Happy Holidays!
RoyAnthonyShabla.com and Two Friends Press are pleased to announce the publication of Tequila Tales, an anthology of short fiction featuring the iconic Mexican beverage, tequila. Edited by Millie Johanna Heur and Roy Anthony Shabla, this collection spans genres from romance to comedy to science fiction to mystery. It is a testament to this multi-faceted beverage and makes a great gift for your more literate drinkers! For more information, see TequilaTales.com
A publication reading for Tequila Tales will be held at {open} in Long Beach, California on December 7th at 7 pm. See {open} for details.
For the other kind of “spiritual” people, eating God has been updated and expanded. If you have not read ~or not recently read~ this book of ecstatic poetry chronicling one man’s pilgrimage through life in the eternal search for love and truth, you are in for a delight. Very human and humble. A “must-read” for anyone practicing yoga, meditation, or any of the spiritual arts. If poets could be superstars, Roy Anthony Shabla would be the man to watch. ~Spirit of the Valley. For more information, see RoyAnthonyShabla.com
(PEACE) WORDS is a portrait of the artist as a young vandal, a documentary of the young poet as a peace activist. This is the story of an outsider who finds his way and his place in the world despite the idiocy of convention. Excellent reading for budding writers and artists but a treat for all. For more information, see RoyAnthonyShabla.com
Feng Shui Every Day has also been recently updated and expanded. This practical handbook of modern architectural ecology is easy to understand and simple to use. It reveals many secrets masters keep hidden. A “must-read” for anyone buying or remodeling a home, investing in real estate, or trying to improve luck in life. For more information, see blesstheworld.com
Two Friends Press is a literary collaboration between Millie Johanna Heur and Roy Anthony Shabla committed to publishing quality anthologies and building a literary community. For more information, see TwoFriendsPress.com
http://twofriendspress.com/
http://royanthonyshabla.com/
http://tequilatales.com/
http://blesstheworld.com/
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
symphonic poem in black and gold
Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold
Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold challenges the traditional concepts of boundary and orientation in painting in several ways. The two canvases of the diptych are not joined; each is meant to be framed and hung separately. There is no designated “top” or “bottom” to each canvas ~in fact, the painting can be hung with each of the canvases oriented horizontally or vertically; and neither canvas is specified as “right” or “left”. Ultimately, they could be hung one above the other. The placement of the components of the painting is contingent on the inherent qualities of the site where it is hung.
At first look, the two canvases seem mismatched. While the restricted palette unites the two, the visage of the canvases seems incongruous to each other. On closer examination, however, the grid-like pattern of one canvas is seen to be the foundation of the other: the experience of one side of the painting supports the experience of the other and together, they describe a linear progression. While one canvas is dynamic (it draws the immediate attention with its explosiveness), the other canvas opens delicately upon quiet examination and gives the eye ~and the psyche~ a place to rest. Each side of the diptych balances the other through yin and yang qualities (the “yin” canvas painted with yang qualities [straight lines]; the “yang” canvas painted with yin qualities [rounded lines]), creating a fluid movement of energy between the canvases by drawing the eye to one and then the other and back again.
The execution of the painting is a collaboration between artist and medium interacting with the laws of chance and physics. Metallic powder and large amounts of water added to the paint contribute to the unpredictability of the result, as do inconsistencies in the canvas and stretchers. The finished artwork is the product of the semi-random movement of multiple layers of paint and metallic powder, each with an extended drying time, and the sure hand of the artist.
This artwork, though, reveals the hand of many artists, from the painter, to the fates and gravity, to the curator, and ultimately, the viewer. It co-exists with the site in which it is placed and, hopefully, the company it keeps…
The Symphonic Poem series of paintings relates to the architectural aspect of music, the structure and complexity of classical forms of music and, quite possibly, the architecture that music fills. Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold describes a musical construction of two movements, each of which carries motifs of the other. In one sense, it builds to a crescendo; in another, it deconstructs itself to a simple, lyrical beauty; a loud movement and a soft movement, in whichever order it is experienced.
The black and metallic gold colors describe music as electricity in the void of space; a spark of creativity in the depth of the soul. The painting crackles with life, with excitement, even on the more sedate side of the diptych ~quite possibly more so on the quieter side of the diptych as the tension of its structure seems so biological, so full of the potential for life…
From the introduction to Symphonic Poems:
These paintings extend the abstract expressionist tradition of Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko. Non-narrative in format, the paintings are windows onto the biological soul and are reflections of a moment in time ~ they are not meant to be referential, they are not meant to be sentimental; they are meant to be held in quiet contemplation just as if one were sitting at a symphonic concert. If the experience of the moment could be conveyed in words, the paintings would not need to exist. But the moment cannot be conveyed in words. Thus the universe of these paintings.
Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold (2010)
Roy Anthony Shabla
Latex and metallic powder on primed canvas
Each canvas 6’ x 5’
galleRoy.com
RoyAnthonyShabla.com
Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold challenges the traditional concepts of boundary and orientation in painting in several ways. The two canvases of the diptych are not joined; each is meant to be framed and hung separately. There is no designated “top” or “bottom” to each canvas ~in fact, the painting can be hung with each of the canvases oriented horizontally or vertically; and neither canvas is specified as “right” or “left”. Ultimately, they could be hung one above the other. The placement of the components of the painting is contingent on the inherent qualities of the site where it is hung.
At first look, the two canvases seem mismatched. While the restricted palette unites the two, the visage of the canvases seems incongruous to each other. On closer examination, however, the grid-like pattern of one canvas is seen to be the foundation of the other: the experience of one side of the painting supports the experience of the other and together, they describe a linear progression. While one canvas is dynamic (it draws the immediate attention with its explosiveness), the other canvas opens delicately upon quiet examination and gives the eye ~and the psyche~ a place to rest. Each side of the diptych balances the other through yin and yang qualities (the “yin” canvas painted with yang qualities [straight lines]; the “yang” canvas painted with yin qualities [rounded lines]), creating a fluid movement of energy between the canvases by drawing the eye to one and then the other and back again.
The execution of the painting is a collaboration between artist and medium interacting with the laws of chance and physics. Metallic powder and large amounts of water added to the paint contribute to the unpredictability of the result, as do inconsistencies in the canvas and stretchers. The finished artwork is the product of the semi-random movement of multiple layers of paint and metallic powder, each with an extended drying time, and the sure hand of the artist.
This artwork, though, reveals the hand of many artists, from the painter, to the fates and gravity, to the curator, and ultimately, the viewer. It co-exists with the site in which it is placed and, hopefully, the company it keeps…
The Symphonic Poem series of paintings relates to the architectural aspect of music, the structure and complexity of classical forms of music and, quite possibly, the architecture that music fills. Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold describes a musical construction of two movements, each of which carries motifs of the other. In one sense, it builds to a crescendo; in another, it deconstructs itself to a simple, lyrical beauty; a loud movement and a soft movement, in whichever order it is experienced.
The black and metallic gold colors describe music as electricity in the void of space; a spark of creativity in the depth of the soul. The painting crackles with life, with excitement, even on the more sedate side of the diptych ~quite possibly more so on the quieter side of the diptych as the tension of its structure seems so biological, so full of the potential for life…
From the introduction to Symphonic Poems:
These paintings extend the abstract expressionist tradition of Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko. Non-narrative in format, the paintings are windows onto the biological soul and are reflections of a moment in time ~ they are not meant to be referential, they are not meant to be sentimental; they are meant to be held in quiet contemplation just as if one were sitting at a symphonic concert. If the experience of the moment could be conveyed in words, the paintings would not need to exist. But the moment cannot be conveyed in words. Thus the universe of these paintings.
Symphonic Poem in Black and Gold (2010)
Roy Anthony Shabla
Latex and metallic powder on primed canvas
Each canvas 6’ x 5’
galleRoy.com
RoyAnthonyShabla.com
Sunday, August 1, 2010
war and peace
Roy Anthony Shabla have you done more for peace than the nobel laureate?
roy anthony shabla ~ books royanthonyshabla.com
books written by Roy Anthony Shabla ~ art, peace, poetry, feng shui, film.
Roy Anthony Shabla war escalates; casualties escalate. whos in charge of this?
Roy Anthony Shabla
the depth to which war is wrong is unfathomable. "unfathomable" means "cannot be measured, is too immense"... war does not negatively affect only the dead and those close to the dead or the wounded and those close to the wounded; war negatively affects the generations of the dead and wounded, the generations that parented the dead and the wounded, the generations that survive the dead and the wounded, and the generations not yet born. there is none untouched by even the most distant act of war, the negative effect spreads out from its source like a pebble from hell tossed into the still pond of humanity.
Roy Anthony Shabla what have you done today to save the world?
Roy Anthony Shabla download free peace posters from RoyAnthonyShabla.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010
pray for me
i was asked my feelings about prayer in schools. i am whole-heartedly in favor of prayer in schools -- i think it is an important aspect of education, respect for the divine. i am, however, whole-heartedly against christian prayer in schools. the cult of christian fascists who attempt to dominate the body (especially the genitals), the mind (especially the conscience), and (their concept of) the soul of everyone in america is out of control. we are not a religious state, look what religion has done to the middle east... fundamentalism is fucking up this country and the entire planet. the reign of terror must stop.
why must fundamentalists demand that everyone else behave as they themselves believe? cannot they hold their faith quiet unto themselves? no! if they dont get good sex, no one else gets it either!
if the cult of christian fascists truly believed that prayer in schools would benefit america, islamic prayer would be acceptable (it is the same god after all)... prayer rugs, facing mecca, bowing -- i suggest this be done everyday for a week in the schools. then a week of hindu prayer. then a week of buddhist prayer; a week of jewish prayer; a week of native american prayer; a week of native african prayer; a week of voodoo prayer; a week of pagan/wiccan prayer; a week of australian aboriginal prayer; etc... and finally a week of christian prayer. take the children through an entire year of prayer around the world, that would be an education! learn true respect for the divine, not just fear of some evil little god.
i whole-heartedly support prayer in schools... but only as a means to the divine, not as a means to religion. any regular prayer that stops at religion or a particular deity is missing the point. and the purpose of education is to help the next generation not miss the point. like the current one is. amen.
for real communion with the divine, see blesstheworld.com for meditation classes.
why must fundamentalists demand that everyone else behave as they themselves believe? cannot they hold their faith quiet unto themselves? no! if they dont get good sex, no one else gets it either!
if the cult of christian fascists truly believed that prayer in schools would benefit america, islamic prayer would be acceptable (it is the same god after all)... prayer rugs, facing mecca, bowing -- i suggest this be done everyday for a week in the schools. then a week of hindu prayer. then a week of buddhist prayer; a week of jewish prayer; a week of native american prayer; a week of native african prayer; a week of voodoo prayer; a week of pagan/wiccan prayer; a week of australian aboriginal prayer; etc... and finally a week of christian prayer. take the children through an entire year of prayer around the world, that would be an education! learn true respect for the divine, not just fear of some evil little god.
i whole-heartedly support prayer in schools... but only as a means to the divine, not as a means to religion. any regular prayer that stops at religion or a particular deity is missing the point. and the purpose of education is to help the next generation not miss the point. like the current one is. amen.
for real communion with the divine, see blesstheworld.com for meditation classes.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
notes on equal rights
Equality ~ equal rights ~ will never exist within a mentality of separation. The Civil Rights Movement taught us that. The Anti-Apartheid Movement taught us that. It is not until you understand at a deep level that the human condition is the same for each and every person, that others require the same basic qualities for a graceful life as yourself ~ dignity, well-being, purpose… and seeing that your own dignity, well-being, and purpose are entitled, it is only a small leap of compassion to understand that these must be entitled for all. Without compassion, there will never be harmony, never be graceful society… there will never be the sense that others have familial needs, emotional needs, social needs… and it is this inability to view others as human ~ as bearing the human condition ~ that fosters separation and inequality.
If you sincerely want to be a good person in the world but have not attained the charasm of compassion, try kindness. The most powerful tool for changing the world is kindness practiced without arrogance.
for my book on peace and equality, go to:
http://royanthonyshabla.com
If you sincerely want to be a good person in the world but have not attained the charasm of compassion, try kindness. The most powerful tool for changing the world is kindness practiced without arrogance.
for my book on peace and equality, go to:
http://royanthonyshabla.com
Monday, January 11, 2010
websites
blesstheworld.com ~ natural and holistic healing, wellness therapy, spiritual remedies to transform your life. remote / distance healing, psychic healing, spiritual healing, chakra balancing, aura cleansing, karma release, tantric / kundalini release for health and vitality. spiritual consultation, psychic reading, medical intuitive ~ get real answers. meditation class, yoga for the soul. metaphysical glossary, learn metaphysical terms, words. feng shui, chinese astrology, five-elements architectural ecology, chinese new year predictions, psychic predictions, feng shui predictions, feng shui consultation, candles, water fountains, windchimes ~ feng shui cures to transform your life. homeopathics, flower essences, spiritual tinctures, alchemy, panacea, elixir of life, light ~ the most powerful remedies on the planet. spiritual books, ecstatic poetry, books on activism, the peace movement, anti-war, the green movement, ecology ~ feed your mind and soul, heal your heart. plus, t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, sweatshirts and decorative arts for peace and love and harmony in the world.
http://www.blesstheworld.com
royanthonyshabla.com ~ roy anthony shabla is a poet and writer, editor, bookmaker. he writes ecstatic poetry in the tradition of rumi, hafiz, tagore, kabir to rave reviews. his books include a memoir of the early peace movement and his own peace art designs, a quirky, childhood memoir that will make you laugh and cry and nod knowingly, as well as long poems for the theater. his books are a startling and delightful epiphany. he is currently working in opera, film, and editing an anthology of short fiction. for years, he has been working on a spiritual cookbook. this website is also a portal for the art, film, clothing designs (t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, etc), and spiritual work of roy anthony shabla. consultation available for editing manuscripts and bookmaking, art acquisition and placement, as well as psychic-spiritual and feng shui work and garden design. he was once the youngest literary editor in the country and has lectured frequently on antique american decorative arts, ceramic arts. he has been a long-time advocate for peace and ecology.
http://www.royanthonyshabla.com
galleroy.com ~ is an online art gallery featuring the artwork of roy anthony shabla. paintings, prints, handmade books, film, performance, and a variety of mixed-media are represented. large abstract expressionist paintings, meditative paintings, assemblage, small letterpress poetry prints and watercolors and handmade poetry books and chapbooks, short artist films, and free art events, happenings, guerilla and graffiti art... as well as graphic peace t-shirts, hoodies, and other graffiti designs. this site also links to the other work of roy anthony shabla, writer and poet, healer and teacher and spiritual consultant, and activist.
http://www.galleroy.com
http://www.blesstheworld.com
royanthonyshabla.com ~ roy anthony shabla is a poet and writer, editor, bookmaker. he writes ecstatic poetry in the tradition of rumi, hafiz, tagore, kabir to rave reviews. his books include a memoir of the early peace movement and his own peace art designs, a quirky, childhood memoir that will make you laugh and cry and nod knowingly, as well as long poems for the theater. his books are a startling and delightful epiphany. he is currently working in opera, film, and editing an anthology of short fiction. for years, he has been working on a spiritual cookbook. this website is also a portal for the art, film, clothing designs (t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, etc), and spiritual work of roy anthony shabla. consultation available for editing manuscripts and bookmaking, art acquisition and placement, as well as psychic-spiritual and feng shui work and garden design. he was once the youngest literary editor in the country and has lectured frequently on antique american decorative arts, ceramic arts. he has been a long-time advocate for peace and ecology.
http://www.royanthonyshabla.com
galleroy.com ~ is an online art gallery featuring the artwork of roy anthony shabla. paintings, prints, handmade books, film, performance, and a variety of mixed-media are represented. large abstract expressionist paintings, meditative paintings, assemblage, small letterpress poetry prints and watercolors and handmade poetry books and chapbooks, short artist films, and free art events, happenings, guerilla and graffiti art... as well as graphic peace t-shirts, hoodies, and other graffiti designs. this site also links to the other work of roy anthony shabla, writer and poet, healer and teacher and spiritual consultant, and activist.
http://www.galleroy.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
galleRoy.com
the website of my paintings and other artwork is now live online.
soon, slideshows of the work will be installed.
also, art events will be listed... many of them are free.
get a little culture in your life (without yogurt, that is!)
Monday, January 4, 2010
notes on democracy
the basic problem with democracy is that:
it is far more likely to find one person who will put the needs of the group before himself than it is to find a majority of people who will do that…
however, the basic problem with dictatorship is that:
it is highly unlikely that that one benevolent person will be the person to rule.
democracy demands intelligence and compassion to thrive yet the democratic process requires neither.
thus, it would appear, entropy exists even in the most honorable political systems…
when applied to america, however, never underestimate the tenacity of mediocre minds.
http://royanthonyshabla.com
it is far more likely to find one person who will put the needs of the group before himself than it is to find a majority of people who will do that…
however, the basic problem with dictatorship is that:
it is highly unlikely that that one benevolent person will be the person to rule.
democracy demands intelligence and compassion to thrive yet the democratic process requires neither.
thus, it would appear, entropy exists even in the most honorable political systems…
when applied to america, however, never underestimate the tenacity of mediocre minds.
http://royanthonyshabla.com
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