ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition of a Roman era temple supported by columns with human capitals that witnesses an event delusional set on the street. In fact, a living alien spaceship is hit by the stone head of a Moai monolith which in turn takes the form of a white horse. Symbols of life and mysterious characters, they protect a secret perhaps hidden in the words of SATOR or Pompeian latercolo… a scenario in full harmony with the poetry of the incredible that distinguishes my production. Your artistic production reflects such unique convergence between real world and the dreamlike realm: how does your memories and your everyday life's experience fuel your creative process? I live in Costa Rica, on a paradisiacal beach framed by the tropical jungle, a perfect place to study, meditate and get in touch with your inner world and the past. And for me an ideal space to create because it puts me in contact with nature and the deepest energies ... it is a context very far from the chaotic life of everyday human living. Everything I create feeds on my inner and spiritual feeling in contact with the cultural and historical experiences that have formed me. You are an established artist and you you recently had your first international painting exhibition in the virtual gallery of Heclecthik-Art Portugal: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalised audience? As previously mentioned I live in a place on the edge of reality and I owe a lot to the globahttps://www.instagram.com/happylabs antateresa l audience of social platforms. This is how I had the opportunity to exhibit virtually with Heclecthik-Art Gallery Portugal, to participate in the Cosmosis exhibition of The Holy Art London, to take part in the July 2021 edition of Marvelous Art Gallery and finally to join the COCA project 2021 the center of contemporary artists who have selected me and offered me the opportunity to appear with a page dedicated to me on their web site. I am in tune with my network audience and happy to be present thanks to the media, in the contemporary art scene… .but I would like a more direct relationship with the public and be physically present with my works in art galleries. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Huaika. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Thanks again for the interesting conversation. Currently I have opened an online shop https://shop.happylabsantateresa.art/collections/ all where the public can buy pencil, charcoal and watercolor drawings inspired by classical art, the acanthus leaves of the capitals of ancient columns come to life and tell fantastic stories, the collection is called Fantastic Classic. Also available are Mini Oil Paintings on small teak panels that describe Melancholia through photographic portraits. ... And as far as the future is concerned, I am full of ideas and projects to carry out, but above all I intend to do what I love: painting, drawing and creating. An interview by , curator and , curator
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Huaika Reale Equilibrio Complicato
Hello Charmel and welcome to ARTiculAction: we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.charmelscreative.com in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production, and we would like to start this interview with a couple of questions regarding your background. You have a solid formal training: your a proud graduate of Caddo Magnet High School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Hampton University: how did these experiences address your evolution as an artist? In particular, are there any experiences that did particularly help you to develop your attitude to experiment? Charmel Lester: Growing up, I was blessed to have a family that nurtured an authentic appreciation for arts, culture and music. I remember growing up going ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART meets Charmel Lester An interview by , curator and , curator A native of Shreveport, Charmel Lester is known for her custom wall hangings and crochet creations. Charmel is a proud graduate of Caddo Magnet High School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Hampton University. An avid traveler and arts enthusiast, Charmel has lived in several states and abroad, including Thailand. Her passion to create started nearly twenty years ago, while making cards and small gifts for her friends and family. When she saw the happiness on their faces, she realized that it was time to embrace her talents. Her work has been featured in local boutiques and markets throughout North Louisiana. In March of this year 2020, Charmel was led to launch the Yarning for Hope Project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through Yarning for Hope, Charmel is working to boost the morale of the community-at-large by creating and installing original works of fabric art in public spaces. Her latest project, S.K.E.O.,Stop Killing Each Other, is an initiative launched to bring awareness to the black-on-black crime and increase in violence in her community. She placed her first piece at a car wash on a busy intersection in her neighborhood. It was received really well and she would like to place pieces like this in other parts of her city and other cities nationwide.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Edition Special Edition to different plays, art shows and other cultural events in the city. I didn’t really realize the impact of my family dynamic and cultural influence until I went to college. It was there that I realized that I was exposed to a lot of cultural activities growing up. It was the norm for me. For this special edition of ARTiculAction we have selected Green and Red Tree, an extremely interesting project that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your artistic research is the fatc that it contains the element of chance able to speak to a wide audience about the chance of developing a new kind of society: when walking our readers through the genesis of Green and Red Tree, would you tell us how did you develop the initial idea? Charmel Lester: The concept for the green and red tree was inspired by the heartcentered suggestion of a client, a young African American business owner looking to cultivate pride in the community. To do so, he requested that I engage the colors connected to Pan-African flag. In particular, does spontaneity play an important role in your artistic process? Absolutely, my art practice is anchored by my culture, current events and community. Spontaneity is my way of creating and living life, being regimented is boring. We really appreciate you choice of colors and we can recognize positive feelings conveyed by the thoughtful and at the same time joyful nuances. How does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Charmel Lester
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition
C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Charmel Lester ARTICUL CTION A Special Issue you decide to include in your artworks in order to achieve such unique results? Charmel Lester: I'm drawn to bold collars and vibrant patterns, and I've found that bright colors can instantly elevate one's mood. As an artist, this notion resonates strongly - i create art to inform and elevate. You are avid traveler and you have had the chance to live in several states and abroad, including Thailand: how do your memories and your everyday life's experience fuel your artistic research? Charmel Lester: I love to travel, and I've been fortunate to have visited a number of places, and even lived in Thailand. During this season abroad, I found inspiration in the rich history, interacting with the beautiful people, and by visiting the temples throughout the country. The innate details of the temple and the placement of the gold details really peaked my artistic interest. As a Louisiana native and woman of color, I've found that my work is now influenced by the cultural shifts and social justice impacts of living in the United States. We really appreciate your sapient use of materials that the viewer can recognize as belonging to ordinary life's imagery: what are the properties that you are searching for in the materials that you include in your works? Charmel Lester: Nature is the grounding element in my work, and the use of yarn and fabric afford me the opportunity to re-imagine the beauty of nature and convey messages of importance. The properties I search for in my materials depict strength and tenacity.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Charmel Lester Through your works you created such unique visual vocabulary able to trigger the viewers' imagination, inviting them to elaborate personal interpretations: how open would you like your works to be understood? Charmel Lester: Art belongs to everyone, and in the interest of being inclusive I create art that is designed with purposeful clarity and intention. Your artworks feature genuine commitment in social issues: you collaborated with London Kaye for the creation of the mural “Kamala Harris” and along with Kaceila Daniel (Dallas, Texas), Danielle Richard (Shreveport, Louisiana) and Kelly Fruil (Trenton, New Jersey), you created a stimulating work
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition entitled Stop Killing Each Other — an initiative launched to bring awareness to the black-on-black crime happening in your city — and in 2020 you were led to launch the Yarning for Hope Project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's important to mention that through the Yarning for Hope Project, you are working to boost the murale of the community-at-large by creating and installing original works of fabric art in public spaces: do you think that artists can raise awareness to an evergrowing audience on topical issues that affect our globalised society, in order to to make our world a better place to live for everyone? Charmel Lester: I do, and I believe that artists are uniquely positioned to raise awareness of pressing challenges in a
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition meaningful and nuanced way. It can either be bold and boistetrous or bold and subtle. I like the subtle approach because I feel as though it is not too loud. We have really appreciated the originality of your artistic research and before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in contemporary art scene. For
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Charmel Lester more than half a century women have been discouraged from producing something 'uncommon', however over the last decades there are signs that something is really changing. How would you describe your personal experience as an artist on this aspect? Charmel Lester: I am aware of the challenges that exist for women in the our industry, but thankfully, I've not knowingly experienced
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Charmel Lester gender-based discrimination in my creative practice. What's your view on the future of women in such interdisciplinary field? Charmel Lester: Women can do anything that men can do and the world should be
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition created equal. Women are strong, powerful and very influential creatures and we get things done. You are an established artist and over the years your works have been featured in local boutiques and markets throughout North Louisiana: how do you consider the nature of
Check Out This Huge Crochet Mural of Kamala Harris at the Wharf The piece was created by LA artist London Kaye in honor of International Women's Day. A 20-foot-tall, 40-foot-wide crochet portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris is on display at The Wharf starting today. The piece was created by LA artist London Kaye in honor of International Women’s Day, and is located outside of the restaurant Officina on Maine Avenue. The crochet mural of Harris was the product of Kaye’s Love Across the USA public art campaign: 150 people across the country each crocheted a square for the mural, and they were ultimately stitched together to create the finished product. The result features Harris set against a multicolored background with the phrase “I’m speaking.”—the line Harris famously said to former Vice President Mike Pence during last year’s vice presidential debate. The piece will hang outside Officina through Memorial Day, at which point it will be moved to a permanent location. Throughout its exhibit, the restaurant will run menu specials, and proceeds will go toward the National Center for Children and Families. Written by Mimi Montgomery
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition your relationship — especially in public spaces — with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalised audience? Charmel Lester: I value and appreciate the shifts in creative business propelled by technology. Through social media, artists can connect with other creatives and art enthusiasts in real-time. Also, it is a way for artists to connect with others and not feel pressure to “perform” and “be on” in a venue. It makes it more of a natural setting where artists can be themselves. Some people suffer from social anxiety and I feel as though technology can relax the mind when showing ones art. Instagram: Charmel's Creative Link: https://instagram.com/charmelscreative?utm_me dium=copy_link Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Charmel. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? Charmel Lester: My annual show is scheduled for mid-April, so much of my energy will be devoted to creating pieces for this show. Moving forward, I want to explore the process of creating larger pieces and branch out into home decor and commercial design.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Charmel Lester
Hello Wendy and welcome to ARTiculAction: we would like to invite our readers to visit http://www.wendyfournier.org in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production, and we would like to start this interview with a couple of questions regarding your background. You have a solid formal training: after having earned your Bachelor of Art from the Wayne State University, you nurtured your education with a Masters in Art History that you received from the Azusa Pacific University: how did these experiences address your evolution as an artist? In particular, are there any experiences that did particularly help you to develop your attitude to experiment? Wendy Fournier: Getting a formal education helped build my confidence as an artist. At Wayne State University I was grateful to learn a wide range of skills from design and drawing to watercolor and oil painting, experiences that helped mold me into the artist you see today. As in any training though, the teachers show us their way, what they value, and encourage specific styles, as you experience different styles, it helps you discover your own. Finding my voice was a long journey. I had to unlearn certain boxes and biases to discover and learn to love my own style and voice. I also studied physics at Oakland University before changing my major to art and ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART meets Wendy Fournier An interview by , curator and , curator Combining her research and passion for art, religion and science into a body of work that explores spiritual and philosophical questions. Similar to Surrealist Artists who pushed the boundaries or reality of their art by exploring the limits of our psychology, she pushes the spectrum of her art to portray relationships with spirituality by using consciousness, and spiritual practices. Specializing in bringing the sacredness back to art, she has the ability to connect and communicate to unseen forces and makes them visible in her work. She establishes patterns in the physical world to that of the spiritual, philosophical, and scientific worlds. She pushes the limits of what art can do, transcending the viewer into an emotional and spiritual connection. Her art not only stimulates the senses but offers teachings with its inspiring symbolism and rhetoric. She shares the teaching of each painting on her YouTube channel. Click Here. You can follow her at www.facebook.com/WendyFournierart on Instagram.She is an Usui Reiki Master, Quantum touch practitioner, has a Masters in Art History and a Bachelor in Fine Art.
Moon Time
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Wendy Fournier transferring to Wayne State. I excelled at mathematics and my love of science, math and quantum physics helped me explain the spiritual things I experienced in my life. Like all these parts make up a universal language; art, music, color, math, physics, biology, emotion, feeling etc… All of these parts make up a whole. This skill set also added to my storytelling and desire to understand and describe the unseen. My education in Modern Art History satisfied my love of learning and allowed me to explore, research and discover the pattern of human artistic evolution. As humans, we have a need to create and express ourselves. I like to learn from our ancestors the struggles and triumphs they led in their own artistic journey. It is inspiring and gives me strength to live outside the box in my avante garde expression. What led me to experiment in my artistic expression wasn’t from anything that I learned in school. It was from my experiences and my own intuition. It was integrating all aspects of myself. I experienced and researched religions and spiritual practices. Through these experiences I began noticing intuitive guidance within me to create the stories and images I paint. I began to create images specific for individuals about their own spiritual process, and it was through this experimentation that really grew my voice and expression. The intuitive guidance to create specific images for people and the meaning behind them was so accurate it built a confidence in this unseen language accessed through the creation process, that I began to flourish. From here I learned that if I focused on my own spiritual growth and healing, and became disciplined in mindfulness practices and meditation I was a cleaner bridge for this information to come through. I then began experimenting with using intention and consciousness in regards to broad ideas and that led me to create paintings and bring in information about a variety of subject matters that I feel are guiding us in growth and expansion as human beings. It is through all of our experiences that help create who we are, our voice and our authentic expression, my life is no exception. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of ARTiculAction and our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article has at once captured us by the way it highlights your unique ability to unveil the unseen through sapient use of symbols, able to connect contemporary sensitiveness to the spiritual realm: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us if you create your works gesturally, instinctively? Or do you methodically transpose geometric schemes? Wendy Fournier: Through studying ancient cultures and modern ones I discovered similar symbolic meanings of colors, objects, and shapes. This recurring pattern of symbols is what I use as a form of rhetoric in my paintings. Yet when creating a painting I detach my mind as much as I can to the outcome and access a different way of thinking. This space is one accessed by all artists, all musicians, I believe. In this creative space I transcend my mind and access something bigger. This is where I use my consciousness and intention. I generally ask
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition questions like: “What do I need to know about _____?” “What does (so and so) need to know about their life or purpose?” What do we need to know about the year 2022?” etc.. When I ask a question and I then suspend it. It takes practice of this intuitive space to know how to navigate it. This is why healing myself and regularly transforming my fear into love helps connect in a cleaner less biased way. Once I have an intention, images begin to appear in a perfect transition. I never know what is going anywhere until I do. I don’t know the end until I do. I start somewhere, wherever my internal voice tells me and I follow. Learning to trust this voice step by step is truly my artistic process. Sometimes it is painting the background first, sometimes it is the positive space first. The process itself is part of the story. There is reason behind everything I do when painting. Why something is laid down first adds meaning to the painting itself. Each object and color adds meaning. Its position and size adds meaning. I feel like this is the process of life itself. I learn from my paintings how to live my own life. This process has taught me how to live in trust. Knowing that I will know what I need to, when I need to. My intuition tells me what colors and what objects to use, it just feels right, it is as if I struck the right cord on a piano. I have to feel this in every corner every square inch of the painting. When I feel this everywhere the painting is done. Sometimes I don’t know where to go in a painting, it is unfinished but I don’t know where to go. So I wait and each time this has happened it is my own spiritual emotional growth that is needed so I am able to hear the next steps.
C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Wendy Fournier ARTICUL CTION A Special Issue Divinity Download
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition Vulnerability
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Wendy Fournier Painting is my life expression and everything is so intimately intertwined, it is like experiencing magic and bliss everyday. Your artistic production feature such unconventional sense of beauty that challenges the logic of ordinary perception. In particular, Spiritual discovery, features balanced combination between sense of geometry and almost abstract sensitiveness, that creates such unique dreamlike ambience. How do you structure your process in order to achieve such brilliant results? In particular, how does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your artworks? Wendy Fournier: I believe everything is connected in a circle nothing is truly linear, maybe just the illusion of it. I paint this way. Every part of the painting is connected to each other, I do this with form and color so in this way no matter where you enter the painting visually you will find your way around its entirety. Connecting seemingly unlike imagery together in a way using light and form. All things in reality are made up of the same stuff just in different forms and I try to capture that in my paintings. I follow my heart in regards to what I love. If I love the color, the form, the shape, then the painting becomes a labor of love. My heart needs to respond, in hopes that others hearts will respond. I do not judge the story though, I do not judge the symbol of the objects. Even if it was an object that universally means something bad, I paint it with love.
Spritual discovery
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition When I am trying to capture an idea or energy, I do interpret it, using my mind and spirit, I am human. I have a lens I work through and I try to capture that energy the best I can. Sometimes the energy is soft and loving so I use softer gentler imagery and colors to evoke that feeling, Seeing Beyond
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Wendy Fournier Into the Mystic
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition Rise
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Wendy Fournier sometimes it is strong and powerful and the colors and imagery partner with me to get that message across. As I grow as an artist as a person, as my lens changes so too shall my interpretations of the ideas and energy. The lens I use is a culmination of my psychology, my mind and belief systems, my spirituality. This is why I work on loving all aspects of myself so my lens is less filled with wounds, expectations, or fears and allows me to focus on love and light and truth. We really appreciate your sapient use of images and symbols that, as in Moon Time, create poetic metaphors through sapiently selected means: how do you consider the role of symbols and evokative elements playing within your artistic process? And how important is for you to create artworks rich of allegorical qualities Wendy Fournier: Storytelling is a very old process of teaching; in this way my paintings do the same thing while affecting parts of ourselves we can’t explain. The information transferred between the painting and the viewer is emotional, mental and depending on the lens of the viewer it can affect them as deeply as they will let it. Like old fables, that haunt us yet we 2021 New Beginnings
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition know they are speaking of spiritual practices of being human, how we grow, how we change and evolve. These stories touch on unseen forces that can only be described in such a way. In Moon Time there are poetic metaphors and teaching similar to fables. It speaks of a pathway and hierarchy of roles within our psyche to follow. How do we see in the dark? How do we traverse the parts of ourselves that may be hidden, the parts that we deny? How do we repair the banished aspects? This painting talks about this, the symbolic meaning and size of each animal shows the importance of each and its role in understanding ourselves. I didn’t know the answer to these questions until I painted it. Through this painting I began to understand and tap into a process of navigating this space. Yet like any good story, it changes as you change. We really appreciate the powerful storytelling conveyed by your paintings, that deeeply engages the viewers on the emotional aspect: do you aim to create allegorical images able to trigger the viewers' imagination, inviting them to elaborate personal interpretations? And how open would you like your works to be understood? Wendy Fournier: These environments that are created in these paintings are meant to shift and alter people's perception of reality. It can be uncomfortable. It is outside of what we are used to. If you listen to the paintings, truly allow yourself to immerse yourself into that reality, it will take you on a journey. I know that everything happens for a reason, even someone reading this article, finding their way to these words, whoever views my work is meant to on some level. Whatever they get from it, whether it be inspiration or objection, is exactly what they need to. The paintings teach me. I share
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Wendy Fournier Discovering Balance
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition Higher Self
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Wendy Fournier what they teach me on my YouTube channel. It has been a profound experience for me. So I wanted to share. That's all we can do while we are alive is share who we are. Whatever we see is what we are meant to. I encourage everyone to discern for themselves what feels right for them. There is no right or wrong in interpretation. Whatever you see is for you and how you are meant to see it and feel it. When we all learn this and hone this skill, knowing what we feel is right for us, not necessarily for others, the world will be more balanced and harmonious. Like I mentioned above, as you change your perception of the paintings will change and things you didn’t see before will come forward. My paintings are meant to be this ambiguous. Through your works you created such unique visual vocabulary able to trigger the viewers' imagination, inviting them to elaborate personal interpretations: We dare say that you create new kind of languages that expand and trascends the nature of our relationship with our surroundings, inviting the viewers to elaborate such a wide number of interpretations: how would you consider the degree of openess of the messages that you convey in your creations and how open would you like your works to be understood? Wendy Fournier: I truly believe we are all connected. As one heals, we all heal. If one of us succeeds we all succeed. I tap into the spiritual realm, into another time and space so it invites others to do the same within themselves. Like a singer, singing of heartbreak taps into your feelings or memories of heartbreak. They become a bridge. This openness you speak of is necessary, it is the only way to interact with it universally. I have no attachment to the outcome. If someone gets a different message from the
New Balance
Perception