Strike a Pose

Greg has been featuring a few of his models and associated imagery via social media and his blog. Here are a few pieces where he used me as the model.

1. CU opera poster detail) for “Susannah,” an adaptation of the biblical story of Susannah and the Elders set in the 1950s in rural Tennessee.

2. As a Faerie. Sketch for the “Lotus Faeries” poster

3. “Lotus Faeries” poster

4. Blue Mage special edition, signed print inside The Art of Greg Spalenka book

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.

Olandar welcomes Roxana Villa

On the afternoon of Saturday, April 15th I will be presenting "The Flower of Life: A Mystical Approach to the Art of Botanical Perfumery" at Olander in Malibu. The Olandar Foundation for Emerging Renaissance (OFFER) is an organization created by actor/artist Leigh J. McCloskey. He began this endeavor with the seed of an "idea meant to awaken our deepest knowing and to stimulate the emerging waters of imaginative renaissance & rebirth."1

I had the opportunity to visit Olander many years ago when Eve was a child and Leigh had just started his gatherings. Fast forward to a few months ago when Greg mentioned being on their newsletter mailing and that the events that Olandar were putting on are reminiscent of what Alex and Alison Grey have been doing. Power couples in the visionary and healing tribe are on the rise, I see this as part of the integration of masculine and feminine, duality, that is currently taking place on the planet. Cathy and Florian are another excellent example of sol and luna, the alchemical marriage.

I'm absolutely delighted that now I have the honor of presenting "The Flower of Life: A Mystical Approach to the Art of Botanical Perfumery" a dissertation on the things I usually ramble on about relating to olfactory adventures and exploring the mythology, history and aromatic properties
of flowers, etc.

I'll be bringing along tinctures, hydrosols, lotions and potions to alter our consciousness with Greg who I have asked to put together a visual accompaniment to my words and scented treats.

Floral Consciousness  

$35 prepay on Paypal/$40 at door

Saturday, April 15, 4:30 pm 

Malibu

Arrive by 4:00 for a tour of Leighs magical 3D studio

Contact Carla to reserve your spot and get directions

carlamccloskey <at> aol.com

1 Leigh J. McCloskey
Photos ©Roxana Villa

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.

Order Your Art of Greg Spalenka Book

The Greg Spalenka book is now at the printer! Above is a pictorial sampling to give each of you a feel for the pages in the book. Greg is now taking a limited number of pre-order for the three editions of the book here.

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.

Make it til you make it

The biggest challenge I find as an artist is balancing the time of "making" with the time of "sharing". This is a common dilemma which all artists experience. Most of us would prefer spending all our time "making", being hermits in our studios, hanging with the muse.

I found this video today while pondering this little challenge as I juggle a million projects and attempt balancing all of it gracefully. Enjoy.

Jeffrey Jones (1947-2011)

Jeffrey Jones, a great talent and titan of the Fantasy Sci-Fi arts community has departed from our Earthy realm. He leaves an amazing legacy of artwork behind him for all of us to continue to appreciate him by during our brief time here. My particular favorites the images of women he so beautifully captured. His feel and draftmanship of the female form is quite exquisite.

I never had the opportunity to meet Jeffrey in person, although he was part of the same community of artists as Greg at Comic Con and the Allen Spiegel Fines Arts gang. Jeffrey, along with others like Frank Frazetta, are part of the legacy of master artists who found their niche in the Fantasy and SciFi arenas. Although I am no expert in this field, in my opinion, they were instrumental in the creation of that niche, particularly Frank, which spawned a huge industry. Both Jeffry and Frank have inspired a tremendous amount of artists and will both be remembered with great respect and fondness.

I hope they have both found peace and are still creating magnificent works in the astral.

Drawing ©Jeffrey Jones

Gathering Blue

Sometimes when I sit to write a post for the blog I find myself in a chaos of inspired imagery leading me from one thing to another in a frenzied state. I usually can tell from the energy of it that there will be an interesting intersection transpiring at some point. All I need to do is faithfully follow it, even if the end does not reveal itself immediately.

Such was the case yesterday morning, just after returning from taking Eve over to the Theatricum Botanicum for her first performance of Much Ado About Nothing. I checked in at Etsy to see what was happening with sales at my shop and was mesmerized by a beautiful photo. The image, by artisan Lisa Jordan, was of a cluster of felted acorns on wood with an autumn leaf (pictured above). I hearted the photo and began to build an Etsy treasury inspired by the image titled A Rich Patina for Autumn.


As is the case when I make treasuries I contact the featured individuals to alert them that they are in the treasury. I then went about the very busy day with the intention to photograph Q solid perfume in a way that captured some of the feel of Lisa Jordan's felted acorn image. I went outside in the late afternoon looking for a piece of wood to bring into the house for the shoot. Instead I found a log that I was using in the garden as a design element amongst the native plants. Since the bottom of the log was covered with dirt, spiders and leaves I choose to do the photo shoot outside. Here are the results...



Today, while editing the above photos, I received back a thank you message from Lisa. I clicked on her shop buttom within the convo and decided to send her the new photo of Q solid natural perfume that she inspired. We got into a little message exchange which led me to her lil fish blog and opened the duirway to Ms. Jordan's vibrant artistic life. Upon seeing her post on a natural dye bath with mushroom and lobster I immediately knew I had met a kindred spirit, in fact her dye baths look like my tinctures and infusion! Reading about her process made me think of one of my favorite novels Gathering Blue, which spiraled down another worm hole.

This bridge led me to discover that Lois Lowry, the author of Gathering Blue, has a blog and that she was inspired by my compatriot Jorge Luis Borges when she wrote The Giver.

So much beauty and interweaving creative paths...like the richly colored robe that Kira finds herself restoring in Gathering Blue.

Images: Verdigris copper and wool felted acorns by Lisa Jordan, Etsy treasury titled "A Rich Patina for Autumn" and Q Natural Solid Perfume photos by Roxana Villa.

An Artist as Brand

Master Gregorio of Artist As Brand will be giving a short presentation of his work as an award winning illustrator and film production artist today as Cal State Northridge. Come one come all.
More information can be found at the Artist As Brand blog.

Artist Feature and Giveaway: Greg Spalenka

Welcome to the 1st Etsy Artist Feature and Giveaway of the year 2010! The talented and heart felt visual artist Greg Spalenka graces us with his glorious, inspiring imagery. Greg is the visual artist behind the Etsy shop Spalenka.

Maestro Gregorio, as we have refer to him at this journal, graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1982. Shortly there after he moved to New York City to launch his impressive career as one of the leading conceptual illustrators of the era. Throughout his extensive career illustrating for such publications as Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and the NFL. he has garnered numerous awards. Displayed at his studio in Los Angeles are gold and silver medals from the New York and LA Society of Illustrators as well as the Spectrum Annual of Fantastic Art. The scope of his artistic life also includes conceptual art for films such as the academy award winning, “The Golden Compass” and the upcoming third Narnia film, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

Last year Greg opened two shops at Etsy, one for his elder illustration work which included his journalistic work with Mike Tyson and the Spalenka shop featuring "Fantasy and Visual Art from the Mind's Eye." The image that originally drew me to his work, even after being aware of his name in illustration circles, is Blessings. The original painting Blessings was created for a festival created by San Francisco organization called Open Hand.


Greg's work embodies elements of the old masters with his a devotion to the figure. The expertise as a draftsman and painter is highlighted by his use of collage, tape, texture and wild abandonment. See more of his technique at this and this Bouquet link on his website.


Lately Greg has been manifesting more than just beautiful imagery for print and film. He has decided to be of service to the larger community of artists with empowering workshops. Greg refers to ArtistAsBrand™ as an "Indie Art Revolution" with a lofty goal of creating empowered, self sufficient artist entrepreneurs.

I asked Greg a few questions so that you'll could get to know him a bit more. He was in the car driving to Laguna Beach to teach ArtistAsBrand™ as I asked him these questions via the phone.

1.) What is the one thing you find most inspiring to feed your creative spirit?

My goal is to channel the essence of the divine through my work and live in the art spirit.

2.) What is your favorite scent from the natural world?

Carnation absolute, essential oil of Ylang Ylang and Spice.

3.) If you were King of a village what would you wish for your kingdom?

The first thing that comes to mind is peace and prosperity.....and divine creativity,

4.) How did you find yourself making and teaching art?

For as long as I remember I have always had an interior cathedral in my head, a sacred space of infinite imagination. I am grateful to have had success as an illustrator and now empower others with what I have learned in the span of my career.

5) Tell us a secret?

Hmmm, a secret...hmmm...I'd like to receive an academy award!

Thank you Greg, it is an enormous delight to share your beautiful imagery with the readers of this journal. We will all be visualizing you receiving an academy award, can't wait! Get to know Greg a bit more and tap into his interior cathedral by visiting his art website and his new blog.

Now, for the giveaway....Greg has decided to give two things away, which means there will be two winners:
1. A Goddess Postcard set from his Etsy shop, winner chooses set #1 or #2.
2. A FREE pass to one of his ArtistAsBrand™ workshop during 2010 (a value $500 !!!)

This giveaway ends at 10pm PST on Sunday, January 31st.

To qualify to win one of these prizes, please....

Begin by visiting the Spalenka shop on Etsy and sharing in your comment what item you most crave from his shop. You must include your first name -or- etsy username AND email address with each entry or it will not be included.

For additional entries you can do any or all of the following, please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the ArtistAsBrand web log
• 1 entry per day of the contest: Twitter this message: RT @RoxanaVilla is hosting a giveaway with Greg Spalenka! Visit http://journal.illuminatedperfume.com for a chance to win
• 2 entries (total) - Blog about this giveaway, leaving the URL to the post in comments (1 blog per entrant, please)
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Greg at ArtistAsBrand on Twitter
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Greg at ArtistAsBrand on Facebook
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of this journal: IlluminatedPerfume

More fine print, learned along the way
1. If we cannot contact you we will give your prize away to someone else.
2. The featured seller will do their very best to mail the winners package in a timely manner, please contact them directly if you have any questions.
3. Depending how many entries I receive I determine how the winner shall be chosen. Normally each entry is assigned a card from several decks here at the house, I then shuffle all the cards and have someone handy (like my daughter) choose a card for the winner and a runner up.
4. If you have won the Artist Feature and Giveaway in the past you may enter again.
5. Please don't make up any new guidelines, what is outlined above is what we follow.

Good Luck everyone!!

Get Ready Set Go Winner!

Thank you dear Rachel for being our featured Artist this month and contributing such fabulous prizes for the draw.  The lucky winner was chosen by my daughter using the card deck methodology. The card that was chosen was the Jack of Spades from the Red deck, which was assigned to The Lost Earring. Congrats to The Lost Earring whose favorite item is the Vintage Aqua Blue Messenger.

Make sure to keep Get Ready Set Go in mind for all your future travel needs and any upcoming gift giving.

Much gratitude to each of you who stopped on by. I wish each of you a very happy holiday. Please come back in the new year for the first Giveaway of 2010!!!!

Artist Feature and Giveaway: Get Ready Set Go

On this 17th day of December we are off to visit the inspired world of fellow artist Rachel born in Detroit. Rachel is the artisan behind the super successful Etsy shop Get Ready Set Go, your place to find upcycled luggage enhanced with her designs.

Rachel is a pretty brunette that lives and works on the East coast of Florida with a penchant for all things creative, including knitting and photography. You will find her on Etsy with two other shops. One which features Vintage clutches, Get Ready Set Clutch and the other Around N Brightly Wound with her handknit goodies and vintage lucite jewelry.

I first became aware of Get Ready Set Go through building treasuries on Etsy. A fun creative outlet that is tremendous for building community on the worlds largest venue for handmade. Rachels fun and well shot photos of her pieces make them perfect for us treasury builders.

I'm really attracted to how Rachel melds her creativity with ecology to create these little beauties that are ever so functional and utilitarian. There's a color and style for everyone AND she has been known to do custom work as well.

Rachel was very kind to take a moment out of her very busy schedule to answer a few questions for all of us so that we could get to know her a bit more.

1.) What is the one thing you find most inspiring to feed your creative spirit?

picking just one thing that inspires me is impossible but i will have to go with music. it's my drive, it makes me tick, it helps me to feel, it carries me through.

2.) What is your favorite scent from the natural world?

black currant, sandalwood, blackberry...the woods- pine trees in the winter to be exact. i grew up in michigan and i miss the trees there like no other! fresh fallen snow and a deep inhalation of pine makes my mouth water......

3.) If you were Queen of a village what would you wish for your kingdom?

for my kingdom i would wish for all children to have the love of a parent- blood or not- unconditional! that every child would grow up with someone who believes in their dreams and supports them in ALL that they aspire to do and be. that they would have someone to talk to, be open with and not feel judged by- even when their thoughts may not seem right. everyone needs to have that intensely passionate love standing behind them when they fall. because we all fall.

4.) How did you find yourself using vintage luggage as a canvas?

good question. hmmmm, i think it was when i found a piece of luggage that i couldn't get clean enough. it just looked so blah after i used all of my tricks of the trade to make it look better. i was bound and determined to kick it up a notch! i did, and from that point on the gates flew open:)

5) Tell us a secret?

this is hard because i am a really open person. i've been told that i don't just wear my heart on my sleeve but rather i wear my guts all over the place. sorry for that image but i think it's a pretty perfect visual for it. so a secret...... here's what i got: i dream all too often of being featured seller on etsy and when i do my biggest fear is naming my favorite musical artists- there are just too many good musicians. i seriously start to freak ot when i think about it for too long.

Thank you dear Rachel, it's a treat to have you here and share a bit about yourself with me and the readers of this journal.  Get to know Rachel a bit more and tap into her creative mind by visitng her  blog.

NOW...the Giveaway!
For this giveaway, Rachel is offering the winner a a $15 gift certificate to an item from her Get Ready Set Go shop AND two surprise gifts along with the purchase. Wow, you are all so fortunate!

To qualify to win this prize, please....

Begin by visiting the Get Ready Set Go shop on Etsy and sharing in your comment what item you most crave from her shop. You must include your first name -or- etsy username AND email address with each entry or it will not be included.

For additional entries you can do any or all of the following, please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the GetReadySetGo blog
• 1 entry per day of the contest: Twitter this message: RT @RoxanaVilla is hosting a giveaway with GetReadySetGo! Visit http://journal.illuminatedperfume.com for a chance to win
• 2 entries (total) - Blog about this giveaway, leaving the URL to the post in comments (1 blog per entrant, please)
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the creator GetReadySetGo on Twitter
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of this journal: IlluminatedPerfume   

More fine print, learned along the way
1. If we cannot contact you we will give your prize away to someone else.
2. The featured seller will do their very best to mail the winners package in a timely manner, please contact them directly if you have any questions.
3. Each entry is assigned a card from several decks here at the house, I then shuffle all the cards and have someone handy (like my daughter or husband) choose a card for the winner and a runner up.
4. If you have won the Artist Feature and Giveaway in the past you may enter again.
5. Please don't make up any new guidelines, what is outlined above is what we follow.

The giveaway ends on Tuesday, December 22nd at 10 pm PST with the winner announced shortly there after. Please help us get the word out. Anyone who posts comments after 10pm on December 22nd will not be entered in the draw.

June Shin Jewelry Winner!

Our featured artist this month, June Shin, shines quite brightly. Like moths to a flame, she attracted 162 comments, 160 of which went into the draw. Whew! Instead of my normal route of assigning a card from multiple decks to each entry, this time I threw them all into the randomiser.

The lucky number belonged to Kara who loves the Moroccan Diamond earrings pictured above in Silver. I love those to Kara!

Enormous thank you to June Shin for allowing me to host her giveaway here and all the fabulous folk who dropped in for a look and a comment or two. Make sure to keep June's shop in mind while doing your holiday shopping.

Stay tuned for Decembers featured artist, cheerio!

Artist Feature and Giveaway: Two Left Hands

As we move into the holiday season it seemed fitting to feature an artist who lovingly creates sweet little beings joyously celebrating life. I came across our featured Etsy artist Liz of Two Left Hands auspiciously through, of all things, The Big Bad Wolf (pictured below).


I clearly recall seeing him on the front page of Etsy and immediately marking him as a favorite. I adored the sweet essence of this fellow, he seemed so happy and carefree. To me, he was very reminiscent of the handwork I would see at my daughter's Waldorf School.

Liz lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband and two dogs Muffie and Poker. Let's get to know Liz a bit shall we? She is quite busy this time of year, so her answers are quite concise and to the point. I am super grateful she consented to being here with us. Please give her your complete and devoted attention.


1.) What is the one thing you find most inspiring to feed your creative spirit?

People

2.) What is your favorite scent from the natural world?

Freshly, cut grass

3.) If you were Queen of a village what would you wish for your kingdom?

Health, peace and happiness

4.) How did you find yourself doing your particular craft and what made you name your shop Two Left Hands?

I have been making dolls since my girls were babies, and always made them one for Christmas. My Mossies are what I love to make the most, and my head is always swarming with new ideas. They are derived from Salley Mavor's "Wee felt Folk" book.

My shop name is pretty simple, I am clumsy by nature and I trip on things that aren't even in my way. I am a true lefthander, my right hand is pretty useless! The name TwoLeftHands, seemed pretty appropriate!

5) I see that Etsy has become a family affair for you. Can you share the benefits of having so many in your family all on Etsy together?

My daughter, Natalie (humbleBea.etsy.com) joined Etsy first and it has been so much fun having Etsy in common with her. We call each other if we list something new, if one of us is lucky enough to be on the front page, and if the treasuries are coming! We are both treasury addicts! I love seeing my grandson Noah (darksiderules.etsy.com) selling his little pocket books and ACEO"s, and my Mom (ohruthie.etsy.com) is having a ball making hats and blankets. She is 80 years old and Natalie and I tend her shop. She keeps a little book and writes down her sales and where we have shipped them to! My son-in-law Gary (humbleboy.etsy.com) has been very supportive and enthusiastic about Etsy since we joined and just opened a fabric shop. We do have to control what we talk about when we are around non-etsians, because they just don't understand us!

What an amazing group of talent in one family! Thank you so much Liz for taking some time out of your work so that we could get to know you and your family a bit.

NOW...the Giveaway!

When I asked Liz id she would be willing to be featured and do a giveaway she answered, "I don't usually do give aways, but I would be willing to part with this little guy." Wow, lucky the individual who wins this Little Forest Mossie!" Here is the description from the item listing:

This little Mossie is wearing a hand-embroidered tunic made of olive wool felt. The embroidery is done in tan and peach thread with little pearl buttons. His pants are orange wool felt with green and tan embroidery.
His face is hand painted and his hair is orange wool roving topped with an acorn cap. He is attached to a disk that I painted green and topped in moss. He is about 4 1/2" tall.
My "Mossies" are derived from a Salley Mavor pattern.

Here's how to enter:

Please note this Giveaway is for those in the US and Canada only.

1. Begin by leaving a comment on this post mentioning your favorite item at Liz's shop on Etsy, Two Left Hands. You will receive one entry by leaving a comment, you must include your first name -and- etsy username or email address with each entry or it will not be included.

For additional entries you can do the following and post in the comments to let me know:

(2 extra) Twitter this Giveaway and supply your twitter name. You may do this every day, each tweet counts as another entry if you submit them individually.
(3 extra) Purchase an item of $25 or more from Two Left Hands during this Giveaway. Please let me know what you purchased and when.
(1 extra) Follow my blog (if you already follow, just let me know)

If you do any of these you must let me know for your additional entries to be included. You got the let me know part right?



More fine print, learned along the way
1. If we cannot contact you we will give your prize away to someone else.
2. The featured seller will do their very best to mail the winners package in a timely manner, please contact them directly if you have any questions.
3. Each entry is assigned a card from several decks here at the house, I then shuffle all the cards and have someone handy (like my daughter or husband) choose a card for the winner and a runner up.
4. If you have won the Artist Feature and Giveaway in the past you may enter again.
5. Please don't make up any new guidelines, what is outlined above is what we follow.

The giveaway ends Sunday, October 18th at 1opm PST with the winner announced on Tuesday, October 20th. Please help us get the word out. Anyone who posts comments after 10pm on October 18th will not be entered in the draw.

Good Luck, I look forward to see who wins this Little Forest Mossie, who in my opinion probably likes his botanical perfume rich with Oakmoss.