Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

https://kmstudioart.com

The Golden Hour

I snuffed out my cigarette and looked up at the sun to gauge the hour. Noon was quickly approaching, meaning the gates to the garden were about to open. After stamping out the lingering flame with my left hoof, I started walking toward the center of the maze. I let my mind wander for a few minutes, thinking about who I might meet today…

Distinguished Writer of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

https://krystlevermes.com

Artist Statement

It is no coincidence that my interest in photography has pretty much walked hand in hand with my interest in theatre. I purchased my first SLR camera at age 17, the same time that I began to delve into high school theatre. The connection is this: I like to tell stories. In theatre you get to tell that story over a significant length of time. A photograph tells a briefer story but can be no less powerful. I have been telling stories now for about 30 years as both a photographer and a theatre artist.

About My Work

My work is still evolving, but more often than not ties into my love of travel, and my love of stories. (And if you love travel, I firmly believe that you have a love of stories!) My first photographic project was in high school. A Day in the Life of Canada had just been published. Multiple photographers across Canada shot from midnight to midnight on a single day to capture the story of Canada across hundreds of photographs. An inspired idea that our Photography Club adviser adopted for a day in the life at our high school. This changed the way I looked at photography. I was no longer taking a snapshot, I was telling the story of a moment. And the series of photos that I took that day just told a longer more involved story.

Travel is all about stories. When you return from a trip, the first thing that you want to do is tell stories of your adventure. My pictures, whenever possible, attempt to show those stories in a single image. I like photography that includes people, a necessary ingredient for any story. Also, I believe that the human ingredient is what connects all stories. Even in pictures that don’t contain people, I want to know about the people that made that scene possible: The person who lived in this chateau. What were they like? This Greek amphitheatre. What was it like to see a show here? Or act on this stage? Ultimately, I find that these stories from across the planet have more in common than they have differences. That’s comforting.

The stories I tell need little embossing. I don’t use Photoshop and I do minimal processing. What you see is pretty much what I saw. Certainly, I have chosen what it is you see, in the same way that a story-teller picks the details that they wish revealed, but the details are unembellished. What you see is what you get.

In my travels, I ‘ve seen ancient petroglyphs drawn meticulously on cave walls. A story of their times. While I’m not so bold to think that my images might last so long, I hope that you can also weave a story or two from my images. Ultimately, it’s stories that bind us together as people on this planet of ours, and it’s those common bonds that I hope will show us that we are more alike than different.

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

www.hikaruo.com/

Roots and Wings

As departing geese cry mournful farewells, I plant tulip bulbs a spade deep in the loose, sandy earth, a promise of spring. In places, the tangled overhand of dying perennials prohibits getting close enough: tansy with its pungent, faintly repugnant smell, yellow pompons melting into brown, wiry stems and needle thin leaves…

Artist Statement

As an artist, I engage with many mediums to explore ideas, often combining them in unusual ways. My writing and artwork usually center around two threads. One is the experiences between individually embodied life and social knowledge, the personal within the historical, using individual lived experience as the vehicle for connection. The other is perhaps less academic but not less political. It follows my love of flora and fauna, and the beauty, but also the fragility, of the world around us.

About My Work

I work both as a writer and a visual artist. I begin any piece with exposure to a multitude of visual, auditory, sensory, and often historical or topical prompts and primary sources to serve as springboards for imaginative exploration. My favorite style of writing is creative non-fiction, a style that marries truth, memoir, and reflection with lyric elements. This combination allows the storyteller and reader to connect on an emotional level, perhaps revealing a truth that is universal, even in relating a very singular experience. I have written about remembrance, history and loss in micro and macro contexts. What I became aware of during the process of putting work together is that when there is too didactic a message, it does not allow for the exploration of ambiguities or missing pieces. Instead, when people read my work, or view my art, I would like them to have an emotional response, an epiphany, or a sense of identification, as well as an appreciation of the content and the context into which it is presented. I try to find ways to personalize the experience of something large into something manageable, connecting the literal with the lyric, the affect with the intellect. I like to include a variety of writing and approaches, and to be open to possibilities. To do this I often use collages, vignettes, poetry, and, frequently, visuals, as part of my writing, and textual elements in my painted and glass visual work. Using real history, events, and experiences as springboards for imaginative exploration takes the facts and makes them accessible, and hopefully more resonant.

When I create visual art, I work in either watercolour or various forms of glass – fused, stained, and mosaic –frequently combining mixed media and photo-transfer elements. In both mediums, light and transparency are key. I am fascinated by the way these mediums can carry literal and metaphoric weight in their ability to be transparent, translucent, or opaque, allowing us to consider what we can see through, see beyond to, or not see what is obscured. These themes were highlighted in several solo shows about my adoptive experience, including the award-winning Family Tree, containing photos and ephemera rendered in fused glass documenting my lost connections to family. A short time ago, I completed a tetraptych of the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire utilizing stained glass, mixed media, and photo/print transfer to present an environmental warning about lost and endangered species in Canada. Most recently, during COVID, I have been contemplating the delicacy of my avian visitors, and the strength that my animals and garden give me while painting now.

I hope in all cases the themes presented in my work resonate with others and serve as a starting point for reflection and ongoing conversation.

Distinguished Writer of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

Where the Creatures Meet

I arrived in Los Angeles as excess baggage, riding shotgun in a station wagon bound for dreams further south. Its driver, a loose and uninhibited soul, had dumped me somewhere along the Sunset Strip as requested…

Distinguished Writer of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

www.christopheromeara.com

From a Secret Place

It is our first summer without him, an astonishingly beautiful day, and a Sunday, which makes it worse. I step outside to take a turn around the garden. That is where I go to think, to feel, and to remember…

Distinguished Writer of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

www.youcantrusthim.com/

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

www.sallychapmanphoto.com

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent Gardens call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Gardens issue.

https://www.crystalthorburn.com