lovetreepro

Charting the Life of a 5×5 Painting

Here are a few pictures from charting the trajectory of a 5×5 painting that I made in this last month for the Crowdfunding Campaign to raise money for my DO School Fellowship program in New York City.

First, I begin these pieces with the definition of a center line and a central circle made with a round object of some sort (don’t want a compass poking holes in my canvases). From there, I basically do the geometry from what looks appealing to my eye rather than using a mess of straight lines and rulers which tend to muck the pieces up and as well give them an “I made this with a ruler” kind of look. I have tended towards making the straight lines a little more lively with just allowing myself to do the best that I can.

Two triangles balanced on top of each other. A central octagon, and then the details of the outer layers of the cuboctahedron. Next, I reinforce and bolster the lines with permanent marker (a pile of which I have managed to accumulate in the last years) some of which remains through and through the later layers of paint that are applied to the piece. Ah yes – the application of color comes flooding into a part of the piece. In this case the sky takes on a rich blue, interspersed with left empty lines radiating from the star tetrahedron.

The background takes form with the contrast of cloud and sky, and the details of light rays and poofy shadows interspersed in the waves of water vapor. This piece defied my satisfaction for some time, sitting under a lamp and reminding me every time that I looked over that the conversation had just begun and that we had more to talk about. Eventually, I started to outline the cuboctahedron, creating sort of a magnetic tremor spreading from the geometry. At some point the piece was done, or done enough, and I put it down for some time to enjoy its company. This all reminds me of Buckminster Fuller – how he said something to the extent of how beauty and aesthetics were what compelled him to know if what he had did was good. He said that if he arrived at something lacking in beauty, he knew that he had done something wrong / incorrect in his calculations and such.

Check out all the paintings in the series on the Crowfund the Fellowship: Paintings page.

CROWDFUND THE FELLOWSHIP HERE!

Jo’s Notes: Henri Bortoft at the Schumacher College, Sept 2011

Drawing, Holistic Science, Jo's Notes, Writing

These are some of my first Holistic Science notes that I took at the Schumacher College in Devon, England. The late Henri Bortoft joined us on our first week of focused study and took us on a journey through and introduction to phenomenology and the science of Goethe. These notes are a collection of the images and words that he shared with us and point towards topics and facts and ideas, yet defy a logical form of explanation.

Henri Bortoft was a massive inspiration for many of the students of the Schumacher College. I brought his work into many of the papers that I wrote during my year of study. This was especially the case with my dissertation where I related the concept of authentic wholeness to upcycling as well as community engagement and activism. Below you will find a link to the work of another project of mine that focused on music: a song that I wrote in tribute to Henri Bortoft and his ideas.

I will be drawing up similar notes during my upcoming fellowship program in New York City with the DO School, and sharing them every two weeks with my crowdfunding campaign supporters. Access the campaign here to learn out more.

https://soundcloud.com/schumacher-sounding/we-belong-already

The Crowdfunding Campaign for Jo’s NYC Fellowship is Alive!

Collaboration, Drawing, Holistic Science, Jo's Notes, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Writing

The many hours of writing, painting, singing, bead-work, metal bending, web design, talking and editing, the crowdfunding campaign for my NYC Do School Fellowship has been released from my humming computer to the vast world of the wide web!

I am excited to post regularly during this month of crowdfunding with photos of the new paintings and artworks that I have made, samples of notes from past educational programs, a random video or song thrown into the mix, and some explanations for why I have chosen to focus on these certain offerings and styles.

Below and here you will find a link to the Indiegogo campaign, the links to the pages I have set up here onsite with a sampling of the artworks that I have made to exchange for your generous contributions, as well as some of the text from the campaign. Thank you kindly and please share it on your social networks and such!

Support and share the campaign at igg.me/at/jsto

PAINTINGS

JOB’S TEARS

HEART WAVE DORJES

Greetings! My name is Jo and I am from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Two years ago I initiated work in South Africa to “upcycle” an old dumping site into the home of the Trash to Treasure Festivals. It is my passion to show people how they can use “trash” beneficially for the upliftment of their communities. I am also a passionate artist and am gladdened by the opportunity to make more art.

I recently was accepted to the Sustainable Cup Challenge Fellowship in New York City with The DO School. The main goal of the fellowship is to prepare and guide young entrepreneurs through the challenges of starting and sustaining a successful project in response to a pressing issue in their communities. I want to build upon the work that I have accomplished in South Africa and establish an eco-brick program in Santa Fe that addresses local plastic pollution.

Your contributions to this campaign will provide me with the support I need to participate in the NYC fellowship, to take my upcycling projects to the next level, and to produce a new series of artworks as well.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAMPAIGN HERE!

Soon to Go Live with Fellowship Crowdfunder

Collaboration, Drawing, Holistic Science, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Tablet Works, Writing

Greetings Spoke of Source Friends!

Yesterday dear friend Rob Woodford put the final touches on the video for my upcoming crowdfunding campaign which will go live in the next 24 hours or so and run through the month of February. The video features some awesome acted parts with friend Nicole Hogan, a song and rap that I composed for the project, and a bunch of the artworks that are on offer as campaign perks.

What is the campaign for you ask? A few months ago I was accepted to a fellowship in New York City with The DO School. Even though my flight and tuition is covered and housing subsidized, I need to raise some much needed money for living expenses and transport in the Big Apple.

The fellowship is designed to give young entrepreneurs like myselfthe tools and knowledge to implement and sustain projects such as those of Only Green Design with my brother James Stodgel and the Trash to Treasure Festivals in South Africa with friends like Candice Mostert and Nicola Vernon.

Stay tuned for the campaign!

Martian Dream Drawing Inversion

Drawing, Writing

This is one of the drawings (inverted) that I made in 2013 for Jason Horsley’s investigative work entitled Crucial Fictions. The website can be found at http://crucialfictions.com/ The piece depicts a bit of what is covered in through the writings and project, such as the possibility of high level Governmental involvement in top-secret projects involving the Grey aliens, and the creation of autistic children to serve as a medium for communication and exchange with such entities.

I am releasing this now again in part because I am now reading a very fascinating book by Bob Frissell entitled “Nothing in This Book is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are”, wherein these subjects are covered in some detail. The main aspect worth focusing on is how Frissell arrives time and again in the book at the conclusion and realization that we are all on this Earthship together, and are challenged to find a way to make everything we do a win-win situation for everyone.

– Joseph Stodgel 1/29/14