Tag Archives: art

What is ArtSpace and Why You Should Know

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Art, Design, El Paso, Life in Context

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as_elpaso_headerA few weeks ago, I went to a community meeting held by representatives of Artspace USA, a national non-profit organization that strives to create sustainable, affordable living spaces for artists and their families.

El Paso has been going through an interesting boom in culture and arts, most likely set in motion through various initiatives sponsored and encouraged by city organizations. Either way, these artists have found their niche and have devoted a large part of their lives to their craft.

Unfortunately, art doesn’t always pay the bills. Despite that, art, music and creativity are mandatory elements in the growth of a city and it’s culture, so as a community, we need to find a way to help encourage these artists to keep creating.

Here is a set of tweets that I broadcast during the meeting. They started out by explaining what the proposed spaces might look like:

Then, after having gotten everyone interested in the spaces, the presenter then went into details regarding eligibility. An ‘artist’ is defined by being a creative of some sort; photography, painting, drawing, music etc.

Most exciting of all, at least to me, is how nicely this will fit into the 2015 Downtown Redevelopment plan, which is already well under way.

If you’re interested in learning more about the upcoming Artspace community in El Paso sign up for their newsletter and show some support. Every little bit counts!

Episode 12 – Week of 11/12/2012

12 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in 915 Voice

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Episode # 12 of The 915 Voice is OUT! Stay in the know with what’s going on this week including RUSKO | In Concert Presented by SMG Events & Disco Donnie, UTEP Dinner Theater, DAEGON Live @ Soho’s Wax Wednesday, SMG Events’ The END Tour, Taste of El Paso, Lend Me A Tenor at the El Paso Playhouse and MORE!

Featured band is The Black Coats!

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How To Not Piss Yourself on Stage

27 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in El Paso, Fashion, How To's, Life in Context

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For the last month, I’ve been pretty much a nervous wreck because I was asked to host a launch party for Mas E Mas Esthetics. As a writer, I prefer to quietly seclude myself to the comfiest corner of my house and crank out a few articles. Although I often go to social events for fun or networking, I hate getting my photo taken and I hate being on video even more.

Despite all this, I accepted. I love to help people out and I know that my good friend, Anthony, had much more to worry about than actually hosting his own event. After all, in the span of a few hours he had to get his models ready, set the food out, perform a live demonstration and make sure he didn’t lose his marbles somewhere along the way.

As the date approached I created a Facebook Event and invited all those I thought would be interested. I posted flyers and preached the awesomeness of Mas E Mas. I encompassed that brand as if it were my own and learned every aspect of Anthony and his business. First rule of PR: know your client.

The night came and Anthony was preparing his 5 models, including Jude, of which I have an interesting previous past with (that’s a story for another day).  As Anthony’s friends and family started arriving, I made sure every single person either had a drink in their hands or food on their plate. I made small talk with aunts, uncles and business parters. Business cards seemed to be flying around like confetti.

As 7:00 drew near, the time had arrived for my speech. I hastily took a final swig of my sangria, grasped my carefully prepared minute-length speech and carefully stepped up to the stage. Suddenly, I didn’t feel nervous. I looked at the room full of curious and interested faces and I wasn’t intimidated anymore. I began to speak.

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Crysti Couture, and tonight we celebrate an entrepreneur, artist, visionary and the official launch of his brand, Mas E Mas Esthetics. This fashion and beauty impressario boasts an impressive list of professional successes: having graduated cum laude from Bauder Fashion, he worked as a model in his early years enabling  him to travel and work with some of the most prestigious fashion houses in the world. Today, he is sharing his vision of beauty with the world by bringing Mas E Mas Esthetics’s to El Paso. Without further ado, please join me in introducing Mark Anthony Saldivar.

Anthony came up on stage with happy tears in his eyes and thanked me before taking the microphone. I stayed on stage with him and explained to the audience the products he was using, the techniques he was employing and so on. I even emcee’d a few giveaways. It was a thrill.

The night ended well and I didn’t need to imagine anyone in their knickers or in the nude to get through my stage fright. All I needed was a well-prepared speech and a few glasses of vino. Heck, I might even do it again; although this time, a few glasses of Merlot might suffice.

A Weekend In The Life… [2]

09 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in El Paso, Life in Context

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It was a bit of a whirlwind weekend worthy of a blog post so I ought to write it all down before it becomes a blur. You can read my previous weekend post at this link.

The weekend started off with a brief visit to Alfresco Fridays, which is a longtime running production hosted by the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau. This last Friday, I had the pleasure of checking out ‘The Vibe’ of whom I’ve briefly mentioned before on this blog, back when they performed at Chalk The Block. I really like The Vibe’s music and the talent behind it:

  1. Mike Minjarez is a member of the Vibe and is also a member of the Emily Davis band.
  2.  I’ve interviewed Emily for 915 Lifestyle and had her album on replay for some time.
  3. Emily Davis is also a member of another band, Cigarettes After Sex, who should be releasing an album relatively soon.

I’m sure the little talent ‘family’ tree could go on and on with El Paso being as musically talented as it is. After the show at Alfresco, I ended up walking back home to get ready and head off to La Parada.

La Parada is El Paso’s ‘First Fridays’ musical set up and hands-down one of my favorite monthly events to go to.  Not only do I dance my ass off but if I arrive early I usually get to chat with different groups of people I know as they arrive. I caught up with other artists I knew from mARTket, members of Beto O’Rourke’s political campaign, my editors from Fusion and ran into a few other really special and memorable folks!

On Saturday evening, thanks to my new writing gig with SMG Events, my boss got me a ticket to see Steve Aoki at the Buchanan’s Event Center on the Eastside. Although the line wait was a little longer than I would have liked, the show itself was phenomenal as usual.  This will be the second time I see Steve Aoki perform this year; the first time was back in March when El Paso Times sent me to review Aoki’s ‘Dead Meat Tour’. This time around The Mazo Boyz opened up the show then Deorro really pumped up the crowd. By the end of the night, I was absolutely drenched in sweat but I just kept on dancing.

Sunday I spent the entire day with an amazing person watching movies and walking the mall! We started out the day by checking out the new Ridley Scott film, ‘Prometheus’ then discussed the topical origins of Prometheus for some time after that movie had ended. It was really great to have an intelligent conversation with someone on my wave length! After walking the mall and chatting for a good 4 hours, we returned to the theater and watched ‘Men in Black III’. I really enjoyed both movies and would recommend them to anyone… then again, when it comes to film, I really am very easily impressed…glad I’m not a Film Critic!

That’s all for now. The next few weekends will be a lot more low-key as I have two new assignments to work on with Fusion Magazine and five pending interviews with SMG Events. Hoping I can sneak in two articles for the Times soon as well; my friend Zyme is going to be releasing his ‘Greetings From El Paso’ album soon and I just got word today that local band Sound on Sounds will be releasing a new album early next month. Looking forward to the formal writing!

Perspectives on Art: The June MARTket

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Art, El Paso

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The LoftLight Studios Last night was interesting in the fact that it’s rare that I ever show my artwork. One of the co-owners of my publication, 915 Lifestyle, also happens to be the gallery owner of The LoftLight Studios, so on a last minute whim, I decided to ask for some gallery space and he was more than happy to oblige!

Now as you can porbably gather, art is not my priority at this point in my life. It used to be back when my life was less exciting and I had more free time. Although art continues to be one of my passions, I find myself painting in concentrated outcursts whenever I have a free moment. Writing is my passion at this point in my life mainly because I hope that it is something that I will eventually do for a living.

In this month’s mARTket, I showcased the following artwork. You can read about them at their respective links:

1. The Nemean Lion
2. The Tale of Astraea
3. Chakras Within The Tree of Life
4. Sapience
5. Cafe Au Lait
6. a new piece called, New Damask, which I will write about soon.

As I sat at my section, appreciating the artwork around me and the interesting characters walking past me, I noticed a few intrigued looks going my way. Many people asked me what the symbols meant and why I painted what I did. It pleased me that people were interested in the stories behind my art.

It was also curious to me to see how different people approach art. Some people craft wearable things, some make art only for profit and other people paint something because the image is pretty to them. I personally see art as a tangible expression from my soul; a way to express certain things that I cannot fully say through words.

So it came as no surprise that people were most interested in The Nemean Lion. This painting was inspired by someone whom I loved very much (continue to do so) and spent the better part of the last two years with. People asked about the lion’s expression, his form and the symbology. It was really great to just sit there and explain most of it although I didn’t delve into the topic of the person who inspired the painting though. Although I did not sell any art this time, the payment itself was seeing others appreciate my creations. As a result, I am thinking about showing my artwork again next month.

mARTket is a unique monthly arts event, a “celebration of creativity” as I like to call it. You can read more about the event at my March 2012  article for El Paso Times HERE.

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May Doodle: The Nemean Lion

29 Sunday Apr 2012

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Leo

I finally finished my second installment in my Astrology / Liber 777 series. It’s a fairly large acrylic on canvas piece measuring in at 30 x 40, and is titled ‘The Nemean Lion‘

The Nemean Lion is based completely on the Astrological symbol Leo and was inspired by someone I loved very deeply as his sun sign was Leo. Both of my brothers also happen to be Leo’s as well, so I am grateful for that.

The Story and Symbolism:

I like to title my astrological paintings after the Grecian lore behind them; for example, the Nemean Lion was killed by Hercules as the First of his Twelve Labors. This lion was known to have an impenetrable pelt and claws stronger than steel, yet because Hercules managed to conquer him, the lion’s likeness was placed in the sky.

The Symbols:

You’ll notice a few symbols on the work. At the crest above The Nemean Lion’s head sits the Leo Symbol (♌) which is just a simplified glyph of the lion’s head and mane.

On the lower left hand side of the work, you’ll see a small group of symbols that were all obtained as correspondences for Leo in Aleister Crowley’s book Liber 777.

  1. The Sun is the ruling planet for Leo. This symbol is also used to represent Ra, the Egyptian Sun God, which is also very relevant in Thelema. Having the Sun as a ruling planet gives the Leo a very strong, passionate edge…full of pride and ego.
  2. The element of Fire rules Leo. Fire is the Divine Spark of the Universe, so to speak, so those ruled by Fire tend to be more intuitive than other signs. Unfortunately, Fire signs can also be stubborn and impulsive.
  3. The last symbol is The Goetic Sigil of Beleth. Quoted from the Ars Goetia:

The Thirteenth Spirit is called Beleth (or Bileth, or Bilet). He is a mighty King and terrible. He rideth on a pale horse with trumpets and other kinds of musical instruments playing before him. He is very furious at his first appearance, that is, while the Exorcist layeth his courage…

The Colors:

The Queen Scale of color is deep purple and the Empress scale is reddish amber. I tried incorporating that into the crest and the background pattern.

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April Doodle Part Two – Triforce Symbol

13 Friday Apr 2012

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Now, I am not much of a gamer nowadays but ‘back in the day’, I found myself always playing one video game or another. If it wasn’t Spiderman, The Simpsons, NBA Jam, or Mortal Kombat on my old Sega Genesis, it was Resident Evil or Parasite Even on my PlayStation 1. Nowadays, I still play Resident Evil or Mortal Kombat, but on the Playstation 3.

Fast forward to now. One of my best friends Diluted Thought, who is a serial gamer, is leaving for Nevada to be a miner. It’s almost surreal and I’m sure a whole lot of us would want to keep him around, but sometimes you really just need to get away to do something new.

I decided to paint him a piece, since I had the sudden realization last week that I have never painted him anything. For shame! So after asking our mutual friend Metafisix for ideas, he mentioned that anything from the Zelda game would be awesome to render.

After doing a little bit of research on Zelda, which is not one of those franchises I have ever been particularly into, I found this really awesome symbol that incorporates a ton of symbols pertinent to the game, including the all-important Triforce.

The making of this piece was different than anything else I have ever done. I started out by creating a black/blue gradient background, then splattering some warm colors bi-directionally. After this dried, I used a fairly large plate to create a perfect circle.

After that, I just created my pattern. I took a couple of artistic licenses here and there, but overall, I really liked the finished product. To create a slightly patina look, I lightly sprayed the entire canvas with glittered metallic spray paint.

This piece is acrylic on canvas with a polyurethane gloss coat.

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Philosophy and Religion, Rants and Opinions, Thinking Deeply

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‘For whom the bell tolls’ is a phrase originally used by John Donne in “Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII: Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris” in which he also uses the now-famous quip: ‘No Man is an island.’ The entire mediation reads:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Ok great. So, what does this all mean?

Einstein’s unforgettable theorem that “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” (which I have discussed in detailHERE). Tesla himself literally harnessed the energy of the Universe and has been one of the only humans to truly understand, manipulate and create radiant energy from the aether.

Every living creature on Earth has a role in the way the energy around us works. Every reaction has a causation and every thought has quantifiable weight, as Noetic Science is so vehemently trying to prove.

Now that we’ve established the science of it, remember this in all of your daily interactions. It’s actually a bit of a Thelemite practice, as a matter of fact. Before you do anything ask yourself:

  • What is your Will?
  • To What End?

That’s all. We can all improve our quality of life and improve the quality of life of those around us through such simple questions. Like our old friend, Donne, remember that no Man is an island and that when you suffer, the world suffers along with you. When you’re in the midst of ecstatic joy, the world is joyful alongside with you.

What energy will you share with the world today?

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October Doodle [Part Deux]: Sapience

06 Thursday Oct 2011

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As soon as I was done with this piece, I posted it to social networks and now I get to explain the process.

I found an old three legged table just thrown out and in sorry shape. For some reason I took a liking to the table and decided to take it home with me. This was months ago. Now, due to my recent unemployment I have been working on art and writing projects nearly on an exclusive basis and had the time to create something with the forgotten table.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to put on the top…I knew I wanted something that resonated from deep within me…maybe something symbolic. I kept brainstorming and had a couple of choices. I could do something relating to the Goetia with a piece of graffiti in the foreground…I could paint an astrological chart…

None of that happened. Instead, I sat down with the tabletop on my lap and just let the paintbrush do it’s thing. I painted the bust of a bald woman, set in a background of silver filigree. Inside her mind are gear cogs. When I was done with the painting, I signed it and called it ‘Sapience‘.

What is Sapience?

Sapience is often defined as wisdom, or the ability of an organism or entity to act with appropriate judgment, a mental faculty which is a component of intelligence or alternatively may be considered an additional faculty, apart from intelligence, with its own properties….In fantasy fiction and science fiction, sapience describes an essential human property that bestows “personhood” onto a non-human.

‘Sapience’ is acrylic on an MDF and wood 3 legged table. It took 4 days to complete and is glazed in Liquitex. Here are some photos of the work in progress:

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December Doodles: Artistic Words

30 Thursday Dec 2010

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It’s that time again to show you what I have been doing in the artistic realm this past month!

Since it’s the season of giving I thought that one of the best gifts I can give is one that has been created by my own hands. Unfortunately this part of the year happens to find me in a very broke state as well so gifting art makes me feel a little better about not being able to buy fabricated things.

First on the list is a gift I made for my buddy Metafisix. This painting was both a gift and a commission of sorts: I had been hanging out with my buddy on Thanksgiving Day and saw that his room was plastered with art, posters and other miscellany from ceiling to floor. There were a couple of spaces I wanted to fill and had just recently exhibited a little piece of art at the Emerge event in downtown El Paso, so I was inspired to make Metafisix something that he could hang on his wall and remind him of me. This was the end result:

This piece is completely acrylic on an oval canvas. When I was younger, I used to draw graffiti everywhere and at every moment I could muster to do so. Street art is near and dear to me…I am no expert and I don’t have a favorite graf artist but my experience with graf comes from a time in my life where everything was free spirited and everything was tumultuous as well.

My next piece was made for my love interest, Mark, of whom I lovingly mentioned in the Spiels on Wheels podcast. He happens to be a rabid fan of the film ‘The Boondock Saints‘, so I thought I’d pay a little homage to his film by painting my version of a ‘VERITAS AEQUITAS’ anagram I found.

 This work is also completely composed of acrylic on canvas and is coated with a polyurethane spray.

Hope you enjoyed this months doodles! If you’re an El Paso local and would like a commissioned piece, feel free to email me on my About Me page or introduce yourself to me on Twitter! I am certainly looking for the practice so just about anything goes!

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