An excerpt from Author Stefanie Freele’s new short story collection, “Surrounded by Water”

FITTING

An excerpt from Surrounded by Water

By Stefanie Freele

Tiredness is tremendous when he tells me I’m so bed-wrinkly I remind him of a biker’s favorite leather jacket. I say thanks, tie my robe, settle in front of the window which displays an overexcited autumn – the orangest, yellowest, reddest exhibit ever witnessed. Whoever says he isn’t full of compliments doesn’t understand his jabs. I’m aware how rough I am, how rough I feel, lids won’t quite open. Drinking his cinnamon-coffee I contemplate that worn-in spot on a leather jacket just inside of the elbow when the wrinkles find themselves and set a pattern. Soon thereafter, the arms can maneuver. When you are comfortable doing pushups or climbing sycamore trees, the sleeves move like a body-part and the fit has legitimately arrived. I’m pleased being described as a biker’s favorite leather jacket.  When he switches the metaphor to perhaps his best work gloves, finger-smooth, palm-snug and smelling of pine, I’m game with that too because I know what a disappointment it would  be to lose a pair like me.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Visit www.stefaniefreele.com.

Surrounded by Water is currently available for pre-order with Press 53. Click here for more info.

Contact the author at Stefanie@stefaniefreele.com.

Sarah Ford – Letter From a Noncustodial Mother

One of the most powerful things we can do for one another is to be present to one another as Christ is present to us.

The amount of mentally ill people around the world being abandoned by their families is unbelievable. Actually it is very believable but too horrible to contemplate.

Sarah is one out of millions of people around the world who has been abandoned by her family, due not only to the symptoms of and behaviors brought about by her mental illness but because of her mother’s obliviousness.

Over the years the National Association of the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has taught us again and again to see the person rather than the illness.   Sarah’s family and past associates have not been able to do this or understand that she is not her illness. And after her husband passed away from cancer in 2006, she presented her situation and needs to me with a sort of urgency and a clarity I could not refuse, and in turn I became more present to her out of that same urgency.

Just as Sarah Ford has suffered, her children, Michael (now 19 years old) and Megan (18) have suffered too, without a voice. They continually have to sacrifice their lives for their grandmother, to make things easier on her.

Michael and Megan were taken from their parents when they were two and three years old, because Sarah and her husband Roger turned to drugs and alcohol (as most people do when coping with mental illnesses.) During the court proceedings, Sarah’s Mom made a choice, after a myriad of phone calls to the police and CPS from Sarah’s sister (who didn’t have children of her own) to take guardianship of Sarah’s children.  However, unfortunately, as Sarah’s Mom sacrificed her life for these beautiful children, she also cast major amounts of guilt upon her daughter, Sarah as well as upon her grand-children for being “burdens” and “ruining” her life.

In turn, these poor children (Sarah’s biological son & daughter) have never had normal lives.  They have never been to the doctor’s office to have regular check-ups; they haven’t been to a regular school as Sarah’s Mother pulled them out of school when they were in third grade;  they have no friends outside the Internet and they care for Sarah’s Mom and sister (and her sister’s children) full time and do all the caregiving in and for the family. They never got to be kids or have any kind of normal lives… and to make matters even worse, they’ve been completely alienated from Sarah and their father, Roger.

Parent Alienation Syndrome occurs when adults handle conflicts among themselves by constantly speaking negatively to children about one of their parents and discouraging the child (ren) from having contact with that parent. It’s becoming recognized more and more often as a real phenomenon by psychiatrists and family therapists, and can be triggered by jealousy, insecurity, mental illness and/or anger over issues that have nothing to do with the children. Some children grow up hating one or more of their parents and refusing to have anything to do with them, or even believing they were abused by that parent. When, in fact, that parent loves and cares for them and they are internalizing negative things they’ve been told their whole lives by other family members about their loving parent.

You may read more about the Parent Alienation Syndrome here:

Sarah’s Mom has made herself into such a victim that she pretends not to be able to function at all and doesn’t do anything around the house anymore. She has Michael and Megan wait on her (and her sister’s children) full time. It’s so bad, that even when Sarah’s Mom (Megan’s grandma) gets out of the shower, Megan gets the blow-dryer out and dries her hair!  These children do all of the cleaning, the dishes, all of the laundry and care for four adults (Sarah’s Mom, sister, her sister’s convict husband and their two children (ages 8 and 2).  Sarah’s grandmother is not crippled or handicapped in any way, other than pure martyr-ism, and just doesn’t feel she should have to do things for herself.

Hiding this away like a dirty secret, our society does little to support or acknowledge the kids who grow up in such a home. In the family setting, the grandmother’s martyrdom and narcissism is ignored or disguised because of embarrassment or fear the children could be taken from the grandmother’s home as well. In this case the sickness spreads throughout the home placing the heaviest burden on children, always.

Both Sarah and her children have been raised by a mother and a grandmother who is a narcissist (which is an extremely self-centered person), who feels imposed upon by the thought of giving to others and never sees herself as wrong in any circumstance. She is always a victim.  Being a child in this environment, you are never as important as this parent (or guardian) – the parent and “protection” of the parent comes first.  Personality problems have a resounding component of selfishness.  Children are born selfish however and it’s a natural survival trait so what happens when children lose that God-given right and privilege?  Fear, guilt, and shame take over the children’s thoughts.  [Fear of things-getting worse or losing the parent or grandparent’s love… guilt over having natural selfish feelings and needs of their own… and shame because your family is different].  Mental illnesses surface in these children, due to the inability to cope.  No one knows if Sarah’s illnesses are inherited or if they are a byproduct of her environment.

Sarah’s life has been hell all her life, and being an adult and moving away from her mother hasn’t made her life better. She was manipulated into giving guardianship of her children to the same mother who abused her throughout her own childhood.  Sarah made the worst decision in her life when she trusted her mother and looks back now with complete shock that she made that decision after everything she had been through as a child. When the court was deciding where the children would be placed after Sarah wasn’t able to complete their requirements for family reunification within the allotted time, her mother told her that if she turned the children over to her, she would always let Sarah stay a part of their lives. Her mother warned she’d never see them again if she gave them to their father.

So, naive or maybe just very hopeful, Sarah asked the courts to allow her mother to have guardianship. And she has regretted that decision from that moment on, as her relationships with her children continued through the years to worsen more and more. Today the children won’t even speak to her.  They’ve been completely conditioned to hate Sarah and alienated from their own mother.

Sarah keeps hoping for some kind of support but doesn’t know who to turn to or what to do.  She waits every day, hoping her children get out of the guilt ridden and abusive environment they’re in.  To do that, she knows they must somehow come to believe and understand that they deserve to have their own lives.  Although she knows it may never happen, more than anything she wishes that her adult and estranged children would go to counseling with her and give her a chance to try to explain her side of things and how much she loves them.

But she knows that the only way this could ever happen would be for them both to move out of her grandmother’s and younger sister’s selfish, poisonous environment.  Sarah says as long as she has a roof over her head, her children are always welcome to come and stay with her as she will always be waiting and hoping they will return to her loving arms, where they have always belonged in the first place.

Sarah and her children very unfortunately have never been allowed to be alone together even once since they were four and five years old.  She has been shoved away from them and not allowed to come around to visit for many years.  Naturally, Sarah longs to know her now-adult children better and to re-establish relationships with them, but she must wait until hopefully they find a way to break free from the hostile environment they’re in. Then, optimistically, she hopes they can start over after no longer being programmed to hate their mother. Sarah dreams of sharing stories, consolation, and hugs; to have relationships where guilt and labels fade away and they are all as one.  Sarah prays for moments where there is no diagnosis other than “human” and no remedy other than “love”.

Sarah longs to teach her children the most elementary principle of caring: we are all one, we share so many needs, wants, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams.  She hopes that they all will learn that we need not to create barriers out of labels.  We need only to find ways to be present to one another, to simply be with each other.

Being present to one another is the first step toward breaking down stigma or prejudice. What is prejudice but pre-judging and what is pre-judging, but jumping to conclusions without getting to know a-person? I like to call this problem prejudice rather than stigma, because it puts the responsibility where it belongs—with the one doing the judging. There is no mark to erase, only judgments to suspend.

No matter how much of an advocate we think we are, we can still work harder to practice this presence with one another.  This is the core of life and of love.

Sometimes it’s not easy for either party.  Sometimes it takes great courage for all involved. Sometimes we have to wait for an opening.  Sometimes we have to create the opening.  But in the end we can celebrate together.  Let me end on that note then:  Let us: Celebrate Life! Celebrate our Father God, in the precious name of Jesus!  Celebrate Courage! Celebrate New Beginnings!  Celebrate Love!

———————————————————————————————————————

Sarah Ford welcomes letters of support and encouragement, and donations and help towards caring for her children, including family counseling. You may contact her via cedeptula@sbcglobal.net. Messages received at that address will be personally given to Sarah Ford.

Performance Review: Shotgun Players’ Production of Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia: Voyage”

CRAZY IDEALISTS, OR THE MONSTER IN ITS CRIB

 

The Coast of Utopia: Voyage

By Tom Stoppard

Shotgun Players

The Ashby Stage in Berkeley, California

A review by Christopher Bernard

 

As the news release aptly puts it, “In a tremendous coup for the biggest little theatre company in town, Shotgun Players has secured the rights to Tom Stoppard’s impressive trilogy,” The Coast of Utopia, whose American premiere run in New York several years ago played to sold-out houses over several months, and whose London premiere before that was hardly less well-received.

Well, the first result of that coup de theatre is in, with the San Francisco Bay Area premiere of the first, and in many ways most moving, installment of Stoppard’s exploration of the closest thing to middle-class – excuse me, bourgeois – life in per-revolutionary Russia, where love vies with philosophy vies with politics, and neither philosophy nor love, nor even politics, is sure to win in the end.

One doesn’t need to be a craven philistine and historical know-nothing to wonder why on earth we should be interested in something apparently so remote from us as a bunch of young people prattling about German idealist philosophy (Kant! Schelling! Fichte! Hegel! The transcendental ideal! The Self! The unfolding of the Absolute!), in a remote province of a backward Russia where wealth is measured in how many serfs you own (“… in the matter of the ownership of human beings we were years ahead of America…”), in the distant 1830s?

But as the trilogy progresses (Shotgun Players will produced the second and third parts, Shipwreck and Salvage, over the next two years, then perform the complete trilogy in repertory ), it will become clear that what we are witnessing is not just the romantic confusions and antics of a group of idea-drunk idealists, as touching and comic as those can be: we are seeing the flaring of a match that will light a fuse which three generations later will explode in one of the world’s most overwhelming political catastrophes, the Bolshevik revolution, which, for some good and an enormous amount of ill, defined the world politics of the 20th century and set the stage, and even created the political methods, from concentration camps to anarchism to police terrorism, for the 21st. We are seeing the monster in its crib.

Patrick Dooley directs a briskly paced (except in one or two places where the script sabotages him) performance of the opening play, Voyage, which introduces us to some of the personalities, in their larval stage, as youthful ephebes, who helped define the equally callow political possibilities faced by Russia in the ever-narrowing interstices of the Tsar’s autocracy, as those personalities burned their way through the fashionable thought of their time.

We meet the glib, narcissistic Mikhail Bakunin before he discovered the “beauty of destruction” and became the prince of anarchism, and we meet the man who was in many ways more his opposite than his future rival and enemy for leadership of the left, Karl Marx: the warm-hearted yet level-headed Alexander Herzen, who is already trying to hold the thankless balance between extremes in a political philosophy that would eventually be called liberalism.

We get to know the impoverished literary critic Vissasion Belinsky touting literature (Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoyevsky to come) as a way for Russia to salvation, and we’re introduced to the literary gesture itself personified in a young, still drifting Ivan Turgenev, who is yet to discover his true calling as novelist and aesthete.

The play is immensely stimulating, and unexpectedly moving, as the characters, the women especially, are tossed about between the winds of passion and the hot air of their beaux, and all of them are eventually waylaid by despotism’s paranoid and nature’s indifferent dooms (cat’s paws of the Ginger Cat, an emblem of fate’s callousness, that makes its enigmatic appearance in a costume party late in the last act), but it requires a little background to enjoy. Shotgun greatly helps with an informative and entertaining talk given half an hour before each showtime by Joanie McBrien, who serves as dramaturg for the production. This is not to be missed.

The production is favored by the usual, engaging performances for which Shotgun is known, but three demand special notice: Yahya Adbul-Mateen II in the too-brief role of Ivan Turgenev (Turgenev appears more frequently in the following parts of the trilogy, which are slated for production over the next two years, where we may, with luck, see more of Mr. Abdul-Mateen), John Mercer, who is enormously sympathetic as Mikhail Bakunin’s liberal-and-paying-for-it father (who was it that said “the despot breeds a liberal breeds an anarchist breeds a despot”?) , and, above all, Nick Medina’s brilliantly realized Belinsky in all his bumbling earnestness and infuriating lucidity. (It’s curious how Medina is costumed, with wire-rimmed spectacles, to look a bit like a cross between Pierre Bezukhov as described by Tolstoy in War and Peace and a russified Franz Schubert, whose music appears throughout the second act: perhaps serendipitously, but with a touching aptness.)

The elegantly resourceful sets are by designed by Nina Ball, the handsome costumes by Alexae Visel.

The next installment of the trilogy will be staged next season, when the monster – of revolution, of fate? – will lick its whiskers and stretch its paws.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Christopher Bernard is the author of the novel A Spy in the Ruins and founder and co-editor of Caveat Lector magazine (www.caveat-lector.org).

 

Performance Review: Opera San José’s Production of “Faust”

[Reviewed by Kelly Munoz]

On South First Street in San Jose, California, there is a building that looks like most others. It has a large sign that says, “California Theatre.” However, as you walk into this unassuming building, you feel as if you are transported to another era. Lush beautiful carpeting through the entire lobby, with large ornate light fixtures; red and gold surround you. Slowly you walk toward the theatre itself and notice a beautiful melody encompassing the front lobby. A wonderful musician plays for your pleasure. While you wander along the passage and down the stairs you can feel a reverence from the theatre itself; you cannot help but expect a wonderful experience. As you head into the seating area you are assisted by staff with warm smiles and once you find your seat, you meet your welcoming fellow patrons. Suddenly, you feel as if you are a part of the theatre.

Looking up you see more beautiful light fixtures, a beautiful balcony, and just a breathtaking feeling of being back in time. The lights dim and the conductor immediately takes control of the orchestra. Slowly, the music begins to carry you away further, the curtains rise, and there is Faust. As the first few words are spoken, you see a screen above the stage; and there you see the English translation, clean, clear, and right on cue with the actors. The next thing you notice you are swept away by this well-crafted, well-organized, and extremely well presented story.

Faust is the story of a scholar who has spent his life searching for an elixir to give him eternal youth; but, to no avail. Faust summons Mephistopheles, also known as the devil, and in a fit of frustration and anger makes Mephistopheles a cursed deal. Faust will receive eternal youth while on earth, with the devil as his servant, in return Faust agrees to give up his soul to Mephistopheles and promises to be his servant in the afterlife. Once youthful again, Faust finds himself in love with a chaste and righteous young woman, Marguerite. Marguerite tries to refuse Faust, but finds herself succumbing to his advances. Some months later, we rejoin our characters and Marguerite is with child, Faust’s child, but he is gone, unaware that Marguerite carries his child. When Faust returns to win back Marguerite he is forced to duel her brother, Valentin, and, with the help of Mephistopheles, kills him. Marguerite, now unsure of what to do and having lost her sanity, kills their child and is sentenced to death. Faust requires Mephistopheles to assist him in freeing Marguerite, but as they flee she refuses to leave the city. Just as Mephistopheles is condemning their souls to himself eternally, a heavenly host appears and takes them under their protection, banishing Mephistopheles.

Opera San Jose does an amazing job of making each performance feel like a special experience that is apart from every day life, but still available to everyone. This performance was one of the most beautiful I have had the pleasure of seeing. David Rohrbaugh, conductor and Opera San Jose’s founding music director, had his orchestra completely tuned in to him. While the score is beautiful itself; the flawlessness with which it was carried out made it even more enveloping. The performance itself, the actors, the props, the sets, the lighting, the technical work, were all absolutely beautiful. All of these pieces were orchestrated by stage director Brad Dalton. He arranged such a beautiful use of minimalism. All of the backgrounds were used as actual set pieces or props in one way or another, and the combination of lighting with these backgrounds was intriguing. Each set piece or prop had a purpose, but there were so few it was almost surprising. The benefit to this was your attention was directed to exactly where it needed to be at the time. You almost didn’t notice set changes, and the lighting cues were so drastic and yet so seamless. It was a beautiful example of using everything at your fingertips to tell the story.

The cast was phenomenal. It was apparent that each of them were fully part of their characters. Ranging from Branch Fields’ mischievous and sneaky portrayal of Mephistopheles, to the full and flowing singing of Alexander Boyer as Faust and Krassen Karagiozov as Valentin. However, the ladies were not to be outdone, Jasmina Halimic’s flawless and inspiring portrayal of Marguerite, and the fun and smooth work of Tori Grayum as Marthe, Marguerite’s friend, were wonderful. The entire cast was very strong and fit together very well.

If you have been worrying that you cannot see an opera because you do not know other languages, worry no more. Opera San Jose has found a way around this dilemma. They have a screen above the stage that runs an English translation through the whole performance. It even notes that different people are speaking at the same time. It seems like Opera San Jose has a great way to open up the opera to everyone. If you get a chance to see this, or another opera, by Opera San Jose, who are in their 28th season now, I recommend it. This performance of Faust will ensure my return to Opera San Jose.

————————————————————————————————————

You can contact the reviewer, Kelly Munoz, at kellycmunoz@yahoo.com.

 

Music Review: Ani DiFranco at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz, California

[Article by Tapati McDaniels]

 Still Joyful

I feel certain that there is an alternate universe in which Ani DiFranco is a comedian. Her humor is one of the things I enjoy most about her live performances and why her live albums are my favorites.

Ani’s March 26th concert at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz, CA, was a joyful return to her early concerts: just Ani with her Lee Press On Nails and her guitar. The Rio was a more intimate venue than the Civic Auditorium where we last saw Ani DiFranco. Sean Hayes opened for Ani and I was pleasantly surprised. I hadn’t listened to his music before but now I’m excited to get his next album with the songs from that night, due out this fall.

I had taken a break from seeing Ani in concert. It got to the point that her fans were so unruly that you couldn’t hear her sing over their singing and stomping, despite her admonishments. I am happy that this is no longer the case. Her fans have matured along with her for the most part, although there is still a contingent of college-age fans who mill in front of the stage in a mellow mosh pit of sorts.

“Angry Anymore” was Ani’s first song and she was dressed for work—either painting a house or singing rousing, working-class songs meant to change the world. Ani is not about the clothes although her 5-year-old daughter is. “I’m not into the princess thing,” Ani admits and her daughter knows this. “She shoos me out of the room when her [Disney] movie comes on.” Ani says her daughter knows her really well. “She tells me I don’t like pretty things.” The song was a love letter to her parents, forgiving them both for the estrangement from her father and the “cold war with quiet charm” her mother taught her to wage.

We all cheered when she launched into “Dilate,” fueling our nostalgia for concerts past. Her fierce energy still drove her guitar despite the ear infection that had caused her to cancel a recent appearance. Before she moved on to the next song, she informed the audience that she was on antibiotics and steroids because “I tried to do it with garlic cloves” but that didn’t work. At one point she had to pause and blow her nose with a tissue. “Can I have that?” one of her enthusiastic fans asked, and we all laughed as Ani said, “No, no, no, that’s not going to happen.”

She introduced the next song by saying she had ripped it off to create one of her new songs, which she just wasn’t into singing tonight. I was delighted when she sang “Modulation,” one of my favorites.

Ani moved on to material from her new album, ¿Which Side Are You On? with the song “Splinter,” which started with a jaunty guitar riff suggesting tropical islands and drinks with umbrellas.  Comfort is definitely the theme—a quest for comfort so complete that we cut ourselves off completely from the natural world—“like we can’t even bring ourselves to sweat.”

My husband Dave and I exchanged smiles as Ani sang the first line of “J” while we could smell the ubiquitous concert pot smell wafting in the air. If ever there were a city that would receive that song enthusiastically, it is Santa Cruz where it is always 4:20. But the name of the song and the first line is deceptive, “J” is no pot anthem but rather a scathing indictment of the poisons we are subjected to and that destroyed Louisiana’s eco-system while the president “could be FDR right now/And instead he’s just shifting his weight.” That is also a sentiment at home in liberal Santa Cruz where progressives are disappointed with the many compromises President Obama has made with Republicans.

Ani’s guitar crashed and clanged through “Marrow” providing both melody and percussion and a break with new material.  I scribbled “Where was your conscience” in my notes, a question she turns on herself later in the song, as hard on herself as on anyone. I should mention that a few times Ani had false starts with her guitar and cheerfully laughed at herself in that self-deprecating way she has, yet it never comes off as self-loathing. She seems to have accepted her imperfections over the years and has relaxed into them.

“Unworry” just sort of washed over me without leaving much of an impression, less political and more personal.  It was followed by “Life Boat” which woke me up. Ani takes on the persona of a homeless woman with “red scabby hands and purple scabby feet” thinking about the child she didn’t want who ran away. There are many levels of homelessness and while that wasn’t mine, I was homeless once too and her words broke my heart. I wanted to hear more of her story. I wanted this lady to have a good meal and a safe, warm place to lay her head.

Ani turned to Little Plastic Castle for the next 2 songs: “Two Little Girls” and “As Is.” I love “Two Little Girls” so I was ecstatic and as always the live version trumps the studio version every time. Ani is one of those rare artists who is always best live.

“Albacore” was a sweet love song, an almost startled love song—what am I doing in love? Me? Really? Like anyone who’s been through relationship hell (and we’ve heard about some of these through the years) she seems to be trying to believe that it isn’t a mirage that will disappear.  In the course of  this song she has convinced herself at last that love is here to stay. “Mariachi” follows in the same vein, starting with their working relationship blossoming into love while Ani wonders “if it was just me?”

“Zoo” reflects Ani’s weariness, I think, as she contemplates years of singing about things that haven’t changed much. She sings about the mind-deadening effect of TV and consumerism and the effect on her mind. “I walk past my own self-loathing like I walk past animals in the zoo,” she sings. She concludes that all you can do in the end is “pour your love into your children.”  The next generation can continue the struggle.

“Imagine That” struck me as a strange song and I hadn’t heard it in so long I had forgotten it. I was at a loss as to what to write down for title or even a lyric to search with at the time. As I read the lyrics I can see why—it is very stream-of-consciousness and reflects what comes to Ani’s mind as she gets ready to perform. “Imagine that i’m on stage under a watchtower of punishing light…” I do sometimes wonder what it is like to be on tour and sing mostly the same songs night after night under the spotlights.

“Present/Infant “ is a love song to her daughter, who has taught her to accept herself. If our daughters look like us and they’re beautiful then maybe we always were, too.

“If you’re not getting happier as you get older/Then you’re fuckin’ up,” Ani sings at the beginning of  “If Yr Not.” It reminds me of the song “Back Back Back” from To The Teeth,< where she admonishes someone to pay attention to the language they use in their mind because in their old age they will be stuck there. I also pondered that Ani wouldn’t get away with some of the things she writes if she had gone the corporate music route all those years ago. They wouldn’t have known how to produce and market her work.  I don’t know what box they would have shoved her in but I’m glad she isn’t there.

Ani remarked that in venues without a back entrance it kind of spoils the mystery of an encore as you crouch behind the curtain. So we guessed that the next song would be her last before the “surprise” encore.

The tempo and the crowd picked up with the title song , “Which Side Are You On?” A re-purposed pro-union song previously recorded by Pete Seeger, Ani calls us to decide which side we’re on and get involved if we aren’t already.  Early fans often talk about which songs sound most like old Ani and it is ironic that this is one of them, even if she didn’t write the music.

Ani rounded out the show with encore performances of “Gravel,” a long time favorite, and “Hypnotized,” which soothed us into letting go of our time with Ani. “I had just enough sweetness to keep you hypnotized.” Indeed.

For links to Ani DiFranco’s music please visit her recording company, http://www.righteousbabe.com/

————————————————————————————————————————————

You may contact the reviewer, Tapati McDaniels, via Twitter: @tapati

Art by Larry Azoth

Larry Azoth focuses on drawing, painting, and photography, primarily in the areas of still life and portraits. To learn more about the artist, visit his page on artreview.com.

 

Interview with Artist Leo the Fox

[Article/Interview by George Teseleanu]

Full name:

A.A. Smith

Date of birth:

July 31st 1982

What is your current location?

Olympia, Washington, USA

Tell us a little about the art styles that you use.

I present bodies, men, characters or mere figures, in states of mutation and landscapes that are similarly altered. In some they emerge from fields of black, others half buried in organic texture. It’s largely about decay and the breakdown of patterns. Aspects of it change all the time, but most trace back to long years of imitating Dali, Giger, or Alex Raymond. Much of my style is determined by working in pen exclusively, making any error a part of the final product.

What are your tools of trade?

Pilot G2 0.38mm, Pilot V-Ball, Sharpe Magnum, Uniball Vision, Gelly Roll gel pen, Photoshop.

Why did you choose these art styles?

Apart from my inspirations, it sort of chose me organically over a long time. I first attempted hatching because of Raymond’s use of it in early Flash Gordon comics. Everything else grew out of long drawing sessions in sketchbooks, often in cars or on buses.

What is your favorite one and why?

My favorite style at the moment is my reversed white on black pictures. For the longest time shadow had no place in my art, now it’s back with a vengeance.

What other art styles would you like to experiment with?

I’ve long wanted to be able to do the sort of thing Aubrey Beardsley did, the very stark and mannered far-out woodcut style. I’ve also long wanted to work more in other media, namely sculpture and film.

What is your favorite art movement and why?

Surrealism, easily. It is the first time art was permitted to explore the depths of the mind without having to depend on religious iconography or illustration as an excuse. Dali introduced me to it and the discoveries of de Chirico, Tanguy, and Ernst sealed my love for the movement. It’s amazing what one can find in a public library.

How can you define in your own word, surrealism?

There are many grandiose definitions for it, but I prefer simply to call it the art of dreams, or the unconscious. There’s more to it than that, but I find the best surrealist art resonates with me on that level, as if I’m visiting the dream of some long dead artist. More than 90% of the art I see I can just shrug and move along, but a de Chirico or Dali painting makes me pause, like something has imperceptibly changed.

Who is your favorite artist and how do you connect with his/her works?

It is a toss-up between Salvador Dali and H.R. Giger. The connection is, by now, historical. I have been admiring their works for roughly 19 years now, most of my life. It began, back then, with a mad and inexplicable excitement when viewing the works of these artists. Part of it has to do with the extreme technical ability of each and that it is used to convey the macabre and surreal. Each had a unique take on the body, on use of space, and each employed a recognizable visual language. I would argue that few artists have brought the viewer so thoroughly into their minds as Dali and Giger. Of course I admire others, for similar reasons: Max Ernst, Beksinski, Tanguy.

What influenced you to become an artist?

I was encouraged to be creative since early childhood, and of course all children draw. My parents owned many books on art history, and these were part of the germ of my interest in art. We visited museums as well, and that helped.

How long have you been an artist?

That really depends on one’s definition of “artist”. If it’s meant professionally, I was first paid for my art in 2008. If it’s meant seriously, I have been since around 1995. If it’s meant simply creating, I have been almost since birth.

How did your family and friends react of you being an artist?

Generally positively. My friends and teachers were always concerned whether I could make a living at it (and I never have yet). My immediate family was more concerned whether I was doing what made me happy. Some of the grandparents were a little cooler about the idea, but that may only be a generational thing.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Almost everywhere. My dreams and imaginings make up a large part of it, but often too it’s the world and the desire to make fun of it. I spend a lot of time on public transportation and in fast food restaurants, both of which provide kinds of inspiration. I’m also an avid movie watcher, having seen a few thousand of them, so those tend to inspire as well.

What determined you to do collaborations?

Having a younger brother who also draws did. We began collaborating at a young age, probably around the time I finally got used to him.

What can you tell us about your first collaboration?

The first outside of childhood was probably an Exquisite Corpse done with Gromyko Semper 3 years ago. I was fairly disappointed with my end of it.

Can you tell us how collaborations influenced your art?

Since a large part of my art has been collage of one form or another, I tend to collaborate with some artists posthumously. Sometimes it’s like reverse engineering, learning the other artist’s process. I’m always open to another artist’s viewpoint, and a collaboration can be like a meeting of the minds. I don’t know what degree it’s all helped me, but I’m glad for the experience.

Can you tell us how collaborations influenced you?

The early stuff with my brother spoiled me a bit because we never had to communicate much, we pretty much knew what the other would do. In my adult life I find other people need a lot more input and I have trouble with that.

Do you promote/ sell/ showcase your artworks?

Deviant Art is really the only form of promotion I have going. I’ve never had an exhibition or anything like that. Many of my works are available as prints and I am open for commissions.

How the Internet did influence your art?

The internet is what ultimately got me going on really producing art, mostly because before going online I had no audience for it. I went between various sites looking for a good place to put my art, but Deviant Art proved to be the only fit. It was the first time I actually had a receptive creative outlet, so it got me making art consistently. Before DA I made probably, a hundred drawings a year. Since I’ve been on DA I do about 500 drawings a year.

Where can people see your artworks and how can they contact you?

On Deviant Art: http://leothefox.deviantart.com/

———————————————————————————————————————-

You can contact George Teseleanu at blana_de_maimutza@yahoo.com.