Ouroboros Basket

This is a Mandala I recently made to promote my upcoming class "The Art of Mandala" going on this summer of 2011 at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. It depicts the Ouroboros serpent, a cross-cultural symbol that has always fascinated me, and currently plays a synchronous role in certain aspects of my work. Mandalas are an amazing thing, always unpredictable and profound, simple and complex! If you are interested in the subject, I highly recommend Carl Jung's "Mandala Symbolism", and of course, taking the class! Thanks for stopping by! AA11

Humazuma Island

This is a T-shirt design I created for Sam McDonough's "Art Out of the Box" project, involving 5 different artists in 5 different neighborhoods creating art on site while engaging people in conversation. It's a sweet project happening this summer of 2011. For more info visit the official website.

The drawing is called "Humazuma Island" and it was "distiled" from this set of drawings from my sketchbook:



Humazuma is a Deity created by my 6YO son, and it is the primary God of these particular realms. I showed these drawings to my 6th grade students, and they spent a while navigating this world with their fingertips, talking about it in detail. I was fascinated. If a child can truly enjoy something I have made (other than dessert), then I am happy. There is simply no better art critic than the honest-minded and temporarily-pure children!

Peace,

AA11

Face Coins!

This is an exciting and informal work I've done a couple of years now, during New Year's eve at my good friend's cabin in the woods; and I plan to continue doing this for as long as possible. It is a ritual of sorts, yielding these interesting objects we call Face Coins. On the first day at The Cabone, outside of Everett, PA, we find the suited clay from the surrounding forest grounds. It is key that the clay is found there, and not bought at a store or brought from somewhere else. This is what gives the Face Coins a proper body. Then, for a couple of hours, the clay is tediously processed and prepared to ensure it has a basic minimum plasticity and is able to withstand the rest of the process, including an intense firing. Once the clay is prepared, we have one hand-sized ball of workable clay to play with. Each person takes a pinch or two and begins to make their own Face Coins. This is what gives the Face Coins a soul. This part of the process is open ended, allthough most of the coins (not all) have a general "faceness" to them. Then, the coins are immediately but slowly dried in the fire and thrown in to cook (a process which many potters would argue against, but I've had no problems with it). The fire is taken to an extreme temperature and allowed to die over night. The next day, a fun ceremonial "unearthing" of the coins from the ashes is performed, and everybody contemplates the results. And that is when the funnest part begins: Each person takes a coin or two of their selection, and proceeds to hide it in the surrounding premises! Already after two sessions, the site is rich in these mysterious archaeological artifacts and everybody just LOVES to find an occasional Face Coin here and there. They give good luck! Every coin is different and special. Some coins have firing imperfections, or natural growth or erosion; or a particular feature that makes them "collectors items", such as the one depicted above, which was affected by ceremonial Copal that was tossed into the fire. Other collectibles include (but are not limited to) "Joel's bearded Face Coin", "the first coin" "the half-face"(which was accidentally stepped on and was the first to enter the 2011 fire), and "the penis". But everybody knows what to do if you find a Face Coin (unless you really really like it), which is to hide it right back in the very land that saw its birth. They end up under rocks, in tree holes and crevices, and who knows where else?! "I found one!!" AA11

Visionary Chamber 14: "Rose"

In light of the fact that I haven't blogposted in so long, I decided to catch up by posting a number of latest artworks/projects I've created, all at once.



So first, I'd like to share a piece called "Rose", the fourteenth in a series of miniature assemblages I call: "Visionary Chambers" (footnote: the goal with this name was not to sound pretentious, but rather to make a distiction to the original name "Vision Chambers", as "visionary" should invoke something more than just an optical effect, perhaps implying a certain archetypical or liminal nature.)

The box is about the size of a rubics cube, with a magnifying glass attached to the front to enable the viewing of the particularly tiny assemblage that lives within. For a sense of scale, it should be noted that the fairy depicted is shorter in height than my pinky fingernail.



The piece was created as a present to a 12 YO family friend who, during a white elephant celebration, won my "gift certificate for a personalized commisioned artwork". She is a very exceptional little lady, very mature and witty, and I was very exited to work with her on deciding what artwork I'd make for her. She now happens to be one of my students!

So we started talking, and as she was already familiar with the work that I do, she didn't hesitate to ask for a chamber (I couldn't credit many of my other clients to such smart descicion, as the chambers are among my most praised -and pricy- pieces!). She also told me about things she was interested in, themes, colors, etc.

The piece is called "Rose" after her, and she was very happy to receive the final commisioned artwork... a year after!

But the wait, it seems, was sure worth it.

AA11

La Caza del Hombre Onirico

Finally I've been able to get this video ready to share. It is the making of a mural I painted at my aunt Tuga's house in Chile, called "La Caza del Hombre Onirico" (Hunt of the Oniric Man). The video shows the process of its creation, and while this took about 2 weeks, here you can see it done in three minutes. Movie magic!
The music is a piece called "Pleiades" by amazing composer Iannis Xenakis. Special thanks to my wife Sarah for her help, to my aunt Emi for her advice, my aunt Tuga for letting us camp at her house and make this mural happen, and to Luis Alberto Latorre for putting together the video sequence. Also special thanks to the Museo Precolombino de Chile for their wonderful 2009 exhibit: "Fishermen of the Fog", which in part inspired the piece.

Finalmente pude arreglar este video para compartir. Muestra la creacion de un mural que pinte en la casa de mi tia Tuga en Chile, llamado "La Caza del Hombre Onirico". El video muestra el proceso de creacion que tomo alrededor de dos semanas y aqui puede verse en tres minutos. La magia del cine!
La musica es una pieza llamada "Pleiades" del increible compositor Iannis Xenakis. Agradecimientos especiales a mi mujer Sarah por su ayuda, a mi tia Emi por su consejo, a mi tia Tuga por dejarnos acampar en su casa y realizar este mural, y a Luis Alberto Latorre por la edicion y produccion del video. Agradecimientos tambien al Museo Precolombino de Chile, por su hermosa exposicion el 2009: "Los Pescadores de la Niebla", que sirvio en parte de inspiracion para esta obra.



AA1o

Sketchbook drawings: Diluvian Dreams

Not that I draw as well as I'd like, but still, would like to share these most recent drawings from my sketchbook.
I'm not exactly sure what to say about them. It usually takes me a while before I can begin to understand and talk about my own drawings -at least this type of drawing, very spontaneous and fast, yet present.





These ones had a somewhat ominous feeling about them, like a sort of diluvian dream of simbolic importance. I do think they are very significant, at least in regards to my own life work. I keep coming back to certain aspects of them which seem strangely familiar: as if a hidden part of me was making them to communicate some crucial message to my conscious self, which is itself asleep in the daily trance of the mundane.








Maybe the message is: Wake up! get up! do it! build! invent! harmonize! transcend! it's time!!! Do your thing! Awaken your daydream!!

And so I wish I could just allow my Lifeforce to take it from here, so I can fully realize whatever it is that my soul is trying to get me to do.



Peace.

AA1o

Brugmansia Suaveolens

My Brugmansia tree is in full bloom Today!

Indoors Moss Bed Valley

About three days ago, some guys came to my house to fix the gutters. There was a huge moss bed growing on our roof that I had been wanting to use for a sort of indoors moss-greenhouse I wanted to build. But before I could do anything, the guys had taken all the moss off, and thrown it to the ground!






So I collected all the moss, and quickly built a setup in my studio on the third floor: a canvas bed with a plastic bag to create a moist environment for the moss.



Here, come to my studio, I'll show you...

So this is the moss bed tent, made of a canvas and a plastic bag with alligator clips tied to hooks attached to the ceiling. And here is the inside...



I present to you, Moss Bed Valley!

It is a very comfy place to lay down to think, or rest under a tree..

Or to go for a walk, when I need a break from my work.

So next time you stop by my studio, make sure to visit Moss Bed Valley, and maybe while you are visiting the Coreopsis tree will be in bloom, showing off its wonderful purple flowers.

Peace!

AA1o

Naia Sophia Almarza

Naia Sophia was born into my arms, underwater, yesterday Monday September 20th, 2010, at 5:07 am.

Naia Sophia nacio en mis brazos, bajo el agua, ayer Lunes 20 de Septiembre, 2010, a las 5:07 de la madrugada.

Naia is a Greek (and possibly Persian) name meaning "Water Nymph" and "flowing". Sophia is the Goddess of Wisdom.

Naia is un nombre griego (y posiblemente Persa) que significa "Ninfa de agua" y "fluir". Sophia es la Diosa de la Sabiduria.



We welcome you, peaceful being, to this world.

Bienvenida eres, ser de paz, a este mundo.


AA1o

Nature is the Source

Haven't posted in a while, haven't really created many physical artworks lately: been busy expecting a baby (any day now!) and setting up my new studio (it's going to be nice, I can't wait to start using it!)

So I figured in the meantime I would share a few moments I managed to capture, featuring one of my most favorite subjects of all time: Nature!

Nature is the Source. Period.

But beside the Macrometaphor of that statement (which would be more like "Nature Is"), is the simpler fact that nature is the source of my inspiration. Nature at large, yes, with humans and everything included, sure, but also nature upclose. Mini nature, unseen nature, underside nature, backyard nature, just-stepped-on-you-so-what nature.

It is not the surface beauty of nature alone that attracts me, but everything about it: its diversity, its birth-growth-and-death, its mechanisms and workings, its scale and scope, and mostly, its simultaneous grantedness and mystery at once.



Yeees. It is here. Look at it. Wowify yourself. Remember yourself in it.
Or else...
Get creeped out by it and perish! Hahahahah

Ok.
I recommend you view the slideshow in full screen. It is short.



"Recovering from a state of self-forgetfullness, I have found myself counting the stamens of a flower" Tufu

Go look!

AA1o

Miniature clay firing: Altoids box reduction

This is a project I plan to continue indefinitely; just an easy and time-space-energy-effective process to make some miniature clay objects that I like to make and rarely do because of time-space-energy limitations.
The process is simple.
During camping, I made very small clay whistles and figures that I could fit into an altoids box...



I used a rock as a surface, and my usual tools for whistle making, which include a chopstick, an exacto knife, a palete knife, a needle and a forming tool. You will notice the clay is white prior to firing.



I used sawdust to cushion the whistles as I put them in the altoids box, but also because sawdust will combust within the chamber creating a reduction atmosphere: as the burning hot atmosphere within the box is deprived of oxygen to burn, it will burn the chemical oxygen within the clay, turning it black.



It's like packing a mini kiln, which is something that, of course, attracts me very much. At night, I pack the box full of sawdust completely, and fire it. The most important thing is to increase the temperature slowly in the beginning. Strangely for clay, I fire these almost imediately after they're made, though sometimes they don't survive the temperature shock. I also make sure to reach plenty of temperature once the initial risk of busting is over, otherwise the clay will not bake to a vitrious state. Sometimes I cover the coals where the pieces are buried with metal sheets in order to dramatically increase the temperature. (I have used crushed soda cans; in scarse conditions they work great!)
All this is an alteration of a resurrected Native American technique that I learned very indirectly (via library) from Tewa potter Maria Martinez. I still have many years to practice before my pieces could look remotely as black and soft as hers.



Normally I would not make a fire just to cook some miniature pieces, so I throw the boxes into any other fire I come accross, camping, cooking or at a friend's gathering, etc. In this case though, I am also firing a large vessel, a "mama olla", which I might share in a future post. Unearthing the fired clay is so fun! We make a family event of it every time.






And last, is the reward of opening each small box, each containing miniature music-making treasures: pinch-size bits of meticulous work and devotion. some have survived the process, some have not.



Thanks for stopping by!


AA1o

Canoe Adventures!

My family vacation, canoing at the Bald Eagle River. Life is not all work!

...or is it?...

AA1o

Tuner of Butterflies

I want to share some images of this drawing I just finished called "Tuner of Butterflies", much in the lines of "The Insect Maker."

Part ot the inspiration was found in Brothers Quay's "The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes."

I have always admired the brother's incredible craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail, and yet I have wished their matters were a bit less dark. I figured, on the other side of life's turmoil-generator, there exists an equally laborious creator of peace. and so: as an earthquake happens in the lab of an automaton-making alchemist, a butterfly is hatched in Tokyo...

AA1o