Update before July is out...

I've been really, really quiet, for some time, now. I've been doing massive amounts of research on creative process and visual thinking -- just kind of following different threads, and seeing where they lead me. Researching as an artist in search of material, as an individual in need of explanations, rather than a hard-science inquisitor with facts to prove or disprove.

It's been a deeply personal process, and I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with everything I've found, but it's all grist for the mill. It's all material for my ongoing work, and in that respect, it's been a very productive number of months.

I've been drawing a lot. I've been writing a lot. I've been "distracting" myself a lot... which is what I used to think, till I realized (just this morning, in fact) that I haven't been distracting my attention, I've been deepening it. I just didn't realize until very recently, how it was all put together.

I really have to "trust the process" (much as I detest that expression) in this. Have faith that there is some underlying reason why I'm "scattering" my attentions and going off on different tangents. I really have to believe that the visual/spatial part of myself that's so very, very hungry for information and understanding, knows what it's doing, knows its own needs, and knows how to get itself fed.

I've been feeding that part of myself, lo, these past 8 months... or rather, it's been clamoring to be fed, and I've indulged it. I can't say that I was feeding it, 'cause at a very fundamental level, it wasn't a conscious choice on my part... I wasn't fully aware enough to 'get' that I was feeding it, only that I was running around in all different directions, compulsively consuming vast amounts of information about stuff that a part of me suspected might just be very, very important -- and it was.

Well, whatever the process, that part of me that was aching to be tended to, did in fact get fed. It had its fill (for now), and I am coming away from the past 6-8 months with a vastly more complete understanding of myself, my life experience, my way of relating to the world, my way of relating to myself and my friends and family, than I have ever had before.

So, the distraction has been well worth it. And I am feeling a whole lot more centered, more capable, more able, more connected, more comprehensible, than ever before in my entire life.

It's quite remarkable. But enough of the words. That's where I'm at right now, but only time will tell how this plays out in the world beyond my head. And that, for me, is where it truly counts.

Angel Heart Ruby at the Heart Art Gallery

Angel Heart Ruby, originally uploaded by kaystoner.

"Oh, my God...." is what everyone has says to me, when I first show them this fractal, Angel Heart Ruby.

I've now got an online gallery of my heart art -- www.heart-art-gallery.com -- where you can see this and other Angel Heart works. The detail is just breathtaking, and when each image is available as a desktop wallpaper for your computer (800x600 and 1024x768 resolutions).

I had Angel Heart Ruby printed at Imagekind -- I've got a gallery there of my Heart Art -- http://kls.imagekind.com/HeartArt -- that lets you purchase fine art giclee prints (on paper and canvas) of this and my other fractals.

The print quality from Imagekind is just astounding. I never expected it to look as great as it does, with all the gradations and color contrasts... but the first time I opened the tube and unrolled the 30x24" matte print, I gasped... Such vibrant colors... such intensity... and I'd never fully guessed, from working on my laptop, just how dramatic the effect would be.

But then, it does look different in a large printed format, than it does on my little laptop screen.

Truly, this is a miracle of computer science, and I'm incredibly blessed to have "midwifed" it.

Angel Heart Ruby on Flickr

Angel Heart Ruby is up at Flickr, along with other fractals I've "found."

New fractal artwork at my Imagekind Gallery

I've got new fractals posted at my Imagekind Gallery

Earth Burst
This round, reflective fractal holds the darkness and deepness of the earth, while at the same time nestling the intricacies of Gaia's innermost secrets along the meridian of the work. It stands in sharp contrast with Gossamer Burst - which is much finer, much more delicate than Earth Burst, and it makes a fitting compliment to Gossamer Burst, which feels much lighter and airier than this piece. This is a more "basic" treatment of the same concept -- as above, so below. Very much in and of the earth.


and


Gossamer Burst
This round, reflective fractal really jumps out at me as a sharp contrast with Earth Burst - it's much finer, much more delicate, and it makes a fitting compliment to Earth Burst, which feels full of earthiness. This is a more ephemeral treatment of the same concept -- as above, so below. But this time, in dreamtime.

The Art of Strange Bedfellows is now available online

The art of Strange Bedfellows is now available online at My Imagekind Gallery.

Giclee prints on paper, as well as canvas are available... and all of them can be custom framed at Imagekind.

Pay a visit to see what the artwork looks like on its own.