Dec 31, 2011
Randy is working on some web updates with me–we’re tweaking the pages a little in preparation for my upcoming adventure. Have you ever checked out the thumbnails view on the art page? This seems like a looking-back-end-of-the-year kinda image, I think.
Have some wonderful last hours of 2011, and Happy 2012!
–julie
Dec 21, 2011
Tanya from Tanya Villano Photography recently came to Chakra Khan to photograph my artwork.
Here’s a selection of them–hopefully they will brighten your day.
Look for more to appear in the art gallery soon!
–j
Dec 20, 2011
The photo above is a “double-headed serpent Aztec figurine from Mexico (A.D. 1400-1600) made of about 2,000 small pieces of turquoise on a curved wooden frame.” It was featured in the New York Times, as part of a series called “The History of the World in 100 Objects.”
It’s a stunningly beautiful object (though maybe a little scary for any of you who have a snake phobia.) I like it for its beauty, but it’s also sticking with me because of the story it tells. I’ve not looked into the suspected meaning of it for the Aztecs, all I know is the blurb I quoted above. To me it depicts well this time of year, when we reflect on the year coming to a close, and begin to look ahead to what’s coming.
Did you ever read The Little Prince? Remember when he drew the hat that was really a boa constrictor eating an elephant?
It is a great image, too! I shouldn’t distract you too much with it, but I thought of it because at times lately, if I get overwhelmed, I feel a bit like I’m in the long belly of the double-headed serpent, making a hat-shaped lump! However if I take a deep breath and remind myself to take one step at a time, I feel more like I am the double-headed serpent. I prepare to close things up here for awhile before I fly across our little earth to see what Shanghai has to offer. Looking back at all that’s come before, I try to troubleshoot all the little details I should tend to before leaving. Facing forward with my eyes open and my teeth shined up, I get ready to take a bite outta what’s coming.
As you know if you’ve been reading my blog, this month was the third anniversary of the passing of my nephew Matthew, who is part of my current art show at Chakra Khan. My mom recently shared with me something she picked up at my brother’s church in South Minneapolis, which is where Matthew’s funeral was, and this year, his new little brother’s baptism. The essay my mom picked up was written by their wonderful pastor, about grief and loss. In it she talks about the idea that maybe “closure” and leaving things in the past isn’t what grieving is really about. She suggests that perhaps we can instead acknowledge that we carry all that we lose with us into the future–our loved ones, our failures, our youth–they don’t entirely go away, but they exist within us and around us, even as we continue forward seemingly “without” them.
When I think about that, I start to see an image of millions of overlapping lifetime snakes, the timelines of all the people throughout history, so many that they start to look like waves that roll together and make up an entire ocean. This imagery of course could go on and on–some waves touch each other and some never will, some batches of water will evaporate and hang in the air awhile and later return, the ocean is one, but it is many. . . and let’s not forget snakes shedding their skins. . . what useful images, the oceans, the snakes. . .
Back to that belly–are you feeling inside of the snake? Or are you feeling like you are the snake? Take a deep breath. In. Out. One step at a time. The year is closing, it’s dark, breathe it in. The light will grow and the new year will open up. Breathe out of your one mouth, into all that came before that created you. Breathe out of your other mouth into all that is in store for you, all that you will create, all those you will love, all with which you will fill your heart.
And–if you’d like to dive into these ideas a little more, with art and creativity, you may want to check out the two retreats Sarina and I are offering in January. In the first one you will craft a beautiful calendar-plan of self care for the year. In the second one you will spend time looking out of both eyes of the snake–what you want to move forward from in 2011, what you want to carry with you into 2012, and what do you envision for the year ahead. Read more in the previous post.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this snake as much as I do.
with love,
julie
Looking for a gift for yourself?
Julie Kesti and Sarina LaMarche are excited to announce our
Create Your Year Retreats:
* Two fabulous retreats to support you in making 2012 an amazing year of growth, care and creativity.
* Both retreats include a shiatsu massage, wine and treats, and time for reflection, journaling and art-making.
A Year of Self-Care
Saturday, January 7th from 4-8 pm
Create a beautiful portable or hangable calendar to help you commit to a year of self-care in 2012. During this fun and creative retreat you will make develop a theme and an image to aspire to, and a wellness activity to participate in each month. You’ll be able to hang the calendar, stand it by your bed or carry it with you throughout the year. This keepsake will also have room to add pages for journaling or notes during the year.
Expect lots of hands-on time with various art materials, and lots of inspiration! Commit to a year of groundedness cultivated through self-care.
A Guide for Your Year: Reflecting back and looking forward
Saturday, January 14th from 4-8 pm
Explore through writing, collage, drawing, doodling or whatever you please the things you’d like to let go of from 2011, what gifts you want to bring with you into 2012, and what you want to create in the New Year. This retreat will involve lots of writing, with creative prompts to guide you in your reflection & get your pen moving, followed up by building images from your writing. These images (and writing, too, should you choose) will also be bound into a book you can continue to work with throughout the new year. Get inspired and start your year with a little more clarity!
Writing prompts, creative inspiration, and all supplies provided.
Fees:
$125 for one retreat
$200 for both
Payment and registration required in advance. Please register by January 2nd, and we’ll email you about payment.
Minimum of 5 people per retreat. Bring a friend!
Oct 24, 2011
below is a sneak preview of an email of GREAT IDEAS i’ll be sending out later this week!
don’t get my emails? sign up here: http://eepurl.com/cSltM
don’t worry, i won’t bug you often. ;)
–julie
ART WITH A BONUS!
BUY ANY WORK OF ART FOR SALE IN MY SHOW
(currently up at Chakra Khan)
AND GET A VOUCHER FOR $15 OFF ANY
BODYWORK SESSION WITH ME!
(Vouchers valid for 20 days or until January 15th, which ever comes first.)
WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR PACKAGE!
A SPECIAL DEAL THRU 12/15
> Schedule a “What Friends Are For” Session online via juliekesti.com
> You and a friend come to Chakra Khan (same day, two sessions in a row–bring a book or a journal to read or write while u wait)
> You each get an hour Shiatsu!
> You each get a super-fun super-special gift to take home, including a coupon for your next bodywork session (yippee!)
PRICE: $140 + tax (i.e. $70 each)
the EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM!
IF YOU KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED
AS YOU CRUISE THE IVY BUILDING
BEFORE OR AFTER YOUR NEXT SESSION,
YOU’LL FIND THERE IS A VERY SPECIAL DEAL
WAITING FOR YOU ON TUESDAY MORNINGS!!
I can’t help you any more than that,
you’ll really have to look.
;)
Oct 16, 2011
Thanks to all who joined Karen and I at Chakra Khan on Friday night–it was a lovely opening. It was wonderful to share the work with friends, with Matthew’s family, and with strangers who stopped by, who were in the building for the Ivy Arts Fest. Many kind words were exchanged, and even people who never knew of or met Matthew were touched by the vibrancy and joy contained in his drawings. Oh, how I miss that sweet boy.
If you weren’t able to make it out, I am thinking I’ll have another reception later in the year–perhaps in December. Stay tuned–I will be glad to share the work with you then.
See you soon.
love,
j
Sep 27, 2011
I spent the afternoon today hanging art at Chakra Khan—my art this time!
I’m excited to share this work with you. It has two parts. One is a series of colorful acrylic gouache and oil pastel drawings. The other is a series of drawings I made from my nephew Matthew’s drawings and writing. I am really curious how they will read to other people, as they are so close and personal to me. Read the statement for the pieces below, and then come in and see the work. We’ll have a reception as part of the Ivy Arts Fest on 10/14 from 7-9pm, but I plan to have another event or two while the work is up as well.
love,
julie
THE MATTHEW PIECES
Matthew K Touching a Maple Tree
The bulk of this show is a series of drawings co-created with my nephew Matthew. Matthew died in December of 2008, just a few days before my birthday. He hadn’t been seriously ill and his death was completely unexpected.
Matthew filled notebook after notebook with drawings, lists and stories in his 9 years here. I took a selection of these pages, reproduced them, and used them to start a series of new drawings.
I have worked on these drawings for three years. After making the reproductions, it took awhile to begin. Once I did, there were lots of breaks. The work was joyful at times, but of course also difficult. It is nice to be “with” Matthew in this way. But it is so hard not to be “with” him in the usual way.
These drawings are guesses–what might Matthew have been doing with this image? What do these lines mean? What compelled him to list out every title of the Box Car Children? I follow his lines and fill in his spaces, making my own marks and in the meantime hopefully conveying some of his brightness, his cleverness, his strange and beautiful heart that is still connected to mine. It is not a replica of what he would have made. It is something I am making, me in this time-space where he no longer is, me as part of the many who have been left behind without him, trying to manage as the years move forward.
These are an attempt to stay with him. To go back with him and embrace who he is and to learn what he is like and to hold him near.
