The artists and writers selected as ArtAscent Gold from ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal issues.

ArtAscent Artist of the Wild call for artists

Casey Orr

ArtAscent Artist of the Wild call for artists

Syncretism of prehistoric thinking was traced to various forms of totemism. Our ancestors, believing in their connection with a spiritual being (an animal or a plant), attempted to keep the universal balance that is lost in today’s world. Yet, contemporary artists like Casey Orr seek to reestablish this connection between human and nature. Casey Orr is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Wild call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Wild issue.

www.caseyorr.com

Anne Anthony

High Horse

I rode the same high horse you ride so loose and wild,
flung lordly edicts to the masses until rotted roots
tripped my horse and slipped my saddle: face-planted
In my tumble to Earth. No soul came to my rescue,
no gentle forest creature sniffed me out…

In most cultures, horses are associated with nobility, grace, and freedom because they embody the life-forces that are untamed and close to wildness. These life-forces, at times, take us in unpredictable directions. Writer Anne Anthony was inspired by horse symbolism, as is evident in this featured poem. Anne Anthony is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Wild call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Wild issue.

www.anneanthony.weebly.com

ArtAscent Artist of the Patterns call for artists

Robert Dash

ArtAscent Artist of the Patterns call for artists

Have you ever thought about why poetry is so popular? It’s all about the patterns — rhyme schemes, and alternation of syllables that create specific harmonious rhythm that hypnotizes us and can even overshadow the content itself. Patterns in photography have the same magic power and artists like Robert Dash know how to use it. Robert Dash is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Patterns call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Patterns issue.

www.robertdashphotography.com

Ashley VanGemeren

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Artists are often compared to Demiurge, since all of them, in certain sense, are the creators of parallel artistic realities. Key traits of the artistic realities are subjectivity and conventionality. Abstract painting of the 20th century brought those features to their extreme, shaping up a pure visual language, inherited by such contemporary young masters as Ashley VanGemeren.

Ashley VanGemeren is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent “Green” call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Green” issue.

www.ashleyvangemeren.com

Salvatore Arnoldo

Another Green World

The Green King has retreated, into the swamps; resting on furniture of moss, lying in beds of lugworms which seep up out of the tender, black mud of the banks to heed him. His shattered royalty. He’s seated on a throne made from a broken tree in the middle of the swamp, a jagged sitting-stool blackened and splintered from a lightning strike long ago…

Osiris is an Egyptian god of the afterlife and of resurrection at the same time. He was traditionally shown with a green complexion, since green is connected with the idea of rebirth. This ancient symbolism celebrates the regenerative power of nature, becoming an inspiration for this writing by Salvatore Arnoldo.

Salvatore Arnoldo is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent “Green” call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Green” issue.

Ryota Matsumoto

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Chaos usually carries negative connotations. However, it can also be a basis for creating new phenomena. For example, as it’s commonly known, heat is the manifestation of molecular motion – the chaotic colliding that transforms matter. Ryota Matsumo is one of the artists who seeks to turn chaos into new order in his works.

Ryota Matsumoto is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent “Heat” call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Heat” issue.

www.ryotamatsumotostudio.blogspot.com

Jeff Stone

Fire

Sun – light – fire – life… This is a symbolical chain around which the whole human culture has been organized for thousands of years. They had been worshipped since the times immemorial, influencing numerous beliefs and religions…

Entity is filled with contradictions: things that create can easily be turned into the tools of destruction; the warming heat can grow into the scorching flame. In his piece Fire, writer Jeff Stone reflects upon this amazing duality of life.

Jeff Stone is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent “Heat” call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Heat” issue.

www.jeffstonewords.wordpress.com

Jia Wang

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One rather common stereotype in mass consciousness is the image of an artist as an eccentric individual driven by some type of affliction. Though it’s a huge exaggeration, there’s a deal of sense in this stereotype – since art can truly be an efficient way of resiliency…

Jia Wang is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Portraits call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Portraits issue.

Emily Raisin

Faces

The face before me was engaging, intriguing and completely imperfect. I’d seen it before in all its crooked glory. I’d seen it thousands of times.
 And so have you.
Its eyes like a refracting kaleidoscope had colours that were ever changing. In some lights they burned intensely…

In literature, the idea of portrait became a rather vague concept denoting a whole range of things: from full-length biographies to vivid, brief descriptions of one’s appearance that delineate his or her character. A young British writer Emily Raisin refers to the latter’s variant, trying to compete with painting in creating bright mental imagery.

Emily Raisin is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent “Portraits” call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Portraits” issue.

ArtAscent Artist of the Haunting call for artists

Aleksi Moriarty

ArtAscent Artist of the Haunting call for artists

Fear of ghosts seems to be deeply rooted in our minds on the genetic level. According to statistics, 20 to 30 percent of populations in various countries believe in spectres. Our consciousness always attempts to objectify fear in various forms. This is how the carnival culture emerged – the result of those struggling to fill the vacuum they felt inside when facing the incomprehensible with bustle and trumpery.

Aleksi Moriarty is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Haunting call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Haunting issue.

www.aleksimoriarty.com

P.M. Wrighter

Living Ghosts

Whispers follow him – the opinions, thoughts and
discernments of others. He cannot escape them,
just as he cannot escape his falsehood; rather,
his undeniably opaque existence – one in which…

Our brain has huge, unbelievable possibilities. Yet, they are still limited due to the specific “mental optic” we all have: the objective reality (if there is any) is dramatically affected by our point of view. As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “There are no facts, only interpretations.”

P.M. Wrighter is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Haunting call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Haunting issue.

ArtAscent Artist of the Violet call for artists

Licca Kirk

ArtAscent Artist of the Violet call for artists

According to the laws of optics, Violet is a complimentary colour of yellow, which is a symbol of mind and intellect. From that point of view, Violet can be seen as a representation of the depth of unconsciousness – the place where myths, dreams and fairy tales are born. And the world of fantasies and fairy tales is exactly the place where Filipino-American artist Licca Kirk feels herself at home.

Licca Kirk is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Violet call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Violet issue.

www.komorebisan.com

Mary Kandalian-Aslanian

A Violet Day

It rained on and off almost all day. Then the sun peeked behind the hills and put on a glorious show painting the evening sky shades of yellow, orange and purple with brazen strokes….

Violet colour prompts us to escape from ordinariness and daily routine, and creates a philosophical mood. It is no coincidence that its tints can be seen regularly in the interiors of different temples and devotional items of the past and modern epoch. For many artists it is a symbol of an insight moment and inspiration.

Mary Kandalian-Aslanian is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Violet call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Violet issue.

ArtAscent Artist of the “Still Life” call for artists

Daniel Mosher Long

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Despite the obvious, literary, palpable character of its subject matter, still life isn’t as unidimensional as it might seem. This genre touches on the key questions of human existence, which is especially evident in the French variant of the term “nature morte” or “dead nature.”

Daniel Mosher Long is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent “Still Life” call for artists.
To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Still Life” issue.

www.danielmosherlong.com

Don C. Pankievicz

Polish Eagle

I remember early mornings and the smell of coffee mixed with bacon and cigarettes. I used to eat my cereal at his old Formica table and I was the smallest, so I had to squeeze in and sit with my back against the wall…

The world of things is so ubiquitous in books and therefore shaded, serving primarily as a setting for action. Bringing it into the light isn’t the easiest task, so the theme of this issue was perhaps the most challenging for writers. Nevertheless, some of them, like Don C. Pankievicz, have coped with it brilliantly.

Don C. Pankievicz is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Still Life call for writers.
To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Still Life issue.

www.facebook.com/don.pankievicz

ArtAscent Artist of the Unknown call for artists

Bin Feng

ArtAscent Artist of the Unknown call for artists

Distance makes perception clearer – looking at something with a stranger’s eyes can present a new, unexpected perspective. That was proven by Chinese-born photographer Bin Feng, who turned the situation of the language barrier into the prolific instrument of his creative research.

Bin Feng is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent “Unknown” call for artists.

To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Unknown” issue.

www.binand.com

Tamara Cline

The Passage

Sarah drove on in the quiet dark, hands clasped tightly to the wheel. Normally, she loved driving in these early morning hours. The houses as they slipped past all had an air of being tucked away, like children before Christmas morning. The sky above was a dark, comforting blanket. It lay over the city and in its confines, everything felt like a secret. A private, hidden fraternity in the shared quiet…

Art can be cathartic when words touch the deepest parts of our soul. A short story, “The Passage,” by Tamara Cline caught our eye with its sincere and touching tone. It reminds readers of the perplexing and fragile relationships we all have with our parents while growing up and rushing toward the Unknown.

Tamara Cline is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent “Unknown” call for writers.

To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Unknown” issue.

Fantasy

Marina Jacob

Fantasy

Not many objects are as seductive as uniquely made, gem embedded adornments made of precious materials. Combining her artistry and fascination with the eternal gems, Marina Jacob creates singular pieces inspirited with history and conjured to stun today. Marina Jacob is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent “Magnificence” call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Magnificence” issue.

Mary M. Kandalian Aslanian

Colours Of Music

Emerging into an episode in the life of a creative couple the reader cannot remain immune to the true power of the magic of words. Written by Mary Kandalian-Aslanian, a short story entitled “Colours of Music” portrays literature as the sublime art and the solution to all creative urges…

Mary M. Kandalian Aslanian is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent “Magnificence” call for writers.
To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Magnificence” issue.

ArtAscent Artist of the Portraits call for artists

Zhanna Martin

ArtAscent Artist of the Portraits call for artists

The busts Zhanna Martin meticulously carves are wonderful illustrations of familiar feelings everyone goes through at some point, and as they depict specific conditions, the feelings they invoke are frequently much broader. Zhanna Martin is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent “Portraits” call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal “Portraits” issue.

www.zhannamartin.com