Upside Down: New Web Theme

~~~~~Upside Down~~~~~
Web Theme by Felicia Lujan

“Sometimes you have to
let life turn you upside down
so you can learn how to live
right side up.”

~~~Dave Johnson
(Character in the movie
“Not Easily Broken”)

Heart of Bolts

~~~~~Heart of Bolts~~~~~
Digital composite by Felicia Lujan
The word “bolt” can mean many things. It can be symbolic of: an actual thunderbolt; electricity; the power of Zeus and the heavens; swiftness and speed; a deadbolt or other mechanism that can be locked; rain; light and darkness; or a mechanical part of a firearm which can block the back-end of the chamber as the propellant burns and makes way for a new shell or cartridge.

Life is the fire that burns and the
sun that gives light. Life is the wind
and the rain and the thunder in the sky.
Life is matter and is earth, what is and
what is not, and what’s beyond is in Eternity.
~~~Lucius Annaeus Seneca~~~

 

Coincidentally, the quote I have selected to accompany my newest digital composite is that of Lucius Annaeus Seneca. I have been gathering notes and white papers on stoicism for a couple of weeks, but didn’t come across Seneca until tonight. I find the philosophy of Stoics intriguing. I think I would consider myself the exact opposite when it comes to these Hellenistic teachings. I felt that a “Heart of Bolts” conveys the symbolism of both a Stoic and a (non) Stoic if you will? Maybe emotional versus unemotional, though the philosophy is deeper than that. I will never be morally and/or intellectually perfect. In my mind, no human will be and I actually find that beautiful. Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher who was born in Spain (4 BC) and died in Italy (65 AD). I found it curious that I selected the quote of a Stoic tonight. I usually find a quote I like and then look into the individual. I do not interpret this quote as being devoid of emotion. Do you? Well he was also a dramatist! Maybe I still have much to learn?

Smoke Signals

Art+Technology=True Love

When the sun disappeared last night I attended the 3^rd annual Outdoor Vision Fest at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. It was amazing to see some of the multimedia exhibits that the students created. They were interactive, animated, colorful and very creative. The media students include animators, filmmakers, graphic designers, and photographers. Some exhibits were projected onto buildings, trees, geometric shapes, glass, water, and material.

One of my favorite projections was designed by Keith Riggs, who is married to my cousin Jessica. There was even a projection with poetic quotes by infamous authors. I also adored a piece which was flapping in the wind, had edgy music, and a human body which appeared to be ripping off skin. It must have been a symbolic piece. Last night I decided it is finally time for me to dabble with Adobe After Effects. I need to see what I’m really made of.

Without art, writing, technology and music, I would certainly die! I guess when you’re in love~ you’re in love. Here are a few of the photographs I took last night.

Reblogged from MT BLU ~ LIFE AND LOVE:

http://www.ted.com/talks/benoit_mandelbrot_fractals_the_art_of_roughness.html

Blu is awesome! She is right! Great minds think alike! ;) ~Felish

The Royal Road Project with customized Panoramic Monitor installed at New Mexico State Arts

Reblogged from Art & Emerging Technology:

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The collaborative art team of Ethan Bach, J Craig Tompkins and Charles Veasey are pleased to announce that The Royal Road Project is currently showing at New Mexico State Arts at the Bataan Memorial Building 407 Gallisteo St in Santa Fe, New Mexico and then it will be moved just down the road to Currents 2013 at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe located at 555 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe, New Mexico from June 14, 2013 to June 30, 2013.

Read more… 313 more words

Awesome!! <3 I love my state. ~~~Felicia

Of Stars

The new web site theme I designed is titled “Of Stars.”
For this site theme I selected the following quote:

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Silently, one by one, in the
infinite meadows of the heaven,
blossomed the lovely stars,
the forget-me-nots of the angels.

— Henry W. Longfellow
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“Of Stars” web site theme
designed by Felicia Lujan

 

Felicia Lujan: A Poet Through Time

Reblogged from We Drink Because We're Poets:

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Good morning, everyone!  Have I the treat for you today!

I would like to introduce you all to Felicia Lujan, moderator of one of my favorite blogs, My Voyage Through Time!  The title of the blog speaks the truth of it, and on so many levels.  Felicia is an archivist with a very healthy love of history, a love that I can identify with. 

Read more… 623 more words

A big thank you to Sahm and Papizilla for this feature piece. Of course Sahm killed it. I think imagery of me drinking words was the perfect symbolic fit for their web site theme. We Drink Because We're Poets has been making poetic waves in the world of writing. If you haven't paid the site a visit, please do so as there is much to offer there. The special piece I wrote for the feature was uploaded to my YouTube channel. The bottle in my hand is symbolic of how thoughts, dreams, and fears enter my body as words. It is there that these words become cohesive and transform into poetry. ~~~~~~~Felicia

The Anaconda Fight Club Rocks

I thought it was super cool that the Anaconda Fight Club in Barcelona picked up one of my digital composites on their Facebook page ~print screen courtesy of Brit ~. How awesome! Now my work has touched Spain!  Very cool… This fight club also looks sweet. Nothin’ like some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu right? Look at my name under “foto.” Here is a link to my original post Māori: Origins of a Warrior. It was a research piece and a poem! A big thanks to the Anaconda Fight Club!!

Happy Friday Fighters!

Among the Gifted

I was very honored to be asked to develop a design to promote the 2013 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference. This is my second promotional design for WORDHARVEST. The first one I designed was for the Hillerman Prize. Over the last week, I worked to complete a flyer for Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg.

Anne and Jean founded WORDHARVEST 11 years ago, which is “devoted to the art and craft of writing.” WORDHARVEST sponsors the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference. I can’t wait to continue learning from these well known authors, and maybe one famous scriptwriter that I have never met. Anne and Jean have put together a fabulous array of gifted writers. This year, the conference will feature Anne Hillerman, James McGrath Morris, Kirk Ellis, Craig Johnson, David Morrell, Margaret Coel, Christine Barber, Linda Jacobs, Steve Havill, and many others!!

It would be awesome to talk with James McGrath Morris. He is the author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power. As a former journalist, I have to read that book and get a special autograph from McGrath Morris. Joseph Pulitzer was a “media baron” who settled in St. Louis. The baron “transformed American journalism into a medium of mass consumption and immense influence.” How can I not read a book about the rise (and arguably the fall) of a champion of the Democratic Party? The media powerhouse is said to have “used his influence to advance a progressive political agenda and his power to fight those who opposed him.”

I would also love to meet the Emmy award winning screenwriter/producer Kirk Ellis. Ellis was the writer and the co~executive producer of John Adams (the HBO mini~series). He is also working on Blood and Thunder, which is an epic drama about Kit Carson and the Navajo Wars. In 2009, Ellis agreed to work on the adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway book Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir by A. E. Hotchner. You know I have to meet him right?! I adore Hemingway. Ellis also worked on the TV mini~series Into the West: Hell on Wheels and Anne Frank: The Whole Story.

I really can’t wait! Here is the design I came up with for the conference. It is sure to be a great!

~Designed by Felicia Lujan~

~On the Mend~

~~~On the Mend~~
2.14.2013
Digital composite by Felicia Lujan
This digital piece is composed of four layers.
The image includes: a photograph of my right hand;
a photograph of my right eye; red paint; and a human
heart which was rendered in the negative.

Secret Weapon

~~~~~Secret Weapon~~~~~
Self portrait and digital rendering by Felicia Lujan

Animate and inanimate weapon systems have been used since the beginning of time. The weaponry can by 2D, 3D, physical, and intellectual. A sophisticated arsenal of knowledge almost always accompanies the development, deployment, and use of every weapon. This often requires that the weapon be kept confidential. There are many reasons that a useful instrument may be kept secret. The web definition of “secret weapon” is “either a concealed weapon, or a weapon that is not officially confirmed by the owner.” Since many weapons are kept in the shadows, I wanted to share a few of my favorite secret weapons. It is always interesting to take a look at the dark side of intelligence.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has had a continuous love affair with secrecy. In the 1950s, the Skyhook retrieval system was developed and allowed the CIA, United States Navy and the United States Air Force to safely extract their personnel from the ground or the water. The secret retrieval system used an MC-130E Combat Talon aircraft to accomplish this. The Skyhook utilized a balloon, a harness and a nylon lift line to pull a secret agent to safety. A decade later, the Acoustic Kitty was developed as a mobile listening device. The “kitty” included a power pack and transmitter which was fitted into a real cat’s abdomen. The secret weapon included a microphone inside the cat’s ear canal, and an antenna along the spine. The CIA was then able to implant a bug into the ear of the cat which the agents used to spy on their enemies.

Recently there were two secret weapons revealed by power players in the computing world. In June of 2012, Microsoft’s top secret surface computing project which uses multi-touch technology and cameras was disclosed. The development team is said to have used an underground bunker called “the Garage” with no windows and biometric entry verification while researching the technology. The team also utilized a gang of high-tech armed security guards before they decided to officially unveil their work on the project. Later that year, we got an inside look at the “Apple Need to Know Confidential” better know as the Genius Training Student Workbook. Apple’s secret employee manual was revealed as an inside look at the company’s training methods. The unconventional manual is a guide to mastering the art of psychological coercion. Apple calls a person who masters the skill of mind manipulation a “genius” and then gives them a special blue shirt to wear.

Sometimes it is in the best interest of all to keep special weapons secret. I do find it interesting that the plight of a concealed weapon may ensure strength, but it could also foster weakness. Keeping inanimate weaponry at bay will likely keep an enemy or competitor on their toes. Maybe the less they know the better? In the case of an animate or intellectual instrument, it is possible that a life in the shadows may hinder the true potential of that weapon.

The Great Medusa

“The first time I ever saw a box jellyfish, I was twelve.
Our father took us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
I never forgot what he said… That it was the most
deadly creature on earth. To me it was just the
most beautiful thing I had ever seen.”

~~~Ben Thomas in the movie “Seven Pounds”

My new theme is centered on one of my favorite creatures. The jellyfish may be the most mysterious and deadly creature known to man. I took these photos of jellyfish on a recent visit to the National Aquarium. The aquarium is located along the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland (USA).

If you have a chance, check out these two creative pieces I wrote which reference the jellyfish. One is titled Stinging Medusa (2012) and the other is titled Ocean of Whispers (2011).

~~Weight of My Heart~~

~~Weight of My Heart~~
Digital composite by Felicia Lujan

~~Weight of My Heart~~

My heart is heavy.
It is gilded for the
deepest warfare.
Only I can offer
the purest carats~
untouched by falsity.
This weight can crush
the strong and weak
while platinum strings
are tugged so carelessly.
This heart of hearts~
impenetrable~
still penetrated
time and time again.
My heart is heavy.
This weightiness
a blessing~
at times a curse.
In the end I can only
hope that the scale
offers proof to
Gods and Men.

by Felicia Lujan
November 26, 2012

~Kill Switch~

 

~KILL SWITCH~
Original poem and digital composite by Felicia Lujan
Composite features seven layers and six images including: labyrinthine circuit board lines; an Ethernet switch; a blue light; a sugar skull; a blue rose; and the number one doubled. “A kill switch, also known as an e-stop, is a security mechanism used to shut off a device in an emergency situation in which it cannot be shut down in the usual manner. Unlike a normal shut-down switch/procedure, which shuts down all systems in an orderly fashion and turns the machine off without damaging it, a kill switch is designed and configured to a) completely abort the operation at all costs and b) be operable in a manner that is quick, simple (so that even a panicking user with impaired executive function can operate it), and, usually, c) be obvious even to an untrained operator or a bystander. Many kill switches feature a removable barrier or other protection against accidental activation.”

~KILL SWITCH~

______________________________

“All systems failed,” molten overload~
smoke clouds my eyes so I can’t see.

Shatter my sky with electric sparks
until I writhe with needless agony.

______________________________

Technologist~delight supreme~ the
bits and bytes eat an ever shrouded heart.

Penchant one please hit the switch, flesh
on my knees gone from the start.

______________________________

Only heat can melt away frostbitten
dreams of eternal sleepy nights.

No earthly tribute would ever satiate
or bring my face into the light.

______________________________

This debility a poison true,
every wire flushed out with pain.

Intangible~ you should reach for it.
Hit the kill switch~ keep me sane.

_____________________________

by Felicia Lujan
October 19, 2012