S.L.A.M.- Your photographs seem to have a particular mood or feeling to them. What aspect of your life or self comes out through your photography?
Kristin Holden - “My photography comes out through the pain I seen in people daily, the crime, the unknown, the lost and confused, the unheard of, happiness you could never dream of having. This is all shown in my photography, passing through different stages in my life, baring one hurdled after another, I noticed more of the inner souls of people.”
S.L.A.M. - Do you remember the moment you fell in love with photography? What about it gets it to you the most?
Kristin Holden – “If I do recall, I was 15 years old when photography really caught my eye, and captured my heart. I remember mom and dad buying me my first digital Kodak camera, I’d learn something new every time I turned it on. All my photos shortly became something very sentimental to me. The expression of creativity blew my mind, and I knew I wanted nothing more than to fully explore that passion I had for it.”
S.L.A.M. – What equipment do you use? How do you prepare for a shot?
Kristin Holden – “I am currently using a Nikon D1x, a 50mm 1:1.8 AF Nikkor lens, and a Nikon Speedlight SB-80DX. I prepare by planning in advance, I get familiar with every feature on my camera , then I take a lot of test photos ( which allows me to know if its working properly.) I make sure I have 2 fully charged battery packs, along with sufficient photo memory. I clean the lens, start organizing a setting, then I go to shooting.”
S.L.A.M. - What if, tomorrow, someone took away all of your cameras, all of your equipment and were told you could never use any again? What would happen to your life? What else would you pursue?
Kristin Holden - “If photography weren’t in my life, I couldn’t express how I feel. I feel like a part of me would die inside. I express every emotion through my photography , and I would be lost without my camera. I would never throw my passion for photography out the window , nor would I ever sale myself short of my dreams, but if for whatever reason I failed at being the kind of photographer I have always dreamt of being, I would still make art a part of my life, because it’s who I am , and I’d pursue a full-time career in Cosmetology.”
S.L.A.M. – What do you REALLY hope to capture with your photographs?
Kristin Holden – “I hope to capture growth, change, the world and people evolving around us. The beauty of nature never fails to amaze me, and I don’t think it is appreciated as much as it should be. I hope to capture movement, action (motion blur). I try to look for things that lead the eyes through the photo. The essence of a moment, a moment that you want to look back on with a smile. I hope to capture peoples’ thoughts, and their whole personality through the lens.”
S.L.A.M. – How do you want to combine your ongoing knowledge of cosmetology with your photography? I understand you have your own term for this?
Kristin Holden – “One of my biggest passions are to make others feel beautiful and at ease and comfort with themselves. As I work towards a profession in Cosmetology I plan to have my own Salon/ Studio. My services would provide many different beauty enhancements , along with better self esteem, and confidence, in the hope to capture one’s true beauty and happiness with a photo of the customer after the cosmetic services were complete.
I would be doing everything I enjoyed, and making others feel better about their appearance at the same time. I hope to be known well by the community someday as a Cosmetographer.”
Interview by Daiquiri Rene Jones
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Lori Frary, artist and gallery owner discusses with S.L.A.M. her passion for creating art, the wisdom and vision behind her Frary Gallery in Sarasota Florida, and a few tips for artists wanting to work with galleries.
S.L.A.M.: Let’s talk first about your art. When did you start this practice? Is this something you’ve always done, since childhood or was there a catalyst event that defined you as an artist? Or something else all together?
FRARY: I have been an artist from birth. I am totally a creative being. I started out with a crayon in both hands and haven’t stopped. I even use them in some of my current work. When my second grade teacher taped my Halloween picture on the door with a star…my art career was defined! The creative process is like one of my senses. I see everything in my own ironic way and express myself with art as easily as words.
S.L.A.M.: When looking at your work, one sees that you paint and create assemblage/combine work. Often marrying both in a single piece. Some artists find a groove and stick with it and others evolve through various media and processes. How do you see yourself and the work you produce?
FRARY: I have a very broad spectrum of knowledge about styles, materials and mediums. I use many mediums in most of my work. I will try anything and usually do several pieces in a series and then just paint sometimes. I have been told that an artist needs to adopt a style by which they can be recognized. What a load of crap that is. If an artist can’t be identified by their style, then they don’t have one. But after spending some time talking to the artist, one can see the bridge from one piece to the next. Just ask Picasso’s ghost. I think he’s still laughing at that assumption.
S.L.A.M.: Regarding your assemblage work, where do you find your objects and ephemera? Is there a specific flavor or type of object you are looking for?
FRARY: I use what I find and make it speak for itself. People bring me all sorts of junk…I often come back to the studio and find a pile of stuff like TV’s, papers and wire and anything else my friends have seen me use before. I’ve done the Dumpster dive many times and pick up stuff along the curb on trash day now and then. I like shapes of all kinds and like to re-purpose items to represent something else. I never buy anything…there’s an abundance of junk. I rarely use plastics though, I prefer metal and wood.
S.L.A.M.: When creating an assemblage piece, do you start with a particular idea or story? Or do you allow the objects you collect and find to define the piece for you?
FRARY: I usually start with one cool thing and build on that. It can be anything…a metal thing or a scrap of sheet music and I never get bogged down on a theme. That part evolves and some sense of sarcasm or irony will drive the work. When I get what’s happening with the evolution of the work, sometimes I laugh out loud at where my sense of irony came through. That’s the bridge I mentioned earlier. My intention is make you smile when you see the piece and read the title. The inner child should see shades of Captain Nemo or a Dr. Seuss contraption. There is also some nostalgia for the past and simpler times. Like that.
S.L.A.M.: Speaking of telling stories, a title of a work often reveals much about how one might choose to view the piece. Your titles tend to be great fun and often provide a sort of zen clarity to the overall experience of the work. Is this intentional? What comes first, the title or the piece?
FRARY: The titles are as much a part of the work as the visual structure. I will never produce something that goes untitled. In my opinion, a work is unfinished until it has a name. I’m a stickler for titles. Would a writer call their novel “untitled”? How about a composer? I don’t allow any untitled work in my gallery…mine or the other artists.
It’s rude or arrogant…or ambivalent at least. The artist shouldn’t leave that to the whim of the buyer. And the buyer wants the connection to the artists thoughts on what they think it means. Abstract art especially.
S.L.A.M.: On the Frary Gallery website, it states that the gallery was born from the fact that you simply can’t stop making art. What triggers this energy in you? What factors motivate you to create?
FRARY: I am 100% creative…that’s it. I have world class ADD and it is the way I cope with my brain wiring. If I go very long without making something art related I get pretty testy. When I’m working on art I go into what is called a hyperfocus. All else is tuned out. It is intense and soothing at the same time. It is my favorite state of mind and being. The biggest problem I encounter is coming out of it abruptly and not being able to go back. The art will suffer for it and I have to step away and come back to it. It’s tough to pick up the thread or state of mind I was in when I have snapped out.
Sometimes I can’t go back there and the piece then changes it’s focus and the irony is lost and turns into something else…or goes on the junk pile to be hacked up and used on another piece. It all works out in the end. But I pity the poor fool who interrupted me.
S.L.A.M.: Two phrases are aligned with the Frary Gallery. Real art for real people and redeFine Art. Would you tell us more about both of these concepts? How do you define real art for real people? And how are you “redeFining art?”
FRARY: “Real art for real people” was the first slogan I used. I was looking for collectors of emerging and visionary artists. It was too vague and didn’t fly. I then coined the redeFineArt concept to better focus on the fact that this is a fine art gallery and that we hope to redefine what fine art is with respect to contemporary fine art. I want to take the stuffiness factor out of the myth that only the wealthy have access to great art. The sophisticated buyer comes in all wallet sizes.
S.L.A.M.: Some models of art galleries are based on membership, some are more conventional in that they may formally represent an artist, some are non-profit. What type of model is Frary Gallery?
FRARY: Frary Gallery is traditional in that the artists I represent have put their entire career building in my hands. I chose artists that are solely artists and aren’t interested in trying to sell themselves. If they don’t make it in my gallery, they are free to try another, but they so far trust me to build them a following so they are free to work on art only. Historically, most artists are not good at selling themselves.
S.L.A.M.: What are the benefits of owning a gallery? And what are some of the pitfalls, if any?
FRARY: The benefits are huge. But only if you like people and artists. I don’t have the typical artist’s mentality. I like to entertain people and I love all the quirky artists personalities because I am one. I can speak to them on their level and explain things about how the gallery has to work to succeed. I have only had the gallery for 1 year and have learned a lot quickly. The downside for me is I don’t have much time left to make art myself and that gets me frustrated. Once I get it stable financially, I can go back to making art again and all will be well with my world.
S.L.A.M.: How do you select the artists? What sort of process do they go through to become a Frary Gallery Artist?
FRARY: I have never done a call to artists. From the beginning, the artists came to me because they heard I was doing something different. I didn’t want mainstream artists. So as they found me, I found them. I ask them to come see me and bring me a few pieces. If they have something that sets them apart, I try them out with a few pieces at first and then put them in a group show. I make them co-market themselves by getting them to email their friends and past buyers to come. If there is no interest they don’t make the cut for me to spend my energy on them…or my wall space. I give them a try-out, but they gotta want it pretty bad to make me or them any money over the long haul. That’s what makes you an artist…you have to prove you’re an artist…in my opinion.
S.L.A.M.: What sort of clientele does the gallery have?
FRARY: My gallery is in the bohemian part of downtown in a converted theater. I don’t have much walk-in traffic. People who visit the gallery either come there as a destination or find it by accident. Sarasota has a tourist driven economy and is also a second home mecca for the wealthy and the creative class. Most of my clients are from the northeast and large metropolitan cities. They are looking for something unique, not mainstream. A lot of my sales are shipped to NYC and Chicago or Boston or Atlanta.
S.L.A.M.: Are you seeking new work/artists? In what areas or styles of work?
FRARY: I am always willing to look at anything different than what I have. I don’t believe in saying “we’re not accepting any new artists at this time” because I could miss out on a discovery and I would certainly never forgive myself for missing the next Basquiat or Thiebaud.
S.L.A.M.: What advice can you give the SLAM artists in regards to approaching a gallery?
FRARY: Boy Scouts motto: Be prepared. Making art is only part of being an artist today. The gallery needs you to help them help you. Have a bio and artists statement with multiple copies. Have a disk with photos of your work. Have professional photos of your work ready and in a portfolio to leave at the gallery. Make sure your work is titled and signed and clearly marked on the back or somewhere. Have all your info ready such as inventory and email and contact and pricing. In other words, be professional. If you make the gallery owners job easier, that goes a long way.
S.L.A.M.: What’s next for you as an artist, and for the gallery?
FRARY: Next step for me as an artist is to brand myself as an artist. FraryBrand. I’m working on getting in other galleries myself…and then I’m going to become an International Art Star. I like to think big, see? Frary Gallery will grow to multiple locations as well. I’ll be looking for another location by early 2012. Hopefully by then I’ll have students working with me making FraryBrand conceptual artworks. That’s how I intend to redeFineArt!
S.L.A.M.: Where can people go to learn more about you and the gallery? On the SLAM network
www.frarygallery.com
S.L.A.M. – How did you get into Slam poetry/performances?
Rhyme & Reason -“A mutual friend, DJ Sista Sol, introduced to a prominent figure in the Fort Lauderdale poetry community, Ray, who gave us an opportunity to perform as sacrificial poets before a slam his youth team was competing in.”
S.L.A.M. -How and when did you meet each other and decide to collaborate?
Rhyme & Reason – “Our paths crossed in a time of mutual struggle. Everyone has their ups and downs… It just so happened that something beautiful came out of a particularly low point in our lives. We helped each other get through difficult times by writing and performing together just for us. Our first piece was a spur of the moment ‘if I don’t do this I think I will spontaneously combust’ kind of thing. It was kind of like a car accident… it happened so quickly and it was a powerful defining moment in our experience as drivers of these two cars we call bodies.”
S.L.A.M. – According to your Facebook fan page, you’d like to make a change. What messages do you hope to get across the most through your words / what type of change would you like to help bring about?
Rhyme & Reason – “We hope to bring a message of peace, acceptance, tolerance, and awareness that comes from a deep and honest place because those are a few of the main things that we are working on changing in our own lives. We write based on our struggles and we try to live in the solution. Instead of talking about third party subject matter, we really only write about what we know and are ourselves trying to persevere through. We have both come to terms with the fact that it’s crazy difficult to change ourselves let alone anyone else. We just want to have a symbiotic relationship with the world where we are able to share our art and grow from each other experiences.”
S.L.A.M. – What inspires your work?
Rhyme & Reason – “Most of our lyrics are inspired by strife; internal arguments with ego, or external arguments with loved ones.”
S.L.A.M. – What music artists do you listen to / would you recommend?
Rhyme & Reason – “Nina Simone, Donny Hathaway, Lauryn Hill, Andre 3000, Erykah Badu, Citizen Cope, Alice Smith, the Beatles, Infected Mushroom, Ayo, Adele, Talib Kweli, Sam Cook, Etta James, Janis Joplin, and Billie Holiday to name a few.”
S.L.A.M. – What poets inspire you / would you recommend?
Rhyme & Reason -“The first spoken word poet I ever heard was Saul Williams and ever since I have been enchanted. Since then I have been inspired by some amazing poets like Sunni Patterson, Oscar Brown, Suhir Hammad The Write Side Poets of Ft. Lauderdale are a really inspiring group of young people whose talent blows us away every time.”
Interview by Nikki Elizabeth
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S.L.A.M. – Photography can be a very time consuming process. Photography isn’t all you do though. How do you find time to create so many different pieces of art?
Shannon - Well, I honestly think I am more of a slacker than you are giving me credit for. I tend to pour a lot of dedication into one project or another if I can, and try not to have the hectic juggling that some people can accomplish. I get really set into what I am doing at time. You should ask the models I shoot with; I am like a different person when it hits me. College is also very good for an artist’s drive – you complete or you fail. But even without that I find the time because this something I enjoy. More than that even, it’s almost necessary. I find that if I don’t create something for a long period of time, I start getting sulky and depressed. Plus, I have a lot of friends who really encourage me, and that’s a wonderful thing to have.
S.L.A.M. – What does art mean to you? Why is it important?
Shannon - Oh geez…. I think I already touched on that a little. Art means a lot of things, of course. That’s obvious. You look through history and see all sorts of interpretations and individual significances – craft, self expression, politics, viewer education and of course art for art’s sake, whatever that even means anymore – but for me personally? That’s hard to say. I think that, yes, I am expressing myself after the fashion I see fit. I think I am revealing things about myself. It can’t be helped, I am describing what I see and think with these fabrications, how I view the world through my personal mental lens, my subconscious filter. In a sense, I am having a dialogue with the viewer. Not in the sense that the audience has any care at all to how I feel or whats lies in the gray meat under my skull, more in that I am presenting a concept, image, whatever, and then they are responding however they do, addressing it mentally. It’s an unspoken conversation.
S.L.A.M. – Could you tell us a bit about how art has come into your life and how it’s affected you?
Shannon - I started drawing back in grade school. My teachers would scold me for doodling in class. I guess I lapsed for a little, and picked it back up again in middle school. I had a really heinous teacher who lectured for the whole class period and we had to take unnecessary amounts of notes. I mean, she graded the stuff. I did great on the tests, but abysmally on my note taking. I still don’t see the point of that, I have a really good recall. But anyway, I would draw a lot in class, basically every day, I find I remember things a lot better when I do, strangely enough. I could flash you a few sciencey type paper to back this up, but that’s besides the point. This kick started my career in art, I guess you could say. I ended up doing a lot of work on my own, taking a few art classes my senior year (which I should have done from the start) and have been moving up since. I’m sort of molding my whole life and future endeavors around it now, if that says anything. I still don’t take decent notes.
S.L.A.M. – If someone saw only your artwork, what do you think they could tell about you? How much of the artist’s person is in the work?
Shannon - It’s hard to say, from my point of view. I mean, I know the process that goes into these things, I know what I was thinking about at the time, why I did what I did. The viewer doesn’t have that luxury. Something personal and meaningful to me could be seen as really shallow to an outsider without any sort of back story. But then, a lot of contemporary art is highly conceptual, and the ideas are the whole point. I really vacillate on this topic quite a bit. Where do I want to set the fulcrum on that particular balancing beam of instant accessibility? But I think I might be getting a smidgen off topic. How much of myself shows through my work? On one hand, it is like an author writing a book – the characters are not the author, but the author inevitably shines through. I guess what I am saying is a lot. They could piece together a lot. Especially given some pieces.
Some pieces?
Once I wrote down everything I wanted for three weeks and put it up on two hundred odd feet of plastic sheeting. Long story. Interesting experience, that.
S.L.A.M. – What’s your favorite medium? Do you have any pieces you’re particularly fond of?
Shannon - I never liked the concept of favorites. It seems to invoke, to me, this idea that there are certain things that I would choose over all other things in a given category, at any time. This is strange to me. It may sound like a cop out, but I’m not trying to worm my way out of the question. I am driven by new experiences, inspirational, aesthetic, surreal and super-real moments. I revel in new materials, new ways of working, and I add them to my growing mental library of methods. Experimentation is great! It helps you grow as an artist. But I also love working with the tools that are familiar to me, close to my heart. No one is better than the other, and each medium I work with adds depth and understanding to the others. Photography, for instance, helps better my skills in drawing. It seems counter-intuitive maybe, but it’s absolutely true. It broadens the way you think, how you approach your work.
As for pieces I am fond of? I like many pieces for many different reasons. It would be easier to ask me about individual works. They are all pros and cons, my dubious creations. Though I will admit to liking some more than others, there is no easy top five, or even twenty.
S.L.A.M. – If there’s one thing you could give the world through your art, what would it be?
Shannon - Orgasms? World peace? Ok, I won’t be snarky. Realistically… So many people end up getting stuck in the monotony of every day existence. They trudge along, sort of caught in their own heads, grinding their gears. It’s not necessarily a bad place to be, per se, but you can’t be there all the time. Sometimes all I want is to wake people up, to bring them to the here and now and force them to turn the lights on, so to speak. When people are surprised, perplexed, when they encounter new situations that they have no preset programming for, their brains pick up, become more aware. I want to, I guess, get them to think a little, or at least momentarily snap out of themselves. Are you following?
S.L.A.M. – Is there anything else you’d like for us to know?
Shannon - Be yourself. Follow your heart. Think big. Don’t be afraid to try new things. More cliche advice. What can I really say? I hope I get somewhere in this big scary world. But if there is drive, there is a way, and that applies for me and for everyone else out there. I wish everyone luck on their own personal life missions, and I thank you for interviewing me.
Interview by Daiquiri Rene Jones
SLAM, Support Local Art Magazine The SLAM Network
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Bradley -“A photographer and to a lesser extent an illustrator. I worked with a partner for a while in a business called Pyramid Photography where we did a lot of jobs making graphic designs for fliers. We did weddings and portraits while acting on the less commercial side as two person collective. Pyramid fell apart last summer. I’ve been putting my time towards finishing several volumes of writing that I intend to sell to a publisher by the end of the year. A friend of mine, Constantin Preda, works in reality television out of Orlando, VH1 and stuff like that. He has been coming to Spring Hill, where I live, and he’s putting together a documentary about my life and efforts to make a career for myself.”
S.L.A.M. – When did you began / how did you get into each of your creative arts?
Bradley -“I began shooting on my motor’s dusty point and shoot Kodak in the late 90s, before the digital revolution. It was a frustrating experience for me because I have this cinematic eye that simply wouldn’t translate through this $15 piece of shit that didn’t even frame up properly. When I was 19yrs old, I began wearing contact lenses. I realized I missed the frames of my glasses because I would pretend while gliding around in my wheelchair that I was on a dolly track with my glasses letterboxing my vision. This way my whole world was a movie in constant production. I finally bought a $200 SLR from Ritz at the mall, quite a gamble for me because I had no idea I’d take to photography and it was a lot of money for me at the time. Growing up in the sticks, there were no second hand places with SLRs. I wouldn’t even have known to look anyway. I shot on that overpriced Nikon for five years, random things, just learning how to use the camera, learning shutter and aperture by trial and error. This was JUST before internet so information was limited. Many of the images in my book Eyes of Olivia X were shot during this time. I met a girl named Mitzi in late 2001 and she was an amateur photographer, too. We started shooting together, she was like my alter ego (I don’t like the cheesy implications of “muse,” the way people read into that). Mitzi lived with my brother before long, so we’d hang out a lot and I always had my camera. There were lots of impromptu shoots that I still take material from today. Long story short, I began experimenting how you go about telling a story in still photography.
My illustration efforts began from frustration. I’d been talking with a painter friend of mine who is VERY talented. But she was also busy and maybe even a touch flaky, like a lot of kids. We were gonna collaborate where I would shoot some images and this painter would paint them in a style we agreed upon. Three years passed and it still hadn’t happened. I get hung up on things some times and by then I’d taken a couple painting courses in the USF arts program. I learned a lot from Elizabeth Condon, but I HATED working with actual paint. Confinement to a wheelchair doesn’t lend itself to the physicality inside of the tight, personal space you need to keep around your canvass. It was a big hassle for me to paint. And a handicap person never feels worst than when being caught in a position of having their limitation strike them in their face again and again on a daily basis. Because I don’t value my own time and I’m quite willing to waste a valiant effort, assuming these things won’t succeed, I started exploring how to take what I learned from Elizabeth Condon and apply them to what I was doing on Photoshop. It worked! I believe I’m a painter more than an illustrator. But since language is for communication and other artists don’t understand and get stuck on the idea when I say I’m a painter but that I use Photoshop and not oils or whatever, it’s easier to say “illustrator.” That works, too.
As far as writing, that began much the same way. I wanted to make movies. I had some ideas when I was 14 and I thought, fuck, I better write down this good stuff in case I never have good ideas again. I thought I was writing down the ideas that I’d be living off of well into old age. I wasn’t a good student in public school, so my early writing reads like a barely literate scribbling blown out of the window of a short bus, which I actually had to ride to school, I’m proud to say. Yes, I rode the short bus for 8yrs. I have amazing stories. You guys should be jealous.”
S.L.A.M. – What inspires your work?
Bradley – “Capturing my ideas, trying to make my time being alive count, trying to convince the people I love that I matter. And when I say that, I’m not just talking about the immediate people in my life, I’m talking about the ghosts of Stephen Crane and Milan Kundera, though Kundera is alive, that I deserve to take part in party I imagine they might have if they knew each other. I feel like I have many things to prove, too. There are many things in my life that I regret and, well, I suppose you don’t need a PH.D to see that I have limited use of my legs and that I might have a self loathing urge to compensate. Living in a fantasy realm is also like a natural opiate that I sometimes badly need. I’m naturally ambitious while also inherently humbled. There’s an electrical storming my brain between that positive and negative and it’s a difficult thing to deal with. It takes a lot of humor. But that’s not really enough. You try to deal with your problems head on in one way. But you’d go crazy before long, right? So the rest of the time you’re pretending like things don’t get to you. Like they don’t matter a whole hell of a lot even though when you go to bed, your heart is pounding and your brain is racing. Sometimes you’ll do anything to make that stop. The one thing I can do that won’t eventually be the cause of physiological damage to my nervous system is vent.
It’s worth noting that I’ve written a significant amount of letters all of my life, beginning with pen-pals and since the late 90s with email. I taught myself to tell stories this way. Personal correspondences was like a diary for me. If you were to collect my letters into one volume, I’m sre you’d have a pretty complete portrait of who I really am. Sometimes people don’t get it when they open up an email and have like four pages worth of bullshit from me. I doubt most people read what I write. That makes it easier to let myself go into weird places. That’s just fine with me. Except recently a guy who I thought was a friend of mine accused me of writing his girlfriend, who was actually my friend years before him, and trying to lay her by my emails. I guess that’s flattering if my letters could have such an effect. I’m always surprised by how people take me. I never know where I stand with people. No pun intended.”
S.L.A.M. – In photography, what subject matter do you prefer to capture? What equipment and processes do you use? Tell us about the photography on your web site.
Bradley – “BPValentine.com is my web site. I like telling stories. I like that process and it doesn’t matter the medium. It’s versatile and I’m never left wanting for something to do. Tell a story! Sometimes you can be all about the meaning of a story or maybe just playing around with the language of how to tell a story. In any case, there is always something to justify what you’re doing. To me, art isn’t about a result, it’s about the process of discovery. The only “result” you should have is the body of work you leave when you’re dead. All the rest are just dispatches, post cards, from the frontlines. They’re the indelible impressions left marking your flesh. I can’t help but to come off as dramatic. If it helps to cool the melodrama, let me add I really believe in what I’m saying.
I use a Canon 40D. It’s a great camera. It’s fast and I use a fast Canon lens. Versitaile. And that’s what I gun for when buying gear. Is it light weightand versatile? Will it see in the dark with me, since I like dim light. And I need a fast camera for when my arms get weak while shooting. I tend to wobble. Just one of those things I have going against me. I have a Muscular Dystrophy, so my stamina is for shit compared to other young men. Let me be clear that I am not interested in brand of my gear as long as it’s a good piece. Much ago about nothing. One year Canon will have the superior camera while Nikon will top that somehow the next year. And so it will go. But I have to admit I am DYING to save up for a Canon 5D Mark II. I was holding out for that camera when a wedding job forced my hand to buy the one I have. If I waited another year, I would have been golden.
I am completely a digital user. Like I said, I worked exclusively on film gear for six years. I love film, but I can live with what I lose since in the end it all comes down to what I can afford.. I am not a purist. Whatever works for you is what you should use. Be open minded. Try new things. Bruce Lee has some quote about being water. That water can flow gently down a stream or crash down on you in a violent wave. It can flow around jagged rocks softly and take the shape of anything it fill or it can be frozen into hard ice. “Be water, my friend,” he says. So I try and be water.”
S.L.A.M. – Tell us about your illustrations.
Bradley – “Quite simply, I am a narrative photographer. I tell stories. My love for movies shines through everything I do. I am versatile enough that I can cover weddings and portraits and really anything else. RE: being water, haha. When I’m at a wedding, for example, the story is I am an alien from outer space and I’m taking anthropological images to send back to my home planet. Just for the sake of argument. I don’t really do that all of the time. But, yeah, stories.”
S.L.A.M. – What do you write about? Where do you usually write?
Bradley – “I write usually from home. It is difficult for me to focus. I can be emotional, so it’s a struggle sometimes to be disciplined and to remain an articulate individual. It doesn’t come naturally to me. So I spend a lot of time trying to understand myself, interpreting my own ideas, and keeping my mind sharp enough to make that work flow easier and not come off as pretentious. That can be difficult regardless of one’s sincerity. I don’t mean to make it sound like I’m such a deep person that I require all this time to analyze me. I just mean to point out the conflict I have of being drawn to art forms that I don’t have a particularly great aptitude for. That’s kind of my story in a nutshell, even looking at me physically being alive in a world I’m ill suited for. Lately my disability has been more of an issue for me thinking about, it isn’t usually. I hope I don’t sound obsessed. I’ve just been hitting this wall or ceiling and I wonder if I’ve taken this body and brain as far as it’s going to take me.
When I wake up, I make coffee and pour myself a glass of orange juice as well as a quart of water. Then I’ll strand myself on my bed with a notebook and pencil, push my wheelchair away so that it’s not easily accessible to me, and work until I just have to bring back my chair and restart the day. That gives me four hours at least, usually, of just writing or maybe reading my work. Or doing research on something. The rest of the day, I’m sorta mixing up the time where I’m just fucking around the where I’m doing real work at my laptop. It’s probably hard to tell when I am getting serious on a project. Work isn’t “work” for me. People usually have their lives and then their, their friendship and/or romances and then work. Maybe not in that order. At this point of my life, I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say that there’s really only my work to think about. It’s where my life is and where whatever friendships I have are.”
S.L.A.M. – Do you have any upcoming publications?
Bradley – “Like I said, I just finished a draft of a horror novel called Lowlife (or GOBLIN, still not sure what the title will be). So I’m shifting gears to thinking about finding a real publisher for the photographic novels I talked about earlier. I’m talking with people and looking for any advice I can get. If you think of the world as Las Vegas and life is a casino, then I think creatively you can say I just got off a hot streak and now I am looking for where to cash in my chips.
I self published those books through a site called Blurb.com, which I would recommend to anyone to use for their projects. Simply affordable and professional print quality. I could really distribute the books myself if I had the drive to do so and the inside baseball information and background one would need.”
Featured photographs:
Interview by Nikki Elizabeth
SLAM, Support Local Art Magazine The SLAM Network
Want to be the next featured artist on SLAM? Join us on The SLAM Network and you could be next! Viva LA S.L.A.M.!
Some people think that people make art. The reality is that art makes people. Artistic expression and creativity allow only the most interesting creatures to be born of it, especially those who are raised surrounded their entire lives by the beauty of the artistic process. Recently we featured a talented woman, Kim Wotton, who discussed briefly her family history of a long line of artists, her father and his namesake, her brother James A. Shepard II. Today we bring you a little more of the story, and a glimpse into the mind of a man who goes to the beat of his very distinct drum. He has a unique way of seeing the world and his positive energy flows ceaselessly, even when he is speaking his own language. Please buckle your seat belts, we are going for a little ride… =) Here is our “unedited” exchange. With a voice as individual and free as this guy’s is, it seemed only fair to give you the real deal… YOJNE!!!!
S.L.A.M. > “I saw your recent posts on The Network and have been anticipating your arrival! You are a welcomed member of the S.L.A.M. community and we love your style of creating.”
James A. Shepard II > “Thank you very much. I’m honored about your enthusiasm. As a matter of fact I did my 1st serious creact last night it was ecstatically releasing. Its called “IRONMAN IN DRAG/HOMAGE 2 ROBERT DOWNEY” I’m quite pleased after all Downey is EPIC!
S.L.A.M. >Robert Downey Jr is one of my all time favorite actors! What a great subject!!!! can’t wait to see it! Your sister Kim briefly explained “creaction”. Can you tell us a little more about what that means to you?
James A. Shepard II > THE ART OR DOING OF MAKING ARTIFACTS. ACTIVE CREATING IN THE SPIRIT. MY FATHER TERMED THE WORD IN THE MID 1980′S. THE GREATEST ARTIST OF ALL TIME. MY BEST FRIEND AND MY HERO, JESUS BEING THE OTHER HERO. BRINGING INTO EXISTENCE THAT WHICH WAS NOT BUT NOW IS. I’M HIS 1ST CREACT.
S.L.A.M. >You definitely inherited his artistic voice and talent. Who else inspires you?
James A. Shepard II > GREAT QUESTION ACTUALLY I’VE ALWAYS LIKED “PICASSO’S RESPONSE TO THAT QUESTION IT WAS “I EXERCISE MY DEMONS” SO I TEND TO GO INTO A CREACT WITH THAT IN VEIN/VAININGLY HAHA, ACTUALLY DAD OF COURSE BECAUSE HE WORKS THROUGH ME. IRON MAN IN DRAG HOMAGE TO ROBERT DOWNEY BEGAN THE LAST DAY I WAS STAYING AT KIMS CRIB AND WAS FINISHED -OH WAIT I DATE THEM -STARTED FATHERS DAY 6-20-2010@6:20PM AND FINISHED AUGUST 22 2010@6:20AM. SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT. ITS ALL RECORDED AS MY FATHER TAUGHT ME 2 DO. HE DIDN’T DO IT MUCH BUT IF HE TOLD ME 2 DO SOMETHING CONSIDER IT DID HAHA. YOU’D A DUG HIM. EVERYONE DID. EVEN THE HATERS LOVED HIM. HAHA
S.L.A.M. >I adore your collage work – is it your favorite? What other modes do you like to work in? James A. Shepard II > ANY CREACT IS MY FAVORITE. OF ALL CREACTS A COMBINATION OF PAINTING ON CANVASES WITH THINGS ADDED. A MINIMALISTIC MIXED MEDIA 4 LACK OF A BETTER TERM. 4 OUT RIGHT JOY AND SUPER FREEDOM DEFINZTELY A 6FOOT X 4FT STRETCHED CANVAS MOUNTED IN A SEALED AREA WITH 25 DIFFERENT SIZE BRUSHES AND 100 TUBES OF SQUEEZABLE ACRYLIC AND A0 CANS OF SPRAY PAINT AND 5 CANS OF CLEAR GLOSSY SPRAY PAINT. MY MUSIC AT HAND A POT OF SUMANTRA COFFEE AND A CAN OF GERB. SEAL THE DOOR AND CHECK IT OUT WHEN IT OPENS NO INTERRUPTIONS PLEASE. AND ILL GO “PICASSO ONLY MORE SO” ON IT . THAT WAS MY NICKNAME AT THE IMAGINATION GYMNASIUM I ROLLED WITH WHERE MY DAD AND I OWNED IT AND HE DREW HIS LAST RIGHT WHERE HE WANTED 2 BE. THATS MY IDEAL DATE WITH ART MODE.
S.L.A.M. > Do you have any works on display?
James A. Shepard II > If by on display do you mean local or other galleries, no- not at the present time but open to those possibilities should they arise. I have been photographing my creacts as i organize them 4 safe keeping and putting some on my facebook daily. I have many canvases on display in my patrons homes and work places mainly in the state of Oregon. Some in various European countries by people that stopped by and purchased pics when dad and I were living there.There is also a massive collection of paintings at Edgefield Manor of which myself and youngest sister Kristin were able to mentor under the “Mozart of art” dad, and we were involved it many pieces. He invented the technique of divide and conquer as he called it to mass produce “monetesque landscaping”.
S.L.A.M. > Tell us about the Anarchist Coffee Book – what’s the intention behind it, when will it be a “completed work” and will it become available as an actual book that can be purchased?
James A. Shepard II > The intent behind the book is my statement. Im an Anarchist totally! A non-violent anarchist. I love all people each individual is unique in my opinion so everyone is #1 in my book even my enemies. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Sun Tzu. The book is a visual representation of how I love the world and see it thru my ROSE COLORED GLASSES beautifully chaotic in a quantum mechanical way “THE NUTS \
2 use a poker term. Its all wonderfully phucked up and alive. Evil which is live backwards. The book is in the process of becoming an entity yoyoaah kimberly the 1 that masterly put it together 4 me and her husband Warren(the regulator) Wotton the mindset man is our venture capital specialist so i see it on the shelves relatively fast and we all wish 4 the best. As always “AISA” 2day. peace and love 2 all JTPOMS@6969xoxohahahaha seacrest….
S.L.A.M. > You mention backwards, which seems to be a trend in your dialect =) can you elaborate on that?
James A. Shepard II > I have dialect, please don’t tell anyone. Is it contagious? I like 2 play with words as I see fit. I got c’s in English classes in high school cause I thought it redundant, however from 16-18 all my English teachers were 20-30 something foxes ,so i never missed a class. My brother in law Warren the regulator said if I had a Indian name it would be “HE WHO SPEAKS IN SLANG” SLANGLISH. I believe so hence I use my own combo of anything I come into contact with. After reading the interview with SIR Robert Downey Jr, whom has his own take on word smithology and also is aquarius I gotta get with him if only to word duelwithhim.
S.L.A.M. > How long ago did you move to the Orlando area and what brought you out this way?
James A. Shepard II > I arrived november 27,2009 -my family and to relocate the art collection to a safer environment.
S.L.A.M. > Do you have a favorite all time piece? of your own or someone else’s?
James A. Shepard II > Demoiselles d Avignon by Picasso! There is no other.
S.L.A.M. > How long of a process is it to select the imagery for your collages? Do you go looking for specific pieces or do you put together things you have already randomly collected?
James A. Shepard II > I have an existing body of cut-outs that are left over from other pieces that i save. And an ongoin # of magazines at my disposal. Some image or word from a page catches my whim and is it down with scissors pasting supplies and get busy as the spirit moves it moves me to creact. Anything or everything is unimportant in that mode. So never when I’m nannying. Anytime else yes now.
SLAM:How do you explain what you do to someone who has never met you or heard of you?
Taerie: I help people understand & connect with their higher self. Assisting them in understanding how they can enjoy things more fully by working in tune with the energy in their lives & the energy that’s all around them. Sometimes, I throw it out there that I do exorcisms just to shake them up & get them to ask questions about things they might not ask otherwise.
SLAM:So, what does the typical day in the life of a “mystic” entail?
Taerie:Well, I wake up from having worked with people in my sleep most of the night. This is when many are more open to the help they desire within but block in their conscious mind. Some are souls that are stuck & in need of help in moving to the next phase. Some are people who want understanding & clarity but are afraid of it at the same time. Then, I scan the energy of my home, cleansing it energetically before I ever even sit up. I call in my Guides and ask for any messages or insights about my day or that they think I may need.
There are often emails or calls from people that have had encounters with spirits that have them shaken or dreams they need clarity on. I have a lot of those to deal with in any given day. I got calls from people heading up the issue with the Gulf early on and spent many hours channeling the Ocean and other guides to find answers for them. I worked many hours to help move through the red tape so that help could make it through more quickly. Energetically of course.
I get calls from people who have loved ones that are being influenced by outside forces and need them to be helped. I typically deal with those pretty quickly. We have spirits that are in our home and in need of help – A LOT! Also, I get many messages of how to help people prepare for the Earth changes that are coming. When those Guides come to share, I drop most everything and listen. This helps me with the classes that I develop and services I offer. Well, I could go on forever. (You know that Grace.) My house always has something going on. Somedays, I just play with my dogs.
SLAM:What was the major moment or time in your life that you realized you had the abilities you now utilize in helping so many people in so many different ways?
Taerie:I think it was progressive. I’ve been doing this sort of thing, in many ways, most of my life. I was feeling lost & went for a reading which I had never done before. I had always channeled my own guides and recorded it. This person said the only message there was for me was that I was to be doing this for a living. That my guides were very serious about me getting that point that it was the ONLY thing they would tell him for the whole hour reading…that was it.
I didn’t know until I met him, and some of the people he introduced me to, that people didn’t already know the stuff I did! I thought everyone was like me. It was kind of a shock to be honest. You’ll laugh, but I was really unaware that other people didn’t bust clouds for fun when they were bored… I thought everyone understood the energies that affect our lives and knew how to chat with their Angels. So, I guess it was then that I realized I had something to offer. I began teaching the people who taught others first. Then it just blossomed.
SLAM:What is YOUR definition of “art”?
Taerie:Art to me is, the expression of our feelings, thoughts, desires. When we feel something so much, so deeply and passionately that we overflow, spilling out into the world. Spilling out into the world in our own unique manner.
SLAM: When our readers look at this interview and wonder why we selected you as a featured “artist” of the day, would you say it’s safe to say you passionately spill your energy and knowledge out into the world? Tell us an experience of “art” in your world so we may better understand your passion.
Taerie: Ok, recently I got a call about a young singer/song writer who is recording & has been “noticed” by some major people. She and her family had some very emotional things getting in the way & they don’t want her to miss this opportunity. I was able to come in & work with the entire family. The changes began immediately. There was harmony in the family and relationships that had become strained began healing as of that night. Fears & anxieties that had been getting in the way were totally gone for both young girls. The Mom and Dad were more at ease…etc.. This was a wonderful canvas to work with. A family that needed healing & light so they could let their own inspiration flow. She’s back to recording & things look good. Helping people see themselves in & of the light, no matter what the situation, is always an amazing thing to be a part of. I get to help people them to realize the work of art they truly are within.
SLAM: What message comes to you to share with our readers right now?
Taerie:Things are shifting & changing quickly. If your heart is telling you to do something, listen! If you feel you need to move or travel at a certain time, do it. Learn when your inner being is communicating with you. It’s important to begin pulling ourselves out of the drama or victim vibration. This throws everything off for our true path. These are quick priorities for people. Learn & Listen!
Taerie is a psychic medium with over 25 years experience.
Also available for private sessions.
For more information or to schedule your private session
please email tgillan@mysticaltruth.org
or call
407-574-9759
S.L.A.M: Which medium do you prefer to paint in? Beth Garren: I use acrylic and alkyd oil. I usually choose which medium based on how detailed I want to be or how quickly I want to really get into the painting.
S.L.A.M: You have a discernible and fluent style, both abstract and accurately realistic. Where do you draw your inspiration? Beth Garren: I gather little bits of inspiration from everywhere; ancient and primitive cultures, science, myth, symbolism…color. My paintings tend to emerge organically with very little planning. I have a really hard time sticking with an agenda and tend to get bored very easily, so the initial thought process can sometimes be lost in a matter of hours. It becomes an exploration of where to make connections
S.L.A.M: How do you feel you stay positively motivated as an artist? Beth Garren: I try not to determine my own success based on anyone elses standards. I feel like being an artist is hardwired into my DNA. For me, being positively motivated is as easy as accepting that it is part of my journey. I allow myself to make mistakes and try to learn from each one.
S.L.A.M: Are you formally taught or a do it yourselfer? Beth Garren: I am self taught. I grew up in rural areas of Tennessee where I had to create my own stimulus. Art was always a hobby and an escape.
S.L.A.M: It’s no secret that making a living as an artist is not always easy. Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel so to speak? Beth Garren: I feel very fortunate that I get to make my living as an artist. By day I work with another artist painting murals and designing spaces. It is sometimes very frustrating having to create someone elses vision, especially when they don’t know how to express it. At the end of the day it allows me to be very playful with my own art.
S.L.A.M: Where else around town or on the net can we find you aside from the SLAM Network? Beth Garren: My website is www.bethgarren.com. I’ll be participating in a group show “Transmissions” in Daytona Beach on August 21st. I have a solo show at the Culture Mart in Orlando on August 28th through September 26th.
S.L.A.M: What do you feel your greatest accomplishments are thus far as an artist? Beth Garren: I was offered my first solo show last October and only had two months to fill an entire gallery space. I had just closed on my first house when I found out about the show, so my life was pretty chaotic between moving, fixing the house, and painting feverishly with every spare second. It was a very emotional time and I had never finished work that fast in my life. When the show was up, I spent some time just sitting in the middle of the gallery by myself feeling like I had just produced my own artistic Big Bang.
S.L.A.M: Tell Slammers something we might not know about Beth Garren! Beth Garren: I have an irrational fear of zombies.
S.L.A.M: Top three favorite colors to work with… Go! Beth Garren: turquoise, burnt umber and metallic gold
S.L.A.M: Do you have any pearls of wisdom for up and coming artists? Beth Garren: Be true to your own artistic vision and don’t be afraid to fail.
S.L.A.M: What drew you to the SLAM Network? Beth Garren: I was naturally drawn to SLAM because I really love being part of a local arts community where artists support each other. Most of the shows I’ve been in were because of the artists I’ve met locally.
S.L.A.M: Finally, SLAM loves to hear about what’s cookin’ – - What can we expect to be seeing from you, Beth Garren, in the future? Beth Garren: My friend, Robert Cheung, and I just started a local art collective, “The Art Official Group” here in Daytona Beach, so right now I’m putting a lot of energy into organizing group shows. Our group has been given the opportunity to provide all of the art work for the “Close to the Edge Art & Music festival” that will be held this December in Edgewater, FL, so we are doing a series of shows where artists can compete for placement at the festival.
S.L.A.M. – What type of DJ are you?
Afro Monk- “I’m a Glitch Hop / Crunk performer. I’ve never really liked being called a DJ but that is essentially what it’s called. I suppose when I play on internet radio, Glitch.FM, I’m moreso a DJ. When I play out at a club or party, I see it more of a live performance.”
S.L.A.M. – How long have you been DJing? How did you get started?
Afro Monk -“It’s been about a tad less than a year now that I’ve been DJing. I got into actual DJing back in 2000 but didn’t really do much except buy some records and mess around at friend places. Not until the end of summer 2009 did I get interested in it again. I started up again by buying a Numark NS7 and I’ve slowly evolved with more gear.”
S.L.A.M. – What motivates or inspires your work the most? Afro Monk -“The biggest thing that inspires me is the way I feel when I hear a track while sharing it with others. It’s that tingling feeling you get throughout your body that sends your body into a trance when you hear a certain song. You hope that people get that same feeling when you play it to a crowd, and that they move with you. It’s such a great feeling when you look out to a crowd and see them moving along as well.”
S.L.A.M. – Favorite places you have DJ’d? (Venues, along with the cities and states they’re in, etc.) What was each experience like?
Afro Monk -“I think my favorite place has to be Boston at The Glitch Loft. The décor, community, and underground feel was stunning. I’ve never encountered anything like it. Experiencing and seeing such an involved united community like that made it special. Another gig worth mentioning is playing at the monthly Get Low party in Miami, which is a close 2nd.”
S.L.A.M. – What are some of the most memorable experiences for you as a DJ? Afro Monk -“The most memorable experience for me as a DJ was when I went to California for Lightning in a Bottle. I didn’t even play there, but what made it memorable was that I went completely on my own and was totally welcomed in with open arms by everyone I met. This was all possible because I am a DJ and have networked and met some many people around the world. Being a DJ isn’t just about playing music. It’s about being part of a community.”
S.L.A.M. – Do you have a web site? Afro Monk -“I actually run a music blog, Afromonk.com. You can find links to all my social networks there. I also post some of my mixes on there from our weekly radioshow on Glitch.FM which airs Mondays 11pm-1am EST.”
S.L.A.M. – Who are your favorite music artists right now?
Afro Monk – “My favorite producers right now are Ben Samples, Freddy Todd, ill-esha, Sugarpill, and Stephan Jacobs.”
S.L.A.M. – Anything else you want us to know? Afro Monk -“Everyone should believe in their self. Anything is possible, you just got to believe it. Stay true to yourself and live life to the fullest. At the end of the day it’s all about being YOU and being a good person fighting the good fight.”
Listen to one of Afro Monk’s first mixes, a personal favorite of our S.L.A.M. interviewer, Nikki.
S.L.A.M. – What type of music do you play? And what instruments?
Sammy – “I play any music that is fun and enjoyable. Currently mostly funk/jazz/blues jam stuff. I also play folk acoustic and electronic stuff. As for instruments, I play drums and guitar mostly.”
S.L.A.M. – What music projects/bands/etc. are you a part of? Sammy – “Derek Jive (www.derekjive.com) is my funk/blues/jazzy jam fix. Shark Destroyer Band (sharkdestroyer.com) is my country rock band that I drum for. Sun of Sam (myspace.com/sunofsammy) is my original solo music. and MissingNo (myspace.com/missingno100) is my electronic music.“
S.L.A.M. – What do you love about playing music? Sammy -“This may sound cliche, but I love the fact that music is an escape from the real world. When in the middle of a song, thats all I’m thinking about and nothing else really matters. The looks on people’s faces when listening to my music a really uplifting thing. It’s also the most fun I have by far.”
S.L.A.M. – What are some of the most fun/memorable moments you’ve had while playing live?
Sammy – “In Derek Jive, every show we do little ‘instrument conversations’ where the guitar plays a little lick and then the drums answer to it, and it goes back and forth for a while going from instrument to instrument totally improvisational. That’s probably the most fun part of the shows I play.”
S.L.A.M. – Where do you usually practice?
Sammy -“Most of my practice comes from open jam’s that I attend that friends of mine host. Some practice takes place at home or even at school I practice drum rudiments on my desk…that gets me in trouble sometimes though, haha.”
S.L.A.M. – What have been some of your favorite venues to play at and why? (Can we catch you at any of them now – do you perform regularly anywhere?) Sammy -“My favorite venue I have played so far has to be either “The Local 662″ in St. Pete right across from the state theatre, or “The Polk Theatre” in Lakeland. Both are pretty large venues with hired sound guys and a lot of room for dancing and fun. Regularly I can be found every wednesday at Gaspars Grotto in Ybor city. There is an open jam that I attend from 9pm-1am.”
Interview by Nikki Elizabeth
SLAM, Support Local Art Magazine The SLAM Network
Want to be the next featured artist on SLAM? Join us on The SLAM Network and you could be next! Viva LA S.L.A.M.!
