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"On The Milky Way" is one more in a list of wonderful collaborative books of art and poetry generously brought together by FAA's poet laureate Viet Tran.

As an artist Viet's gifts go beyond his intriguing and unique collages, his playfully serious and thoughtful poetry where his humanity shines through, and into the realm of inspiration and generosity where he shares the creative spotlight with other artist asking nothing in return but thier participation in the creative process…

Please take the time to view this book and read the poetry the images inspired…

And as a side note... there is no mark up or royalties in any of books published by Viet, they are done for the shear joy of doing and sharing the work...

Also Viet's current thread here on FAA; " What Lead(s) You To The Creative World?" - is worth checking out.
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1442758

On The Milky Way | Make Your Own Book

Ryan, directed by Chris Landreth, is an animated tribute to Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Thirty years ago, at the National Film Board of Canada, Ryan produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. In Ryan we hear the voice of Ryan Larkin and people who have known him, but these voices speak through strange, twisted, broken and disembodied 3D generated characters... people whose appearances are bizarre, humorous or disturbing. Although incredibly realistic and detailed, Ryan was created and animated without the use of live action footage, rotoscoping or motion capture...but instead from an original, personal, hand animated three-dimensional world which Chris calls 'psychological realism'.

Ryan by Chris Landreth, National Film Board of Canada

A Story of My Three Moms...

i am a bastard son of a circus/carnival Geek father and my mother was a Magician's assistant...
At age 7, i was abandoned by my birth mother who was last seen walking into a full length mirror during
a tent performance in the Apollo Feed and Grain parking lot in Crooked Creek iowa.
According to one of the stagehands, she winked and gave a little wave just as the mirror began to fill with smoke
and was never seen again... My Geek father never recovered from losing her and lost his appetite for chicken
and rodent heads. He began to binge on fast foods, candy and donuts… literally putting himself out of work because
no one would pay to watch a fat sad man eat Big Macs and Snicker bars.
We spent the next few of my formative years traveling with the circus/carnival because my father didn't know how to do
anything else, and besides that, who would hire a washed-up has-been Geek anyway.
Fortunately, i was taken under the tutelage of the Canry Forman and was able to learn some circus skills and supported
my father and myself by cleaning up after the elephants and bears. i think that's where i first learned i had a talent for sculpture.
i was almost eleven when my Geek father tried to take some marshmallows from one of the bears, he only survived the attack
for a few hours but i remember his last words, "I sure could go for bacon and cheese stuffed deep fried pig in a blanket" he said,
and i asked him if he would like fries with that, but he never answered.
A few months later my adopted guardian, the Carny Forman, was shot and killed by the Bearded Lady who thought he was cheating
on her and having an affair with the Sword Swallower. She shot him with one of the 'HIT THE BULLSEYE AND WIN A KEWPIE DOLL' rifles.
And once again, i felt alone, abandoned.
Fate however, decided to smile upon me one last time and a loving gay couple who billed themselves as the Corsican Brothers let me
move into their trailer and became my two moms… life was good with Lucien and Mario, until one day they were both arrested
and deported for, according to the U S Government, performing a public lewd act on the high wire… i've hated critics ever since.
i continued to traveled with the carnival/circus until i reached the age of seventeen, then ran away from one circus only to join another…
and another and another…. and here i am today, on Mothers Day, thinking and missing my all my Moms.…

Reminiscing made me rummaged though old photos and i came across a picture of two of my moms; the Corsican Brothers.

Collage artist and poet Viet Tran has complied five books published in collaboration with artists and poets from around the world. In his first four art and poetry books, Viet Tran who writes poetry under the pen name Thao Chuong, wrote interactive poems from his instant thoughts, feelings, and emotions when he viewed other artist's art works.
This new and fifth book; “On the Wings O' Butterflies”, is Mr Tran''s first collaboration with other poets. The book is a wonderful collection of 162 poems written by nine contemporary poets who provide readers with a global perspective on different topics from a wide spectrum of thinking and writing process.

Chaline Ouellet
Christopher Gaston
Ed Meredith
Jacob King
Kevin Callahan
Maria Disley
Saigon De Castro
Thao Chuong
Xoanxo Cespon

There are many books of poetry collections on the market. However this collection is very unique since all nine poets are also fine artists. Their colorful vision of the world around them has certainly had a positive impact on the way that they perceive and express in themselves poetic words. In addition, this collection is distinctive as the poets are from a wide range of political, social, religious, and racial backgrounds in America, Asia, Australia, & Europe.

On the Wings O' Butterflies | Make Your Own Book

Release of 'Artistic Expressions: Helping Others, Japan Edition' for auction on Ebay for the Red Cross japan appeal by Elizabeth Edwards

Artists from fineartamerica.com have come together with the help of artist/author Elizabeth Edwards from 1stangel.co.uk, to create something special to raise funds for the Red Cross Japan appeal after the triple catastrophe that has left the country in chaos.

The artists put their work into a one off printing of a hardback book that will be auctioned on Ebay this week.

Artists involved.

Many artists have come together to bring this important book to the world. A young boy is just one of them but he does have an interesting tale to tell.

When 14 year old Erik Akerman from Columbus, Ohio saw what was unfolding before his very eyes on T.V. over in Japan he knew he had to to help. Erik set out to create a piece of work called 'I Love Japan' which features a huge red love heart with Japan written across the centre and the word 'Pray' repeated around the sides. This touched Channel six, who came to interview Erik about his efforts to raise awareness for the Japanese plight. Erik has entered this picture for the book and is also working on other projects to raise money with his school.

A list has been placed below of all the talented artist involved.

Stuart Turnbull
Erik Akerman
Jean Moore
Lois Bryan
Jennifer Stone-Drake
Darice Machel McGuire
Rob Matson
Ed Meredith
Rob Orinski
Syd Baker
Terrence O'Connor
Shari Nees
Richard Rizzo
Peter Piatt
Natalie Holland
Nancy Chambers
Angelina Vick
Wing Tong
David Lane
Themah Carolle-Casey
Paula Adams
Elizabeth Dawson
Bobbi Price
Lora Duguay

The hard bound book is 13 x 11 inches which makes it an excellent sized colourful coffee table companion. A limited edition of just one copy to be preserved for prosperity. The art work featured within its pages are a plethora of beautifully sketched, painted, digitally crafted art work. There is also some beautiful poetry included in this version of the book. giving it a very well rounded feeling. The artists hope the sale of it will help, in a small way, put back the lives of tormented men, women and children struggling through some of the hardest times that Japan has had to deal with since the second world war.

The profits will go to the Red Cross who have been critical in bringing assistance to the afflicted Japanese people, many who have lost their families, homes, and the very land they were built on. The chances that they will ever fully recover from this tragedy are remote so any, and every, assistance we can give to help these tortured people is vital.

The book is called 'Artistic Expressions: Helping Others, Japan Edition' and is built onto a third annual art book that 1stangel.co.uk has brought out for general sale. The book for auction is a one off print which has a greater body of work, this version being specially authored for the auction.

'As I was collecting work from the artists for the third annual book my site brings out', said Elizabeth, aka 1stAngel, 'the Japan disaster happened and the idea was put forward to expand on the book for a special auction. Obviously we all jumped at the chance to help out any way we could.'

When and where!

The auction will start on Wednesday, 27th April 2011 and will last for 7 days at Ebay. Ebay was chosen for its long standing experience in running auctions for charities. It also has a solid professionalism in safe guarding the client and their potential customers buying rights.

All profits will go to the Red Cross Japan appeal

About 1stangel.co.uk

1stangel.co.uk is the home for 1stAngel Arts Magazine, a site showing off the work of international artists and containing news, reviews and articles about all the arts.

CONTACT

Ms Elizabeth Edwards
1stangel@1stangel.co.uk
Skpe: beth.from.a2a
http://1stangel.co.uk

Bruce Norris’s darkly humorous two act play “Clybourne Park,” a dissection of race, gentrification and real estate.
Both acts of the play take place in the living room of a bungalow in a Chicago neighborhood. The first, set in 1959, is an Arthur Milleresque drama about a middle-class white family, their black maid and a visitor from the neighborhood association who wants to keep a “colored family” from buying the house.

In the second act the tide has turned. Fifty years later the neighborhood has become predominantly black and gone through a period of decline but is now starting to recover. A white couple who have purchased the house and want to make major changes encounter resistance from a black couple and others in the community.









Urban cycles.
the neighborhood...

segregation
domination
all white association

segregation

conversation
integration
saturation
domination
all black association

segregation

conversation
integration
gentrification
domination
all white association

segregation

continuation

© Ed Meredith
August 14, 2011

Reprint of August 18, 20011 community discussion post:
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=489658

Today i received a 5"x6" color proof print from a photograph i took of myself for a self promotion piece in 1972... for some reason i never used it.
The original transparency and all my prints were destroyed in a fire in 1985, so it was a pleasant surprise to get this copy.
This is a digital point and shoot camera copy of the print...

This was photographed on Ektachrome E-6 using a Hasselblad 500C with a 40mm lens,
so the transparency was a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch format...

1972 was before PCs, Macs and Photoshop, in the days when one had to do what one could do in the camera to prove their worth as a commercial photographer... in other words there is no retouching involve, and those are 500 watt 32K photo light bulbs. The lights and unicycle were supported from behind by blind supports about 7 feet from the background. The lights were epoxyed on the ends of 10 foot 1/2 conduit tubing and wired with 110 voltage. The wire that lit the bulb in my hand ran up through the jacket, inside and down the sleeve. My glasses slipped a bit and i absentmindedly pushed them back up on the bridge of my nose and the live wires touch my cheek... to bad my assistant missed photographing my reaction...LOL
It was done in one shot no double exposures or montages... What you see is what it was.
Ahh... those were the days.