Flowering Princes & Princesses Series

Ian MacKinnon - Flowering Prince (Click photographs for larger images)

April Hava Shenkman - Flowering Princess (Click photographs for larger images)

In honor of the Flowering Princes and Princesses within us (see last weeks post), I present a few of the first examples of an ongoing series. It starts by photographing some of my artistic friend/peers and then over 5 panels creating a sequence where flowers emerge that create some kind of pattern that has to do with each artist. I look forward to creating some more works for this series and exploring its evolution. They take a lot more out of me than I initially imagined (to separate each individual flower is very labor intensive), but worth the investment of time to watch the creative blossoms unfurl to life -  Hope you enjoy!

For April Hava Shenkman, we discussed using "party bouquet" flowers and morning glories (both her favorite kinds). Because April (profiled in a blog post last month) uses the theme of parties in her Happy Happy show and performances, I thought creating streamers of flowers photographed from party bouquets would be appropriate. Additionally, her hair is so unique and so I thought little morning glory buds popping out would be fun. She mixes curious, wistful, classy, and exhuberant poses - just like her performances.

For Ian MacKinnon, I thought creating a rainbow of flowers would be a great representation; he identifies as a Gay-Centered Performance Artist. His stage performances and wardrobe are usually very colorful with themes of empowerment, individuality and bold self-expression. But Ian is also very rooted in psychology, in sincerity, and his works often contain educational material or meaningful messages. So I wanted to start with a very blank, white canvas, and in rushes this festive explosion of color at first quite daunting and then shaped by Ian, which he has a very spiritual pose and then a flamboyant one.

The series started with Nathalie Broizat in December. Her series utilized a single red rose falling down from the sky and repeated over and over until it creates a pattern not unlike red polka-dots, which is a signature image and look in many of Nathalie's performance pieces.  It's a very restricted color palette, which I feel lends an refined, elegant touch befitting of the beautiful Nathalie.

MORE FLOWERINGS TO COME!

Jason

The Flowering Prince - an intro to darkness & light

"Bouquet" 2008 - JJ

Spring is the perfect time to introduce the subject of flowering, metaphorically in artistic terms and in connection to our creativity. There really is no better teacher to admire for her abundant creativity than Mother Nature. Plants are among some of the greatest spiritual instructors, and I ask you now to stretch your imaginations and visualize the Flowering Prince/Princess that is within you.

The Flowering Prince is a mighty archetype found throughout the world, but by different names and in different forms. It’s connected to a concept very key to the idea of Your ReBegin, that of creative growth and rebirth, the cycles of life and death. While the name “Flowering” is very apt for the beautiful forms and manifestations that are pleasing to the senses, the archetype also deals with very dark themes as well. For there is no flowering without death. The Flowering Prince is always half alive or half dead (depending on if your glass is half full or empty). The cycle of life always includes death, but from the process of breaking down organic material, new life emerges. The key is to be fully invested in the process, honoring the necessary step that comes with any form of “death” and using it as fertilizer for the rebirth that will eventually come. The Flowering Prince always dies, again and again, but is eternal.

Perhaps the brand Ed Hardy is so popular is that its imagery taps into the Flowering Prince motif - death and flowering

So too we have creative cycles within us that go through these phases. By properly cultivating all our various forms of deaths, our troubles, our personal dramas, our defeats, our failures, our fears — we contribute to new ideas so that we can nourish ourselves and bloom again. The act of creating new work is akin to growing out new shoots and vines and the finishing of a work is unfurling a brand new flower into the light of day. 

We often confuse the creative process for something happy and charmed. On the contrary, the creative process is actually a very dark and scary thing. It’s full of angst, which is why creative blocks exist - they stop us from proceeding any further on the dangerous path. The path takes us into the realm of death and destruction. If we get lost in that space, it can be very damaging to the psyche and we refuse to go forward through any more of it. We stall and perhaps even stagnate. We need to rally our spiritual troops and figure out how to move forward through the darkness, through the process of decay and death, so we can use it as fertile material towards our creative blossoms. The HOW to proceed is the tricky part, and there are many methods, but not all of them work for everyone. Since we are individuals, we must recognize we all have different processes that work better for us than others.

You need to experiment with different methods until you find one that gives you results. A team/network of friends to support you during the process will help. Fellow artists (other Flowering Princes & Princesses) know what the dark journey is like and can be sought out to give those little pep talks and advice. It’s actually a very welcome thing, because I often find that as I share words of encouragement to friends, I am actually speaking to myself as well. So imagine yourself one of many Flowering Princes/Princesses in a beautiful garden. Just be careful you don’t compare yourself to other blooms; admire them for their intrinsic beauty of individuality (if they are being true to who they are), but avoid judgments!  This of course takes time to develop and figure out. Cross pollinate with other flowers and experience a bit of the magic that comes from being out in the world. Don’t steal ideas, but be nourished energetically by the essence of creativity shared.

And remember, "deaths" are a part of the path that will come again and again in various forms. Learn to make the most of its dark embrace. The refusal of its presence only prolongs the struggle , the proper process of cultivation can help you go deeper into the journey of life and eventually bring more aliveness to your blooms!

More to come honey-blossoms!

images of Xochipilli - the Aztec Flowering God - a fascinating figure on many levels

CPARS Part 2: The VALENTINE PEACE PROJECT

Federico Hewson in Amsterdam on Feb. 14, 2010

Holidays are moments filled with all manner of ceremony and traditions passed on for generations. Since talking last week a bit about Contemporary Performance Art Rituals and the fact Valentine’s Day is close at hand, I thought it would be great to focus on how one individual, Federico Hewson, is leading the cause to redefine (and ReBegin) the way we perceive the tradition of giving out flowers on that special day (and others) with his non-profit initiative, The Valentine Peace Project (The VPP).

Imagine walking down the street and suddenly coming upon a group of people passing out free Fair Trade produced flowers. Attached to the stem is a refreshing poem about world or inner peace that was written by school children or famous authors submitted to The VPP website. It isn’t about forcing a religious perspective, but about raising awareness of peace, conscious practices, and Fair Trade products. I love it for it’s simple, refreshing take on a ritual that has been mass marketed as a romantic event and excuse for selling sugar and flowers that leave a massive carbon footprint.

Federico and a happy flower recipient in Amsterdam 2009

I’ve participated in handing out the flowers on many occasions since its beginning, and the response from people can be so amazing. I’ve had several experiences where the receiver of the flower was filled with joy by the receipt of the flower, or was moved to tears by the poem. One lady gave me a hug because she had never received a flower on Valentine’s day before. Being a giver of flowers is so rewarding, and there is definitely an energy transfer that takes place as you hand out flowers imbued with messages of peace. In time, with enough people participating in this new type of Contemporary Performance Art Ritual, it could bring about a real transformation in our relationship to peace.

with Rochelle Palkowitz at the Downtown LA Art Walk on Feb 14, 2008

Federico shares the following about his labor of love:

The Valentine Peace Project started as a community project in 2005 to open up the definition of February 14 as a day to not only celebrate romantic love - but love in all its many faces - friendship, basic human connection and community, and to underline the work of peace building.  Love and peace is normally a cliche 60s slogan - but what does love mean outside of romance and next to spiritual practice?  Where is peace in our relationships, in our hearts, and where can we locate it in a global community still plagued by deadly violence?

Moving into the 21st century the Project is now evolving into a social enterprise to be a vehicle for many of our 'symbols of love' to 'work for peace' via products or gifts of love giving to conflict resolution on many levels - a business with a social development goal.

But this is about The VPP as a performance ritual - a ritual that started by writing a poem or message of peace - rolling it into a scroll and giving it away or wrapping it around a flower to handout on the streets.  With thousands of Fair Trade roses donated in the Netherlands together with thousands of poems the city of Amsterdam has been and will be blanketed February 14 in citywide peace performance art with individuals making cards, passing out flower poems, performing music and folding origami to leave on cafe seats or hand out to tourists.  

Children participating in Peace Education project in Amsterdam 2009  that includes putting the poems on flowers before handing them out

"Make something beautiful and give it away.  Energize, underline and help manifest the true integrity of love."

Flowers, poems, cards, thoughts of peace - tied with a ribbon or wrapped around flowers or chocolate or shared virtually - these have been the rituals of the Valentine Peace Project for five years now- reflecting, promoting and acting upon the work of love and the promise of peace in today's connecting world.


SO…Take action - write or find a favorite poem on love and pass it around this February- and check out the website  at www.ValentinePeaceProject.org to become involved!

More pictures of The Valentine Peace Project in action can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/geminirise

while singing a song of peace during "Love & P's"party at the Pollination Pavilion on Feb 14, 2010

Shakuntala & Kuva look great with flowers at the Downtown LA ArtWalk on Feb. 14, 2008

Rochelle is one happy woman who loves to pass out flowers for peace!