Michael Garfield's Love Without End Tour Newsletter: zazzle
Showing posts with label zazzle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zazzle. Show all posts

16 July 2014

New Hummingbird Live Painting | William Irwin Thompson Interview | More Sublimation Tees & Tanks

“I carry a torch that is as old as the human spirit, and as I journey forth I seek a broader vision and support to help me communicate as purely and uninhibitedly as possible. This is a statement and a prayer…”
Amanda Sage

This week I'm giving you a lot to chew on, some work that I'm especially proud of.  So I'll skip the preamble and let the content do the talking.  Enjoy!  And hopefully I'll see you at Holy Mountain in Austin opening for Taylor McFerrin this Saturday, or at Gratifly Festival, or Arise Festival...

Beija Flor

"Note that the flower – with its multiple and layered invocation, a figure-ground dissolution of inside/outside that works as a snare for insect attraction – the (now self-referential) book, and the jewel share a vocation: organized, and thoroughly seductive, fluctuation."
– Richard DoyleDarwin's Pharmacy pp.64-65

16"x24" – paint pens on canvas, created live at:
2014 06 13 – 16 Firefly Gathering (Flagstaff, Arizona) during
Kokopelli, Jahmontee, Nico Luminous, Nanda, Quanta, Akasha, Digital Rust, Love & Light, Mr. Rogers, Sixis, Johnny Swoope, Pumpkin, Random Rab, Kaminanda, Whitebear, Itom Lab
2014 06 19 – 22 Sonic Bloom Festival (South Park, Colorado) during
Soulacybin, DJedi, Kyrstyn Pixton, Cualli, OTT, Tipper, Nominus, Future Simple Project, Merkaba, Amani, Treavor Moontribe, Ayla Nereo, Saqi, Wildlight, Bird of Prey, Dopapod, Birds of Paradise, Mr. Bill, Random Rab


"Beija Flor" means "flower kisser" in Portugeuse. This summer has been full of visits from hummingbird energy in various ways and it only seemed appropriate to honor these beautiful creatures with a portrait that recognizes their sublime and joyous spirit. After nearly a year at home in Texas, this is how I felt to get back out on the road and join my friends for festival season...

(What flower is he kissing?  Why, the 1000-petaled lotus connecting us to God, of course – the "glass chrysanthemum" or Sahasrara chakra that mediates our soul's descent to matter, and through which various spiritual traditions direct attention at the time of death.  What better place to plant a kiss?)


On The Horizons of Planetary Culture: 
Cyborgs, Psychedelics, & Spiritual Evolution

One of the of the best – and most controversial – conversations I’ve ever had is now live at Reality Sandwich: My second rap (here is the first) with poet-philosopher William Irwin Thompson, former MIT professor and founder of the legendary Lindisfarne Association, on the transformations of self and society in the collapse of civilization and the emergence of a planetary culture – cyborgs, surveillance, and psychedelics in an age of paranoid apocalypticism and inspired new visions for our species.  Get ready for a wild one, folks…comments welcome!

Full notes on the two-hour conversation – including mentions of Douglas Rushkoff, Erik Davis, Buddhist Geeks, Mindful Cyborgs, Richard Doyle, Philip K. Dick, Jan Irvin, Buckminster Fuller, Marshall McLuhan,Terence McKenna, Burning Man, Bitcoin, Google Glass, DADARA, Joan Halifax, Wendell Berry, and more – at the link above.

New Dye-Sublimation Shirts at Infinite Bit

I still have several cool shirt & dress designs for sale at Ravenectar.  Here are a few more in production with another great apparel startup, Infinite Bit.  Being able to my print art on clothes like this almost makes up for the no-hoverboard thing, in my opinion...





Upcoming Appearances

Now Accepting Commissions!

30 June 2014

Mycelium Music | New Live Painting | Custom Violin | Upcoming Gigs | New Merch at Zazzle

“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”

“Thoroughly conscious ignorance has been the prelude to every advance in science.”

The summer's abundance of travel, inspirational friendships, and powerful new chance meetings is well underway...freshly home, I'm eager to integrate all that I've learned and experienced in the last two weeks – and looking forward to some amazing gigs in the month ahead.

I can't wait to share all of that new work with you – but I'm a little behind.  So first things first!

Mycelium Music Compilation Vol. 4
A Benefit for the Amazon Mycorenewal Project

I'm honored to be on this album alongside friends Supersillyus, Numatik, Cactus Bath, and Wei Chi Field, as well as a host of other talented producers.  My track, "Throwing Sparks," is something totally different for anyone familiar with my electronic guitar improvisation – a lush and glitchy arrangement supporting my first Chapman Stick recording since 2008.  Proceeds go to the Amazon Mycorenewal Project, using fungus to clean up oil pollution in Ecuador...a worthy cause!

New Live Painting:
"Manna Vesicles"
2014-04-18 Scoot Inn – Sheer Khan, Resonant Frequency, The Human Experience, Andreilien
04-22 Austin Community College – The Human Fractals, Bob Slaughter
05-14 Empire Control Room – JPOD, Blunt Force, Cactus Bath
05-22 The Parish – The Nadis Warriors, Random Rab
06-04 Lanai – Fractala, Ram-Z, DRRTY WULVZ, Subaqueous
06-05 Empire Control Room – Quanta, Akasha
06-07 Archaic Revival Festival – Manoj, Desert Dwellers
06-12 Elanosphere – Studio

Inspired by vintage science fiction paperback cover artwork and fantastical NASA concept paintings, "Manna Vesicles" is also my first in a series of odes to the Texas Hill Country, a sacred landscape whose rolling terrain flows with abundant sunlight and spring water, nourishing an incredible diversity of creatures and cultures.

Sometimes when I look up in the sky and see those almost-invisible floating orbs, I wonder if they aren't dust but chi, the subtle energy of the cosmos flowing through and binding the world together. Given recent discoveries about the Earth's magnetic field and its relationship to storms, human biology, and solar activity, I imagine a field of orbs like this in every open sky – fields of interpenetrating influence, transforming cosmic radiation into something life on Earth can use.

The universe is a vast, mysterious place – most of it invisible to us. Space isn't really empty – it's full. This painting's a reminder of that.

Custom Texas State Flag Violin

My girlfriend Nicole Taylor repairs violins and guitars for a living.  Recently her boss at Westbank String Shop asked me if I'd like to paint the state flag of Texas on a client's violin...and I convinced them to let me have my way with it.  (Here's another shot of the finished job on instagram.)

New Custom Hat: Elephants & Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds and elephants adorn this latest lid.  I love doing these – let me know if you'd like one of your own!  You can see all 154 I've done so far on my facebook page.

New Merchandise on Zazzle

Every once in a while I meet someone who bought one of my phone cases or laptop decals, and I'm always impressed with how well they came out.  Zazzle does a good job!  So I'm glad to announce new items featuring my painting "Inner Light" from Rootwire and Art Outside Festivals last year. And there are plenty more where those came from:


Upcoming Gigs

I'm honored to be opening for the ultra-talented Taylor McFerrin, son of Bobby McFerrin, in Austin this July.  His jazzy live electronica is taking the nation by storm and it's going to be a totally fun way to spend my only gig in Austin this summer...

And then it's off to three amazing festivals!  Gratifly is a beacon of transformational culture in the Southeast; Portal is a very promising new event in the Northwest; and Arise is widely considered the best music festival in Colorado.  I'll be speaking and painting at all three, as well as playing music with an über-talented coterie of special guest collaborators.  Who's coming with me?


Thanks for reading!  Feel free to stay in touch and have a beautiful day...more soon!

11 April 2013

Triceratops T-Shirt, Salamander Painting, New Time-Lapse Videos, Dialogue w/ Marc Gafni

“Art tells the jokes that science insists on explaining.”

"Every creative act empowers every other creative act."
Alex Grey

I set two intentions for my art last year:  make it available on clothing; and paint pictures of local Austin animals to raise awareness of conservation issues.  Both of those dreams just came true.

Plus, I'm participating in a dialogue next week on art, culture, and spirituality with acclaimed author and Kabbalah expert Dr. Marc Gafni – and I've been playing with my new GoPro camera and have some fun time-lapse videos for you.  Thanks for reading and have a magnificent weekend!

–––> Preorder Here! <–––

Dye-sublimation is the only way to get vivid, high-resolution printing on the entire surface of your apparel.  Ravenectar is a new label out of Montreal whose mission is to make visionary art available on t-shirts.  It's a match made in heaven – and their mockup for the shirt with "As Awesome As Three Unicorns," my painting from Sonic Bloom 2012, is the most popular concept so far.  If you're a dinosaur dork, this shirt is a no-brainer.  

Contribute to Ravenectar's kickstarter to preorder yours today for less than retail price!

Barton Springs Salamander
(Eurycea sosorum)

Painted live with pens on 24"x48" masonite panel at:
• 2013.01.23 - Cirque Blanc @ La Zona Rosa (Ill.Gates)
• 2013.02.01 - The Parish (KiloWatts, OTT & The All-Seeing Eye)
• 2013.02.09 - HeARTs Aware @ La Zona Rosa
(DJ PWR, Metranohm, Happy Happy James, Rena Jones, Jamie Janover, Govinda)
• 2013.03.02 - Head For The Hills @ Quiet Valley Ranch
(Holding Space, The Nadis Warriors, Kyle Hollingsworth Band)
• 2013.03.09 - Luminaria @ 300 E Houston, SA (San Antonio Dance Fringe)
• 2013.03.11 - The Parish Underground (The Nadis Warriors, Rena Jones, IndigoSun)
• 2013.03.12 - Big Bang Bar
(Profresher, Nico Luminous, Lafa Taylor, Future Simple Project)
• 2013.03.16 - MusicUs Showcase @ Whomp (DVS*, Rena Jones, Profresher)
• 2013.03.17 - High Times Awards @ Red Eyed Fly
(The Memorials, G-Eazy, Diemonds, Gypsyhawk, Interstellar Transmissions, The Effinays)

Austin's Barton Springs is home to a totally unique salamander that exists nowhere else in the world. I painted this to raise awareness of the valiant efforts by Save Our Springs Alliance to preserve the habitat of this beautiful creature, and to alert people to the importance of the Edwards Aquifer in general – which is also the source for clean water for millions of people, and is currently endangered by both deregulated development within city limits and secret fracking about 40 miles west of Austin.

Wherever you live, take care of it. Other creatures depend on you.  If you live nearby, you can support the Save Our Springs Alliance by donating here.

Click for a close-up view of each the entire process:

Like/Comment/Share on FB

Barton Springs Salamander Gear:
iPhone 5 Case | Laptop Skin
Postage Stamps | Greeting Cards
Belt Buckles | Doodle Mini-Speaker

New Time-Lapse Videos!

BusToShow SXSW 2013 Mural Time-Lapse

For SXSW in Austin this year, my live painter friends and I decided to go big and paint a mural on the side of a bus.  BusToShow let us borrow theirs – they use this decommissioned school bus to provide safe rides to and from concerts across the country while raising money to support the arts.  We set up in the side yard outside Whomp on South Lamar and The Boston Boys were gracious enough to join us with their tasty live music while we worked.  It was one super magical afternoon.

We didn't get to finish the mural, though – so stay tuned for part two!

Jurassic Park Tattoo Time-Lapse

It doesn't take a genius to realize I am one fierce dinosaur fanatic.  Here's to hoping the people at Universal Studios appreciate my new ink (courtesy of Lily at Austin's Golden Age Tattoo) enough to give me a free ticket to the 20th anniversary 3D re-release of Jurassic Park...!  Either way, my slain dragon now rides shotgun, forever.

Join me for a conversation with Dr. Marc Gafni
on Visionary Art, Transformational Culture,
and Unique Self Expression


This coming Tuesday, April 16th, I have the amazing opportunity to join Marc Gafni for a discussion on the transformational power of visionary art and the evolution of planetary consciousness.  Marc is the author of Your Unique Self, a groundbreaking book that examines the role of the ego in spiritual evolution and how to live as a whole, balanced person – embracing the whole spectrum of human experience.


If you're as curious as I am to explore how the Unique Self teaching applies to creativity, community, and identity in the electronic age, then join us on the call this Tuesday at 8 pm Central.  Details here.

That's all for now.  More great news to come – thanks again for your time and support.  You know where to reach me...