PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Examples of good design that make extraordinary art

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IN ANY MEDIUM AND ON ANY SURFACE, GOOD DESIGN CAN BECOME EXTRAORDINARY ART. This blog post illustrates this by providing examples of good design that have become extraordinary art. The tools are unique and the surfaces are unusual.

CUSTOM CAR ART
Let’s start with the image above done by LA artist Man One @ManOneLA. He is one of a generation of artists who started doing graffiti. He has come a very long way. His work is part of a project called, the Getty Canon. A kcet.org article, Graffiti Scrolls Enter The Getty Canon begins with, ‘The graffiti scrolls of Los Angeles have been delivered. Handsomely bound into “L.A. Liber Amicorum: Book of Friends,” the 143 works on paper by Los Angeles-based graffiti artists were presented this month.’

good design

PREPARING AN INSTALLATION
Another of my favorite artists, L’Amour Supreme, @LamourSupreme, cannot be pigeon-holed. His media are diverse. His canvases range from ordinary to out-of-the ordinary surfaces. Here is a sample of his work from a project for Red Bull. L’Amour Supreme and Red Bull Curates New York. Photo credit: © www.redbull.com

TATTOO ART
Tattoo art is a form of body design that has changed dramatically. Once stigmatized as the domain of less than good design, it has evolved into an extraordinary art form. My favorite tattoo gallery is Empire State Studio on Long Island, New York, @ESSTattoo. They daily exhibit good designs that makes extraordinary art on the bodies of their clientele. Every two months, they install an art show on their walls. Here are examples of their daily good work and wall art shown on YouTube. Owner, Tommy Helm, resident artists and the studio’s manager are interviewed.

SNEAKERS
Who remembers the day when the coolest sneaker to own was a pair of original Converse All-Stars? Even they have come a long way to stay in the game. But the competition is fierce. Extra Butter, another of my favorite haunts, shows why. I don’t know if I could wear these or would have to just look at them all day.

FROM HEAD TO TOE
Good design can become extraordinary art from head to toe and everywhere in between. The remake of The Great Gatsby is a good example. It has inspired good design in typography, clothes, jewelry and more.

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IN CONCLUSION
These are just a few examples of disciplines where good design has, in my opinion, become extraordinary art. Please judge for yourself. Do you consider these examples good design? Have they become extraordinary art? Do you have other examples you would like to share? I eagerly await your comments, input and responses. Thank you.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

New Look, New Structure, Brand New Site

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A new look, a new structure, a new site

Alison*s Blog & Website has a new home in high end design. It has a new look and a new structure.

The place to house new information, both curated and original needed to be better. To me, it is essential to present information in an environment of high end design. It is not just for looks. High end design includes the best functionality too.
The team of Wasmer & Huen understand the importance of high end design. The firm of tsdesignuk realized they needed a new look, as well.

From the inspiration of both high end designer firms, I realized that Alison*s Blog and Website needed to be a whole new look, a whole new structure and an additional website for Alison*s Heirloom Projects. I hope you like the results and find everything works better. Please let me know what you think.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

GOOD Wants to Be More

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good wants to be more.

Good wants to be more, like in the footsteps of Ghandi whose magnificent example was to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Easier said than done. But somehow the inspiration on these pages helps alot.

This is thanks to the curated posts and photos on today’s issues of Alison*s Art Online Magazines. They appear under the blogs link. From them, one draws inspiration to create original material accompanied by the feeling that good can be more. Organizations like GOOD also help remind us that there are many people with minds and hearts like ours.

Good wants to be more
Give A Damn and Act Accordingly
Image Credit: Josh McManus

GOOD: Give A Damn and Act Accordingly
One of my favorite publications is GOOD. It is all about doing good. Good that wants to be more. It is so refreshing, an inspiration for me, especially when I wonder what it’s all about.

And check out these images of Scheldt, a 700 year old deserted town in Belgium. How can these buildings be torn down now that they are works of art? Once again, good wants to be more. The source of these photos is oddstuffmagazine.com.

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See how many things you can think of that are good and want to be more. Your comments, suggestions and questions are always welcome.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Words of Wisdom, Information About Weight Loss and Nutrition

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Words of wisdom, information about weight loss and nutrition are the major topics of Alison*s Art Blog today. All are essential to feed the body and the soul.

Words of Wisdom from Deepak Chopra:

Information about the Raw Food Diet and Weight Loss Surgery:

Raw Food Diet
Raw Food. Photo Credit: http://www.huliq.com/13314/

Presenting the Diet That Makes You Lose Too Much Weight.
Weight Loss Surgery Options Explained.

Some of the content of this blog post so far may come as a surprise to those of us who lean more towards what is holistic and away from what is considered medically invasive. A good rule of thumb is to take the least invasive action first, in chronic situations. That is a balanced practice.

Annemarie Colbin, My Food and Healing Mentor:
I learned this over two dozen years ago from my ‘food and healing’ mentor, Annemarie Colbin the founder of what started out as the Natural Gourmet Cookery School. It is now The Natural Gourmet Institute and is celebrating 35 years as the innovator in the field. I had studied with her at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, NY around 1988 and later lectured on nutrition at her school in NYC.

Our Mission:
My mother’s words of wisdom were, “Everything in moderation”. This is also a good rule of thumb for non-acute circumstance. But sometimes situations do call for extreme measures. When they do, it is very important to become as informed and educated as possible. This means knowing about options, holistic and mainstream medical ones. This is a major piece of the mission of Alison*s Blog: to inform and educate as well as to awe and inspire.

More
Read more issues and stories related to our mission about ART | FOOD | HEALING on Alison*s Art Online Magazine published by RebelMouse and paper.li. Both are a feature of Alison*s Blog and appear in the right hand column.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Some Thoughts from the Aspen Idea Festival 2013

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some positive notes of the Aspen Ideas Festival 2013

It’s fair to say that from the name of today’s blog, Some Thoughts from the Aspen Idea Festival 2013, that there will be some positive notes to share on Alison*s Blog post. There are quite a few features that confirm this.

Although the Aspen Ideas Festival 2013 is over, the swag bag designed by Tory Burch, is the biggest status symbol of the event. It is also the envy and curiosity for those who did not get one to wonder what was in it, according to the article written by LinkedIn Editor, Chip Cutter. My favorite item is Steve Case’s Message in Chocolate Form.

some positive points
Steve Case’s Message in Chocolate Form. Photo credit: LinkedIn

“Entrepreneurs, Steve and Jean Case emphasized Thursday that Americans need to take more risks — in both business and philanthropy. Hence, their gift of a ‘Fearless’ chocolate bar to attendees. This one, produced by a Berkeley-based chocolatier, combines organic dark chocolate with ginger and hibiscus flowers to create what the company describes as ‘playful proclamations upon your palate.'”

Then there’s the amazing curated story story about how a man lost over 100 lbs in a laboratory experiment. “The researchers, who were microbiologists, had simply put the man’s gut microbes on a diet”.

some positive points
The Flower Essence, Mimosa. Photo credit: http://www.flower-essence.co.uk/
If that is not enough positive notes, there’s the flower essence Mimosa, introduced by Channel Island Flower Essences. The company reports that it “carries the vibrational energy of empowerment. It resonates with the solar plexus chakra. It supports a feeling of personal power and belief in one’s own ability. It enables a very rounded approach to all life issues and promotes warmth of personality and persona.”
There are still some positive points to explore. But you get to browse them on you own. In the right hand column are today’s Alison*s Art Online Magazines published by RebelMouse and a feature of Alison*s Blog.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Some Art for Saturday, Alison*s Art Online Art Tour

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Some Art for Saturday

Let’s take a virtual tour and look at some art for Saturday, pleasant, uplifting, creative things. Pretend we are taking a gallery tour. We can travel all over the world since we are on the Internet.

Our first stop is London and the studio of a very talented young lady. I found her lovely artwork thanks to another paper.li publisher, Angel Ceballos’ Art & Design.

Through his online magazine, I was introduced to her work. She is creating some magnificent art work that has morphed into tapestry design. It’s very exciting to see the artistic process at work.
Her name is Hannah Waldron. She was interviewed by designboom.com. Her creations are impressive. They are also light-hearted, colorful and usable.

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Now let’s head back to the US to take a look at two of my other favorite styles of art on our some art for Saturday tour. These styles are graffiti inspired illustration and tattoo art.

My two favorite artists who started out doing graffiti/comic book style illustration are located on opposite coasts of the US. L’amour Supreme is from NY. He is pictured (the image is from his website, www.lamoursupreme.com) with some of his creations as the featured image at the beginning of our tour. Man One is from LA. Below are some of my favorite examples of his work. One is a mural of Rita Hayworth who is one of my favorite film gems. Here’s some Rita trivia. She was born in Brooklyn and started out as a dancer. She was married to Orson Wells, foreign royalty, a popular singer and two other men.


Both L’amour Supreme and Man One have produced prolific amounts of work. So I am going to suggest that you return and visit their virtual studios on your own. That way you can take as much time as you like to explore their very creative careers and stories. Do let them know I suggested you stopped by.

As the last stop on our some art for Saturday tour is one of my favorite local places to visit, Empire State Studios, a tattoo art gallery on Long Island. There are those who might not consider this a form of art. But keep an open mind before drawing any conclusions. Take a look at the work of these artists. Then tell me what you think. In fact, if you are in the area, they have art shows that change every two months.

some art for Saturday
The banner from the ESS website, www.empirestatestudios.com

I hope you have enjoyed our relaxing, virtual trans-Atlantic and back tour of some art for Saturday. Let me know if you would like to take another one some time soon. I certainly would.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog, THE ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

Indigenous Cultures: The Kara Women of Ethiopia

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Indigenous cultures represented by this young Karan woman

Indigenous cultures are rare, precious, fragile, and quickly becoming extinct. Is this progress or a form of genocide? Is this the price we pay for planetary technological advancements? What happens when there are no civilizations left who dance to the rhythms of the earth and thrive on a daily, intimate relationship with nature?

A story in the current issue of the Global Oneness Project Magazine, photographed and told by Jane Baldwin (the above and other photos), is about an indigenous culture, the Kara Women of Ethiopia. Her photographs and the interview of her encourage readers to ponder these questions. Ms. Baldwin’s story is about her eight year developing relationship with the Kara women.

indigenous cultures are impacted by the Omo River dam projects
Map of the Omo River with dam projects highlighted in red
They are inhabitants of Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley and the Omo River-Lake Turkana watershed. The areas that they and other groups have inhabited for hundreds of years are threatened by the continuing dam building of the Omo River dam project. This one is Gibe III.

The residents of the river valley have had no say in these projects. The projects clearly do not benefit these agro-pastorialists, the indigenous people who have lived in harmony with their river. They are its victims and will be the casualties again, of this half finished project, Gibe III. The dam will benefit those whose priorities differ drastically from theirs. Their flowing relationship with the Omo River will stop. The lives of about a half a million people will be impacted and their traditional way of life will be affected. The consequences will be a disaster.

These people do not read or write. Marriages have traditionally been arranged although that is changing. The women’s lives are based primarily on child bearing and telling their stories through oral tradition. This is current life of the Kara Women. They are subservient in every way to the patriarchy they live in except for one essential responsibility. They are the keepers of their culture’s stories.

They make up songs that they sing to their children from the time they are babies. This is part of how they pass on their stories. What will become of their lives in the river valley when they crash, head on with Gibe III? They will still have their stories. But they will be bloody nightmares not happy memories.

At right, discover more about the Kara Women and other stories about ART | FOOD | HEALING in today’s issues of Alison*s Art Online Magazine, a feature of Alison*s Blog and published by RebelMouse and paper.li.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY, RAISING SOCIAL AWARENESS, The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog

Developing Food Growing and Selling Trends

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Present day food growing and retailing trends are resulting in some fascinating, untraditional farming and distribution systems

Developing food growing and selling trends are resulting in some fascinating, untraditional farming and distribution activities. These movements are making food more available and more affordable.

GROWING
Eat the City: The Art of Urban Farming reintroduces farming into the city is a truly unique way. The ‘truck farm bed’ feature photo is a creative example of this idea. Urban farming, other types of local farming and local farmers markets have created a new class of eaters, locavores.

Food Farming and Selling Trends
Deciding between organic or locally grown food. Photo Credit: Flickr Corey Templeton
They believe that eating locally grown food is the best way to go for several reasons. This food tastes the bests. Food can be freshest when eaten. There is a huge savings in transportion and distribution costs. It has even been said that locally grown food can be just as beneficial as organic food. In a variety of situations, each has advantages.

SELLING
A novel idea in a weekend only, makeshift outlet supermarket in the Netherlands has caught on like wild fire. Nearly ‘expired’ packaged foods are sold at a huge discount. One often sees this on certain perishable items in US supermarkets. But in the case of this ‘past its prime’ concept, the entire store is filled with these items.

Food Growing and Selling
Willem Jan Stamm, the owner of Outlet Stam in Schagen,The Netherlands. Photo credit: Christopher F. Schuetze

A recently discovered facebook page shines a light on a new way of selling and distributing food. It is reminiscent of the food co-op. It is called WholeShare. According to their facebook page, “Wholeshare is a website that helps you get access to good quality, affordable local food by organizing group purchases. www.wholeshare.com”.

food growing and selling
Wholeshare, the facebook page
Another fascinating concept is something called, Pay It Forward. It is practiced by a restaurant called Karma Kitchen. The staff are volunteers. The customers pay whatever they want. In other words, they pay the bill for the next group of people who come to eat. They ‘Pay It Forward’.

food growing and distribution
Karma Kitchen practices, ‘Pay It Forward’. Photo credit: www.goprojectfilms.com

CONCLUSION
Due to personal choice, as a political statement about food waste, or out of necessity, some people have taken to off the beaten path to obtain food. These include food foraging, dumpster diving, food banks, food kitchens and food stamps and bread lines. However one acquires one’s food, it is important to be conscious of the the choices we can make. Some people in this country do go hungry. The options discussed here are intended to help everyone find resources to have enough to eat.

Continue to read other posts about ART | FOOD | HEALING on Alison*s Art Online Magazines from RebelMouse and paper.li, a feature of Alison*s Blog.

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PASSIONS OF MUSIC AND ART & DESIGN

Gatsby Graphics Glitz and Gold Take Hold

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Gatsby Graphics Glitz & Gold

Gatsby Graphics Glitz and Gold take hold ever since the remake of the movie, The Great Gatsby. The creators of the movie admit that they did not attempt certain detailed, exact period reproduction. For example, the music was changed from 1920’s jazz to rap to give a present day audience the feel of that time as modern. They went more for the feel of the time, the opulence, the glamour, the glitz and the gold.

Like the movie itself, the graphics are not meant to be exact reproductions. They are representational, designed to conjure up a feeling. It is a feeling the we can relate to today. We relate to it in the same way people felt when they originally experienced the story. The movie and everything about it is redesigned and refreshed. This gives it an up to date feeling that we can be part of. Perhaps it is also so that we can dream of having a life like that ourselves.

To a greater or lesser extent, the couples who chose to use these great Gatsby wedding invitations aspire to that lifestyle as well. One would want only to be a fly on the wall to see how much more than the Gatsby style invitation they realized in their nuptial celebrations.

Enjoy more reading material about ART | FOOD | HEALING at right on Alison*s Art Online Magazines, a feature of Alison*s Blog and published by RebelMouse and paper.li.

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FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY

Bless Bhutan

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Blessings from Bhutan in becoming 100% organic production

Bless Bhutan, a tiny nation in the the mountainous amphitheatre of the Himalayas. Bhutan Prime Minister, Jigmi Thinley has declared that Bhutan is to become the first 100% organic agricultural producing nation on the planet. This is a blessing, an outstanding example and hopefully a motivation for the rest of the globe to follow suit.

 

Bless Bhutan thanks to Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley
Bhutan Prime Minister Photo Jigmi Thinley. Photo credit: thesolutionsjournal.anu.edu.au

To quote an article from Banoosh.com, “Last month the Prime Minister, Jigmi Thinley told his government he is developing a National Organic Policy because the country’s farmers are increasingly convinced that ‘by working in harmony with nature, they can help sustain the flow of nature’s bounties.’”

Bhutan is a producer of rice, corn, beans, potatoes and oranges. It’s red beans are distributes to Whole Foods, one of the largest US health food retailers. The term, made in Bhutan, may soon become synonymous with 100% organic. In frightening contrast to this uplifting news, is what is going on in the US with the increasing number of ‘frankenfoods’. This is a nickname for the nightmare of GMO foods that have been shown to cause cancer in rats. It is only a matter of time before the detrimental human effects will be able to be proven.

Bless Bhutan for not allowing GMO soybeans
GMO Soybeans Image Credit: Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Thinkstock

The increasing death rate in the bee population is of grave concern to environmentalists. This is an indicator of an imbalance in nature that threatens the process of pollination, natures way of producing its bounty. Nature’s ability to reproduce is being threatened by the take over of GMO food and pesticides. GMO food is at war with nature. The goal of this war is two-fold: to make natural, healthy production of food extinct and for corporations to control food production and food characteristics.

Bless Bhutan
Bhutan Prime Minister Thinley being received by other world leaders. Photo credit: philosophicalanthropology.net

Who knows how long it will take for Prime Minister Thinley’s plan to become a reality. How much benefit can the food stuffs from a nation of 700,000 have on a planet of 7.093 billion people who need to be fed? The primary considerations are, will other nations follow suit? If they do, will we be able to stop the growing Global (food producing) Monster Organizations? Only time will tell.

Read more about this topic along with other food, art and health issues at right on Alison*s Art Online Magazines, a feature of Alison*s Blog and published on RebelMouse and paper.li.

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