Check it: Last December while at the Tempe Art Festival I had the pleasure of making a connection with Sharon Stelluto who in turn introduced me to Thomas Brown, who together run and operate RISE PHOENIX and the INNER MONOLOGUE Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/risephoenix2012). Both very warm and open minded people with a great goal, to promote mindfulness, openness, and creativity through engagement. I was more than surprised and pleased when they invited me to record a podcast with them, which we recorded back in February. It was my first official time on the mic and went well despite my performance anxiety around audio and video. Artistic people having anxiety and awkwardness, who would have thought it possible?! Thomas made it very easy and amiable, and had great questions and considerations, not to mention great reading recommendations which I am currently pursuing. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn was highly recommended, interestingly enough because it focuses on a sentient gorilla with great depth and philosophy. Right up my alley, I mean I've dedicated literal weeks of my life to bringing a sentient gorilla to life via oil paint. I should have my copy of Ishmael in a few days (thanks zon) and can't wait to dig in. I absolutely love finding inspiration from out of the blue, when not expecting it, and I found plenty talking with Inner Monologue.
So here we are at the end of April, my episode is now up and streaming on iTunes and it's pretty surreal. More than anything I am blown away with appreciation that I was invited to share my thoughts, visions, and inspirations with others. Being appreciated for your true works and your true sight is a gift and demands gratitude. I'm grateful for the experience and I'm better personally and artistically for meeting and engaging with this fantastic duo. I invite you to check out Rise/Inner Monologue for yourself, to listen, to learn, and to grow. The story of RISE Phoenix is very real and honest, and the podcasts are very uplifting. It's certainly worth subscribing and visiting regularly, frequently, maybe even constantly: http://www.risephoenix.org/ You never know who you'll run into, who will run into you, who will dig what you do, and what inspiration you'll find out there, just have an open mind and go with it, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
-Zev