collecting random interactions

"The aroma is killing me."
Cute old man taps me on the shoulder as he is going into Whole Foods.

(pic from the La Brea Tar Pits)

Gratitude

Eco art I created at Santa Monica Beach today!

Gratitude is an Attitude!

The Ocean brings me such Clarity!!

After the strong wind and rains of last night, the morning was clear and beautiful I went on my daily bike ride on the ocean bike path to Venice"zoom." Part of my practice is to walk to the beach to sit and to be present.
Today was extraordinary~ the dolphins were maybe twenty feet from shore. And they were surfing in the waves and jumping in the air. The really cool thing is as I sat down to ground~ I thought to myself were are those dolphins. When opened my eyes ahhhh...hah...
The imagery of the playful ones is still so fresh in my mind. great day... In the evening I had to go out and photograph the magnificence of the Ocean i.e.Mama!!

New Works for Sale

OverLay

Size: 30" x 40"
Price:$2200

Phoenecians
Size: 24"x 24"
Price: $700.00

Contact me lisarasmussen08@gmail.com

Refinement and New works for Sale!

I just had a studio visit and I really worked hard on refining the presentation of my work. Sides are always a tricky thing in painting. Do you leave them messy or fix um up? The good news is I was super productive and created some new works! And now my body of work is refined!

Akashagarbha "Womb of Space" Tibetian
Size: 30" x 40"
$2000

Wabi Sabi
30" x 40"
$2000

Alchemy II
36" x 36"
$2000

Contact me if your interested in buying these amazing works! lisarasmussen08@gmail.com

LACMA Art Rental and Sales Gallery

I have just refined my current body of work. Today, I had an interesting visit from the LACMA's Art Rental and Sales Gallery scouting team. In preparation for this meeting I refined all the sides of my work and I created four new pieces. Five ladies from the LACMA Art Council came today to view my work. I was not so clear about the process and I finally figured it out. These ladies scout for only four artists for every exhibition. Twenty four per year. There are six ARSG shows each year, always for four emerging Southern California artists. The gallery is a fifty-three-year-old fundraising effort of the Art Museum Council, a volunteer group founded in 1952, all of whose funds go to purchase new art for the museum or to fund exhibitions. So today I had an interview of sorts. Lets cross our fingers to see if I get in the January exhibition.

Santa Monica! Art is Life!

It is crazy I have been here over a month and things are really brewing. I really miss the Bay Area, but Santa Monica is sooo beautiful. Mama Ocean really is keeping me happy, as well as the mountains~ Apu's thet call them in Peru. The LA art scene is vast, but elusive.
Next Thursday I will be exhibiting at the LA downtown ART WALK. I will be debuting Kitty Bliss to SoCal. I will let you know how that goes. And exhibiting my abstract work. My goal is to make at least $700 and it will happen.

Thinking about Kitty Bliss he is my inner child and my higher self! and that feels amazing and important to create from him. Healing will transpire!!
And on the 16th I will be joining a free art advocacy work shop in downtown LA. I am sure I will make some amazing connections there for the ARTcart and my own personal transformative art teaching.

My goal is to post every day. The interesting thing is the first image is of last Sunday when Don and I were going to AGAPE. He had to evade cause the office called.

Review of Paintings!!

Review Caol’Ait
Artist Lisa Rasmussen
11/7/08

Lisa poured out The Thin Places for all to see. And in her hand the bending spree, in wistful, flowing, calming traumic interface, the witness be. Thinness of distinction. Thinness of discrepancy. The space between, the space unseen, the space where the twilight and the knowing sheen, find in each other the harmonic mean.

Spices emanating upward from the nestled mandala-savory-space, lubricating the nostrils with memories chased from deeper places sight unseen. Light and scent (!), we enter the scene, diving in towards the hidden seam. Paintings cast in measured care, with wildness constrained by just the bare mounts in the frames ringing evenly the room, holding in each a lingering tune, of the place where spirit and thisness meet.

A lozenge for the eyes and mind. Symmetries nestled in fun-filled calling mysteries bind. Pneuma. Anasazi. Darknesses, incomplete, faint, whistling memories that you barely taste again. The deeper reaches of the mind, trickling away in kind. Lingering whispers haunting so, bartered through the colors claimed in Ka and Bardo, the journey from each piece to another bringing with it a glancing blow. A living, feeling, beautiful, explosion inward away from the evening glow.

Linearity in Lil, shocking still, organized and regal. Containment stressed on that thinness undressed thoroughly saturating the acrylic finesse of boundary and order on yet another sinking beckoning regress. Moving me back and out and around, to touch and caress, the space, the place, my girl’s soft press. The art, for me, is a seeping, see, from hand and thought outward, and in to me. The expressions from you are a simple plea, for a return, a dance, some part of me.

Art that inspires, art that plants a seed, art that pushes and bleeds.


-Cameron Thrash, 11/25/08

Collecting Random Interactions: Santa Monica Stranger

Today, this big SUV had taken up two parking spaces at the Pavilion market in Santa Monica. While parking next to the monster I consciously decided to pull back in the parking spot for a better fit. As I was doing this "SLAM" another giant, huge black SUV a Cadillac Escalade smashed into my bumper. Instinctively, I ran out and said "Are you OK?" and then a blonde hollywoodish woman ran out from the car and said "Are you OK?"I said "yeah" She said "me to" She said "are you sure, your OK?"I said, "Yeah'And she grabbed my arm in a kidding way and said "I know I have it sign posts with this thing." as she pointed to her car.
Funny!!! my adventures in Santa Monica continue...

Discovery SoCal's ART

I am hoping to launch my art career down in SoCal ASAP. I have been doing some research about which galleries to apply to. Today I went to the Bergamot Station., which is an interesting space with over fifty galleries.

Also at the Bergamot Station there is the Santa Monica Musuem of Art or SMMOA. There exhibit was phenomenal it was called Combustine: Alberto Burri and America. The Italian artist Alberto Burri (1915–1995) was at the forefront of postwar avant-gardism. His work and level of automatic experimentation was inspiring. He used common materials like garbage bags, dirt, cloth, and plastic wrap. In some of the work he actually burned it with a torch. The texture and energy of this work was truly transformational. Check out this deep and delightful exhibtion if you are in town.

LA's ARTwalk???
OK I am new to the area did I miss something??


Last Thursday night I ventured out into LA's Art walk. I do realize that it was cancelled and then resurrected for this second Thursday of the month.

I had high expectations for this ART walk as I had read a couple great articles about this event. My boyfriend said it was art for the masses. There was masses of people on the streets-bands and DJ;s were everywhere. It was quite a scene. Kind of like a neighborhood festival, not an ART walk. I do have to say that the court of Food Trucks was amazing! But the galleries I saw were just pop up galleries with a low level of professionalism. T-shirt sales seemed like a common fare. I thought to my self where is the ART??
I hope to discover it next month.

Collecting Random Interactions: Santa Monica Stranger

hhot personal trainer on the bluffs ...said:" great to see you again."
10/21/10
Passed the personal trainer again today. He with a big smile waved at me.
I went to the Bergamot Station in Santa Monica an art gallery hub. This very red faced in English man smoking a cigarette said to me, "You are walking very slow today." I said, "yeah I am taking it all in."
10/20/10
Smiling woman, "Good Morning! do you know what building that use to be." ruins above Highway 1. Me "No, but it is interesting."

10/19/10 On walk run a very handsome personal trainer on the bluffs today,said "good morning how far to you walk. I said, "I do not know, I do'nt measure."

Collecting Random Interactions: Santa Monica Stranger

I just moved to Santa Monica and I am planning on continuing my series "click here" collecting random interactions. I had a lovely walk run in the rain today.

Four people spoke to me all men:)

• "Hello" young man collecting trash for the city
• Man riding a bike "I love this weather." I said "Me to." He said "Where are going."
• "Hello" man walking down the California stairs.
• As I was doing push ups on the fence, old man with an umbrella said, "you better not push that over. I said, "I will."

Next Alchemy Art Experiment

My next Alchemy Art Experiment is Dissolution or Releasing the Power of Emotions
Dissolution is the process of dissolving in water the ashes left over from calcination. While calcination works on mind and ego to destroy illusions, dissolution works on the heart to release buried and repressed emotions. This surfacing of buried material allows new power to be accessed by the individual.

The process for this painting was I first mono printed my last Alchemy art experiment Calcination on the canvas. Because this experiment is all about dissolving or Dissolution I placed the canvas under my sprinkler in the garden for hours.After sometime I started painting on the canvas in an automatic abstract way. I left in dry in the garden overnight to the full moon

This art experiment has my dreams on fire....again all stream consciousness. Here a couple fragmented drea

ms.

Strange yellow eyes coming towards me--bug eyes. I was like what the hell is it. Perceptions could not id with this imagery. Such an unknown it was a half bug half man.

Dream my Mom (she passed away 14 years ago) was driving our car. It seemed like we were flying off into the water. Then we were going up a hill that was flooded. Then small room and a man in a wheel chair with blood coming from the back of his head. I turned him around and he had a huge deep gash on the side of his neck.

Dream of a monk who might have been the Beatles George Harrison. He told me that if I quiet myself the Dakini's are always there for me, protect me and wan

t me to give me want I need.

The amazing thing about this dream is the Dakinis are spiritual beings that eat our negative poisons.

Loving this process.... Love the holistic engagement. I am learning a lot and transforming. Onward to Separation my next art experiment.

Art Alchemy — Calcinatio:

My process is stream of consciousness: This is my second experiment. My prima materia is what is holding me back as an artist to rise to my greatest potential. This project is also of form of ritual/ a marker of my transition to LA. As I will moving there in seven weeks.


I found out from my first art work that I am tied up about some preconceived notions of what it means to be an artist in this world. My next experiment Calinatio-fire I for several nights burned seven candles on the top of the canvas. At one moment I used some iron oxide paint on the top the surface. I decided to bind the surface again as I still bound up by something that gets it my way. The next step was some automatic abstract painting. The amazing thing is my dreams have been on fire and I found myself really engaged within my holistic self--mind, body, and spirit. More reflection is needed. Currently, I am working on the next experiment DISSOLUTION.

Tradtionally
Calcinatio is considered the first of the alchemy procedures. It has to do with burning, subjecting the prima materia (basic material) to intense heat. The desired result is a burning away, a drying out, a process that drives away all alien substances leaving only the purest of substances, a whitened ash.

What this Means Psychologically
What this means psychologically is that through analysis the client is allowed to burn, metaphorically speaking, to become emotionally intense in a way that both dissolves and dissipates anything but the truth of the client’s psyche. Anger can often arouse the state of calcinatio and under controlled circumstances is a useful means of burning off the false and leaving the truth of an experience. With the calcinatio exerience what remains is the true psyche of the patient, released from all of its complexes, affects and distortions.

Latest Treasure 4" x 6"

It was my friend Billy Goats birthday celebration last Saturday. I was so happy to give her this little treasure. This what she had to say "Thanks so much for my beautiful painting, it is sitting beside my vase of bamboo and matches perfectly! The back of it is so lovely too! It's my favorite Lisa painting of all time. I really love that it sits so I don't have to hang if on the wall and you can see the gold thread on the back. Ronnie was saying how beautiful it is this morning too."

I am also liking the idea of mini artworks. I will start creating a new series of small treasures

Please Help the Moon Bear

Help the Moon Bears Moon Bear Rescue
In countries across Asia, thousands of bears live a life of torture on bear farms, so that their bile can be extracted and used in traditional medicine to cure ailments ranging from headaches to haemorrhoids. Bears are confined in cages which vary from agonisingly tiny "crush" cages to larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering.

My character Kitty Bliss is going to help the Moon Bears. I recently heard about these poor guys and how they are tortured. Kitty Bliss says "Humans please start evolving as fast as your technology." This is one of my Moon Bear characters. Please bring awareness to everyone you know about this horrid situation for these,beautiful,feeling and amazing beings.

Endings mean Beginnings Right?

Stream of Consciousness...
Today I awoke at 4:00 am. I have been feel down lately. I guess it all the stuff pending. My mind is kind of racing as I will be transitioning to the unknown in Los Angeles in mid October. Endings mean beginnings. Right?

In two weeks my work at LCC will end. I have been their over four years and I created an amazing transformative art program. Many kids were really healed from my combination of art therapy and cultural validation. Through the developement of safe container that I created in my art room and through the public exhibition of their(my kids) amazing art work.

Not sure if anyone will replace me as I gave the admin over two months to find someone. And I posted the job opening on AC chat and I know several people are really interested in taking this position. Time to let go.

Today as I was feeling low-one of the therapist Nancy said their will be a vast black hole in the milieu when you leave. She really complemented my WORK and all that I did for the kids. Need to embraces this. Stop the pity thang...

The image I call "Getting it Right". As I was taking this photo experimentally. Life does not have to be linear- A does not always have to proceed B. I love to break out of the box. That is what creativity is all about.

This might be my lesson. The next step for me is to break out of my self imposed box of limited beliefs and identity. I can become a supremely successful transformative artist and teacher. Better yet I am one!

Tony Robins would say Aay!

Alchemy Project -Prima Materia

Alchemy and its Process

As I am preparing to transition to LA I have begun another Alchemy process series. My first was instigated from a class that I was taking in graduate school called Alchemy with Mary Webster. In this project I came face to face to work with my social phobia.

There are seven steps in Alchemy.

The Transformative Processes

There are seven steps in the transformative processes, both for physical Alchemy as well as spiritual Alchemy. Here is a brief list of the 7 Steps of the Emerald formula.

1. Calcination 2. Dissolution 3. Separation 4. Conjunction 5. Fermentation 6. Distillation 7. Coagulation

The beginning art process is to create something the symbolizes ones Prima Materia (Prima Materia is, according to alchemists, the alleged primitive formless base of all matter, given particular manifestation through the influence of form) the issue that you wish to transform.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prima_materia

The image on the left is my Prima Materia in 2006 i.e Social Phobia. This was a very painful confrontation, the gift that it brought me was healing and over five years of Jungian Therapy.

The image on the top right is my Prima Materia in 2010. I will be completing the project on October 1st and we shall see what transpires. The issue at hand is what is stopping me from becoming a successful artist.

As I look and reflect on this piece questions come to mind.

What has tied me up?
The good news is gold exists right at the beginning of this process. It is not as sticky and painful as my social phobia materia.
Others first:

I find that one of my tools for procrastination is putting others first in my artistic promotion.

I will spend hours promoting others and little on myself.

What do I fear? Do I fear success? Do I fear total validation? Do I fear failure? Do I fear judgement and rejection? Can I live my dream of becoming a full time artist and opening a healing art studio. Do I have what it takes?

OK let the process begin.

The next experiment and post is Calcination (Heat)
Calcination is the first of the seven major operations in the Alchemy of Transformation.

Chemically, the Calcination process involves heating a substance in a crucible or over an open flame until it is reduced to ashes. In the Arcanum Experiment, Calcination is represented by Sulfuric Acid, which the alchemist made from a naturally occurring substance called Vitriol. Sulfuric Acid is a powerful corrosive that eats away flesh and reacts with all metals except Gold.

Psychologically, this is a destruction of ego and our attachment to material possessions. Calcination is usually a natural humbling process as we are gradually assaulted and overcome by the trials and tribulations of life, though it can be a deliberate surrender of our inherent hubris gained through a variety of spiritual disciplines that ignite the fire of introspection and self-evaluation.

Psychologically, the Fire of Calcination can be experienced as the metabolic discipline or aerobic activity that tunes the body, burning off excess from overindulgence and producing a lean, mean, fighting machine. Calcination begins in the Base or Lead Chakra at the Sacrel Cup at the Base of the Spine.

On the Planetary level, it is the Fire of Creation, the formation of a liveable environment from molten matter and volcanic ashes. http://mystic-grove.com.au/ost/seven.html

Zing Inspiration.."B" art cars!!

Every other Thursday for the last five years I have made my journey into San Francisco to see my Jungian Shrink, Raymond. It has been an alchemical experience as I brought into this rented space (which is so weird in a way-to pay for counsel) my prima matria--one of my greatest, an one of my most paralysing limited beliefs about myself--fear. self loathing. and social phobia.

Over the years I have done some hard work to dissolve and transform my social scared stuff.

This Thursday as Don and I got on the BART car their was something different. Two people were lurking around asking people to sign something. Bam..instinctively my social phobic self put up a shield and internally I rolled my eyes as I was thinking now what do they want. On closer inspection their were actually passing out a survey. BART wanted to here our voice. I felt pretty empowered as I rated BARTs service. At the end the asked how could BART be improved. As most of you know my life is Art and I believe it is really elemental in our society. And it should be raised above to the ranks of advertising. Which floods every aspect of our daily lives.All to brainwash us to consume, so that we can have an economy. Back to voice. I was like BART needs Art!! Zing I was inspired--when I get inspired I get really hyper and I imagined BART art cars everywhere. Then as Don and I transferring lines. I saw that BART has ART in it already. Then I started think "B" ART cars.

Just think how this would transform the commuters experience. Art is Moving really moving. Art Therapy in public transit. How cool would that be!!!! I am very inspired and I want to write proposal to submit to BART. It will be another aspect of the ARTcart. We could artists create installations in cars and artists could be facilitating art making with the bored commuters.

http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2010/07/30/central-subway-public-art-program-winners-announced/

http://inhabitat.com/2010/08/02/art-on-track-invades-chicagos-elevated-trains-this-weekend/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paper-magazine/artists-have-a-home-in-ea_b_673712.html

Words for the Amazing Artists I Teach!

Today we had are art reception for my ART students. Everyone was really shy about the recognition. Except a few! What does art mean to you? Jose the creator of Hope the picture above was eloquent about his vision of becoming a professional artist.

Congratulations!!

This is a happy art day.

I want you to realize how amazing this is….and how

PRICELESS THIS EXPERIENCE IS! We are acknowledging and recognizing you! your creativity and imagination!

“Imagination is more important than knowledge-“- Einstein

Meaning

· That your art is powerful and moving

· That your imagination and creativity is priceless

· ART IS A LIFE SKILL THAT YOU CAN TAKE WITH YOU WHERE EVER YOU GO

· Your personal story has been told through your art

Connection

· with countless amounts of people who saw your ART in public

· They were very moved by your individual work

· The people that collected/bought your work were so touched that they had brought it to be in their lives

Success

· There is over 75 million children in the USA and

there is no other school in the United States that has a program like this! Where they actually sell you work

· Very few talented artists in this world ever sell their work

· One of the most successful artists/famous Vangogh never sold a painting while he was alive. His latest work sold auction for 82 MILLION

· Your are all super successful

Congratulations!!! On your PRICELESS SUCCESS!!!

Through your ART!

‘Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once he grows up.’ Pablo Picasso.

Lastest Tree Shrine and a Reflection

I think all artists are obsessed with placement. Creativity is about placement. Meaning placement of intentions and objects to create a new. Every brush stroke that a painter paints is about placement. And this can be totally impulsive, intuitive, unconscious or thought out. Our obsession with placement brings about a vibrational quality within our work. I think as artist we also validate and embrace successful placement. As I write this I am on my hammock in my garden. I am surrounded by the glory of nature. What captures my attention is the marvel of the small spider and its perfection of placement.



The decayed sculpture is what is left from my undergraduate final which was in 2003.
I love how it has weathered. Today I created a natural tree shrine. I was driven to circle the trunk of the tree with flowers. When I completed I found this antler and thought it looked amazing next to my decaying sculpture.



It is all about placement!

Random Interactions #10

Today in Trader Joes parking lot an elderly black man approached me first asking for spark plugs and then asked for money--a $ 1.83. I explained I had no money and he looked me. And said you should be in the movies. I said what and he said you should really be in the movies. I laughed....
What does that mean? OK I will take it!

Collecting Hubris, Haughty and Angry-Art Teacher Stories

"You are hopeless."
her highschool art teacher laughs at her art and made her switch to Shop class instead. This was the story I heard today at our school BBQ from Lauren who is one of the Counselors were I teach art.

What is your worst art teacher experience?
Why is this prevalent in the art education experience?

Let me preface this conversation with I am art teacher/therapist. As an art teacher/therapist/mentor. My Rule number one is to create a safe container/space where judgement is suspended for creativity and imagination to flourish. The seed has to grow and then you can trim it a bit,just like a rose-when it is bloom. Maybe I became an art teacher rectify my trauma.

Also, a major goal of Art is Moving's is to get more people to create and to talk about their art experience. The more that I speak to people about their own childhood art experience, the more the conversation tends to shift to a moment of trauma. They usually share with me a horror story of how an art teacher killed their creativity.

Here is mine...
"In fifth grade we were making crafty clay turtles. My teacher Ms. Bison (who was a nun--although it was a public school) saw my turtle and she got really angry. She in a tizzy was like this is all wrong and she destroyed it."

I also remember one my art students Gary,who was sixteen said, "that my teacher would not let me create anything. He said I was so bad that he made me clean the class. I was the custodian."


I really want to hear your stories. Please send them to artismoving@gmail.com
I also want to know did this stop you from creating?

Life Stories

Powerful image!
This is on going series of video interviews that I did with the children I work with at LCC. I have competed ten students. The project was stopped as our video camera was stolen by one of the kids. I hope to continue this project. We need to source up a video camera. ASAP