Here’s the long overdue, overly dramatic presentation you’ve been waiting for. Back this project by clicking: >here<
Back this project on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kelliklymenko/kelli-klymenkos-gods-and-goddesses
”Kelli Klymenko’s God’s & Goddesses” is a unique project that shares with humanity, a unified voice – a vision through an elaborate photography and film collection. In today’s society, it is visual stimuli that defines who we are, and carves out a path to our future actions. We have deified celebrities, friends, people who are ‘inaccessible’ and those who entertain us. Those who we have placed on a pedestal for either good or bad, as negative, or positive role models – are the gods and goddesses of modern times.
Grow | Learn | Conserve | Preserve | Question | Denounce | Educate | Change | Free your mind | EVOLVE
‘Remembering That You Are Going To Die Is The Best Way I Know To Avoid The Trap Of Thinking You Have Something To Lose’ – Steve Jobs
Life is an amazing thing. We are filled with hope, joy, love, hate, jealousy, envy, peace, and so much more. Our lives are intertwined and our connections grow closer each day that passes. Our love for life and each other varies like the seasons and we hope that we will live and love forever.
I hope for peace, happiness and love. Love for my children and humankind.
| Originally written by Kelli Klymenko for the Red Rock News Art Blog, Friday, 16 September 2011 10:16 |
| One of the most frequently asked questions I’ve heard is, “So, what do you do?” For a large number of people this can be very simple to answer: Artist, Photographer, Musician, Dancer, Astrophysicist, Clerk, Economist, Retiree, or Astronaut. However, for others (like me) this can be quite challenging. How do you describe what it is you do, when you do too much? And how much is, too much?
I have found many different hats to wear travelling down the road of life. I can honestly relate to the “notoriously overachieving” James Franco who just had the title “art collector” (he purchased a 13 year old fan’s artwork) added to his list of achievements on the Huffington Post: actor/painter/director/producer/screenwriter/author/pilot/performance artist/professor, etc. I myself can fit into a number of these categories, while adding photographer, illustrator, percussionist, incense-maker, and marketing director to name a few. Of course for Franco this type of overachieving is nothing short of magnificent thanks to his celebrity status. But what does this mean for the less visible artist/entrepreneur that is a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none? Can doing too much actually hurt us as artists? I’ve tossed this question around often and as recently as the other night in my self-publishing class, where I mentioned that I’m a marketing ‘nightmare’. I think this is where our multi-tasking, free-wheeling ways can be detrimental to certain artistic goals. I find myself to be my own “nemesis” when it comes to this. Who am I? Well, I’m a photographer, artist and author who writes screenplays, blogs and novels while designing websites and heading up the marketing efforts of the Sedona Arts Center and all their events while teaching classes, art experiences and painting Apples for the Art Barn while preparing for PhotoFest and community outreach programs and volunteering at children’s art classes and making incense and oil blends that travel across the country and into stores just like the one I used to own on the East Coast while experimenting with run-on sentences. Try marketing that! As artists we have to have clear goals, but for some of us, it’s really hard to fit into a certain genre. And frankly, some of us simply do not want to fit in. I could never imagine forcing myself into one particular role. I love so many different artistic forms entirely too much to get ‘stuck’ in one. I also get bored too easily; so much that I can walk away from a painting or drawing for years before returning to complete it. The world, for me – is just too exciting and full of life to stick to just one artistic form. So I skip marketing myself altogether and live a life of “doing” rather than worrying about how I appear to the rest of the world. This methodology has worked for me so far, so I can safely say it could possibly work for you as well. So all in all I think it can’t hurt to be an overachiever. What I’m saying to you is: Live life to the fullest. Take your art to the highest levels. Don’t try to fit circles into squares when there are so many octagons still out there waiting for you to explore. Excel in your field, master your art, but always explore different mediums. It will keep your mind, art and soul fresh and full of life. I’m not telling you to quit what your good at or abandon your style. I’m reminding you to experience life and all the amazing challenges, adventures and joys it has to offer. Your art is as infinite as the universe and always should be. There are no chains or definitions that hold you down. So don’t get stuck, break free and explore all forms of art. Trust me, it feels great. Remember: grow; learn; conserve; preserve; create; question; educate; change; and free your mind. About: Kelli Klymenko is an artist, a faculty member and the Marketing & Events Coordinator at Sedona Arts Center: a gathering place where artists can learn, teach, and exhibit their works at the center’s School of the Arts and Fine Art Gallery in uptown Sedona. |
May you always embrace the peace and love in your heart and share it with your fellow human, no matter who they may be.
THE SCENE Sedona, Arizona Friday, July 8, 2011
Surround me with one thousand of the worlds finest people and still I stand alone.
Shout altercations, shriek anger, bellow and cry and still I may not hear.
Thrust me down, kick me and curse me and still I might feel nothing.
: disconnected, disembodied and dichotomized : I am not
I will always seek the truth; Fact, not myth; Reality, not fantasy; Truth not belief.
My ears will hear no greater sound, for as long as I live and breath the air upon this Earth, than the sound of children’s laughter. My child’s laughter; the children in my life. My heart knows no greater joy than sharing knowledge to those who listen. Most particularly our children; my children; those children close to me.
I was born alone and I will die alone; We were born alone and we will die alone; you were born alone and you will die alone – yet we are one.
I will not sacrifice my art for any gold or silver or dollars. I will not soften my words, repress my speech or simplify my views to better fit the world. I will speak proudly my opinions, emotions and my overall views without hesitation or forethought. In cases of overwhelming evidence, if I am wrong, I proudly welcome that information and correct my view. I will always seek knowledge, truth and varying opinions in every matter and subject. And I will further test the knowledge offered to me before accepting it as doctrine, which we already know is permutable in my equations anyway.
I care deeply about the suffering of animals in every instance of their human bondage, torture and murder. I am a vegetarian and will never ‘falter’ or ‘relapse’ into a carnivorous state. I would never eat a deceased passenger on a disastrous journey if left stranded far from civilization. I would also never eat an animal in the same scenario. I do not enjoy the mockery or scoffing of some regarding what they consider to be hypocrisy in my ethics and beliefs. I do what I can, I do my part and they should do theirs as well without criticizing how much better they are at being – better.
I care deeply about the suffering of humanity in every instance of their bondage. I always strive to better understand my fellow being. I always strive to help those who are in need.
I may in fact understand you. I enjoy helping people, giving advice and I genuinely do care about you. My words are harder than tungsten carbide or depleted uranium but only to justify my sincerity. I can without doubt, remain strong, wise and devoted to anything and anyone in any situation that is virtuous. I sometimes try to repress my personal emotions to better suite your needs, fragility or your desideratum.
My heart is involved in every venture and undertaking.
My head understands my heart and my heart heals my head.
My life is built upon my dreams.
…I dream maybe I can take flight, I dream I can run and feel the wind on my face and coarse ropes and bitter-tasting silence is falling from me. I dream that I can speak as loud as I wish and I can fly.
…and I love you.
“I dreamed the same dream last night.
I suppose in ordinary circumstances it would be polite to remark that I shall not bore you with the details, but life is in the details. Did someone say that once? How brisk was the early autumn air singing and alive on the night of your first kiss? Or was it damp, humid – the light breezes of spring long forgotten as the stillness of the summer drapes all around you like a heavy cloak?
Details.
We are all subject to them in one form or another and they have been reinvented a thousand times, a hundred thousand times before evolving into their perfect ends. Memories are these colorful fanciful pictures, reworked and touched up until we are satisfied, was that night so perfect? Were her eyes so blue? Dreams are these memories more often than not, and I was chased out of my house by one such dream.
I ran from my dream, out onto my lawn, and fell there – Sleeping until awakened face to face with a field of never ending green, green grass, sweet smelling from the morning dew. But you can never venture far from these, they are part and parcel as the saying goes, and you will never truly escape.
The dream you ask?
Oh yes, I dream I am free – and true freedom demands a price. Freedom – she is a shrewd negotiator and always demands her cost. Freedom can be the most frightening demon. I dream maybe I can take flight, I dream I can run and feel the wind on my face and coarse ropes and bitter-tasting silence is falling from me.
I dream that I can speak as loud as I wish and I can fly.”
I am inspired by theatrical music that gives rise to vast worlds within my mind. I am inspired by the colors and soft sounds of a brilliant sunrise or sunset on these red red rocks. I am inspired by truthful words well spoken and laughter skillfully evoked. I am inspired by my own optimistic dreams and thoughts. I am inspired by peace, tranquility and balance. I am inspired by science and beauty and can recognize beauty in science. I am inspired by children who question everything about the world they live in. I am inspired by altruism.
What inspires you?
Inspiration comes in endless forms and countless ways, all unique to each and every one of us. It could find its way to us by way of birds singing, people dancing or something more subtle like a pattern, shape or color seen arbitrarily. It can be found hidden within a painting or far off in a cloudy memory of times long past. Or perhaps your muse is found in chain emails, discount coupons or thrift stores. These breakthroughs are a powerful force that can shape the world when not left to stagnate.
I want you to think for a moment on what influences you most. Allow your thoughts to drift away and remember what caused that painting to be born; that poem to be penned; that song to be sung; that sculpture to be carved? Think on what it is that motivates you to create, act or be driven to a purpose…
…and then experience it; change it; shape it – over and over again, each and every day.
Embrace that which inspires you. Fall deeply into your thoughts and dreams. Don’t let the mundane in life slow the momentum of any new found enthusiasm. Take advantage of each edifying moment and use it to create something new that will perhaps give impetus to others. Illuminate the world with your ennobling words, music and art. Flow with life; flow with innovation.
Whether you are an artist or not, take a moment each day to feel the inspiration art bestows you. Appreciate the sounds of nature, music and the entire world around you. Become involved with those who create and inspire others. Share your creativity with your fellow human and living thing equally. Find your muse, welcome it and change the world.
Remember: grow; learn; conserve; preserve; create; question; educate; change; and free your mind.
*Are you a potter or ceramicist that needs more motivation? There’s no greater inspiration than helping to create loving bowls for charity. Volunteer your skills every Thursday from 1 – 4 at Sedona Arts Center’s ceramics department to create either wheel-thrown or hand-built bowls. This year’s fund-raising will benefit Sedona Arts Center, The Sedona Community Center and The Sedona Food Bank. Call 928.282.3809 to see how you can help.
Check out my weekly Art Blog on redrocknews.com: click here
We are in the midst of our culture, our world, our life; centuries from now, we too will be an ancient civilization studied by future generations. They will go through brick by brick, stone by stone to find out more about us. Our art will give future generations a glimpse of how we lived and what we believed in or how we saw our world. Archeologists study ancient civilizations through artifacts and often learn about how they lived through their art found on cave walls, carved out of stone and buried with the dead. It could be depictions of everyday life, the hunt, ceremonies, war, victory, losses, love and more. Who they were; their culture; all vanishes – but we have come to know them through the art they left. It was Oscar Wilde who stated, “…the self-conscious aim of Life is to find expression, and Art offers it certain beautiful forms through which it may realize that energy.” Art is life and life is surrounded by art.
Freedom of creative expression has built nations and will design the future. We constantly shape life around our artistic endeavors. Our music, architecture, technology and words are an imaginative reflection of our souls. Life will always imitate the arts. Non-artists recognize and enjoy art every single day when watching a film, listening to a song or simply sitting in a chair designed for comfort or beauty. We are the designs of our lives; art is an extension of ourselves that we often take for granted.
We cannot survive without art. Imagine a world without the beauty expressed through the hearts of our dearest creators. Whether the artist is an amateur, professional or a child, their shared vision is an important thread in the fabric of our society. They help to inspire families, entire communities, and even countries. They shape elections and rally us to causes. It is the artist, the creative writer that pens our future. Leaders often quote the scripts of those imaginative individuals that so eloquently help us truly visualize a thought or idea. Our art will remain for centuries as nations and cultures rise and fall.
Art is completely subjective. It is our emotional connection that inspires us. There isn’t any standardized method to evaluating the quality or magnificence of literature, a painting, drawing or sculpture. We can’t measure, weigh or scientifically calculate the superiority of art, because beauty truly is “in the eye of the beholder.” Yet you don’t have to be an artist or critic to truly identify with the visual arts. Just look around and you will see how art in its many forms encompasses your life. It is the beauty and inspiration that builds and shapes your world. Begin to appreciate the arts and those who courageously share their visions with the world. They are the master builders of tomorrow. They are the foundation of every society that ever existed.
We need our artists, musicians, and writers. We need centers for the arts: galleries, museums, theaters, and schools. Communities flourish and people are united through the arts and organizations like Sedona Arts Center (SAC). SAC has been a cultural and educational anchor in Sedona for over half a century. It has continuously contributed to the quality of life in our community by providing arts education, developing emerging artists and stimulating Sedona’s economy by drawing students, acclaimed artists and faculty from all over the world to participate in classes and workshops. It has created a place for people to gather, share their visions and slowly construct a community that is praised today as one of the finest art communities in the country. Centers like this are a vital and important resource we should always strive to preserve.
Everyone is welcome to take part in the arts. You don’t have to be an artist to participate and contribute to the Center’s mission. It is a place where anyone of any age can take that first or continuing step into the world of art – either as an artist or one who simply appreciates art. Taking a class can be the fulfillment of an unrealized dream, an exciting new adventure, or an opportunity to expand your social circle. Becoming a member can inspire you and others to truly appreciate and understand how vital the arts are to our vibrant community.
The first step is recognizing how extremely important the arts are to the foundation of our society. The next step is engaging and participating in that world that we all love. If you are a non-artist but enjoy the arts, try and experience what it takes to create art; learn more about how to appreciate or even understand the arts. Become part of the legacy that future societies will perhaps one day unearth and understand who we truly were.
Remember: grow; learn; conserve; preserve; create; question; educate; change; and free your mind.
Kelli Klymenko – Friday, February 25 2011 – THE SCENE, Red Rock News, Sedona, Ariz.
