Pendant 1300–50; Middle English pendaunt < Anglo-French; Middle French pendant, noun use of present participle of pendre to hang < Vulgar Latin *pendere for Latin pendēre. See pend, -ant

This estimated 700 year-old Medieval pendant found in Osmington with a metal detector still blows me away.

Paul Rainford, 53, of Littlemoor Road, Preston found the medieval pendant with a green stone engraved with a woman’s portrait in a farmer’s ploughed field on March 6.

“I honestly thought it was a Victorian pendant but when I got home and cleaned the mud off it, I saw the medieval writing and I thought that’s quite old.’”

A report by the British Museum said the pendant is silver gilt and dates from the 13th or early 14th century.

The 35mm-long pendant is set with an intaglio of green stone and a mount frames the stone leaving the back exposed.

On the front of the mount are inscribed the letters ‘AGLA’ which was a popular charm in the Middle Ages.

Coroner Michael Johnston said it signifies ‘Athe Gebir Leilan Adoni’ meaning ‘Thou Art Mighty For Ever, Oh Lord’.

He said the charm was invoked to prevent fever and the stone was exposed deliberately to provide contact between it and the skin of the wearer. The stone, along with the inscription is likely to have had magical significance.

—“Medieval pendant found in village,” Daily Echo

The tones of the green stone are so eerily similar to work from my series, Anodynus.

“Sekhmet,” 16.5x21in, acrylic & fabric on canvas

Works in detritus

Untitled, currently known as the Coral Lady - process

Untitled, currently known as Tim’s Mary - process

Arts New Mexico group show at Aux Dog

My new work will be part of the Arts New Mexico group show at Aux Dog Theatre here in Albuquerque this February. All work is set to the theme, “At What Price” to complement the Aux Dog production of Arthur Miller’s The Price, running this month. The opening will take place Friday, February 10th from 5-7PM.

Naturally, I found a way to apply the theme to reincarnation. How could I not?

The mish-mash of materials, paint and tarps that go on during a painting process of mine draws the cats into my studio like moths to a flame. Little adopted the work as her playground.

AUX DOG THEATRE
3011 Monte Vista Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
auxdog.com

The Price
February 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th at 8:00 PM
February 12th, 19th, and 26th at 2:00 PM

What Child Is This? by Irene Merring

When Irene approached me for her “What Child Is This?” project, I didn’t have to think before saying “yes.” As an artist, I let me intuition decide for me at times. The reality of the project: no time for us to create some new (and relevant) photography; impending deadline; completely new concept - a Christmas theme. As a designer, I tend to cringe with holiday themes - the cheese factor is always looming, and finding a unique and meaningful way to tie in a holiday to an existing brand is much more challenging than it looks.

Thankfully, the light bulb went off in someone’s head - Irene recalled some portraits of herself in a long, hooded silver gown. While we might typically imagine muffs, Santa hats, scarves and mittens for Christmastime apparel, I couldn’t help but notice that her hooded gown - aside from the silver - felt so appropriately Biblical. A long, hooded garb is the archetypal garment of the Middle Eastern nomad, perfectly suited for the three kings who visited the newborn Christ. And like those gift-bearing wise men, Irene is generously giving us this track for free. You can download it here.

Kundalina with Sat Jivan Jamila

Fall in New Mexico is glorious. It begins with an Indian summer, but not the lingering kind; it’s a gentle, even progression into cooler weather, when the scent of burning leaves fills the air.

During the warmer part of fall, just before the trees began to color, Brett Adamek shot me in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains during a Kundalini Yoga-inspired meditation. If you are unfamiliar with Kundalini, you can learn more about it here. It is one of the most interesting types of yoga I have tried.

Despite the prickly cactus and evening gnats, this was the perfect location for channeling and raising one’s kundalini energy. The setting sun of Albuquerque has the spiritual quality of a Raphael painting. Its penetrating rays spiraling down to earth are god’s fingers, if such a thing exists.

Bodies, water, blood

Last spring I joined photographers Katie Chao & Ben Meussig of shooting brooklyn, Mike Genato (RVRS:PLAY) and musician Irene Merring for a photoshoot at Floyd Bennett Field, an abandoned airfield in Brooklyn. It was a raw day, perfect for capturing the night/day light effects that Katie & Ben created.

Irene was a sport, climbing into foliage and even splashing in presumably icy water in murky-looking conditions.

At one point, the only thing missing in my footage was yellow tape and a body bag.

But Irene is safe and definitely alive, though no longer in New York - perhaps this dreary day was nature foreshadowing her transformation into a west coast-based artist.*

Irene Merring’s official website: irenemerring.com

More from Katie Chao: katiechaophoto.com

More from shooting brooklyn: shootingbrooklyn.blogspot.com

*Interestingly, it was raining on the day I left New York for the west, just as it rained on the day I left New York for Europe, years ago. Hm…

With my children

This photo was taken in Brooklyn by Brett Adamek before I moved to New Mexico.

On the left: palimpsest (2010) 2 panels 10in x 30in each, fabric, acrylic on canvas. “A Tissue of Lies? Could there be a more persuasively apt title for a memoir? Particularly if the rememberer of his paste is referring not so much to his own lies but to those of others…. ‘Paper, parchment, etc., prepared for writing on and wiping out again, like a slate’ and ‘a parchment, etc., which has been written upon twice; the original writing having been rubbed out.’ This is pretty much what my kind of writer does anyway. Starts with life; makes a text; then a re-vision—literally, a second seeing, an afterthought, erasing some but not all of the original while writing something new over the first layer of text.” —Gore Vidal, Palimpsest: A Memoir

On the right: healing (2009) 5ft (60in) x 6ft (72in), fabric, oil, acrylic on canvas. This piece came with me across the country. I began work on it during a fast and had to pause creation until I was eating again; the amount of physical energy required to work on this piece - which is larger than me - was intense. This piece is part of the Awakenings series and was embedded with an intention - or prayer, if you will. Not long after I finished it, a miracle did indeed happen - for only a brief moment, and against all odds.

And on me: Perpetua (2010) 7in x 24in, acrylic, fabric on canvas. A married and nursing woman, Perpetua was martyred in the Roman province of Carthage, in Africa, along with her slave, Felicity, sometime in the 3rd century’s first decade. Perpetua kept a journal while imprisoned, recording several visions that she believed foreshadowed her death and ascent to heaven. It is considered to be one of the earliest surviving texts written by a Christian woman.

Behind The Scenes: The Asteroid Shop & The Ghost Wolves shoot with LightBright

The Asteroid Shop & The Ghost Wolves are Austin-based bands I had the pleasure of working with this past week while their tour stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We snapped some photos in front of these incredible murals downtown near Gold Street.

 
From left: Eric Brendo, Carley Carazy Wolf, Todd Pruner, Jonathan Konya

 
From left: Jonathan Konya, Carley Carazy Wolf, Todd Pruner, Lane Tarr, Eric Brendo

“The Asteroid Shop’s self titled debut is going to make a lot of people really happy,” raves MVRemix. “….Asteroid lays on the indie sound pretty thick, and tempers it expertly with clean electric guitars and Jonathan Koya’s crisp drumming approach…. It’s an album with staying power, if only enough people decide to get up and get on it.”

Music video blog LightBright filmed acoustic performances of both bands in the downtown area. I caught some footage of their process.

The Asteroid Shop performed “Destroyer” from their self-titled debut in the plaza near historic Route 66.

Guitar & Vocals: Eric Brendo, Guitar: Todd Pruner, Shakers: Jonathan Konya, Shakers & Vocals: Carley Carazy Wolf

After the sun set, everyone headed over to the Albuquerque train station to shoot The Ghost Wolves under the bridge.

“Their live show is a bit of a spectacle,” says the Austin Chronicle. “Musically, you’ll find hints of popular acts in the mainstream such as The White Stripes, but you can definitely feel a bit of Texas lurking…At times, Carley sounds a bit more ferocious than comparable groups, but that sort of passion only strengthens the band’s sound. We’re really excited about this group,” boasts Austin Town Hall.

The Ghost Wolves performed “Gonna Live” with some backup from The Asteroid Shop:

Guitar & Vocals: Carley Carazy Wolf, Drums & Vocals: Jonathan Konya, Backup Vocals: Todd Pruner, Eric Brendo & Lane Tarr

Learn more about these amazing bands:

facebook.com/theasteroidshop

facebook.com/TheGhostWolves 

Drying fall foliage

It all started with Eighteen inches.

My addiction to using plants in combination with acrylic for texture.

As a child, W magazine was my Bible, but I never really took to sewing. A dying bouquet of roses turned out to be my needle and thread. The pieces quickly became abstract (Meditations in Entropy), but I plan to return to character and costume design.

As soon as these flowers dry.

Compare…

Jamila

“Ganghsta Berber”
17” x 22”
acrylic and magazine clippings on canvas

Brett Adamek

self portrait

Model: Liu Wen

Photo: Angelo Pennetta

A photoshoot on Wall St.

I joined Mikéal Beland for a photoshoot in the Financial District, making a brief appearance:

In-between making snarky faces, I managed to snap some photos myself (with my handy LG Voyager):