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DESIGN
An inspired interview with painter Jodi Fuchs
  • Posted By Jamila Starwater
  • on March 11,2014
Blessed B(e) 76″ x 138″ mixed media on canvas 2011 © Jodi Fuchs

Jodi Fuchs is my favorite painter alive today. The energy and scale of her work (she paints BIG), the living colors, and the inspired motifs and patterns all resonate with me so much. Her work has a vibration that changes the room it’s in. Some day I will have a Jodi Fuchs original on my wall but until then I’m super stoked to have her work featured on my blog!

Jodi is also a super fun, down to earth, beautiful human being that I’m so lucky to call a friend. We got to know each other over the years in Harijiwan’s living room when he used to teach out of his home in those pre RAMA days of yore.  Then maybe 4 years ago we teamed up and produced a holiday art/craft show at her pop up gallery in Santa Monica. It was so fun working with her and my cousin Ashley Wade (of Action Cookies fame!) on the event and we learned a lot .. but never again!  Amiright ladies!? So much work you would not believe.. But anyhow, all that to say is we got to know each other pretty well through the experience and I just love her to bits! I’m super excited to share this interview I did with her recently. Hopefully you’ll be inspired by her work and words as much as I am.

jodi fuchs painting

Fierce 31″ x 62″ mixed media on canvas 2011

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Artist Jodi Fuchs in her studio

1. There is so  much I love about your work its hard to know where to begin! I guess I’ll start by asking about how you first got in to painting? Did you always want to be an artist?

Thanks so much for having me and for your kind words! I’ve always had a creative impulse even though I didn’t study art in school.  My education was a never ending series of strange creative jobs– working for photographer’s hand-tinting photographs, as a production assistant on several tv shows, assisting graphic designers on rock star’s tour books, etc. I took some evening classes at Otis Parsons for graphic design but felt like the surface areas were too small for me. I like BIG.  I then moved onto classes for faux finishing after working as a set painter on movies and got some great painting gigs. The first was working with a team of artists that marbleized an entire shopping mall in Vegas. That skill set lead to working on high end homes where I learned all about the decorative arts and enjoyed creating environments. The house was the canvas. Then after 20 years of physically challenging work, climbing ladders and painting ceilings, I decided to focus more fully on making my own paintings.

2. Did you go to art school and how did going/not going influence you as an artist?

No, I didn’t go to art school and in a way I’m glad. I learned all about color  and color mixing while doing decorative painting and painting sets. I read tons of artist’s biographies and really resonated with the abstract expressionists in NY during the 40’s and 50’s. Sometimes I wish I had more formal training but I also think not going has freed me up to play the art “game” in a different way. I was always interested in the healing arts and studied massage, energy healing, feng shui and kundalini yoga. I think as an artist, “school” can be anything that captures your imagination.

3. I love how your work is so infused by your energy and inspired by your love of meditation and travel. Can you talk a little bit about what your process is when you are creating?

Ah, the great mystery of creating. I tend to follow my intuition and stay out of over conceptualizing my approach. Basically, when I’m faced with a blank canvas, I start with color, anything to get the white out. I’m into mark making and gestures and letting the energy of where I am that day lead the way. Traveling informs color choices and sometimes content as does the meditation. I’m often drawn to sacred imagery but really it comes down to energy. I just want to be a conduit for the creative energy force of the Universe. I think it’s infinite, always available and it’s really about how clear a channel I can be to let that come through me.  I don’t paint if I’m in a bad or weird mood. I just do admin stuff instead. lol                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Jodi Fuchs painting4. You were recently in Hawaii and Bali for a while. Can you tell about some of the inspiration and insights you gained while there and how that has effected your work?

The feminine energy of both Hawaii and Bali were so healing to be in and as a painter, I think it’s really important to be in that feminine receptive state of mind. I swam a LOT, many times with wild dolphins which is my passion, and as a result, the work I did in Hawaii was very watery and fluid. I didn’t intend for that to happen but it did and that’s what I love about painting and traveling. It’s a new way to see the world and as an artist I’m creating new little worlds on the canvas so it’s really a perfect marriage.

5. Your prayer paintings are so powerful and fun — can you tell us about them and some of the experiences you have had creating them for yourself and others?!

One day I started making a painting by writing down my heart’s desires on the canvas. Then I filled in the loops of the letters and the negative spaces with color, pretty much obliterating what I’d scribbled, but I loved the result. Even though the words were indecipherable, I knew the energy was still there. I showed the piece to my art publisher and she went to press with it! The Secret Language of Prayers was the name of the piece. I loved that my prayers were now being broadcast to thousands! Talk about getting the word out! I decided to offer this service of creating custom prayer pieces for people and it’s been so rewarding. I’ve done memorial pieces, house blessings, health prayers and lots of marriage paintings where I weave the vows of the bride and groom together. I was even a live painter at a wedding once and wrote the vows on the canvas as the couple recited them. AND it was on a boat.

Jodi Fuchs prayer painting

6. I love that you are doing design consultations for living and working environments now — canyou tell us about it and all the modalities you are weaving into the practice?

Well I’ve studied feng shui with several different teachers as well as Space Clearing techniques in Bali. I love color and I understand energy flow so it just felt like a great melding of all the skills I have to help people create supportive environments in their home or office. I’m offering color consultations, decorative painting, staging, feng shui cures and space clearing to begin with. Even rearranging pieces that you already have can be effective in “upping” the wattage of your space, as well as balancing the 5 elements with objects and color.

 7. If you could paint on any surface in any location in any size – on the whole planet – where would you and why?!

I’d love to paint an elephant. Have you seen the decorated elephants of India? Amazing! I’ve ridden elephants a few times in Bali and I just adore them. Talk about a large canvas! It’s also pretty cool that elephants make paintings. I saw demonstrations of this at the park in Bali. The elephants were given paintbrushes loaded with paint and they used their trunks to create a piece. Mesmerizing. And pretty good abstract pieces!

8.What’s cooking for 2014? Let us know about upcoming shows/ travels/ projects ..

2014 for me is about creating a solid body of work as well expanding into products. I’d like to keep creating images for my 2 art publishers and also get my work into more galleries. I’m also applying for some  grants so  I can continue to travel and paint as well as looking into international artist residencies.  San Miguel de Allende is on my radar. It’s a wonderful art town in Mexico and I’ve wanted to go there forever. I  have my annual open studio at the Santa Monica Airport art walk coming up on Saturday March 15, 2014. I’m also looking into creating a line of tshirts and contemplating some products I can co-produce with some Balinese artisans. So, just a few things. I also started an art blog, finally, and am excited to write and share my work this way. I’d like to eventually create a book to inspire people to create!

Thank you so much Jodi! 

Check out more of Jodi Fuchs’ work online  at www.jodifuchs.com

Buy prints and original pieces on her etsy shop

Connect with Jodi Fuchs on  twitter +  facebook and her new blog The Painters POV

jodi fuchs painting

Heart Chambers 18″ x 18″ mixed media on panel

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above un captioned images from the top:

Jodi Fuchs in her Santa Monica studio

Living the Dream 12″ x 12″ mixed media 

Prayer Painting : Kelly and Chad wedding ring inscriptions 48″ x 36″

 


YOGA
How Clothing Effects Your Auric Body
  • Posted By Jamila Starwater
  • on October 21,2013

Leighton_Invocation

Invocation, by Frederic Leighton . I’m loving the white flow-y outfit!

What you wear absolutely effects your electromagnetic field, whether you know what the heck that means or not. Your auric body is another name for your electromagnetic field, it is the container of energy for your life force. When your auric body is strong, you can hold a lot of energy. Your aura is constantly changing as you move through your day and your life. You can make your auric field stronger with yoga and meditation. You can also make it stronger just by what you wear.

jaigopal-jamila-whites-sm

My husband and I at White Tantric Yoga where everyone – you guessed it- wears white

It is known by the yogis that when you wear white it increases the size of your aura automatically. That is why you see a lot of yogis wearing white and especially Kundalini yoga teachers wearing white. It is important that the clothes be made from natural fibers because cotton, wools and silk are the best conductors of energy. Plastic based fibers just don’t work the same way when you are working with subtle energy fields.

jamila-hike

Your author in a typical weirdo outfit chosen for comfort . Note the choice of footwear. I am “hiking” here.  Ha

Loose fitting clothes also help the situation. Being comfortable on the physical level helps open the energy around you on the energetic level. It’s pretty common sense when you think about it, but unless we are taught to look at in a practical way we can stay seduced in a fashion / trend type mental program. The Indian culture has a whole philosophy about each type of traditional clothing and why each type of clothing is worn. Actually I am sure all native forms of dress have intentional energetic components to them in addition to practical and aesthetic considerations.  I am going to learn more about that and report back.

getimageexe

A Cheyenne woman in a traditional three hide dress

Along the same vein, I have heard the Native American culture has a teaching about the reason women wear skirts. Long skirts open the energy field towards the earth, which help to strengthen the connection. When you look around at many different ancient cultural forms of dress you can start to see the energetic reasons for the outward forms. It’s an interesting viewpoint to develop, it gives a nice peek behind the curtain.

In the next post on this subject, we will explore how fashion is also a tool of the control system. Everything in life has a polarity. Keeps things interesting. Until then.. happy dressing!

kinnaur-traditional-dress

Someday I will dress this fabulous. until then these ladies are holding it down


YOGA
Dressing the Chakras
  • Posted By Jamila Starwater
  • on September 16,2013

alex grey chakra

When you get dressed, you are expressing your self. It is a creative act, even if it’s a mandatory uniform. You are still choosing it on some level. The materials , cut and color of your clothing are interacting with and expressing the energy that is spinning inside and around you. That spinning energy is also known as your chakra system. The fact that so many of us either don’t know what chakras are, or think of chakras as another new age woo woo theory, is kind of sad. Chakras are basic human anatomy. It’s foundational knowledge that is rarely if ever taught. In many circles it’s either not discussed, ridiculed, or both. I have a theory of why that is but we’ll leave that for another day. For an excellent primer on the chakra system check this out.  I look forward to getting more into the topic here as well.

Anyhow, your clothes are totally effecting your energy, and vice versa! The cool thing is that once you realize this you can start to play with it. When you start experimenting with color, fabrics and shapes of clothes and have experiences that correspond with what you are learning, it begins to open up the programming so brand new experiences can flood your sensory system.. and we just feel more alive!

We know that colors are created by specific energy wavelengths. Each energy wheel of the body (chakra) vibrates at a certain speed, and that speed corresponds with a particular color. We can play with activating the chakras by emphasizing certain colors in our outfits. It’s really that simple. Your intention accelerates the effect even more. Check it out and try it for yourself!

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1st Chakra

the root – earth –  center of security and survival – the color is RED

The basement of the house is just as important (or more!) as the rest of the home, right ? We want the foundation of our energy system (our roots) to be strong and stable so that our energy and life can grow high and wide. The first chakra is the realm of habits, survival, cultural identity, and practical every day matters. Red is the color of our blood.. our DNA.. our identity. It is also the chakra associated with the anus – and a healthy root chakra allows us to let go of shit in more ways than one! This chakra often gets overlooked by people just starting on a “spiritual” path but I think its one of the most important areas to heal and balance– and asap! It’s so good to be able to get rid of what you don’t need anymore..

As far as wearing red.. wearing red is often associated with fiery vixen who knows what she wants. Try wearing red now with the intention of strengthening your power base. See what happens.

red dress vogue

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2nd Chakra 

water – center of creativity and sexuality- the color is ORANGE

This chakra gets manipulated a lot. We are sold a lot of things we don’t need because we have been vulnerable here. The second chakra is the creative energy of which sexual energy is a part, not the other way around. We are all creative beings – the question is do we KNOW this and are we living it?  The health of the second chakra determines how these energies are expressed (or distorted)  in our life.  The fact is that this energy can’t be suppressed forever without eventual very real consequences. You can see evidence of this every single day on the news. Good thing there are many ways to heal. There are also many ways to ecstatically celebrate and express this energy. Clothing is one way!!!!!

As far as wearing orange… I find when I wear orange I feel really creative and happy! I love wearing bright orange. I was obsessed with insanely bright hunters orange for a while.  Different shades of orange really express different feelings. Deep fiery oranges are pretty sexy. Experiment! See what works for you and what you want to create more of.

orange dress

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3rd Chakra 

fire – center of action and balance – the color is YELLOW

The third chakra is about power and control. It is really important to have a strong navel (3rd) chakra. It helps you direct your focus and get things done. Collectively as a species we have been living primarily through this energy center. Thats why we have seen so much struggle for control over the past few thousand years. The 3rd chakra is really important because we gather a lot of our energy through this chakra. When we are in the womb, we are literally fed through the navel point via the umbilical cord. After arriving on the planet we continue to be fed through our navel on an energetic level. There is also a deep intelligence in the gut. Science is starting to catch up to this by mapping the gut microbiome and realizing the connections between gut health and mental health. They are actually saying we have a second brain in our gut! I would say our brain exists within the whole body. The body is the landscape of the brain. I read that somewhere and it rang true. Anyways..

As far as wearing yellow… You know those guys that get bright yellow sports cars… they just want to be noticed! Thats kind of how wearing yellow is. Depending on the shade of yellow  and your skin tone that’s a good or not-so-good thing! I personally LOVE wearing yellow because it’s close to the color GOLD which is my fav color ever… for so many reasons ( I’ll have to write a whole book on that subject alone, honestly). but yellow.. Yellow is a color to wear if you are confident or want to gather and project confidence! It’s a fun one. Go for it!!!

yellow dress

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4th Chakra 

air – center of love and compassion – the color is GREEN

We are now collectively moving towards the reality of living through the heart chakra – as individuals and as a culture. The yogi’s call it moving from “me” to “we” . Imagine just for a moment what this looks like. It’s really nice.. The heart is the realm of compassion, kindness, forgiveness, service and true love. The heart is the balance point between the lower 3 chakras and the upper 3 . It is also the balance point between heaven and earth. All true power comes through the heart center. The yogi’s also say the heart has the power of 108 suns. Sounds poetic but I think they meant it more literally. Tremendous strength and courage (cor is heart in Latin) can be accessed through the heart.

As far as wearing green… This is the color of growth and photosynthesis..the leaves, grass, trees, bushes, moss ..Green is the heart of mother earth! Green is the immense power of the sun transformed by the intelligent design of the earth.  Wear lots of green- it’s powerful stuff! Personally green is second only to gold and maybe pink in my wardrobe. LOVE it. oh but pink! Pink is also associated with the heart chakra, naturally.. Wear pink when you want to express the softer side of your self. It really has an effect. Some times I think pink is overused for girls,  but I think pink can be re claimed as a power color for women and men! The time is now people! Conscious fashion! Hurrah!

green dress

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5th Chakra 

ether – center of communication- the color is LIGHT BLUE

Located at the throat, the 5th chakra is about being about being able to communicate effectively. It is the power of our authenticity. It is our word. You can develop great power by always keeping your word. Having a strong 5th chakra helps us speak our truth and project it into everything we do. I think it is interesting that the color associated with this center is light blue, as this is the color we most often imagine when we think of the “ethers” …

As far as wearing light blue…  I think this color is one of the easiest colors to wear. It’s gentle, calm and super classy (and not just on Grace Kelly!). Light blue is the color of the sky- literally the etheric realms . Now that you are familiar with the energetics of the 5th chakra try wearing it with that awareness and see what happens! Make wearing the color blue a statement of your divine creative ability to command the ethers into form.

blue dress

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6th Chakra 

third eye – center of intuition and wisdom – the color is INDIGO

Close your eyes for a moment. The space behind your eyelids as well as your whole frontal lobe is an internal movie screen. We can see colors , patterns and visions in this space.  Think of your pituitary gland, the master gland, located behind the brow point as the projector of this movie. Your projections ripple out from your brain into infinity, co creating your “waking life”reality in every moment.  When you activate your 6th Chakra power,  you can project whatever you want through the pulsation and secretions of the pituitary gland. The 6th chakra is also like a radio in that it receives broadcasts as well. Our intuitive knowing is received here as a beam from our soul . We also can read the vibrations from every other living thing. What’s really cool is that we can develop our ability to command the 6th chakra space through meditation. And wearing more deep blue is also a nice start…

As far as wearing Indigo… Indigo is kind of like a supercharged royal navy blue. It’s POWERFUL. It’s a very saturated, rich color. If you start wearing indigo consciously, let me know how it feels! After all  that talk about the 6th Chakra powers, I’m curious..

dark blue dress

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7th Chakra 

the crown – center of humility and vastness – the color is VIOLET

The 7th Chakra relates to the pine cone shaped pineal gland at the center of the brain and the space at the top of your head. The pulsation of the pineal gland determines the quality of the thought stream we are connecting to. When you raise the Kundalini, you in turn raise the frequency of the pineal gland, which then automatically connects you to higher, more enjoyable thought streams.

It’s no surprise that purple is considered the color of blood line royals. I like to think of Violet as the higher octave of plain purple. The activated 7th chakra is your energetic crown. You can literally connect with all the light and power of the universe through your crown. Picture that for a moment. It’s so bright and beautiful.. A shimmering golden light that’s way more magnificent than any earthly crown!  You can activate your innate royalty through the 7th Chakra. With dedicated practice, the Kundalini energy that normally sits coiled near the base of the spine can be activated and moved up through all the chakras. When it arrives at the crown chakra, it can beam out the top, connect with infinity, and then spiral down , re energized, back through all the energy wheels. Words can only go so far when talking about the higher chakras, it really has to be experienced to be believed.

As far as wearing Violet… This color is ALIVE. It is larger than life!  I don’t even know what else to say about it. Wear this color when you want to make something grand happen. You are the Violet flame! Own it.

indigo dress

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8th Chakra 

the electromagnetic field – center of radiance – the color is WHITE

The aura is your 8th Chakra. The entire aura is a spinning ball of energy that contains all of you. Within a white beam of light, all the colors of the rainbow exist. Your healthy auric field can extend 9 feet in all directions. Your aura is both a container of your energy and a shield. Your strong aura can allow in what you want / need for your highest good, as well as protect you from things can harm you. The aura, like all of the other chakras, can be developed through yoga and meditation.

As far as wearing white… You can actually extend the reach of your auric field a few feet just by wearing white. If you feel bad, try taking a shower and then putting on all white clothes. You will feel different. A lot of yogis and teachers wear white to take advantage of the aura expansion it gives. Wearing white also automatically makes you more conscious. You have to be or else you will get stains on your clothes pretty fast! If you want to feel your energy expand without doing a whole lot of work , try just putting on white clothes! Bonus points if you really love the cut and fabrics, although I think even a clean white cotton t and sweats can do the job! Of all the colors, wearing white offers the most dramatic boost. Have fun experimenting.

white dress

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Chakras are a way to understand your ability to create the experience you want. Inside and around the body you were given , there is an intelligent system that should and will be fundamental knowledge for all humans. Color and fashion can be a powerful and fun way to explore your self… Play with it.

If you want more on the topic, please read my article about the energy of clothing here.

image credits: alex grey, this,orange dress, yellow dress, violet dress, white dress


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