Five of One, One of Five

 

5 Golden Snails = 1 Star - 2021, DS

 

I haven't yet perfected my "golden" diagrams... which are not supposed to represent true gold metal, but more of a sheet of old brass... with color enameling. I think I'm coming closer, but I've no way of knowing how these images appear on anyone else's computer. I only know that they suffer at a lower resolution and smaller size.

Ultimately, I may have to rethink the whole concept. Perhaps, the Golden series isn't a digital enterprise. Or, perhaps, it isn't blog material.

Anyway, I'm probably going to be away from this blog for several weeks. My lifestyle (or, my excuse for one) doesn't allow me time for calm, careful contemplation... unless I check into a motel.*

I check out tomorrow.

Till next time, then!

Music: Alt-J (Adeline)  Film: Andy Hardy.

(3/24/22) I've just posted lyrics for Adeline after the jump...

Sub Rosa (Another Interlude)

At the Garden Gate - digital - 2019, DS.
(Click-on post images for enlargements.)

"In the driest whitest stretch of pain's infinite desert, I lost my sanity and found this rose."

- Attributed to the Sufi mystic and poet Rumi.

“Mystery glows in the rose bed and the secret is hidden in the rose...”

- Attributed to the twelfth-century Persian poet and alchemist, Farid ud-din Attar, about whom Rumi once said: "Attar has traversed the seven cities of Love, We are still at the turn of one street."

"Le ciel clair de minuit, sous mes paupières closes,
Rayonne encor… Je suis ivre de tant de roses
Plus rouges que le vin.

Délaissant leur jardin, les roses m’ont suivie…
Je bois leur souffle bref, je respire leur vie.
Toutes, elles sont là."

(The clear midnight sky, under my closed lids,
Still shines....I am drunk from so many roses
Redder than wine.

Leaving their garden, the roses have followed me....
I drink their brief breath, I breathe their life.
All of them are here.)

- From the poem Les roses sont entrées (Roses Rising) by Symbolist poète maudit, Renée Vivien. I've written more about Vivien here. Inset right is Pre-Raphaelite John Waterhouse's 1908 painting The Soul of the Rose.


"Come into the garden, Maud, 

For the black bat, night, has flown, 
Come into the garden, Maud, 
I am here at the gate alone; 
And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad, 
And the musk of the rose is blown.

For a breeze of morning moves, 
And the planet of Love is on high, 
Beginning to faint in the light that she loves 
In a bed of daffodil sky, 
To faint in the light of the sun she loves, 
To faint in his light, and to die."

- From Alfred, Lord Tennyson's controversial 1854 "monodrama" Maud, which was eventually set to music. Part I of the poem can be found here, and Part II here. Inset left is the 1875 image Maud by the British photographer Julia Cameron.

"I am the dove whose wings are murder.

My name is love."

- From the short poem Au Revoir by the poet Charles Causley, the "most unfashionable poet alive." Like the symbol of the rose, the dove is also associated with Venus (Aphrodite), the goddess of love. The pentagram, on the other hand, is often associated with the planet Venus.

***

Spring is officially here, and, like most humans, my thoughts predictably turn to... well, love.   Suffice to say, while duty calls me back to my feminist artist series, my muse - who generally errs on the side of passion - has other intentions. And, for an artist, there is no dilemma involved. The answer is simple: follow the muse or be damned. Hence, another interlude.

Today's offering emerged from the image which introduces this post... an image which has haunted me this past month, inspired by a similar rose and pentagram motif on the ruined facade of a Templar church (found here). In my vision, it lies in shadow on the exterior of a garden wall flanking a wrought-iron gate. But, not just any garden, mind you; specifically a night garden... the garden of poets.

Inset left is another image I finished recently which had originally been intended for this post - a live scan of a bracelet - (added April 9).

Judging by his poem Maud, Tennyson would've known the night garden intimately... but, then, many critics and scholars came to regard his "monodrama" Maud as the work of deluded man with bipolar disorder. Meanwhile, Tennyson considered it his favorite and most successful composition. Inset right is an image of Tennyson reading Maud by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The moral to this story? For an artist or poet, attending to the opinions of critics and scholars is comparable to throwing ones body beneath a swiftly moving vehicle.

As it happens, my purpose of writing this post is not entirely clear to me. But, something about the relativity of love, roses... souls... and silence seems to be the underlying theme. Ultimately, it is silence which enables the ancient mystery of love to survive. For an artist, the allusion (and illusion) must suffice. And, yet, while I can't exactly elucidate, I can leave you with this: a definition of sub rosa I found in a book about Freemasonry:

"The rose, and especially the red rose had been from ancient times the symbol of Aphrodite or Venus, the goddess of love. It was symbolic of love, and making love was something private and not to be discussed openly. Cupid (Eros) therefore dedicated the rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence. Hence, the red rose of Aphrodite became the general symbol of silence and secrecy, and perhaps also of invisibility. Anything spoken sub rosa - under the rose - was confidential."

- From The Origins of Freemasonry, Scotlands Century 1590 - 1710  (via a discussion about the Rosicrucians) by David Stevenson, 1988.

On the other hand, from the Wiki article on Harpocrates we have: "One other tale relates the story about the Greek gods. Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates to ensure that his mother's indiscretions (or those of the gods in general, in other accounts) were kept under wraps. This gave roses the connotation of secrecy (a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber pledged all present – sub rosa "under the rose"), which continued through the Middle Ages and through the modern era."

Reflections on a Chinese Sewing Basket (an Interlude post)

Lid of a Chinese Sewing Basket -
live scans/digital - 2019, DS

(Click to enlarge.)

"Collected baskets have survived for decades, some for a century or more, each one having a diverse history. Countless baskets no longer belong to their original owners... Put simply, the old Chinese sewing baskets have traveled and experienced long, varied and in most cases, tough roads throughout the years."

- From the definitive book: Chinese sewing baskets by Betty-Lou Mukerji.

"Gu embroidery is rather a family style than a local style originated from Gu Mingshi's family during the Ming Dynasty in Shanghai. Gu embroidery is also named Lu Xiang Yuan embroidery after the place where the Gu family lived. Gu embroidery is different from other styles as it specialized in painting and calligraphy. The inventor of Gu embroidery was a concubine of Gu Mingshi's first son, Gu Huihai. Later, Han Ximeng, the wife of the second grandson of Gu Mingshi developed the skill and was reputed as "Needle Saint" (针圣). Some of her masterpieces are kept in the Forbidden City. Today Gu embroidery has become a special local product in Shanghai."

- Quote and photograph (inset left) via the Wiki entry for Chinese Embroidery.  (Feminist alert! Note that the woman who invented Gu embroidery - a concubine - remains anonymous.)

"By the T'ang Dynasty, considered the Golden Age of China, thousands of women were employed as seamstresses and embroideresses, and Chang An, then capitol of China, became a trade center for woven and embroidered textiles. By the Song Dynasty, embroidery embellished parasols, fans and shoes, as well as household items such as screens and bed coverlets were being produced. The Ming Dynasty saw the development of the ranking badges, worn on the front and back of robes by military and civilian officials and by their wives. Many of the Imperial Dragon Robes that you see in museums also date from the late Ming Dynasty."

- Excerpt from an article about Chinese textiles found here.

"My new wife is clever at embroidering silk;
My old wife was good at plain sewing.
Of silk embroidery one can do an inch a day;
Of plain sewing, more than five feet.
Putting her silks by the side of your sewing,
I see now that the new will not compare with the old."

- Dialogue between a man and his "old" wife from the poem "Old and New" by an anonymous Chinese poet, 1st century BC. Source: A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems compiled by Juyi Bai, 1919. (Feminist alert #2: Interesting set of cultural stereotypes here: the "frivolously" artistic New Wife, the industriously productive Old Wife and the man who chooses quantity and economy over beauty!)

"After the initial awe, I felt like one of the blind men on the bridge in the classic Zen drawing -- I had no idea where I was going or how to arrive.  Despite these challenges, the intention to affirm my aspiration to practice persisted. As the teacher led me across the  bridge, stitch-by-stitch, I watched myself reflected in the sewing.

Continuing to practice and learn, I noticed that sewing and wearing Buddha's Robe  deepened my understanding... Buddha's Robe began to express for me the essence of compassionate bodhisattva practice.  First came the effort of offering stitches without thought of gaining anything -- even finishing.  Then, in treating the robe with gentle respect as if we were  one, not two, the robe became tangibly steeped in the caring stillness and openness cultivated by practice..."

- Drawing parallels between Zen and sewing; specifically the practice of sewing a replica of
Buddha's Robe. Inset right (above) is an antique Chinese table apron. Below (inset left) is another. Both were sourced here.

***

It's been spring-like in New Mexico for the past three days... which - if nothing else - informs me that winter's on its way out and it's time for a change. Oh yeah, and it feels really nice, too... puts a little "spring" into your step... makes you think like: "Hey, maybe things aren't so bad, after all."

And maybe they're not.

Then again, I haven't posted an Interlude in some time and this blog is due for one.  You know, the slice-of-life kind of thing. For the (virtual) record, the last "slice" I blogged about was in January of last year... when I was still living in my car, photographing Sandia Crest. (See here and here.) Despite how harrowing the word "homeless" sounds, the situation was not unbearable. I was surviving; I had a self-appointed mission. And, the winter was unusually mild.

Which was okay... till my car was broken into one night (as I slept in a motel) and my camera was stolen. Although I did trying utilizing my phone's camera, the truth was the magic was gone and my mission over.

Cutting to the chase - and I always do - shortly thereafter I was to come across the star of this post: a Chinese Sewing Basket I picked up in a thrift store for one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50 USD). Apparently, those who sold it placed no great value on it. This is commonly referred to as "Buyer's Luck"; in this case, mine.

Every old artifact has a story, wouldn't you say? I can't help but wonder what this basket's was. But, I think I know. It's kind of like when two vagabonds meet or two wild entities cross each other's path. While actual words might never be spoken, a certain recognition, an insight exists. If boundaries are respected, sometimes the strangers fall in together... like this basket and I. Although technically without a home, we share an indoor space together at night. And, maybe even something more: some encoded shreds of cellular-history or a narrative... or a sub-cellular impression of movement and color.

Or, whatever dreams are made of. (Perhaps, nothing, nothing at all.)

Inset right (above) is an example of antique Chinese embroidery sourced from this site. Directly inset left is another lovely piece found here. More about Chinese embroidery can be found here. There are also Chinese Minority textiles, and an interesting, somewhat-related article here.

BTW, I sometimes have some newly-acquired quality time with my computer these days, and have begun to really work again. The image of the Chinese Sewing Basket lid was my first image this year... and, is basically a manipulation of several "live scans." Well, it's a start... just in time for the first month of the Chinese New Year.

***

Addition (April 15, 2019)

Joy - digital - 2019, DS

Well, the news around the world is sad today. Tears came to my eyes when I read about the fire at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. (See the BBC report). Oddly enough, I had only learned last year that the Hunchback of Notre Dame was Victor Hugo's literary attempt to prevent the demolition of Notre Dame during the 19th century (see this blogpost). But, meanwhile, I just finished a reworking of the Chinese Sewing Basket - the last of my detours - and I was in a dead heat to put it up.

Which is not say I didn't like my original graphic... (nor is this to say I didn't keep the original file). It has a mandala-like effect that (I swear) informed a series of my dreams, embellishing them with delicate, Asian-like symbols.

But, the basket lid seemed lonely... so, I gave it an audience... a trio of brass frogs! (See The Significance of Frogs in Chinese Culture.)

Incidentally, the Chinese characters on the tag translate into the word "Joy"... something the world can never have enough of.

Eye of Newt

Still Life with a Salamander - digital - 2005, 2016

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

- From Macbeth, (Act 4, Scene 1), William Shakespeare.

"The occult world is the hidden world. But what is it hidden from? Well, the occultists themselves usually insist that the world with which they themselves are familiar is hidden from ordinary vision. Most occultists will say that, while it is quite possible for anyone to see this hidden realm, special preparation is usually needed. The majority of people are quite content to pass their lives immersed in the ordinary world of time and space, oblivious to the fact that it is a world interpenetrated by other worlds in which there is a different time and a different space.

The whole range of occult symbols which have come down to us from the remote past is concerned with giving us information about the nature of this different time and space which is hidden from ordinary sight. How is it possible for a hidden world, or an invisible realm, to be represented in ordinary pictures? Imagine, for example, something we have already mentioned, such as the flames which are used to denote the spiritual realm. When an ordinary person looks at a fire, he sees flames leaping upwards. He probably knows that the flames are fed by oxygen from the air, and that what he is seeing is an incandescent gas. Now, when an occultist or an initiate looks with especially sensitised eyes towards the flames of a fire, he does not see only incandescent gases. He sees a sort of life force which is directly linked with the power of the Sun; he also sees that the fire is animated (like all earthly things) by a special soul-being. Such a soul-being is called by modern occultists a ‘salamander’."

- Quote by Fred Gettings from his Secret Symbolism in Occult Art (1987), found in the online article Salamander as soul-being and hieroglyph of fire.

***

I'm not really officially back to normal posting yet, and I'm not sure when I will be. I'm anxious to get back to the Music Box series before I lose the thread altogether but circumstances dictate that - like it or not (and I don't) - I have to put a great deal more effort into the nuts and bolts (meat-space) side of my existence. It's a survival thing. But, the real question which has always plagued me has come around once again: how does one survive as a corporeal being, and intellectual being, an emotional being and a spiritual being in the phenomenal world of today? One gets the impression that for "most people" - those "ordinary" folks in Gettings' quote (above) - integrating these four modes of existence is not an issue because most are unaware of any existence outside of the corporeal realm. Which may be true, but, I don't believe there are any "ordinary" people.

That being said, when it comes to striking a balance between the four modes of existence, some of us are more flawed than others. In a less complicated world, of course - the superficial world we find on television... glued together by artifice, hype, rhetoric, and generated by meaningless surveys, erroneous statistics, branding and the "common denominator" - any physical or emotional flaw can be fixed by a good diet, a physician, the right variety of potion or powder, or a good pair of running shoes. And, if all of that fails, there's always a dependable life insurance plan. But, in the real world, keeping heart, mind, body and soul functioning together in any sort of optimal way is another story and it rarely ends happily. And, for the artist, the "occultist," the solitary outsider, the unhappy ending scenario is a palpable thing looming cloud-like over the horizon every single day. Poverty is the most imminent threat, but the fear of madness is never far behind...

Werner Hornung & Joma Sipe (An Interlude)

Romantic Utopia - digital art - © 2014, Werner Hornung

Well, it's time for another interlude... and as I haven't featured any contemporary (2-D) artists in a long time, I'd like to present two amazing artists I came across recently on the web; each a transdimensionalist in his own way.

The first is the German-born digital artist Werner Hornung, an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, whose artistic career began in Paris in the early 1970s and continues there till this day.

His digital work is intricate, dramatic, surreal and multi-dimensional. I am particularly drawn to Romantic Utopia above, but it represents merely one example of the mysterious and multi-layered magic inherent in his work; most especially when the images come to life in an animated .gif format on his must-see website. He also has an exhibit at MOCA's virtual museum, and more of his enigmatic images can be found here and here.

___________________________

A sampling of images from Lumine Stellarum - © 2015, 2016 Joma Sipe
(click to enlarge)

The second artist I present to you is the Portuguese visionary, and sacred geometer, Joma Sipe. I don't think I've seen any geometrical work in the past that even compares to his masterful (and meticulous) drawings. He uses gold and silver ink on a black background and then goes so far as to embed small crystals in his images, illuminating them in such a way that the effect is truly breathtaking. His subject matter includes many of the geometric and esoteric symbols discussed in my previous post plus numerous others, so he's particularly relevant here. Above is just a tiny sampling of his work - a visionary's view of the stars - but to truly experience the magic of Joma Sipe, I recommend visiting his website, or his YouTube channel, where the two videos (below) featuring his work were found.

A Music Box - Series Introduction & Menu

A Music Box (Lid) - Digital (Revised) - © 2016, DS

(click on images  for enlarged views)

"But, then, I had my answer. As I had maintained to myself from the beginning, love is love. Or, if you prefer, all love is Love. Add to this the Language of the Birds - a mystical language, wherein love is a fundamental force as well as an emotion - and we are presented with a new landscape, a new equation. And, in this alchemical Land of Love, all experiences are authentic, and all activities of the psyche are allowed."

- Quoting myself from text which previously appeared here (under the title: The Language of Birds and the Alchemy of Love: A Music Box).

***

Well, it's official: this post has now formally been divorced from its original purpose. But, don't fret, because the series it was meant to introduce has survived and, in fact, has been expanded (!).

You'll note I've updated the music box panel images here. This to reflect the virtual object's present state, which will be revealed shortly in my next post. Also, I'm going to repurpose this post by adding a some music box miscellanea... specifically a video which explores a unique phenomenon created by music box tunes punched into a paper tape as opposed to the steel pins, combs and discs used in vintage music boxes...

Wild Orchids; The Tribal Green Woman (& Two Triangulations)

Wild Orchids - Digital - © 2016 (revised), 2015, Dia Sobin

(Newest version uploaded 2017)

(Click to enlarge)

"The genus name Cypripedium is derived from the Greek words "Cypris" an early reference in Greek myth to Aphrodite, and “pedilon” for sandal. This is because the fused petals that form the orchid’s pouch or modified lip (labellum) resemble a slipper or shoe. The staminode (sterile stamen) is often showy and seems to welcome the insect into the pouch where it makes its way to a back-door exit and in so doing transfers pollen to the stigma.

...The Cypripedium orchids of North America are hardy terrestrial plants that can grow in cold climates and flower in early to mid-spring when there is plentiful moisture and cool temperatures. Species such as Cypripedium guttatum and C. passerinum that grow in Alaska are so well adapted to cold their shoots sprout up under the snow in the spring.

For centuries Cypripedium species have been sought after and collected not only for their unique beauty but also for the medicinal trade. Widespread collection, attempts at transplantation, and loss of habitat have drastically reduced their numbers. Wild lady’s slippers have special requirements that make them difficult to cultivate, and rarely survive transplanting from the wild. Because of that, on federal lands it is illegal to dig or pick the orchids."

- From the U.S. Department of Agriculture cypripedium page: Meet the Ladies, the Slipper Orchids 

***

Way back when - roughly about twenty years ago - there used to be a small, hidden patch of pink wild orchids in the woods behind (what was then) my parent's house. Mysteriously, one day, the lovely flowers vanished, and were never to be seen again. Perhaps, someone picked the blossoms; along with transplanting them, it's a sure way to kill the plant.

Popularly known as the Lady Slipper, or Moccasin flower, this orchid is one of the more strangely secretive denizens of the forest... blatantly wild, deceptively fragile, quietly erotic, it's always a pleasant, somewhat magical experience to happen upon them. Although I've always considered the plant a primarily North American flower, it's actually found in Europe and Asia as well; the ones illustrated in the image above, however, are a North American variety.

About the illustration: well, I did previously mention designing my own versions of a Green Woman and Three-Hare symbol (at the end of this post), predominately for carved reliefs. As it happens - and it always does regarding ones creative plans - while I was designing the Green Woman, I suddenly had the overwhelming epiphany that my Green Woman called for - no, demanded - tattoos. Perhaps, this was because I had recently considered getting a tattoo myself. As to why I'm suddenly drawn to illuminating my torso at this time in my life - well, that's another story. But, regarding the Green Woman, suffice to say, the tattoo idea changed the playing field, and, for good or ill, a full color digital image was required.

Moreover, as the tattooed person began to emerge, I had another inspiration. For whatever reason, Art Nouveau posters* by the Czech illustrator Alphonse Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939) resurfaced in my middle eye. And, whatever your artistic taste dictates, poster art in the days of Mucha were phenomenal expressions of the marriage between art and commerce, and Mucha's images, in particular (see examples below), were awesomely designed and elegantly executed.

Black Key #19

Black Key #19 - virtual (digital) assemblage - © 2015, DS
(click to enlarge)

“The unborn work in the psyche of the artist is a force of nature that achieves its end either with tyrannical might or with the subtle cunning of nature herself, quite regardless of the man who is its vehicle.  The creative urge lives and grows in him/her like a tree in the earth from which it draws its nourishment.  We would do well, then, to think of the creative process as a living thing implanted in the human psyche.”
- from The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature, Collected Works, 1966, Carl Jung



I'll be away from the "Land of Blog" for the next couple of months, attending to various "unborn works in the psyche".

Before I go, I just wanted to address some elements I deleted from the sidebar... namely my "Followers" section, the pageview-count widget, and the "Search" widget; all three seem to have picked up glitches in the past couple of months, and aren't working - on my computer, at any rate - so, I took them down. I especially wanted my followers to know that this was no reflection on them, and when and if the widgets lose their glitches, I'll put them back up.

My plan is to return around the end of October... till then, adios!

D

PS  Following the trail of the Black Key: Where the Key was Found. But, the question remains, was the key found before, or after #19? ;-)

Lughnasadh Interlude

Lughnasadh (detail) - digital - © 2007, DS

Lughnasadh and the "blue moon" synchronistically fall on the same date this year. What does this mean? It's a prompt: get your Pagan on!

For more information about Lughnadadh try here. For an astrological take on the current blue moon, try here.

Blessed Be,
Dia

The Transdimensional Landscapes of San Base

There are numerous new artists out there - too many, in a sense, to wrap ones head around - and new artists jumping into the digital arena every day. But, every now and then, I'm introduced to new art (this time via MOCA) that really resonates with me, and art that fulfills the purpose of what I believe art should ideally be; that is: a visual language which has the ability to both illuminate and transform. And when I find the art, the artist, I am moved to feature them here... and so, I present to you San Base, a Russian artist now living in Canada.

San Base, as in the case of many digital artists, though artistically inclined, was initially trained in the science of mathematics, becoming a cybernetics engineer before fully devoting his efforts to his true passion, painting. What he refers to as "Dynamic Painting" - both the images and the program he developed to generate them - represents the marriage of his painting skills and his digital expertise, and the result... well, as you can see from the example above, the result is amazing.

All too often digital creations are too slick - lacking integrity, emotion, and poetry - but, San Base's transdimensional landscapes breathe, shift and transform as naturally and aesthetically pleasing as running water and drifting clouds. One recognizes something... maybe it's the way we dream... or the organic composition of our thoughts and memories. But, no description is ever necessary with successful art. It simply is, and, intuitively, we know it's precise.

Bravo, San Base!

Incidentally, after you've viewed this "painting", you might want to try this one!

For more of San Base's work, including imagery for sale, more videos (even a few Mandelbulb fractals), visit his website, and his online studio.

***

PS: And, here's two new articles in cyberspace that may interest you... "Art + Technology = New Art Forms, Not Just New Art", and "What is New Media Art?"

In Search of a Virtual Window (Updated)

Labradorite Window detail - Digital - DS 2013
(Click to enlarge.)

The graphic above (Note: Original graphic has been replaced with a different version.) charts the progress of the labradorite window I mentioned in my previous post. Of course it helps to know what sort of portal one means by "window" before one attempts to create a virtual one. In the very early days of this project, the window was opaque, and for the most part metaphorical. I wanted something that was so organic that it appeared to have literally grown into place. The "place" was in the middle of a stone slab. I didn't think too much about the slab. I knew it was on the ground. As far as the "labradorite window", originally the idea emerged from a line of a poem I wrote in 2009:
"I lie on a bed of labradorite; of labradorite is my window."

I pretty much abandoned the poem, as my muse had little else to say, but the idea of a labradorite window intrigued me. I wanted to see it, which is pretty much the definition of art for an artist: that is, things we need to see. I'm not sure when I began fashioning it's size and overall shape... but, I had in mind a stained-glass-like "rose window"; the sort one sees in the great cathedrals, but on a smaller scale, and, as mentioned, not really a window at all. I also knew the panes of labradorite would fit together in an organic array, which is when my mind hit upon the idea of the meteorite. Below is the results of my initial attempts at developing a meteorite "shell". I thought that it only remained to fill in the pockets of my faux meteorite via my airbrush tool.

Wrong. After a number of failed attempts I just placed the whole project in the "Someday Maybe" file and moved on.

It was only recently that I began playing with it again. For whatever reason, I started airbrushing a metal swirl pattern over my meteorite, and, during this process, it came to me finally just what sort of window I was seeing in my middle eye.

Yes, the labradorite window is still in the center of stone slab lying flat on the ground... but it is not just some weird mineral deposit, as I imagined previously. It is an actual, translucent stained-glass window created to represent a metaphorical portal to an ancient, underground chamber.

Ah, but that's another story. Meanwhile, I'm progressing slowly with the project, though it feels like more of a craft project at this point, and a labor-intensive one at that. The previous image showed a view of the window laid over the framework of the faux meteorite shell... the new one displays, instead, the marble-like slab in which the window is embedded. The grey/green segments represent blanks awaiting to be filled. I'm experimenting with labradorite patterns presently, and there's a long way to go... and it suffers in a low-resolution format but, I think you get the idea. Incidentally, that purplish segment represents a variety of labradorite known as "Peacock". The whitish stones represent Rainbow Moonstone, another variety of labradorite.

As it stands, it's going to be fairly chaotic in meat-space for me over the next few weeks - the big move is about to take place -  but, I've begun laying the plans for my next Patron Saint post. See you then!

"Meteorite" Window in full - DS 2011
(Click on for larger view.)

The Doors of Perception (9/1/25: video repaired)

Doors of Perception - digital - Copyright, 2011, Dia Sobin

"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite."

- William Blake, from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1793

***

“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”

"To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception, to be shown for a few timeless hours the outer and the inner world, not as they appear to an animal obsessed with survival or to a human being obsessed with words and notions, but as they are apprehended, directly and unconditionally, by Mind at Large - this is an experience of inestimable value... The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out. He will be wiser but less cocksure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable Mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend."

"The various “other worlds,” with which human beings erratically make contact are so many elements in the totality of the awareness belonging to Mind at Large. Most people, most of the time, know only what comes through the reducing valve and is consecrated as genuinely real by the local language. Certain persons, however, seem to be born with a kind of by-pass that circumvents the reducing valve. In others temporary by-passes may be acquired either spontaneously, or as the result of deliberate “spiritual exercises,” or through hypnosis, or by means of drugs. Through these permanent or temporary by-passes there flows, not indeed the perception “of everything that is happening everywhere in the universe” (for the by-pass does not abolish the reducing valve, which still excludes the total content of Mind at Large), but something more than, and above all something different from, the carefully selected utilitarian material which our narrowed, individual minds regard as a complete, or at least sufficient, picture of reality.”

- three excerpts from The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley, 1954

***

Trade winds find Galleons lost in the sea 

I know where treasure is waiting for me 

Silver and gold in the mountains of Spain 

I have to see you again and again 

Take me, Spanish Caravan 

Yes, I know you can."

- Spanish Caravan - The Doors*, 1968, from Waiting for the Sun 

***

I had a semi-eureka moment the other night. I was reading the posthumously published book of a friend (mentioned in previously posts), Mac Tonnies - the first volume of an edited transcription of his Posthuman Blues blog - when I came across a 2003 discussion of anomalous arial phenomena (UFOs), and his speculative proposition (inspired by Rudy Rucker's Spaceland) suggesting they may be cross-sections of 4-dimensional objects moving through 3-dimensional space. He compares this hypothetical 4-D world with the idea of a vast "multiverse", but its phenomena would only be visible to we 3-D "Flatlanders" at points of intersection... sort of a complex version of the "tip of the iceberg" appearing on the surface of the ocean - it's what we can't see that defines it in totality.

He goes on to say that, it stands to reason, we might theoretically coexist with the generators of these "aerial phenomena" - assuming some variety of intelligence is involved. 

As it happened, I had recently posted a quotation from Michio Kaku, a String-Theory physicist, on my memorial blog, Post-Mac Blues, which intimated a similar idea in the form of possible parallel worlds, in which we theoretically might co-exist with a range of probable realities populated with a whole host of "others", up to and including loved ones who have died, and other versions of ourselves, as well. And, keep in mind, String Theory proposes as many as eleven dimensions to play with!

Seemingly, transdimensional reality comes off like science fiction, but, in a sense, we experience a form of it on a continual basis; co-existing with the seemingly dimension-less phenomena of our own unconscious minds. Dreams, for instance, fall into this arena, They, too, may intimate experiences we are forced to translate using the limited language of three dimensions, with our equally as limited "official" set of senses. The experience of levitating or flying, for example, which, in my own dreams, initially entails allowing oneself to fall - albeit at an oblique angle - into space, might be describing a more complex manifestation on another plane, or, for that matter, the vestiges of a race memory wholly outside of the conventional range of spacetime... you might say, an inner-dimensional** reality. Some dreams, then, may represent those same "tips of the iceberg", with their true breadth extending in a whole range of enfolded directions.

Ghosts, and other anomalous visual phenomena might also find their origin in a transdimensional reality whereas, once again, our experience is partially obscured by the nuts and bolts of our 3-dimensional range. We see what (to some of us) is apparently visible... but only to a certain degree... and possibly only at certain angles in what one can reluctantly refer to as a moment in spacetime. True perception is thereby incremental... like tuning in a station on a radio; our window for experiencing certain phenomena is, apparently, extremely small.

Of course, in the light of the brick wall effect of corporeal reality, all of this seems fairly moot. Which is probably what I meant when I created "Doors of Perception". Look, but don't see. On the other hand, I sense an underlying mystery about this image... as if its facade was created by an extra-terrestrial race. At the same time, during the process of its creation, a key phrase emerged in my mind -"false doors" - possibly referring to those which decorated Egyptian tombs. The "Ka" doors (an example is pictured above, left) were more than embellishments, however, they were the means by which the dead might re-enter the earthly plane and communicate with the living. The enigmatic Nabatean race included similar doors, and windows - referred to as "god blocks" - on the surface of their tombs at Petra (above, right). When you think about it, these solid, physically impenetrable "openings" are very strange. Obviously, their dead could walk through walls - and our enterprising ancients designated exactly where these portals should exist.

For Aldous Huxley, (July 26,1894 – November 22,1963), the "doors of perception" were thrown open via certain altered states of consciousness, either natural and spontaneous, or artificially "manufactured". His 1954 extended essay, The Doors of Perception was a chronicle of his experience with mescaline. He, in turn, borrowed that title from the inspired ravings of William Blake, a visionary artist and poet who was born in the previous century (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827).

Huxley's doors were the doors of inner-dimensions, the "Mind at Large", but one suspects the doors might swing both ways, from microcosmic to macrocosmic, from personal to transpersonal, from universal to multiversal.

It was Huxley's doors, in turn, which inspired the name of the 1960's rock band, The Doors. They, according to legend, were no strangers to psychedelic enhancement. As a teenager, it was the latter Doors who introduced me to both Blake and Huxley. Pop culture does have it's beneficial side-effects. Which, I suppose, is my excuse for indulging myself with the Doors video at the bottom of the post.

"Spanish Caravan" does relate in a weird way though... in that. it initially seems like no more than a beguiling, substance-drenched ditty - or an ode to a favorite vacation spot - set to the Doors' standard Disneyland-in-Hell - or, better even, Carnival of Souls - orchestral sound. But, to the discerning traveller, "Spain" and "Andalusia" are not corporeal destinations. Translated by the sultry voice of Jim Morrison,  (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) - the Sidewinder Shaman, and self-proclaimed Lizard King - the lyrics transform into an alchemical cryptogram, intimating a subliminal dimension which houses the proverbial philosopher's stone - the mystical El Dorado of the spiritual realm - which must be experienced "again and again". In the grainy "Live in Europe" clip below, this song takes no prisoners.

What is the "Spanish Caravan"? A "Magic Bus" ? The mother of all mother-ships? Death? Who cares. Morrison assured us that it could "take" him. We assumed we were welcome to come along for the ride... if we dared.

* The lyrics to Spanish Caravan were actually penned by Doors guitarist, Robby Krieger.

** "Interdimensional" is a word in use, coined by Jacques Vallee, which he used to describe UFO phenomena, but is not exactly what I'm referring to here. On the other hand, these cosmic portals might be the macrocosmic expression of what I'm attempting to describe.

Note: For those interested in a mash-up of ideas referred to in this post plus, you might try familiarizing yourself with the writings of Clifford Pickover, his website or blog.

(Another note: For those of you familiar with this blog, you actually have seen a portion of my image "Doors of Perception" in a past post.)

Remembering Mac V: Somewhere, Under a Rainbow

Somewhere, Under a Rainbow -- digital - 2012, DS
First in a series of glass abstractions... for Mac, from Dia

Remembering Mac IV: The Dragon and the Pearl

The Dragon & The Pearl (detail) - Digital - 2011, DS

"Reed's real name was Princess Tatiana Dracorin. At least, that was how she was formerly known, when there existed a family Dracorin who resided in a castle by that name. But, of that existence, Reed chose not to speak, recounting, instead, an earlier history.

The Dracorins were the first and the last of the Dragon Makyrr, a noble family, who traditionally emerged from the mysterious wastelands of the Far East; a territory that no respectable person in Elidon Wold would've even heard of, let alone mention.

The Dracorins were not merely the Makyrr of reptiles, however, but blood relations to the original primordial worms, which rose from a distant ocean, and to which they'd eventually return; leaving in their wake a brood of lizard-skinned mutations. It was from these first mutants that the Dracorin line evolved.

Their mistake was their decision to move west, specifically in a northerly direction, where the climate was cool and moist, and kinder to their skin, and where the bulk of humanoid civilization was reported to be thriving. What they could not know was that reptilians were not welcome in Elidon Wold; nor would they ever be."

- Dia Sobin, excerpt of Chapter 8, The Pearl, Book 2 of The Last Chronicle of Elidon Wold - Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved.

***

You know her as Tatiana, the Dragon Princess, previously blogged about here and here in 2011. And, if you've read those posts, I needn't explain (again) her relationship to Mac Tonnies. She was the one illustration I had started for Mac before his death in 2009, but never finished till two years later.

I had decided, after she was finished, to add her as a character to a languishing story of mine... another children's story tentatively entitled "The Shadow Bride" or "The Moth Maid's Daughter". But, with the addition of Tatiana - and really she was an almost alchemical ingredient -  it became rapidly clear that the story had gained in complexity, and was really meant for adolescent readers... Encouraged by a comment of ToB's, made on the Trans-D post, the story grew by leaps and bounds till a first draft was finally finished earlier this year.



Previous: Remembering Mac III: One Day With Mr. Tone

Next: Remembering Mac V: Somewhere, Under a Rainbow

Remembering Mac III: One Day With Mr. Tone

One Day With Mr. Tone - Proposed Cover Illustration - Digital - 2012, DS

"Now, when I see birds," he said,

"I think it's time to fly...

Even cats and turtles

Like to take to the sky.

For, one thing we've found,

When getting around:

It's more fun in the air,

Than it is on the ground!"

- Excerpt from One Day With Mr. Tone, a children's story in verse, 2010, revised 2012, DS

***

"You might try visiting in the summer... then you'll probably find Crazy chasing butterflies. And, if you look very carefully and slightly askance, you might notice two other cats watching from a distance... One of whom looks suspiciously like it might be Crazy's twin.
And, if you're really lucky, you just might find a tall young man in a black fedora standing nearby. He's just passing through, too, you understand... for a chance meeting with some friends."

- via a Post-Mac Blues post from November, 2009 - The Kauffman Memorial Garden

***

I first posted on Post-Mac Blues about Mr. Tone in 2010, under the erroneous assumption that my early draft was ready to fly - a "done deal", or so I thought at the time - but, it's always a mistake when it comes to written material to make any such declarations... As a matter of fact, it's naive to assume that anything is finished! Like it or not, each and every creative endeavor is a process... what appears to be a "done deal" is invariably unfolding.

And, that goes for the Mr. Tone cover illustration, too, which, as a few of you may notice, has changed quite a bit from the original. The first Mr. Tone finally appeared to my eyes - and, to my horror - like some sort of psychotic predator, black clothing and all, Not the stuff of little kid's books - well, certainly not today's group. Actually, I'm getting the impression that maybe Mr. Tone, as benign and innocuous of a ghost as he may be (because, of course, that's what he is, though I'm not sure he knows it), is not at all the variety of story being published today in our present paranoid world - most especially for young children -  and most especially because I'm not an established celebrity. (Can't you just wait for a kid's book by the Kardashians? I could.) Which is not to say I didn't try. I sent a book proposal to two publishers months and months ago. Result: no joy.

I still think the story is a fine one, and Mr. Tone - inspired by Mac, of course and/or my speculation of a similar personality as all-spirit - and all his ghostly animal companions - 2 cats, a fish and a box turtle* presently, but his menagerie may expand - continues to resonate with me. Perhaps the story might fly for older children... provided I nix the verse form. Then I can get more cutting edge - which I think Mac would appreciate - and make further changes... The fish in Tone's balloon, for instance, is actually a tribute to my deceased "coral beauty" (see Orfeo), but if Mac is really in this story somewhere, well, you know and I know, that what's really in that balloon is a jellyfish!

* About that box turtle... some time after I had completed my first draft of the story, I learned that Mac, as a child, used to rescue box turtles from the road which passed by his MO home. And I named the turtle Rocky, only to find out later (once again) that the original - and departed -  park cat at Kauffman Garden was named "Rocky". Go figure.



Previous: Remembering Mac II: Metamorphosis Interrupted

Next: Remembering Mac IV: The Dragon and the Pearl

Remembering Mac II: Metamorphosis Interrupted - w/ Update

Worm's Last Memory - Digital - 2009, Dia Sobin
(Click to enlarge.)

The image above was originally entitled "Metamorphosis Interrupted"; but was eventually changed to "Worm's Last Memory". The above version was completed in 2009, and created especially for Mac, but, as it was, it never did make it onto Posthuman Blues. Most likely because it represented the antithesis of the biotechnology he held in high esteem.

I don't think this particular worm is in the process of metamorphosis. I doubt it ever had a chance. But, I'm not sure what sort of process is taking place, or if this process is taking place on earth - note the odd tag on the bell-shaped apparatus.

I do have a soft spot for insects that transmute. Specifically butterflies, moths and the cicada. And so, by the way, did Mac.  Below are some photos I took in 1991 of a brood of Monarch butterflies I raised while living on Long Island. Mac never saw these, but something tells me he would've liked them a lot better than my digital worm. (Click on image-bars for enlargements)

(Added note 2/6/2013: Just in case you might've thought the above image too over the top, here's a reality check for you...)

Worm Oroborous - The Hanging Worm (about to transform) - The Capsule Beneath the Skin

The Capsule Revealed - Capsule Filled with Liquid - The Capsule Changes

The Capsule Grows Dark - A Door Opens - The Imago* Emerges...

3 New Creatures Hang to Dry...

Behold! They can fly!

* Do click on the Wiki "imago" link... a very cool .gif of an emerging cicada is shown!

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