Allegory of the Four Elements

At the new perfumery in Santa Fe, New Mexico I recreated the sprawling boards I had in Agoura onto two boards, one vertical and one horizontal.

The arrival of my new glass distillation unit that I brought down from Kymia Arts in Taos had me moving things around in the lab which resulted in the reconfiguration of images on the horizontal board. One of my treasures, the promo for artist Mark Ryden's 2007 The Tree Show, had to be moved when a small type case and Greg's antique clock ended up blocking the piece.

While carefully removing the pins from the piece I became curious of how he using using the alchemical symbolism. The painting is titled Allegory of the Four Elements. In the piece you see four young girls sitting at what appears to be a tea party on top of a tree stump, under an oak. Each girl has a different colored dress with one of the alchemical elements on the front as well as a related animal totem on top of their heads. What unites them are those large soulful eyes that Mark paints so well.

Some of the symbols are rather easy to interpret, although I have not discerned the story Mark is telling. The girls are drinking mercury, associated with spirit/the mind, why did he choose mercury? Is it because there are references to Mercury, also called Hermes, being the vital force, the hermaphrodite that is both masculine and feminine as well as neither—the great trickster?

I thought the three babies in the nest represented the three elements that compose the prima materia: mercury, salt and soul but then upon further observation with a magnifying glass, I saw that on their chests are the letters C, P and M. After some speculation I realized that they stood for cardinal, fixed and mutable, the modalities of the zodiac, also called quadruplicities.

While searching for information about the painting I came across a quote from Mark in reference to The Tree Show that I thought you, my dear readers, would appreciate:

“The show is about our relationship with nature,” Ryden explains over lunch. “There are many different parts to it, but you know, some people look at these massive trees and feel a sort of spiritual awe looking at them, and then other people just want to cut them up and sell them. It’s amazing how people can look with such different screens. Some see a tree as a commodity, an inanimate material to use for themselves, or even worse like it’s some kind of heroic thing to cut down this tree that’s taken 2,000, 3,000 years to grow. Like in the vintage photos of these lumberjacks, when they line up — it’s just mind-boggling how they do that. And it’s mind-boggling that it’s still going on today.”

Movie Monday: Epic

The 2013 animated film Epic, by Blue Sky Studios, is loosely based on the children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce. Why the marketing department at Fox choose to go with Epic as the title instead of The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs or just plain Leaf Men is difficult to understand. But alas, most marketing decisions are archiac to those of us who dwell in the land of imagination.

Writer/illustrator William Joyce has authored over fifty children's books, received an Academy Award for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and three Emmys for Rolie Polie Olie.

Although the Epic film received mixed reviews from the critics, I thought it was absolutely wonderful, crafted with a rare beauty seen in American animation. This little gem, in my opinion does not contain the over stylization of humans and over the top songs, seen in so many animated features these days. The creators did add an annoying pop songsat the end—but at least one can turn the volume down when watching from the luxury of your home or device.

The critics main challenge with this viscerally rich film was that they'd already seen this story, citing Fern Gully and Avatar as examples. I read a few reviews which felt the characters appeared very "plastic-y and doll-like", where as for me they looked so much better than the plasticine-like characters that Disney churns out of their profit driven animation factories.

I was captivated with the depiction of the wee fairy folk in the forest, particularly the leaf men and their arch nemesis, a Boggan named Mandrake. The lighting of the scenes, character textures and costumes, and the fantastical depiction of nature in all her glory, including decay. Perhaps the critics are correct, this is a story that we've heard told over and over again, but humans are dense, slow moving creatures who need to hear things over and over again, particularly when the subtleties of nature are competing various forms of technology and an onslaught of loud, gore driven media.

Illuminated

I choose to use the term "illuminated" for my botanical perfume brand for a variety of reasons. Some of you may have already heard, this story in some form or other. This post is for those who may not have heard the tale as of it.

It all started way back in August 2003 while I was juggling working as an illustrator, practicing and teaching aromatherapy and learning how to create pure fumes with essential oils. At the time I was reading quite a lot about the history of fragrance, specifically in Egypt , inspired by attending a class in Malibu with John Steele.

The three week long workshop took place in a small Austrian village, high up in the Alps, called Reichenau. The workshop, taught by artist Phillip Rubinov Jacobson, was titled Old Masters, New Visions. It centered on learning the secret, ancient painting technique called Mishe that had been resurrected by the visionary painter Ernst Fuchs. You can read more in depth on the subject here at the journal.

During the first week of the intensive we learned the history of the technique stemming from 14th and 15th century when artisans within the guilds of painting and alchemy shared their wisdom with each other.  I became aware of the sacred triad that existed between art, perfumery and alchemy. The unifying component within this triad being the prima materia, plants! Thus, the term "illuminated" as in illuminated manuscripts and the aspect of bringing to light the beauty of plant matter in pure fume popped into my head like a lighting bolt. It also was made clear that Greg's imagery would be perfect for the brand since he has a very old world, romantic quality to his work...besides the convenience of him being my partner.

Here are a few of the "illuminations" that Greg created to accompany my pure fumes, 

some of these are details of the larger pieces. We collaborated on many of them while others were

existing pieces which he refined or adjusted. Find prints for sale here on his site.

All images are copyrighted, please respect the artist.

Q for the oak

Lyra

Sierra

Aurora

Mellifera

Figure 1; Noir

Figure 5: Bois

La Dame Blanche

Fleurish

and my favorite...Chiaroscuro

There are a few more which I'll include shortly.

Wednesday Muse: Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta

Todays muse is the absolutely stunning Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, a glorious example of how exquisite type & image can dance together. Even more impressive is that the two parts were created approximately thirty years apart!

The gem of a book was begun in 1561 under rule of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I king of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia. Georg Bocksay, the secretary of the king, created the book in Vienna to demonstrate his inventiveness and technical superiority over other scribes.

Later, under the rule of Ferdinand's grandson, Emperor Rudolph II, Joris Hoefnagel was commissioned to illuminate Bocskay's book. "Hoefnagel added fruit, flowers, and insects to nearly every page, composing them so as to enhance the unity and balance of the page's design. It was one of the most unusual collaborations between scribe and painter in the history of manuscript illumination."1

The books mastery of composition between the beautifully scripted words and carefully placed painted imagery eloquently embodies the conjunction of two art forms uniting in a synergy that together form a whole so much more than the sum of its parts.

This treasure, along with a trip to Austria in August 2003, ultimately inspired me to pair the terms “illuminated” with “perfume” when forming the concepts for my botanical fragrance business. I still feel an inner swoon when I gaze upon the exquisiteness of these pages.

Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta
Joris Hoefnagel (Flemish / Hungarian, 1542 - 1600), and Georg Bocskay (Hungarian, died 1575)
Mira calligraphiae monumenta, fols. 1-129 written 1561 - 1562; illumination added about 1591 - 1596, Tempera colors, watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment and paper bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Artistry Video for the Art of Botanical Perfume

I've had an amazing team helping out with elements of the Art of Botanical Perfume online course. Greg being the principal, who acts as a art director for my brand but also my all around support person. Jeff: who helps out with graphics from time to time. I contracted him to create the pdf's, many of which ended up being pretty elaborate like the Essence slide show, the fragrance wheel and the timeline. He and Greg worked together on  the essence kit for the course. The videos for the course were shot by Brian Oh and were then edited by Brian, Greg and a little help by my daughter Eve.
As you can see many artists helping hands facilitated the artistry of this course.

Here's the video that accompanied the opening lesson of the Artistry Module from the course, filmed by Brian and then edited by Greg.

Sign up for the course here.

Visions from the Mind's Eye in Thousand Oaks

Greg will be doing a presentation and signing of The Art of Greg Spalenka, Visions from the Mind's Eye at the Thousands Oaks library tomorrow, Saturday.

Learn about his professional art career in publishing and film. Hear what it takes to create illustrations for the most prestigious publishers on the planet, and designing for the film industry.  Copies of the book will be for sale.

A Theory of Everything

Every week Greg has been putting four of his classic illustrations up for sale. This is the last week which contains one of my favorite pieces of his, shown above.

Check them out on his site and blog, if there's one you want grab it quick because sometimes they go fast.

Musing the Goddess

This weekend marks the Summer Solstice, honoring the height of power of the Sun and one of the longest days of the year in our Northern Hemisphere. Wise and ancient civilizations that revered nature and inhabited the Earth during the Golden Age tracked the sun and heavens. These ancestors created huge monolithic sites all over the world, some quite famous and others more recently understood like Adams Calendar, a 75,000 year-old stone calendar considered the cradle of humankind in South Africa.

Besides observing the stars and living in harmony, the main unifying thread of these civilizations is that they followed matriarchal principals. Todays modern culture is locked into a patriarchal system which is focused on gross matter. The matriarchal based societies mentioned above flourished. Both PhD Carmen Boulter and Dr. Leonard Shlain have examined these Goddess based civilizations revealing that they lived in balance and harmony with each other and nature.

Keep in mind that a society based on Goddess principals doesn't shun men, its the energy between the two dualistic principals that these scholars are referring to. Matriarch/patriarch, feminine/masculine are contrasting dynamics also known as yin and yang, light and dark, etc. According to the Indian cycles of time termed as Yugas, also known as Ages of Man, they fall and rise. In the current stage of this great cycle we are toward the end of the period known as Kali, the Iron Age. In 2025 we officially enter the new Golden Age, which is known in our culture as The Age of Aquarius. In this phase the Goddess rises and brings with her the enlightened balance of mind and heart where nature is honored and the human once again becomes empowered with full use of their brain.

In keeping with this theme, my husband, Greg Spalenka is having a solo show of new and old work at the Cornell Winery this Saturday evening. The name of the show is "Musing the Goddess" featuring
new mixed media creations and some classics that celebrate the Goddess in all her mysterious and divine glory. Some of these are large pieces (up to 6 feet tall) with gold and silver leaf.

Saturday, June 20, 2015 – 7-10 pm

7:30 Lecture – 8:30 Book Signing – 9:30 Drum Circle

The festivities will include a multi-media lecture on Spalenka’s art career in publishing and film, a book signing of the newly published, “The Art of Greg Spalenka, Visions from the Mind’s Eye” (Titan Books/London), a Drum Circle (bring your drums!), and other special treats.

All images ©Greg Spalenka

Marriage is a Work of Art

Greg and I are part of a collective art show at the KrabJab Studio in Seattle called Marriage is a Work of Art. We selected Figure 5: Bois as our common theme. Greg created the illumination for the perfume while I re-formulated the fragrance. The exhibit features the 3x5 foot printed image on canvas with wooden slats on the top and bottom. I sent up a sample of the solid perfume with one of my little domes for people to experience the scent while gazing at the beauty of Greg's image.

Here's the artist statement that goes along with the visual image:

"This image represents the union of two souls. Their physical nature like trees are rooted to the ground  while their embrace creates a smoldering essence of love that branches upward manifesting a sacred geometric imprint in the ethers."

and the sentence for the pure fume.

"A weathered and warm embrace from the undergrowth of a mystic forest."

The fragrance as a solid and Eau de Parfum are currently only for sale the perfumery. Both formats will appear online soon or perhaps as a surprise sample in your next order.

Agostino Arrivabene

A few months ago, while in the car waiting for Greg, I discovered the work of contemporary Italian artist Agostino Arrivabene via Instagram. I immediately feel in love with the dark, surrealistic imagery.

His work fits perfectly into the stable of Visionary artists that stemmed out of the The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism in the mid forties and became very popular in the seventies. The work also evokes a bit of Spanish artist Remedios Varo in style, content and use of materials.

A nice collection of Agostino's painting, sketchbooks and mixed media pieces is featured in the latest issue of Juxtapoz if you'd like to delve further.

All images were found on the internet, see more of the artists work at his website here.

Visions from the Minds Eye update

As you may recall, I had asked you all to chime in to find out which of Greg's images you liked best for the cover of his upcoming book. Well, it turns out he gets to use BOTH as well as a third cover for the boxed set.

Visions From the Minds Eye

For the past year my husband, Greg Spalenka, has been working on a retrospective book of his artwork that is being published by Titan. Together with his buddy Jeff they have designed the entire book which was just submitted to the publisher in England this week.

They have created two alternate covers and are looking to fans of Greg's art to help decide which one to use. If you feel inspired please head over to the Spalenka Eye and vote for your favorite. The book will launch at the San Diego Comic Con this summer.

Movie Monday: Monuments Men

Greg and I decided to escape from the studio recently and go see a film. The only two options that we considered were the romantic A Winters Tale or The Monuments Men, we settled on the latter. Our decision was based on previews we'd seen and the cast, who can resist George Clooney, especially when its something he's part of besides the cast and paired with other greats like John Goodman, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban and Matt Damon. There was also the fact that this was a film about art.

The Monuments Men is based on a true story about a group of 350 or so men and women– museum directors, curators, art scholars and educators, artists, architects, and archivists, from thirteen nations who volunteered for service to save the art culture of Europe during World War II. As Hitler was attempting to conquer the western world, his armies were methodically pillaging the finest art in Europe, from Michelangelo and Da Vinci to Van Eycks and Vermeers. Hitlers end goal as to put these masterpieces into his own museum in Linz, Austria called the Führermuseum.

Robert M. Edsel was inspired to write the book which this film is based on while in Florence, Italy. As he was crossing the Ponte Vecchio bridge he wondered why this bridge he was walking across was not destroyed by the Nazis. The curious thought led him to interview seventeen of the original Monuments Officers, including Rose Valland, a french spy played by Cate Blanchett in the film.

The movie focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon as they move throughout Europe attempting to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners. The script is not perfect and the film has not received the best reviews but go see it anyway! The production was well done and is simply a fascinating look at this part of WWII history.

Greg and I were so fascinated by the history that we delved deeper and watched the excellent documentary, The Rape of Europa. This film gets into the details of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War. Mind blowing and heart wrenching. It is viewable on Netflix.

Although I had heard that Hitler had been a frustrated artist I did not know that he was contemporary of Egon Schiele but was not accepted to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts because his paintings were judged unsatisfactory. Painting below is by Adolf Hitler.

After watching both films it occurred to me that the modern day Hitler is companies like Monsanto who are methodically pillaging our land in hopes of complete world domination of the food supply.

Scent Posies Post Card

I had some postcards printed up of the photograph I call Scent Posies.The image is of Eve holding a bundle of the little solid perfume mini compacts. I remember when I decided to take this photo because I liked how the ovals on her dress mimicked the shape of the brass cases.

The Image has been printed by MOO on a premium 32pt Mohawk paper which has been sandwiched together to produce a stiff, luxurious 600gsm postcard.

As a special, from now until Valentines day I will add one of these postcards in with orders of $100 or more from either the website or E-shop.

If there is an image you'd like to see as a postcard or greeting card please leave a comment or send me a note.

Counting to Ten

Ten years ago, in August of 2003, Greg and I embarked on a journey to a small village in the Austrian Alps called Reichenau for a Visionary Artist workshop. Our mission was to learn a secret and ancient painting technique called Mishe that had been resurrected by the contemporary visionary painter Ernst Fuchs.

The process is laborious involving extensive preparation of the board, a detailed egg tempera painting with meticulous layers of oil glazes. The origins of the mixed (mishe) media method is attributed to the Flemish brothers Jan and Hubert van Eyck.

As we learned and practiced the process we also traveled into Vienna for museum tours and saw slide presentations. During this period I was working as an illustrator, practicing and teaching aromatherapy and learning how to create natural perfumes. During 14th and 15th there were guilds of painters, perfumers and alchemists. At this workshop in Austria I became aware of the sacred triad that existed between art, perfumery and alchemy. The unifying component within this triad is the prima materia which is completely botanical in nature. The supplies which the individuals in each of these guilds used was plant matter. Traveling back in time we see that the origins of Alchemy as we know it in the west come from Egypt, one of the core homelands of perfume.

While mixing the different preparations for the mische technique I was reminded of the meticulous processes one employs to create botanical perfume; the grinding, the mixing, the mindful addition of prepared materials at specific temperatures. I had a pivotal moment of knowing when I realized the connection between the artists, perfumes and alchemists of ancient times and the current visionary/fantastical art movement. When technical skills are mastered and then coupled with imagination a great work of art can transcend the ordinary.

I feel deeply connected to the lineage of visionary artists, much more so than modern day perfumers. Although I work in a medium that was not employed nor included by this tribe, I see my botanical perfumes as an evolutionary modality within the genre.

Photos: Opening image is of some train cars within Reichenau. 2nd image was taken by a fellow student on the workshop named Jaqueline. We are sitting in front of the Ernst Fuchs Villa /Museum. 3rd image is the making of the imprimatura. 4th photo is me during a weekend visit to Vienna, I remember it being a very hot day. The French style, school girl hat I am wearing was found on the street.