Above: Lana Gentry “Lovebird” Artist © Robert Mcneill

“F*ck My Heart” — © Lana Gentry Self Portrait

Gentry’s discussion of her creative work and processes feel as intimate and inspired as her creations themselves. She classifies her work as “outlier” art and she herself an outlier who operates outside the mainstream and without traditional schooling. Her art, she says, is developed in the absence of influence. Because of her sensitivities and learning differences, she really had to learn everything in life on her own and in her own way. Things that easily made sense to other people were like “a foreign language” to her and she had to keep “shifting gears” to eventually learn the skillsets of life.

Gentry considers herself a writer first and talks passionately about the wonderful artists she collaborates with, writes about, and features in the magazine loBURN, for which she is the managing editor and lead writer. She says that even with her visual art, it is always words that come first. When she began bringing written worlds into her drawings, creating a journal feel to her work, she says, “I felt like it was cheating.” As if visual art is supposed to stand alone without words being needed. But then, she never created within the confines of rules. Using words feels authentic and her art is a journal of her journey through life.

“It’s always shocking that people buy it,” Gentry says of her work, “because it’s so intimate to me.” I think that her pieces work because they are intimate to others as well. Her work strikes me like a classic folk song, Dylan, or the more modern and southern Jace Everett, a mirror into the individual soul, and at the same time reminiscent of something so familiar, universal, and connectable. Her work is reflective of the modern sadness, beauty, and magic of the feminine, but also pulls on the past, the eternal and timeless.

Finally, I get to ask Gentry about the hundreds of portraits done of her and she’s excited to tell the story… Years ago, there was a small group of art friends in Gentry’s circle who did portraits of each other on Myspace to hone their craft. Around this time there was another artist that Gentry admired, who would post portraits that people had done of her, and Gentry was fascinated by this. This artist (now a close friend of Gentry’s but a private person whose name Gentry protects) seemed to be a sort of muse, inspiring others to create art based on her image and art. One day this muse sent Gentry a portrait she had drawn of her, Gentry, thrilled, posted it up for all to see. Then, seemingly overnight, other artists began creating portraits of Gentry as well! At first, it was always people within her circles, but soon it spread beyond, and she would wake up in the morning to find a portrait posted of her by a total stranger. Sometimes other artists would request pictures from her in certain settings or poses to draw from, other times they’d use selfies she had posted, or draw from other artists’ portraits of her. Once the portraits of Lana Gentry began, they never stopped. Gentry had been kissed by the muse and had become one herself.

A great influence on Gentry was editor, agent, and artist Leslie Barany. “He was a tough mentor,” she says, who taught her about connecting with other artists. He told her that it wasn’t interviews that she was performing when she set out to speak with other artists, but deep conversations. This struck a chord for Gentry, who says she wants to be talking to artists all the time, to always be in conversation with them. In this way, I think, life is reflective. You call out and something answers back. All these portraits of Gentry are a kind of answer to her outreach, support of, and interest in artists of all kinds.

At this point, the portraits done of Gentry feel to her like a long-term cultural project and simultaneously like little gifts that light up her own artistic spirit and life. She says it’s, “fun to see myself through the eyes of others.” She seems to admire and enjoy each depiction and rendition, grateful that her image can spur creative acts. “I didn’t grow up with a lot of self-esteem, [and I had] a lot of hurdles to work through,” Gentry says. She says that each portrait “feels like this mystical wonderful thing.” She told me about this crazy moment when she had just pulled herself out of a deep depression, and she got back on her computer to find a portrait done of her by the artist Robert Bauder. He had painted her crying as if he could feel the truth of her emotions, though he had no way of knowing. Cosmic connection. The world answering back.

“MINDFULNESS” — by Melanie PAUL

You Can’t Find Peace, It Is Not a Lost Shoe.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.
Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

Elizabeth Bishop

___________________________________

I planned a better morning … lost keys, spilled cereal, running late, tears, tears, tears. As the day went on the tornado sat over my house and continued its destruction. By the end of the day, I was in tears as my daughter cried for what she described as “no reason.” My heart sank. I finally got her to bed and sat on my couch between what might have been folded laundry had the one year old not “helped.” I slid off the sofa and into the heap of Legos. I was done. DO YOU HEAR ME, UNIVERSE! Done. I took a deep breath and went somewhere else. It wasn’t a clean house or Hawaii or a meadow filled with flowers. I went in and then came out. I reached over to a stuffed animal that wasn’t supposed to be there and held it to my face. It smelled like Dreft and apple juice. I am HERE! Right HERE, Universe. I laid there for twenty minutes swaying between guilt, anger, depression and fear. And then I prayed. I allowed myself the opportunity to get back to a place where that Lego stuck in my back actually hurt. I looked at the remaining two hundred pieces and made a little house. These annoying little pieces made something …dare I say, cute. I left everything right where it was, showered and went to bed grateful.

The next morning, the seven year old looked worn. I waited until she hugged me and I apologized. I wasn’t specific. It was over but like most tornados, there is a clean-up effort that takes many hands. I had to admit that I wasn’t present, even when I was there. She admitted that arguing with me was the only way to pull me out of whatever I was doing. We both admitted that getting more things was not the solution to getting along. We started giving. We are more excited about trips to donation centers and shelters for the underprivileged and abused than we are about Christmas and birthdays. Together, we reached a place of effectiveness. There is something wonderful that happens when we visit a center and a young lady sits next to me on a bench as our children play. “This is first time in two days that she has let go of my leg.” The wind blows and we both tip our heads back and drink it in. “That feels great,” we both say at the same time. We laugh until we cry. She grabs my hand and our heads touch. The art of losing bags of unused clothes and toys left plenty of room for mindfulness and understanding that went deeper than any feeling of peace that we attempted to conjure up.

Here is just a short list of what the hands, feet and heads do at our house

1. we appreciate our surroundings and acknowledge the beauty.

2. we accept one another as we are today and only today

3. we do not promise anything

4. we operate with trust in God and each other

5. everything we do with our whole heart is a gift, what we do with half our heart is an obligation — we are honest about our intentions

Our little family uses mindfulness practices that work well for us. Watching food coloring as it changes the color of water and being still does NOT work for us. Riding silently in the car does (even with the baby). It doesn’t mean we are angry at each other. It is quite the opposite. She and I are dwelling in the same space together. We are both fully present and aware. We still have less than favorable moments but we refrain from using words like “bad” or “good.” Our experiences are bigger than that. There are fewer apologies, too. When we allow ourselves to be present, active and open. I find that our actions and reactions are deeply rooted in how it will be received both inwardly and outwardly. The extra ten seconds that we take between stimulus and response means that the wheel of consequence makes one full revolution. We directly affect what will happen within our own lives and directly affect what happens in the lives of others. We have eliminated the disconnection that leads us to the idea that this is only happening to me.

Mindfulness isn’t about meditation, converting to a new religion, seeking answers to life’s problems or escaping into a cave of wonder and light where everyone holds hands, and sings Kum-ba-Ya., however nice that may sound. It isn’t about well-behaved children, finding your “soul-mate” or success. I still lose my keys and kick the loudest toy on the floor, waking up the baby when I’m locking up the house for the night. I’m a single mother who still doesn’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I suppose if I were an advice columnist and you wrote me a letter explaining everything that is “wrong” with your situation, my advice would read as follows.

________________________________________

Dear Something is Wrong,

Congratulations on identifying that aspect of your life that has caused you great harm or turmoil. You are now in a unique and amazing place that allows you to be honest and compassionate with yourself. Embrace your mistakes. Do not look for peace. It is not a lost shoe. Peace is within you and around you, running fresh in your veins. Acknowledge only those parts that you are responsible for and accept those little bits of sand as opportunities to foster change. Surround yourself with what is working. Fill the universe with what you already have to offer.

The world says “Thank you.”

________________________________________

“STUFF”

Experiences over things. Expanding perceptions

By Rachael Cadden

“Mojave” — Afro Celt Sound System

Happiness is not doing — or having — or stuff. It’s about being. It’s reflective. It’s fluid. It expands our perceptions.

ERICCO STUDIO

. . . bringing out the MAGIC in the LINTON HOME

-Raccoglici insieme dai 4 angoli del mondo — Allesandra Celletti

ERICCO STUDIOS custom interiors, mixed with the eclectic art and surroundings at the home of Len and Judy Linton certainly created a lot of “artistic magic” — from the purple stone path to the inset leaves on the interior walls. What an exciting “bonus” interview with the Lintons — giving us a little insight into their work in the arts and some backstory to the incredible light-filled home in Thousand Oaks (USA).

The Linton’s considerable involvement with the local arts community is reflected in their selections of art, custom furniture, wall treatments and décor, as well as a vibrant use of color choices and design throughout their home’s incredibly creative living spaces.

ERICCO: You’ve both been involved in the arts for quite some time, would you just give some of the titles you’ve had for the proverbial record . . .

LEN: I am the Treasurer of the California Museum of Art, Thousand Oaks and we are both past presidents of the New West Symphony. JUDY: I have been a Cultural Affairs Commissioner for the City of Thousand Oaks for over 5 years and am currently on the Board of the newly formed Thousand Oaks Alliance for the Arts.

LEN & JUDY: We’ve also been involved in other non-profit organizations, such as Rotary International, The Wellness Community (now the Cancer Support Community) and the California State University, Channel Islands Foundation.

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