey massaged my soul towards a place of deep release and renewal. Here are some more pictures; may they in turn, help heal your soul as well.

There is so much joy in finding a sangha of sorts among friends, as we walk together through this world doing the best we can to maintain and encourage lives of peace, bliss, joy, and realized potential. Love you Annie! This post is sincerely dedicated to you; thank you for everything, you are such an amazing healing being. And people, you can share in some of this lovely energy for yourselves, as Anne-Lauren now offers FREE yoga classes IN THE PARK in Santa Cruz! Find more info at armoniawithannie.com. Please go and enjoy and donate because really, what's more awesome than free yoga in the park!

(detail) Healing Buddha, from Romio Shrestha's Celestial Gallery

Koan #7

2010-05-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Koan #7, or: In Which My Soul Whispers Sweetness To Yours And We Reconnect To The Eternal.

ko·an (kō'än')
n. A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening.

This was part of my master's thesis, presented as an installation for the San Francisco Art Institute M.F.A. Vernissage, 2007, and I thought it'd be beneficial to share it with all of you, since I want to SHARE LOVE, yes that's right with caps ON!!! ...and there’s a ton of love that went into this project. It's a koan that merges some formative painting and collage work via unadorned animation to give a transcendent journey to the Source. Enjoy!

The song is My Angel Rocks Back and Forth by the ingenious Four Tet.

video © meghan oona all rights reserved; please distribute freely online and credit "meghan oona." Display, use or remix permissions available by request only | http://www.RealeyesGallery.com

Meditation from Deepak on The Action of Love

2010-05-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

"In your own life, consider the qualitites of love at the highest level. The soul's love is: unselfish. giving. blissful. warm and safe. self-sufficient, needing no outside validation. innocent. uncomplicated. kind, compassionate. constant. expanding. comforting. sacred.

These are terms you've heard all your life, and you have experienced them either a little bit of a great deal. Sit quietly and summon the memory of one quality, such as kindness, including your memories, visual images, emotions, and people connected with this quality. Stay with your experience for a few minutes. Let it deepen of its own accord. In effect, you are subtly directing your mind to access the quality of kindness, which forms a neural pattern that differs from a mind that doesn't dwell on kindness."

From Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul, by Deepak Chopra

Things are Happening.

2010-05-09T17:58:00.001-07:00

New season. New pens. New paint. New piece.

Phrenēsia.

2010-04-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

This piece, snapped very late night in Morrison, CO, in August of 09, exemplifies the sweet, frenzied celebration of the gift that is Closeness.

fren·zy (frěn'zē) n. pl. fren·zies
1. A state of violent mental agitation or wild excitement.
2. Temporary madness or delirium.
—Synonyms. madness, insanity, lunacy, aberration; rage, fury, raving.
[Middle English frenesie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin phrenēsia, from Latin phrenēsis, from phrenēticus, delirious; see frenetic.]

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Phrenēsia, or: In Which A Giggling Anne-Lauren, Rose, Ryan, And Ian Hysterically Unite Into The Glorious Wholeness.
2010 | original 14" x 18" | graphite on acid-free paper vellum | museum quality archival paper prints available to size by request

The Working Title of this piece was Closeness. I emailed Rose about it recently, saying: “Almost done with the piece of the 4 of you in a cuddle puddle. It's been such a wonderful comfort to work on, as a meditation on Closeness ...it was an important reminder that intimacy is healthy and ok to want/need/deserve."

Reflecting on closeness, one cannot help but also examine it’s opposite; separation, and what keeps some people stuck there: fear, insecurity, false concepts, ignorance, ego. When we remove the obstacles to closeness, and one becomes Us, then we can move towards a place of celebration, ecstasy, bliss, devotion, adoration, and unity.

Unity remains for me one of the most important things in life, and to keep my heart there I employ Metta (Love) meditations to dissolve concepts of "other," "enemy," "challenging characters," and just sit with everyone on our planet in open-hearted affection, kindness, and warmth.

More on closeness from the 2007 mumblecore film: I remember this one time, I was sitting in this chair ...and he was like lying on his stomach on the bed… and I asked him, ‘can I ask you something… can I just like, lay on top of you?’ and he was like ‘uhhh ok,’ so I came over here and just laid directly stacked on top of him and we talked for awhile. And I just remember saying to him, ‘this like feels really good… I don’t even know you that well, it just feels really good to be close to someone…' I just sort of felt like sort of sad in that moment for people who don’t have that contact, ever. In a sense it was all I needed… just closeness and like, being comfortable with someone. ~Robin, in Quiet City

The Bacchantes.

2010-04-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

The Bacchantes: Movement III, or: In Which Meghan Oona, Rose, And Elia Melt Into Each Other And All-Encompassing Joy.
2010 | original 12" x 16" | graphite on acid-free paper vellum

This is a Phish Kid Portrait from a late night limo ride from Red Rocks Amphitheater, in Morrison, CO, August 2009. It's a study of closeness and the Dionysian lifestyle.

bac·chant
/ˈbækənt, bəˈkænt, -ˈkɑnt/ Show Spelled [bak-uhnt, buh-kant, -kahnt] noun, plural bac·chants, bac·chan·tes [buh-kan-teez, -kahn-] –noun
1. a priest, priestess, or votary of Bacchus; bacchanal.
2. a drunken reveler.
–adjective 3. inclined to revelry.
Origin:1690–1700; < L bacchant- (s. of bacchāns, prp. of bacchārī to revel).

I’m happy to offer signed museum quality giclee prints, to custom size, by request.

RAGE.

2010-03-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

It gives me great joy to announce the completion of this piece, part of the Modern Mystics series, called RAGE, or: In Which Jordon And Anne-Lauren Revel Like Little Children Amidst The Flaming-Red Rocks And Mile High Blue Sky Before Gliding Inside To Experience Self-Transcendence.

This is a Phish Kid Portrait from Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, August 2009, to epitomize bacchic revelry, awe and bliss and glee, innocent play and ego-death.

A lot of care went into the detailing and I’m proud to offer signed museum quality giclee prints, to custom size, by request.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

RAGE, or: In Which Jordon And Anne-Lauren Revel Like Little Children Amidst The Flaming-Red Rocks And Mile High Blue Sky Before Gliding Inside To Experience Self-Transcendence.
2010 | original 24" x 42" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum scroll

Museum Quality Giclee Prints available, to size, by request.

The Creative Process ::

All the more I could say, Rumi said in the 12th century: "I want burning."

Mm Hm, that's right: Bacchalanians coming to your town!

2010-03-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

rev·el
/ˈrɛvəl/ [rev-uhl] –verb (used without object)
1. to take great pleasure or delight (usually fol. by in): to revel in luxury.
2. to make merry; indulge in boisterous festivities. –noun
3. boisterous merrymaking or festivity; revelry.
4. Often, revels. an occasion of merrymaking or noisy festivity with dancing, masking, etc.
Origin:1275–1325; (v.) ME revelen < OF reveler to raise tumult, make merry < L rebellāre to rebel; (n.) ME < OF, deriv. of reveler —Synonyms 2. celebrate, carouse, roister, caper.

bac·cha·nal
/n. ˌbɑkəˈnɑl, ˌbækəˈnæl, ˈbækənl; adj. ˈbækənl/ –noun
1. a follower of Bacchus.
2. a drunken reveler.
3. an occasion of drunken revelry; orgy; bacchanalia.
4. pertaining to Bacchus; bacchanalian.
Origin: 1530–40; < L Bacchānāl, equiv. to Bacch(us) + -ānāl, prob. as back formation from Bacchānālia; see Bacchanalia —Synonyms 3. saturnalia, debauch, spree, carousal.

Process Art

2010-03-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

When I work on larger scale pieces, another, smaller, more humble body of work accidentally forms as well. I think of this as "Process Art," as it's the residue of testing colors, activating paint pens, and perhaps practicing a line or two.

I've gotten into the habit of only using one piece of scrap for these purposes, and saving it as an abstracted reminder of the creation process. The results always delight me, as they manage to produce a colorful record of brush and pen strokes in fluid and visceral play.

She-ra!

2010-02-17T12:52:00.001-08:00

I am Adora, He-man’s twin sister,
and Defender of the crystal castle
This is Spirit, my beloved steed.
Fabulous secrets were reveled to me,
The day I held aloft my sword and said,
‘For the honor of Grey Skull! I am She-ra!’
Only a few others share this secret.
Among them, are Light Hope, Madame Razz, and Kowl.
Together, me and my friends of the Great Rebellion
Strive to free Etheria of the evil forces of Hordac!

Applying Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey to She-ra: She-ra is proving to be just a well of symbols, mythology, female-empowerment, and inspiration. Also, it's MOTHERFLIPPIN HILARIOUS and strangely uplifting to watch cartoons from your childhood! Some may call this regression, but I say NO! This is but the next chapter of deepening, ripening, creating a modern mythology, fighting to FREE ETHERIA! Ok I'm a dork.

And on that note I'm also finding some kundalini and reiki references in there, by... accident? You tell me! Is She-ra a great conspiracy to empower little girls to find centuries long innate healing / ass-kicking powers within?! I think soooo!

Beautiful Losers

2010-02-04T19:45:00.001-08:00

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

http://www.beautifullosers.com

Rent this!

It's especially inspiring for me because the featured artists seem to have 10 or so years on me, and seeing their development of coming into their own practices and self-awareness gets me all amped up and motivated and hopeful, like YES! we actually CAN LIVE AND WORK AND PLAY AND BE CRAZY ARTISTS IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CALLED TO BE!!!

For the Beautiful Losers, it all started at a gallery space in NY; for me, at the underground warehouse art coop we called the Family Tree in Olympia WA (SHOUT OUT TO OLY!) We experienced that same joy that happens when like-minded creatives gather in a “home” of sorts to incubate together, back in the day.

And from that special incubator, we all scattered but remain cosmically intertwined, as growth deepens, style defined, and missions clear.

Now, I’m striving to become more and more a full-time artist, which is terrifying and thrilling. But that’s the devoted path to producing a prolific body of work that really works to heal/inspire/uplift a culture so dear to me.

As these featured artists clearly have done.

"[New York]...is a great mountain top to shout your message from." ~Steve Powers

"The Sun Does Not Know it's a Star." ~Geoff McFetridge

"You have the right to be you." ~Steve Powers

"...kids like chaos... we're kids... our work is in the vernacular, you know, speaking in the way that we spoke as youth..." ~combined voice over montage

Well done losers, beautifully well done.

She Who Traverses Through Space

2010-01-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Once upon a time, a t-shirt design was born. The strange conception that occurred involved the blending of lots of layers over several years. The formula wound up looking something like this:

1 part artist

1 part handmade hemp silk dress

1 part love poems of a certain era of said artist's life written all over said dress

1 part video of artist wearing and dancing in said poetry dress

1 part still photos from this video, drawn

1 part obsession with said artist's birthday (7.7.77), resulting in lots of group efforts to create the perfect 7 tattoo, which resulted in not a tattoo, but instead, lots and lots of pages with sevens scrawled all over

1 part research of tibetan buddhist mandala iconography and therefore a study of a tibetan tree icon

1 part watercolor done years ago, found

= a collage we call She Who Traverses Through Space, another way of saying "Dakini."

Very limited, special edition T-shirts available HERE!

Retrospective: "What Is Nature"

2009-12-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

Thirteen years ago I wrote an essay called "What is Nature" for a Plants and People class at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. Sometimes we experience education as so much more than monotone teachers and squeaky chalk, deadlines, and too much coffee. Sometimes, a true epiphany clicks into place and we're never the same. Working out my ethos through this assignment produced one such epiphany. Though I used to write less skillfully and with way too many passive verbs, ;) this essay nonetheless proved foundational for years of study to come. It's with nostalgic retrospection that I share this essay with you:

We’ve created a word: “nature.” It is a confusing word in a confusing language, a reflection of our problematic understanding of the universe. Trying to grasp what Nature is mean we must go beyond our western use of the word. There are four different questions within this exploration – First, why do so many people feel separate from Nature? ARE humans and their creations part of it? What IS Nature? And why are we trying to figure it all out, anyway? Reviewing how we use language, as well as looking to Easter thought, Native American thought, and Western science help us understand Nature. Nature is not simply a definition for all that is non-human. Although we are destructive beings, we have not escaped the realm of nature. We are Nature, and it is us.

Language is one reason we feel separate from Nature. This is obvious just in the fact that we have a word like “nature,” and that we use this word to define something that’s separate from ourselves. We’ll often say how much we love to be “out in nature.” This is a linguistic distinction, to explain locations and describe an area. But to truly analyze what Nature is, we can leave this practical definition behind. As Zen Master Thich Naht Hahn says,

“We have grown used to a way of thinking and expressing ourselves that is based on the idea that everything is independent of everything else. This way of thinking and speaking makes it difficult to penetrate non-dualistic reality… a reality which cannot be contained in concept.”

Using the word “nature” to describe something non-human creates polarity, and therefore distracts us from realizing that we ARE part of it. This tendency towards dualism seems inherent in our language. Birth-death, male-female, light-dark, inside-outside, civilized-wild, human-non-human. To understand the effect of dualism, the yin-yang is a perfect example. It represents how one whole is made up of dual forces. For example, when a tree falls, we call this death. But he life continues, and as a nurse log, she re-forms into smaller trees. We call this birth. These labels make it black and white, when in fact there’s lots of gray in-between. In observing the dualism we cannot deny the interconnectedness. Just as we can’t have birth without death, we can’t have people without Nature.

~~

Getting past these cultural limitations of our understanding is the first step to seeing that we are, indeed, Nature. So about those strip malls… Is Wal-Mart nature? And the tree farms and managed forests and organic farms? Are our creations part of Nature?

Our gut reaction is to label them as unnatural because they’ve been manipulated human, but manipulation itself is not unnatural. Out creations are manipulated in the same way bees make their hives and birds their nests. In the dead of night, I once drove through Chicago’s silent, towering buildings. Though skyscrapers are often thought of as unnatural, I suddenly realized that they looked exactly like termite mounds, those tan mounds with little black windows. Our disgust with manipulation is that we hate to admit how parasitic we are, but no one can deny that termites or tapeworms are natural.
We also ten to label things as unnatural when they’re destructive, since we idealize nature as “good” and “harmonious.” It’s hard to see the earth trashed and disrespected. Though Wal-Mart is painfully destructive, exploitive, and ugly, it still sings of nature. It’s not hard to see that nature has its “dark” side. Lions eating zebras is natural. Devastating floods are natural. Destructive volcanoes spewing their gases into the atmosphere are natural. Wal-Mart is just as natural.

~~

Reflecting on our Interconnectedness with Nature, it helps to understand the Eastern way of thinking. The Chinese word for Nature is zi-ran, meaning “self-thus.” This outlook clearly includes humans. As Baba Ram Dass says,

“If you can get into that place where you see the interrelatedness of EVERYTHING, and you see the ones in it all, then no longer are you attached to your polarized position, and you start to live in the Tao, (the Way).”

Native American though is also helpful to understand that we are part of nature. Imagine living in a tent made of buffalo skin, eating gathered plants and hunted animals, and sleeping under blankets of buffalo hide. Their way of life as natural being was clearly dependent, and NOT independent, of the earth. They celebrated this Interconnectedness. Even today, when we buy blankets from Wal-Mart, we’re still utterly dependent on the earth from our living needs. Is a child ever separation from her mother? Though she may move away from her mother, she will always e of the same flesh and blood..

Science has also revealed this same Interconnectedness. One thing I’ll never forget from high schools science is how Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. No matter what form it’s in, it’s always been there, and always will be. Wal-Mart’s concrete walls, neon lights and for sale signs are composed of molecules and atoms, which are vast empty spaces in perpetual movement at incredible speeds. That’s the stuff this universe is made of.

Science has also led us to understand that there are continuing patterns of the universe, connecting seemingly different forms on a structural level. When I see pictures of spiraling galaxies I’m struck by how much they resemble a tornado, a whirlpool of water, and our own DNA. Swirling fractals appear in trees, crystals, and blood vessels. Intricate mandalas are found in atoms, flowers, and spider webs. Structurally there are obvious connections, just like how Chicago can be seen as termite mounds. Even our seemingly “unnatural” cities are in the same natural patterns, though it’s hard to see it from the inside.

~~

So just what is it that we’re a part of? What is Nature? Can it be described in words? One way I help myself understand the Interconnectedness and Oneness of it all, is to become aware of the roar of the world. The scream of the highways, the cry of babies, the murmur of men, the gushing of waterfalls, the thunder of airplanes, the rush of the wind. Step back until you can hear it all, together it is Noise. Together it is one.

The sound of Nature, of the Tao, the Universe, is OM. Om-ing is one of the closest ways to clear you mind and ego, letting yourself feel that you are One. It’s a good exercise to know what Nature is, because it reduces the noise in your head that makes you feel so individual, and allows you to meditate on the collective All.

Such exercises are key ways to feel what Nature is. But to describe it, in our faulty language, I’d use words like Energy, Vibration, Rhythm, Song, Dance, and Flow. These are powerful words that reflect the power of Nature, but they must be thought of as all encompassing to really be understood. What is Nature? – It is the Eternal Human. It is the Dance of Everything. It is the Whole

~~

So why and I sitting here trying to define the indefinable? So we can understand the implications of using words like “natural,” “unnatural,” “man-made,” and “non-human.” These words are a way we justify our destructiveness. When we feels what Nature is, we become aware that in hurting the water, air, and soils, we hurt ourselves, both physically and spiritually. Realizing this leads us to a more holistic (WHOLE-istic) approach to life, in which we can make life choices about our food, shelter, clothing, and transportation to be less destructive.

Whether ignorantly hurting ourselves, or mindfully treading lightly, humans are all part of Nature, for nothing can escape being part of the Whole.

Getting Wild: Exploring Christian and Pagan Iconography, and Learning to Hop That Fence

2009-12-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

Gary Synder's "The Practice of the Wild" opened a doorway for me. "Wild," along with concepts like "human versus nature," and "the natural world," no longer held water. Our interconnectedness, interdependence, and oneness obliterated those dualities. This mystical, wonderous, expansive unknown wilderness I'd always dreampt was "out there" suddenly loomed large within my own mind and body and soul.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

So there's a lot going on in this piece that people want to hear about. "The apple?" Well, of course it's a throw back to Eve. What can I say? I was raised Roman Catholic and I love iconology from all religions. (More on this soon! The holidays always bring up some great conversations about the current shift from religion to spirituality. Anyone else's family experiencing this phenomena?) Anyway, back to Eve. As the story goes, she ate the serpent's Apple of Knowledge in the Garden despite God's warning not to, and subsequently got not only kicked out of the Garden forever, but had to suffer gnarly PMS and some nasty-ass childbirthin til kingdom come. Real nice, God.

Well, my own take on the sitch goes a little more like this: Back in the day, humans started conceptualizing. They started labeling things, which was of course helpful, but in doing so, we developed a sense of "otherness," which developed into a duality complex, which became a separation anxiety of sorts. In effect, we lost the sense of the true oneness that encompasses us all. Egos reined large.

I always turned that apple image over and over in my head. I wanted to find something human and forgiveable in the serpent. Lots of old myths slay the dragon as a symbol of slaying our serpent-selves (basic-drive, limbic brain) in order to transcend to the higher realms of enlightened humanhood. However, in getting to these higher realms, we probably need that limbic brain too, so may as well honor our base animalistic selves for what they're worth. Possibly Sikhs are with me on this one, as the serpent for them symbolizes our slumbering kundalini, ready to awake. So I never felt the serpent got his fair shake in the story. I wanted it to be a guardian of the pre-conceptual mind -- that mind-beyond-mind, beyond separation; the Observer -- and therefore I prefer the serpent be the bearer of the fruit that when eaten tastes of the revelation: "Who Isn't You?"

"And those devil horns?!" The horns actually speak to honoring our animalistic parts. But hey, if you're seeing the Devil in those horns, that works too, and we can have a conversation about Pan being co-opted by Christianity after it crushed medieval Paganism. As for the The Bunny: simply a rep for our innocent, frolicking spirits who want to hop around meadows and procreate all day long.

"Wildlife Area Keep Out." So this is based on signs we pass everyday on our walk. They crack me up. The birds fly on either side. My dog pays no mind to the thin cord that fences wild and civilized off from each other. I too will delve onto the other side. It's up to you if you like to obey signs or not.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Wild Life
2009 | 20" diameter | mixed media on wood | 250.00 @ 1 A.M. Gallery until Jan. 30

All About Graphite

2009-12-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

Over the years I've experimented with so many different types of drawing tools. Right now my favorite is graphite, since it allows for depth, easy correction, softness, and shading to create realistic portraits. When drawing with my favorite graphite pencils, it's a matter of coaxing out the forms, gently, with layers and layers of crosshatching, until the shadows, negative space, and features all come together to seem real.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Graphite was used as a marking tool by the Aztecs long before Columbus went on his Caribbean cruise. Europe did not discover graphite until 1400, when it was found in Bavaria and promptly mistaken for lead. The substance was not called graphite until 1789. The purest deposits of graphite ever found were discovered in Cumberland, England, in 1564 and were in continuous production until 1833.

The advantage of graphite over charcoal is that it is less dusty and naturally adheres better to a ground. It can easily be fashioned into a variety of writing and drawing instruments, which can be used to express great detail and subtlety. Graphite is also more easily fixed to a ground and in general has a more durable surface.

Graphite Pencils

Graphite Pencils are the most common writing and drawing tools today. In Latin pencillus means "little tail" and describes a small brush used in medieval times for drawing with ink. The term "pencil quill" is still used sometimes to describe a type of small pointed brush used for signmaking and graphic arts work. In some cultures, the word "pencil" is still used to refer to a small brush. It would seem that the graphite pencil derived its name from the fact that it has a wooden handle, like a brush, and a small tip that can be fashioned into a point.

The first graphite pencils were blocks of graphite that were shaped into sticks and wrapped with string. Since graphite was at first mistaken for lead, they were called lead pencils. Soon after the discovery of the graphite deposits in England, it became clear that the amount of available graphite was limited and conservation measures rapidly followed. Several attempts to extend powdered graphite with gums, resins, and glues, which were pressed into blocks of grooved wood, had only limited success.

The invention of the modem pencil has been credited to Nicolas-Jacques Conte, a French scientist under the commission of Napoleon. In 1795, he developed a manufacturing process of roasting a mixture of clay, purified graphite, and water in a kiln, and then encasing the substance in wood. Soon after, Joseph Hardmuth found that the greater the amount of clay used in the mixture, the harder the pencil point. This led to the development of the various degrees of hardness of pencils. The modem process for making pencils involves producing a paste, like that of Nicolas-Jacques Conte, and partially drying it through filtration. It is then extruded into long strands and fired at 1900°F. The strands, which are still slightly porous, are then filled with natural waxes for the purpose of lubrication and to help the graphite adhere to the ground. They are either packaged for use in a lead holder or inserted into a wood casing.

Today, graphite pencils are made in different degrees of hardness by regulating the amount of clay added. The greater the quantity of clay, the harder the lead and the lighter the overall drawn line will appear. It is common to have several different degrees of pencils to vary the detail and the light and dark areas of a drawing. The more "Hs," the harder the lead. The more "Bs," the softer the lead. HB and F are intermediate grades between the two types. B through 10H are commonly used in drafting. 8B through F are preferred for artwork. Writing pencils have their own hardness scale, which roughly coincides at certain points with the drafting scale.

SCALE OF DEGREES FOR ART AND DRAFTING PENCILS

8B . . . 4B-3B-2B-B-HB-F-H-2H-3H-4H-5H . . . 10H

softer to harder

More info on Art Materials.

Modern Mystic Series Gets Real(ism)

2009-12-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

Updated!*

This series blends highly stylized, meticulously crafted forms that map the dance of the cosmos with the new mythical archetypes of our age.

Now the subjects are not only imagined caricatures, but actual live free spirits, celebrated for their wild rapturous realness, to serve (like Rumi and Shams), as guides to the Beloved/the All-Encompassing.

From R e a l e y e s G a l l e r y

Crew, or: In Which Everyone Is Reunited And The Music Makes Their Hearts Explode Open And As They Merge Into One, They Vow To Carry This Bliss With Them Always.
2009 | original 24" x 49" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum scroll | price available by request

(detail)

See current art available for purchase at Meghan Oona's Realeyes Gallery.

*Updated with touched-up graphite work, 11.14.10.

Circles of Life

2009-12-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

From Friends, Family, and Events

I'm thrilled to announce another wonderful event with SF's ArtNow, featured here in Juxtapoz: Circles of Life show at the 1 A.M. Gallery.

I used to live off Exit 360 in Olympia, WA, which hosts the area code 360 as well. Whenever I’d get off the exit, I’d meditate on the sign and know that in each moment we’re already whole and complete, and when we can quiet our minds enough to feel this, real peace can come. My art process always begins with a spark that arises within that mindspace of wholeness.

Glad to be a part of this exhibition — feeling the full circle theme for sure! See you all there!

1 A.M. Gallery
http://1amsf.com
1000 Howard St
SF, CA 94103
415.861.5089
opening reception 7-10pm, Fri, Dec 18th
show runs till jan 30th, 2010

This is a toy donation station from 12/8/09 until 12/24/09 for Friends of the Children (www.fotcsf.org), Opportunity Impact (www.opportunityimpact.org), and “My Own Two Hands”. Please bring only new, or like-new toys to donate. Every toy donor will receive one ticket redeemable for an artist painted ornament while supplies last. Thank you!

...freedom to experiment...

2009-11-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

A Survey Shows Pain of Recession for Artists
by Randy Kennedy for the NYT

..."Many of the findings — that working artists tend to work day jobs to support themselves; that more than a third don’t have adequate health insurance; that musicians and architects tend to do better than writers and painters — simply provide statistical support for what artists themselves have long known.

But it also found that the recession has been exceptionally tough for many artists. Eighteen percent of those who responded said their income had dropped 50 percent or more in the last year....

Perhaps because artists tend to have an idealistic bent, the survey found, however, that many also reported upsides to the downturn: that it has given them freedom to experiment and to spend more time on their art when avenues for making money are closed...."

Anteros

2009-10-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

In Greek mythology, Anteros (Greek: Αντέρως, Antérōs) was the god of requited love, literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others, or the avenger of unrequited love.

It could be anyone. If the timing, the weather’s right. This myth we’re living though, sometimes will offer up an Aphrodite on the waves, as you realize the stars all say “Go.”

From Realeyes Gallery Website

Anteros, Or: In Which Your Love Will Be Returned Like A Symphonic Tour-De-Force Of The Heart.
2009 | original 32" x 75" | mixed media on acid-free paper vellum scroll

detail:

Realeyes website, here...

Content and Form

2009-10-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

"Content flies on the wings of Form."

~Sharon Grace
(one of my many inspiring art professors from the San Francisco Art Institute Graduate Program.)

Sharon provided a definitive moment for me. I already mastered the material world; literally, since I owned a successful small clothing design company called moreTrees. I knew materials inside and out; the fibers, the dye, fabric art, pattern-making, sewing and fine detailing. In fact, I was sick of material.

I moved away from the fabric and started focusing on design, which I loved. But I needed to go deeper. I needed time for introspection to really access the greater ideas of my potential. During this time, I went to grad school for my masters in fine art, and worked with Sharon there. She caught me during my "Content" phase. I had gone deep into the recesses of my idea-making machine, and was spitting out ideas in a process reminiscent of Yoko Ono's "idea art." The closest I'd touch Form was with a 10-foot pole, meaning, virtually. I generated digital art and, slowly, moved towards video art and street intervention as well. A good exploration, but still -- so ephemeral!

I needed to develop a concise system to manifest these ideas into a more solid form. Sharon inspired this process with her constant reminder that "Content flies on the wings of Form." Both Content and Form need foundation built skillfully enough to deliver a truly meaningful message.

I developed an art practice founded on daily research, journalling, sketching, designing, and drawing/painting. This allowed me to continually deepen my ideas while developing my skill in their physical implementation.

I dove in, relinquishing the fabric of my past to explore paint, canvas, installation, and eventually landed on graphite and various paints on vellum. I reside in this place now, and though I know more medium await me down the line, I will hone my skills in this one until I feel complete.

my eyes are your eyes

2009-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

I will always remember being driven down Virginia Terrace on those new moon nights that make the air seem extra still and the stars shine extra bright. On the way up to the front door sometimes you'd say, "Wait, let's stop for a minute," and we would, and you'd point up to those stars, and give an appreciative sigh. Our necks would stretch back and our young eyes would gaze up into the Infinite. The big dipper would often times be gathering up the cosmos, and sometimes one of us would spot a satellite. We'd point and exclaim and explain its position to each other. We'd breathe in the still and silent night air, feel ourselves together, and then walk inside and sweetly dream.

Thank you for all of those sweet dreams, and for teaching us how to see.

Dad, I love you. Happy Birthday! xoxoxoxooxoxoxMeghan, 2006.

p.s. wow, film!

On Patterns:

2009-10-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

These patterns keep paving new avenues beyond. Between. Beneath and through, over and under and every preposition until the eye and the hand take over the brain’s attempts to even be part of the process. Suddenly, the patterns draw themselves, and God is there.

What do I mean when I say I’m working on patterns? I’m going to the depths of the universe in their creation. I’m spelunking into those depths of the universe with my pen.

In the current series I’m developing, I’m watching my conceptual mind choose portraits of humanity to interweave with this more ephemeral stuff of the mind-field that extends far beyond concept. These pieces bring together the mundane conceptual reality with that more primordial true essence which encompasses all. The truth that speaks through it says: “We are all that.”

Falling Apart At the Seams

2009-10-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

I delight to notice the effects of gravity upon discarded thread, string, rope, and cord. What holds us together, unraveled, now strewn upon our landscape, still illuminates cause-and-effect, pattern, decay, chaos, entropy and of course, that beauty can exist within the most mundane details.

My Birdheart

2009-10-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

My heart opens slowly,
a baby bird peeks
out of its broken shell.

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis

2009-09-24T12:41:00.001-07:00

Now this is what I call Site-Specific Art. Damn.

Ah, Summer.

2009-07-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

Family, friends, lakes, bbq, music, road trips... I was born in summer, and reborn again and again in summer, as a creative artist and as a human being.

A lot of image-gathering tends to occur all summer long for my source files. Brief sample below:

Once the darker months return, I'll get to collage all the living, breathing moments of summertime into piece called something like "The Abounding Abundance of the Lushly Teeming Plenty."

In the Mystic Garden

2009-05-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've been hanging out in the garden with the mystic lovers. They took me in; me! with my wounded heart that opens slow. They loved, and it reminded me how that encompassing way can erase old wounds and turn fear into courage. The intoxication, the wild vegetation, the music and the lights enfold us in our sacred groves and we dance; our arms the galaxy's arms. Stardust lovingly overflows once your pure white chalice has received this nectar.

Dancing as Unitive

2009-05-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Unitive consciousness -- a merging of our being with other beings in a higher state of awareness -- may seem shamanic and unreachable at times for the lone urban wolf of the 21st century.

But! I'd argue that several new developments over the last 50 years actually allows us to experience unitive consciousness at such a higher rate than before that a shift towards integral levels on a global scale may be possible during our era. (See A Theory of Everything, by Ken Wilbur, for more on integral levels).

The ease of travel plus the internet, massive festivals, music celebrations, spiritual pilgrimages, and art as a universal language, offers humanity opportunities to rise above what divides and embrace what unites.

This sweet video reflects all this. The series I'm currently working on also explores music and dance culture and the transcendence it can evoke. To be published in a few weeks so stay tuned!

Artist as Healer

2009-04-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Ross Bleckner, first fine artist to win title of goodwill ambassador to the United Nations.

Using thousands of dollars’ worth of paint, brushes and paper shipped from New York Central Art Supply in the East Village, Mr. Bleckner, 59, worked with a group of 25 children — former abductees and ex-soldiers [in Uganda] — for more than a week at a Roman Catholic aid center. The children made 200 paintings that will be sold at a benefit at the United Nations headquarters next month at which Mr. Bleckner will be appointed goodwill ambassador. Several of the luminous paintings are now on view in the front window of the clothing store Moschino in the meatpacking district, whose company is providing money to support the Gulu project. Rest of story...

“What this mission accomplished is what I call microcreativity,” Mr. Bleckner wrote in a catalog of the children’s work. “It is a personal interaction which gives someone the tools to create something that they can be proud of, and which can help them on the arduous path to restoring their dignity and sense of self-worth.”

Enlightment Therapy

2009-04-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in the New York Times Magazine reviewing attempts to merge Zen and Freud: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/magazine/26zen-t.html?em

The Last Rites of Bokonon

2009-04-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

As invented by Kurt Vonnegut for Cat's Cradle: The Last Rites of the Bokononist always stuck in my mind as a simple, humble reminder of the immense awe and gratitude we people get to experience as human beings enjoying a blissful moment upon this sweet planet.

As directed by Verse 1 in the Book of Bokonon, "All of the true things that I am about to tell you are shameless lies." The Warning from title page reads: Don't be a fool! Close this book at once! It is nothing but foma!" Foma, of course, being: "lies"; "harmless untruths"; "a useful and harmless sort of horseshit".

The practitioners thus utter their last rites with a self-awareness of the mythology they're playing out. I think this honesty serves to poeticize the life and death of the Bokonist, and this great difference between Christianity and Vonnegut's imaginary religion highlights the unease of the Christian when encouraged to believe in extreme truths that contradict scientific discovery, and even, often, common sense.

Honesty! Transparency! Light-heartedness! Why not?

The Last Rites of the Bokononist
(Each line is said once by the person giving the rites and then repeated by the dying person.)

God made mud.
God got lonesome.
So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!"
"See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars."
And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around.
Lucky me, lucky mud.
I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done.
Nice going, God.
Nobody but you could have done it, God! I certainly couldn't have.
I feel very unimportant compared to You.
The only way I can feel the least bit important is to think of all the mud that didn't even get to sit up and look around.
I got so much, and most mud got so little.
Thank you for the honor!
Now mud lies down again and goes to sleep.
What memories for mud to have!
What interesting other kinds of sitting-up mud I met!
I loved everything I saw!
Good night.
I will go to heaven now.
I can hardly wait...
To find out for certain what my wampeter was...
And who was in my karass...
And all the good things our karass did for you.
Amen.

For more Bokononisms: Here...

Love at First Sight

2009-04-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

"Polar bears Bill (right) and Lara met for the first time today at the Zoom Erlebniswelt zoo in Germany, and they took an instant liking to one another. [Gelsenkirchen, Germany, 4/17/09]"

Circadian Rhythms Explain Us Night Owls

2009-04-22T01:27:00.001-07:00

Review of circadian rhythms and sleep cycles:

http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/guest-column-larks-owls-and-hummingbirds/

My work is nighttime work. I work, awake, knowing I am dreaming.

Cultivate

2009-04-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

New art up at The Realeyes Gallery :

Cultivate (to the 2nd power)
paint pen on archival giclee on stretched canvas | 11 x 17" | 2009

Graffiti Archaeology

2009-04-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

This site lets you peer under layers of current graffiti walls all the way back to 1999. What a great way to show the impermanent nature of tags as part of a larger body of art.

I seriously still can't believe that cities don't pay graffiti writers and provide walls for them. So it's not their favorite aesthetic; it's still an essential part of the public art movement, it brightens the drab city walls, and some of it gets conceptual. Shake yourselves awake, oh ye admin of the citay! Free art is a great opportunity!

Here's the progression of work on Capitol, in OLYMPIA (gotta rep):

In 2006:

(SAME WALL) In 2007:

more here: Graffitti Archaeology

seedBomber : Recipes for Guerilla Gardening in the Urban Environment

2009-04-19T00:17:00.000-07:00

I was glad to see NPR do a bit on Seed Bombs:

"Neighborhood organizations across the U.S. that want to improve the environment are using a surprising weapon: seed balls." ...rest of article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103129515.

seedBomber : Recipes for Guerilla Gardening in the Urban Environment

Wild Things

2009-04-18T01:00:00.001-07:00

Of course everyone's thrilled about the Where the Wild Things Are trailer. Something about those first few seconds brings me to a trans-species, timeless, boundless place that feels so warm and cozy... needless to say, looking forward to the movie. One of those stories so beloved that it'll be hard to start watching it, because I'll never want it to end.

Artists Are Smart

2009-04-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

"Artists are super-important at a time like this, and the NEA should not get less money now, it should get more money. Artists should be brought into the dialogue and asked how we would help save the economy... and the country's ass." ~Kim Hastreiter, Radical Times, Creative Opportunities, for Paper Magazine

Whole article here: http://www.papermag.com/?section=article&parid=3225&page=2

My Current Heroine

2009-03-31T21:10:00.001-07:00

Street Artist, Swoon:

...seeing sweetness everywhere...

2009-03-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Where You Find Your Inspiration.

2009-03-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's different for each artist. (Keep in mind that in Bali, the same word for human means artist). We can all recognize those moments of sheer, pure, unadulterated inspiration. To me they feel divine, and physically vitalizing. My cells all do a little dance of joy as this measureless elixir of artistry pours itself on through.

Recently, after falling into a dark hole of exhaustion and post-Hampton blahs, I knew I needed a little kick-start to address some formulating projects still in the embryonic stages of manifestation. I wrote some lists and cleaned up the studio.

I ordered some applicable books, among them, Walking in this World
: The Practical Art of Creativity, by Julia Cameron, who's provided me some inspiration with A Vein of Gold and The Artist's Way years ago, so I thought to try this one too. They can read a bit obvious, but sometimes one needs obvious. Mostly I just love workbooks. Call and response, and those little urges for action become the medicine for blockages, and therefore Cameron's books offer an easy salve.

In finding vision, I tend to utilize several key components: reading relevant material, writing in response to said readings, walking daily, cleaning the studio, sketching ideas, and constant research relevant to my current projects. These are foundational, and ideas of course can come at any time, but I like to nourish their growth as much as possible.

This snowballs into a self-perpetuating creation mechanism. I write late at night a list of creative actions, including "take pics as I walk tomorrow." Today I took pictures of flowers in bloom that weren't there yesterday, and a sticker of an octopus, a piece of cardboard mulch with a tractor logo on it that reads "famous fruit," and now I'm realizing I want to get some shots of the imported goats eating the brush by the recycling center. These pictures, now, want to be part of a larger piece I'm planning, so I'm sketching them on in.

I love to see how others get their inspiration too. The world becomes a constant playground when you illuminate for a living, and we all play to our own tune. Watching Mad Men's Don Draper both chase and stumble upon ideas throughout his workweek illustrates this task, and my absolute favorite clip of these process is below. To put this in context, you must know he's been searching for a way to promote Israel as a tourist destination (set in the early 1960s)... Embedding's been disabled, but you can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0voSWdX4jo

Tomorrow... goats!

Manufacturing Consent

2009-03-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

I just watched and highly recommend Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, "Funny and provocative, this 1992 documentary explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist. Chomsky illustrates how the media tacitly manipulates public opinion to further the agendas of the powerful. A compelling examination of the suppression of news about the U.S.-supported Indonesian invasion and subjugation of East Timor brings home the point."

This investigation highlighted that any government, at least in our current imperialist mode, by nature, is violent, and we can never truly be proud of it.

The history of our government is mostly shameful. Even now, I find myself wondering how I can support it while 17,000 more troops arrive in Afghanistan. I believe in diplomacy over conflict and strongly oppose the military industrial complex. Maybe it's the same drive within that causes me to stay strict Vegan for over 12 years now, but I seriously view war-mongering as a deep rooted cultural sickness.

As an artist, I infiltrate via design and promote conceptual alternatives. I'm working on a projection piece right now that opens with protesters, then visually outlines lifestyle alternatives. moreTrees is about to release some protest-wear as well, to encourage people to view their wardrobe as a protest sign. Is this enough?

Chomsky identifies alternative media as a viable antithesis to the mainstream, corporate owned press, but seems sincerely concerned as to their struggle for simple survival. Can we consider art and clothing design to be a form of alternative media when it, too, carries messages of dissent and protest? And how can we utilize these forms of communication to not only survive, but to flourish? How can we reach not only the 20% of the informed elite that Chomsky describes, but also the 80% who prefer distraction over engagement? How can we infiltrate and effect a real paradigm shift?

~excerpt, Erleichda
© 2009 Meghan Oona

the most important thing in life is style

2009-02-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

"The most important thing in life is style.

That is, the style of one's existence,
-- the characteristic mode of one's actions --
Is basically, ultimately
What matters.

For if humanity defines itself by doing,
Then style is doubly definitive because

Style describes the doing.

The point is this.
Happiness is a learned condition.

And since it is learned and self-generating,
It does not depend upon
External circumstances for
Its perpetuation. This throws a
Very ironic light on content. And
Underscores the primacy of style.

It is content, or rather the
Consciousness of content, that
Fills the void. But the mere
Presence of content is not enough.

It is style that makes us care."

--Amanda, Another Roadside Attraction, by Tom Robbins

Art as Commodity Vs. Art as Mysticism

2009-02-16T14:09:00.001-08:00

In my own art-world view, art as commodity is ok, especially if one can merge day job with their own art (let's say, hypothetically, one designs clothing to function as one's canvas). It's not ideal though.

To place art within this capitalist frame forces the artist to pander to art buyers, including the final price tag within the creation equation. This problem dictated the formal presentation of some of my own pieces on more than one occasion. This can be limiting or inspiring, depending.

To remove fully the commodification of art from one's practice would produce, in most cases, radically different results. I would argue that this would allow art to become a mystical practice that merges spiritual practice with the material world, sculpting, as least metaphorically, spirit into form.

According to Holland Cotter of the New York Times, (below) maybe this recession will actually force a revamping in some artists' processes, allowing us to explore a more pure art rather than product creation. I'm down!

"Will the art industry continue to cling to art’s traditional analog status, to insist that the material, buyable object is the only truly legitimate form of art, which is what the painting revival of the last few years has really been about? Will contemporary art continue to be, as it is now, a fancyish Fortunoff’s, a party supply shop for the Love Boat crew? Or will artists — and teachers, and critics — jump ship, swim for land that is still hard to locate on existing maps and make it their home and workplace?

I’m not talking about creating ’60s-style utopias; all those notions are dead and gone and weren’t so great to begin with. I’m talking about carving out a place in the larger culture where a condition of abnormality can be sustained, where imagining the unknown and the unknowable — impossible to buy or sell — is the primary enterprise."

--from The Boom Is Over. Long Live the Art, by Holland Cotter for the NYT

Realize

2009-02-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

re⋅al⋅ize
/ˈriəˌlaɪz/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ree-uh-lahyz] Show IPA Pronunciation
verb, -ized, -iz⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to grasp or understand clearly.
2. to make real; give reality to (a hope, fear, plan, etc.).
3. to bring vividly to the mind.
4. to convert into cash or money: to realize securities.
5. to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labor, or investment.
6. to bring as proceeds, as from a sale: The goods realized $1000.
7. Music. to sight-read on a keyboard instrument or write out in notation the full harmony and ornamentation indicated by (a figured bass).
8. Linguistics. to serve as an instance, representation, or embodiment of (an abstract linguistic element or category): In “Jack tripped,” the subject is realized by “Jack,” the predicate by “tripped,” and the past tense by “-ed.”
–verb (used without object)
9. to convert property or goods into cash or money.