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.

Magick Monday

Moonday greetings to you on this auspicious day related to the silvery round lantern in the sky that gravitates toward the forces of the Earth. I have a new project to announce that will be be showcased here on each Magick Monday as it evolves.

The household in and out of our little woodland house has fallen into the rhythmic, abundant flow of this Harvest season. Acorns are more and more abundant and thus the local squirrel population is quite busy. Each day, around 6am we are awoken by running little feet on our roof top as the acorn fairies jump of the limbs of the oaks onto the roof and dash about protecting their territory.

Though the quality of light has begun to shift the weather is still warm, sometimes hot during the day. This time of the year signifies The Moon, called Luna by the Romans and Selene or Artemis by the Greeks embodies the divine feminine aspect and is associated with clairvoyance, divination, maidenhood, cycles, fertility.



The project I am working on wonders into the magical sector of my interests with a multi-faceted alignments in art, books, potion making, spells, herbalism, shamanism and of course perfume. Ideas our still unsettled and whirling about with the creation of a Book of Shadows, a Grimoire. In Wicca this book is a place to store information about my magickal tradition. In a way I have already begun this, but it is spread out among many different binders and folders within the studio.

I found some really gorgeous handmade Grimoires online. I might create one, having been an avid book binder in college I feel crafty enough where I can put something together, especially with the assistance of online tutorials. I am curious why we didn't make one of these in the Shamanism class I was an apprentice in for three years? Oh well, now is the time, perhaps because Greg will be involved and he wasn't part of my life back then.

Opening image and book photograph ©RoxanaVilla

Delve Deeper

"Roxana Villa is an imaginative painter and illuminated perfumer who created a signature perfume for “Survey Select.” Read on and discover Roxana’s approach to her illuminated perfumes, a pleasant change of pace to the otherwise visual overload typically covered at the Survey Select blog." ~ Mark Murphy

Enjoy the interview and feature here: Roxana Villa: Illuminated Perfumer

The Illustrated Perfumer

The large drafting table in the studio is most often used for formulating perfume but its history is as a place of painting and drawing. The table was purchased at Flax in New York City in the eighties when I was working as a freelance illustrator for magazines and newspapers. For over twenty years it was my primary dwelling. Even when Eve was a little infant, I would place her on my table on a blanket and paint while she slept.

As illustration work dried up and I slowly made the shift from telling visual stories to scented tales, the table became utilized more and more for the work of botanical perfume. At some point in 2008 I actually moved all my paints into Greg's studio to "clear the space" for my perfume work.


I used the word Illuminated for Roxana Illuminated Perfume for a variety of reasons. Primarily because I adore illuminated manuscripts and see the connections between the two ancient crafts. I also like that the word illuminate means to "light up" or "make lucid" which is what I am doing by working with these light filled, vital plants as my ingredients. As we enter this new phase of floral consciousness in our evolution it makes sense to be inhaling essences derived from the plants themselves.

Each botanical perfume has an illumination to go along with the fragrance, most have been created by my husband Greg Spalenka or we have done in collaboration. A few months ago I decided I wanted to create an image of a bee that had a feel of those glorious images in the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta.


I thought I would do it in Photoshop, but, after discussing what i wanted to create with Ben, Greg and Eve it was decided I would paint it. Thus, I moved all the perfume materials off the drafting table, brought in my box of paints and the brushes from the shelves onto the table and am painting!

Feels really nice.

Illuminated Heaven & Hell

“The shell must break before the bird can fly.”
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

The intersection of perfume and visual art transpired for me while studying aromatherapy back in the early nineties. In 2001 the concept of creating natural perfume as a constructed artwork, like my paintings really struck. Then while at a Visionary Art workshop in Austria I saw, within even more clarity, how all the pieces fit together.


Over at my visual art journal I just posted a piece about an image I created titled H2 Illuminated, Heaven and Hell. This was brought on by uploading the limited edition Giclee up on etsy.

Here are some links for your journey...

Roxana Villa - Visual Art Blog
Old Masters, New Visions Workshop in Austria

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Painting at top "Heaven", below "Hell" and here to the right is a little sketch that started the whole thing going.
All are © Roxana Villa.

An Illuminated Day

My
ojourn
this past Thursday at the Getty was inspirational and rejuvenating. The Getty Center truly is one of great cultural attractions we have here in Los Angeles. Nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains, among groves of Coastal Live Oaks, expansive views, a fantastic collection of art, beautiful gardens AND free lectures.


One could arrive at opening time and leave at closing and still not experience everything offered within a single day. With my handy little Panasonic camera, a small notebook and container of water I made my way to the intended purpose of the visit. Sylvana Barrett was to demonstrate both Gilding and Painting in the Museum Studios. Currently I am enrolled in a two part class at the museum with Sylvana titled Miniature Painting. She is a fantastic teacher, presenting the information in a clear cut manner with lots of visual elements, as well as detailed handouts. The history and use of medieval painting techniques and pigments is fascinating. Although I am in the two day class, this demo went into some specifics not covered in the workshop. I find it's good to hear information a few times anyway, really sinks in that way. During the two hour long demonstrations, to a filled room, I jotted notes vigorously. There is something in the this process that has really struck a chord deep within. In art school I studied book arts and letterpress printing extensively, it was one of my passions. Later purchasing my own Vandercook flatbed letterpress in New York. I've also done quite a bit of gilding on my illustration work. The threads of book arts, illustration, botanicals and a love of historical techniques is evident in my life. Currently all these pieces are weaving themselves into an marvelous tapestry as they are put into place with Roxana Illuminated Perfume.
www.IlluminatedPerfume.com

Unbeknowest to me in June 2007 there was a "Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium" in which Sylvana taught a two class on Renaissance Illumination in the Style of Jean Bourdechon. Darn, I missed that one, and it was here locally! Perhaps there will be another.
I have also discovered that there is a Botanical Aritsts Guild with a chapter here in southern California. As an artist working in both the arena of visual art and botanical perfume this sounds worth exploring further.

The Getty Center
Sylvana Barrett
Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium
Botanical Artists Guild
A Blog for the Botanical Artists Guild

Yo ho, yo ho, it's an artists life for me!

"There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it."

~ Henry Moore 

Today I am off to the Getty for a two part class titled "Miniature Painting" taught by Sylvana Barrett. Ever since first seeing the Illuminated Choir Book show and hearing her speak I've been yearning to study with Sylvana. I am captivated by Illuminated manuscripts, evident in the painting H2 Illuminated: Heaven and Hell, pictured above. After seeing the show at the Getty back in 2002 I realized that the letter H has a space for a painting above and below. Perfect for the Heaven and Hell illustrations I was working on.

The Hirshhorn Museum had a contest in which the entries had to be created using only one sheet of paper. These pieces are quite magnificent.



The JP Getty Museum of Art
Sylvana Barrett
Illuminated Choir Books Exhibit
Hirshhorn Museum

Roxana Illuminated Perfume