One foot in front of the other

This journey of moving both the perfumery and our household has been epic! During the entire process I've been listening to a a book series proposed by my daughter Eve. Today, as I was driving from our little woodland house to my moms home in Encino, I realized that most of our personal experiences mimic iconic stories of heros/heroines. We all have characters in our lives that hurtle fire balls at us and a wizard/wizardess or two who come to help us as we attempt to refine ourselves into the wizard/wizardess. Personally I like the image of Galadirel as the powerful force that battles the dark forces with me, but Serafina Pekkala is pretty cool too. I'm sure there are others I could conjure given some extra time. Who do you envision coming to help you or yourself becoming? I really need to go check out the new Wonder Woman movie.

Ah, speaking of fantasy, Greg is currently at Comic Con in San Diego, find him in Artist Alley at table EE-24. He took the Divine Alchemy banner with him along with lots of original art that he has been threatening to burn in a bonfire in New Mexico. If you have always wanted to own one of his vintage original pieces, get it now before the burn!

Speaking of characters, the garage sale was good but a really odd experience due to some of the very eccentric personality traits that descended at the event on Saturday. Ben mentioned that "garage sale people are a different breed", yea, no kidding! Thing is, I go to garage and estate sales hunting for vintage treasures, and I am definitely not part of that breed. However in the end we were able to get rid of things make some bucks to help this journey we are on and also meet lots of my moms neighbors.

Next on the task list is donating items for a tax deduction and/or  listing others on venues such as Craigslist. I began the process of listing items with my four original, vintage Emeco chairs. After taking the photos, writing the listing and putting it up I'm feeling sorta done with selling furniture and other stuff online. I prefer to donate the stuff and move onto teaching about the plants and pure fume. If your interested in the Emeco chairs, keep reading, if not I'll catch ya later with another update soon, probably with dates on live, local classes.

The Emeco chairs are light and extremely cool, Greg and I decided to sell them since we are planning on going for a more classical type style in Santa Fe. While typing out the description I learned quite a bit more about the chairs and the company that have made me fall in love with them again!

The legend of these simple, sturdy, humble chairs begins with its founder Wilton Carlyle Dinges and the creation of the Electrical Machine and Equipment Company (EMECO), still located in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

Originally created in 1944 for US Navy submarines and warships to withstand harsh conditions such as salt water & air as well as an occasional torpedo blast. The story goes that Dinges tested the strength of the chair by tossing them out of a sixth-story window! By using salvaged aluminum, which was plentiful in 1944, Emeco perfected a 77-step proprietary process which yields aluminum three times stronger than steel resulting in a chair so durable that it has an estimated life span of 150 years.

The chair has survived seven decades of the military’s need and now is a fixture in restaurants, hotels, offices and film. Emeco’s all-aluminum chairs and stools come with a lifetime guarantee and tested to withstand 1,700 pounds of weight. Besides the aluminum is completely recyclable.

Images:
Divine Alchemy and Spalenka paintings ©GregSpalenka
Serrafina Pikala screen shot

San Diego Comic Con 2014

Once again, the largest gathering of popular art culture descended upon the city of San Diego, and once again I attended. The timing wasn't so good, considering the new space is underway and still needs quite a bit of work. However, Greg's art book would debut at the event and I felt very keen to support him.

We drove down from our woodland to San Diego on Wednesday at noon. Our hotel, thanks to Titan, was the Marina Sheraton. A gorgeous, four star hotel with the most ghastly scent in the lobby that made me gag. To my nose it smelled of Oakmoss paired with Clary Sage and perhaps Ylang Ylang...but not in a good way. I couldn't quite figure out why the scent was so putrid. Greg said the aroma reminded him of rotting cleaning products. Whatever the fragrance was, I'm curious what the common folk thought of it.

Luckily our room had no odor what-so-ever (a godsend!) with a beautiful view of the pool from our sliding glass window/door (a second godsend). We were only at the hotel to get a bit of sleep, so I can't see I was able to experience the luxury of it much.

I don't have any new insights compared to last years post, thus I will just show you a bunch of the photos. The banner of Chiaroscuro Gold at Greg's table in Artist alley provided a great back drop to take photos and thus was used by both of us. By the way, the banner is now up at my space in Agoura Hills, albeit we haven't hung it yet.

Pictured above as the White Violin and previously in Victorian garb is a young biology student who is local and we plan on doing some photo shoots with. Each day she appeared in a different costume.

My favorite artist discovery at this years event is from Brazil, his name is Joao Ruas. The discovery was made at the Eidolon Fine Arts. Image pictured above is titled "Nymphs IV" (2011) Watercolor and acrylic on Fabriano Paper Framed 11 x 9.3" 28 x 24 cm. Joao has replaced the artist James Jean as illustrator of the comic Fables. Below is a sketchbook with various imagery by Joao that I was coveting.

As mentioned last year, one of my most favorite aspects of this surreal event is seeing our friends who come from all parts of the world to exhibit their work, walk the aisles and or present upstairs in the hall. Below is a photo of the palette Barron Storey was using while stationed at the 

Eidolon Fine Arts booth.

CosPlay, costume play, is major eye candy. I'm fascinated not only by the amount of time and creativity that goes into each costume but also with how these player will "strike a pose" for you and the camera.

Since almost everyone at the gathering had some sort of camera, the ability to walk the aisles was often hindered by crowds all of a sudden stopping to take photos. Clearly the intention of the first Comic Con in 1970 is barely a flicker as the CosPlay and Entertainment aspects has become the primary attraction.

Gregs book was premiered at the show as a Comic Con "exclusive" since officially it won't be in book stores until the Fall. On Saturday afternoon Greg did a signing at the Titan Entertainment Booth. Besides the new book Greg was also there promoting Artist as Brand with another panel featuring Donato Giancola, Drew and Maria Brophy, Dee (Dawn) Schiller of OddFae and Daniel Davis of Steam Crow. Judging from the audience the biggest impact was how surfer Drew Brophy embodies his lifestyle as an artist brand.

Here is the Sneaky Zebra Cosplay Video from this years gathering.

Photos by Roxana Villa with additions by Greg Spalenka and Douglas S. Joao Roas Nymph IV image via Thinkspace Gallery.

Mind Blowing

The two versions of Greg's art book arrived at our doorstep last week. This caught us quite off guard as we didn't know that Titan was going to send these to him. Both of them are beautiful, and to our extreme release the images and the metallic inks printed exquisitely!

Here are a few photos to enjoy and inspire you to order you very own copy from Greg at this link. The book will formally debut at the greatest gathering for popular art culture in America, the zoo known as the San Diego Comic Convention opening next week.

If you find yourself at the event Greg will be at table EE-23 in Artist Alley. The book will be for sale at the Titan Books Booth located in the Exhibit Hall at 5537, Greg will be signing on Saturday, July 26th at 3pm.

San Diego Comic Con 2013

I wasn't planning on attending the San Diego Comic Con this year. The event has become so massive and evolved into something that is not quite my cup of tea. As the gathering grew closer I decided "What the heck!" it was an opportunity to get away for a few days, which is generally a good thing.

Wednesday morning we packed up the car, made my perfume package drop at the post office and then headed south to San Diego. This year Greg's space was located in Artist Alley, which is sponsored by Deviant Art. Just above the area there were two large digital screens projecting images from the artists in the Artist Alley area. Greg submitted six to eight images, one of them was Figure 1: Noir.

My main intention was to have fun, which meant: gawking at the spectacle, hanging with fellow artists and frequenting a few panel discussions upstairs. I started attending this event back in 2000 when Greg was part of the Allen Spiegel Fine Arts booth and Comic Con hadn't quite moved to the dark side yet. It was a grand gathering and celebration of artistic talent that drew collectors from around the world. Inch by inch, as the film industry took over and the fan base changed, most of the artists began to leave. The event pales in comparison to what it was but still has some bright spots here and there.

Every so often you can see bits and pieces of the past, like this shot of Craig Elliot painting Alessandra Maria dressed as the Khaleesi from Game of Thrones.

Greg's space in Artist Alley was small, but he did manage to find room to paint. This is the image he created for Impromptu re-interpreted as "The Elegant Vampire", part of a Progressions series he will be launching in August.

There are several levels to the event, a bit like the chakras, albeit the majority of the happening hovers around the base of the kundalini. For those of us who are sensitive to highly frenetic activity the San Diego Comic Con can get a bit intense. I suggest having a clear purpose and grounding oneself with roots, I wore Figure 1: Noir and Chiaroscuro daily, with regular anointing throughout the day. I also stepped out of the space to breath fresh air and get some sun on my face.

Since the bigger presentations for upcoming films in the Ballroom and Hall H have become a scene, I opt for the smaller panels with artists and writers. On Thursday I choose to attend the Dave McKean talk about his upcoming projects. It was a tantalizing display of visuals illustrating that one man is capable of multiple skill sets and a huge berth of work. Read more about the presentation here at the BleedingCool blog.

At the end of the day Greg presented an Artist as Brand panel discussion with a few art makers who feels embodies the Artist as brand within the Comic Con event, these luminaries included Stephan Martinière, Donato Giancola, Alfred Paredes and Daniel & Dawna Davis.

The room for the presentation with packed with a very attentive audience, proving the people are seeking this type of information that is not currently being taught at art schools. At the end of the discussion Greg answered questions and did a giveaway for two Artist as brand worksbooks and a free consultation.

On Friday I went back upstairs for a presentation by Grant Morrison about his “18 Days” Saga ss Motion Comics Serial with Gotham Chopra and Sharad Devarajan. I'm a big fan of Grant and his story telling and ideas. I'm not too sure if his talent has been optimized for this new project, persoanlly I would have liked to see stronger, more innovative visuals. There is a really good overview of the presentation with YouTube video links here at Bleeding Cool. Morrison pointed out that our current depiction of the modern super-hero is overwhelmingly dark and immoral, he believes we need a better model for the world to come. He spoke of how the first stories were about God, then demi-gods, then super heros and have slowly de-evolved into stories from the lower depths, like zombies – it is now time to rise upward again. (Yes please.)

This year the Adult Swim booth was a Spa offering 7 minute chair massages which they called "Touching." Don't ask me why, all I know is that I received an AWESOME chair massage and a cute pair of kitty slippers as I departed. Just when I thought most of the attendees were shallow I find myself waiting in line for a massage with an asian dude from Houston and having some deep conversations about mythology, Joseph Cambell and Grant Morrisons view of the super hero.

Saturday afternoon there was a panel titled "Vertigo: The Sandman 25th Anniversary and Beyond!" with Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean and other collaborators on the series. Given the popularity of Neil I assumed this would be a difficult panel to get into, thus I sought out Claire McKean who had me walk in through the backstage with her and the other presenters.

For those, like me, who are not well informed of the history of Sandman the discussion with fascinating. I relished hearing the details of how Dave and Neil met at a Society of Illustrators meet up in England before either of them was well known. I also am extremely found of the way Neil communicates and spins stories. Folks from the UK seem to have a much higher quotient of the Bard gene than other cultures. Read a much more detailed description of the presentation at the The Beat.

The cosplay (costume play) at Comic Con is one of the highlights. This was where I had the most fun, hunting for the most interesting outfits and photo opportunities.

 Here is a very well done, short video highlighting the costumes at this years gathering.

My favorite part of this wacky, frenetic, crazy spectacle, and the primary reason I attended was seeing friends, some which I only get to see a few times a year. Olivia Lopez, the significant other of artist Jason Felix who shared a booth this year with our buddy Stephan Martinière. Pictured below is Olivia with the Figure 1: Noir locket filled with Vespertina, it suits her so well doesn't it. I love how she combined it with other jewelry, she has such great personal style.

At next years San Diego Comic Con the publisher Titan books will release a retrospective book of Gregs work.

Back in the Saddle

I'm back from the surreal, madness of Comic Con, catching up on orders and editing all the photos. Still on a high from hanging with friends and being amongst all that creativity. In so many ways, the spectacle feels like such an alternate Universe as compared to our little slice of peace and serenity here in the Woodland.

Favorite botanical, natural perfume at CC this year...GreenWitch, big surprise there right!?! Although the favorite illumination were the two Figure 1: Noir pieces.