SPALENKA EYE

 Did you know that Tarot and Oracle deck YouTube reviews are a thing?

 Most of the reviewers did not know who I was, whereas others like Raecine Ardis of Fire, Grace and Beauty had some framed prints of my art.

The final version of the Divine Nature Oracle Limited Edition Altar set.

Thank you to everyone who supported it.

Thank you also to Angi Sullins for her insightful prose and US Games for helping produce a beautiful Oracle deck, Rachel Watkins for the elegant plate and bowl ceramics, Matt Campos for the beautiful mala beads, Roxana of Illuminated Perfume for the hand made incense, Mother Nature for the exquisite rose quartz, and the Bees for the pure wax tea lites.

I just received a new box of the Art of Greg Spalenka - Visions From the Mind's Eye books from London! Nine years after it has been printed, it is still a thrill to open a package of these.

The video is a recent drawing I placed in one of them. If you have not seen the book it represents 30 years of my art career and the printing is absolutely gorgeous... literally glows on the pages. It took a year working with my good friend and graphic designer, Jeff Burne to review all the work and design the book. In my opinion, it is one of the most impressive projects Jeff has produced in his career.

I am grateful that a decade ago, Titan Books embraced me to be included in their amazing collection of artists. 

COLLECT

I am part of a group show in Austin, Texas at Music Hill Ranch, opening Friday, Feb. 24 with a new experimental body of work. This is the first of many explorations on themes of the Goddess and historical photographic processes.

R-Evolution The Triumph of Alchemy & the Sovereign Goddess

6'x3' Triptych of cyanotypes on paper.

10,000 years ago was the golden age of the Great Goddess. Women were venerated as creators of life. During this time, communication, art, beauty, tolerance, balance, peace, creativity, prevailed with a caring respect for nature. Conflict was minimal and war almost non-existent. The shift to patriarchal rule upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of basic human values. Gods rose above the Goddess, hiding her in shadow.

Alchemy is an ancient mysterious doctrine. Transformation is the goal of all alchemical exploration, but the "Great Work” of creating a Philosopher's Stone was the prize. The perfection of this essence was termed “the absolute.” Turning lead into gold was considered real and symbolic. However, enlightenment was most desired. It was perceived and realized as the Beauty of all Beauty, Love of all Love, and the High most High. True alchemy was misunderstood and so during the fourteenth century this science fell into grave disrepute, and many good practitioners suffered prison and death.

The Great Goddess and the Great Work as forces of nature and spirit live on, revealed in the power of personal transformation. As I learned more about these sacred concepts, I envisioned the Goddess of Sovereignty returning to the consciousness of the world… reviving the Divine Feminine and the Anima Mundi – the World’s Soul. To embolden the R-Evolution of Humanity.

My experiments with cyanotypes and early historical photography processes reflect a type of alchemy in the elements of earth, fire, water and air. The symbolic elements of EARTH are found in the film, paper, and emulsion, FIRE is the sun’s rays exposing and transforming the chemicals into light and shadow, WATER develops and transfigures the image, AIR finishes the process of manifestation. This technique includes painting with the emulsion, destroying and rebuilding the image and repeating the process. Each piece is an evolution. Resurrecting concepts of the Goddess and Alchemy in this manner, allows me to reflect upon aspects of my own personal evolution within the realms of nature and spirit.

This event is a ticketed event with exotic food, bar, live music!

Here is a hint at the introduction to the deck by Angie-

"Every human life faces a daily challenge: to embody our mammalian humanity, with all its needs, wants, power and vulnerabilities OR to inhabit our divinity, accessing the radiance of the I AM as it lives in us, through us, as us.

There is a bridge between those two conditions constructed of compassionate awareness. For our purposes here, we will call it Presence, and acknowledge it as the passageway between your humanity and your divinity.

As humans on planet Earth, nature is our home. But your own nature, as nurtured through your golden spirit and your evergreen human heart, is the primary eco-system home you reside in daily. At any given moment, whether you’re in curiosity or crisis or even celebration mode, you are either experiencing your human longing, your spiritual belonging, or walking across the bridge between the two.

The moments we find ourselves on the bridge, in Presence, are the ones that help us see clearly the never-ending gifts of spirit, while also helping us stay grounded in our human experience. The images contained in this deck and the words in this booklet are here to take your hand as you explore the bridge and all that you are."

US Games has produced some beautiful Tarot and Oracle decks with some very fine artists. The decks are printed in China. I would have preferred they used US printers, however when it comes to quality, the Chinese can elevate the craft to a fine art. My Art of Greg Spalenka retrospective book published by Titan Books in London, was printed in China and it was glorious. I have seen a glimpse of the cards and the box and it looks stellar. 

The goal with the Divine Nature Oracle Deck is to create a sacred space for personal divination and inspiration. The ritual of pulling a card and asking spirit to impart a moment of encouragement with art and uplifting words– I feel is a simple affirmation of doing something good and fun for ourselves. After living with the cards for a while I am certain you will feel the wisdom inside them. Meditate with them... and may you feel love within.

I have created two limited edition sets to compliment your experience of the deck. These are now sold out.

"I use the figure in most of my art because it can communicate an infinite variety of ideas and emotions. I especially love the nude figure, as it is universal and timeless."

This drawing with charcoal on newsprint started with a live fifteen minute pose of the model. The goal of the short pose is to capture the energy of the figure. Then using memory and imagination I brought refinement to the final drawing. 

Matt Tadalan Campos, the incredibly talented jewelry and drum maker / Shaman, was the model.

COLLECT THE DRAWING HERE.

"I use the figure in most of my art because it can communicate an infinite variety of ideas and emotions. I especially love the nude figure, as it is universal and timeless."

This drawing with charcoal on newsprint started with a live fifteen minute pose of the model. The goal of the short pose is to capture the energy of the figure. Then using memory and imagination I brought refinement to the final drawing. 

Adelaide Marcus, the incredibly talented dancer, artist, was the model.

Purchase the drawing HERE.

This drawing session of fifteen minute poses was created at the First Fridays at Lena Street event in Santa Fe, NM. The goal of these short poses is to capture the energy of the model. These sketches are essentially warm ups for more complex drawings that can come later. For now it is about having fun and feeling the movement. Charcoal on newsprint.

Matt Tadalan Campos, the talented artist, drum maker, jewelry/bead artisan, shaman was the model.

NFTs can be an important facet of an artist's creative and financial strategy. This also includes fans, patrons and collectors, who like today support creative individuals for esthetic and financial purposes. NFTs are a simple and safe way to create and sell editions of art in its myriad of forms, but with the option of receiving royalties when it resells... FOREVER. You can pass on the ownership of your NFT to your family, friends, organization, etc. potentially creating income for them... FOREVER.

NFT is the acronym for "Non-Fungible Token". "Fungibility" is relatively simple to understand: it means that two or more things are interchangeable. For example, a twenty dollar bill or two ten dollar bills have the same amount of value: they are interchangeable.

This is not the case with "non-fungible items": two works of art may both be paintings, but they are not interchangeable. Both belong to the genre "painting", but they are definitely not the same thing. The term "token" in this context means that all information about the artwork is combined in a so-called "smart contract" and exists as a "token" on a special blockchain. 

In summary, an NFT is ideal for ensuring the rarity and authorship of a digital or real work which can include collectibles, GIFs, videos, metaverse avatars, and even music. This is the reason why more and more artists, celebrities and collectors are adopting NFTs.

NFTs use blockchain technology, which means that traceability to the creator of the original work is ensured. So you can think of it as a digital representation of the artist's signature that authenticates the originality of the work.

Before, it was very difficult to nearly impossible to verify authorship flawlessly, especially for digital artwork, video, music, etc. The innovation of blockchains has therefore had an enormous impact on the art world: at last it is possible to ensure unambiguous attribution of digital creations. The process of making an NFT on a blockchain is called "minting."

Connecting an NFT to a digital artwork is the assurance that it is verifiably unique, a rarity, and owned by only one person. The artwork can therefore be sold 1:1, just as it would be sold "offline."

Many artists and musicians have been very successful with NFTs. One of the most famous examples is Beeple's "Everydays: the first 5000 days" (below). It sold for around 70 million dollars at an auction at Christie's.

2020-2021 were bull market years for NFTs, but in 2022 because of the economy, Bitcoin dropped in price as well as the crypto market affecting the NFT market. It is expected to rise again in 2023. 

Can physical works of art be turned into NFTs?

The short answer is that yes, physical artworks can be minted and sold online as NFTs– making this market ever more accessible to artists in all creative disciplines. Instead of the traditional route of setting up an art gallery, artists now have easier access to art as a career. 

The biggest benefit of linking physical artworks to non-fungible tokens is that sellers and buyers can easily prove the art is genuine. Following the purchase, a buyer can easily prove the NFT is theirs. Whether for valuation or resale, this offers a clear advantage for everyone in the industry concerned about legal ownership of their art. 

And for the artist, many NFT marketplaces (such as SuperRare ensure that every sale results in royalties, meaning they could stand to continue earning from the same piece of artwork for many years to come. Unlike physical art where the artist rarely knows where their work ends up, NFTs allow for a clear digital history as well as the perk of additional income. NFTs also cut out the middleman, so the artist can deal directly with the buyer, and enjoy the full profit of the work. 

NFTs and the Environment

Lastly, there has been debate about how much Bitcoin, the crypto market and NFTs affect the environment because of the energy usage. It is extremely difficult to know the truth about how much energy is actually used, and what type of environmental impact there really is, because corporations, the banking industry and governments are driving the narrative for their own purposes. Everyone has an agenda, so I learned decades ago we must do the deep dive to find the answers.

It appears to me that the impact is not as great as we are led to believe in any of the mainstream media. There are many studies and articles putting Bitcoin's energy consumption into proper perspective. Check these out- 

Protos, Coin Market Cap, Genesis.

Five myths about NFTs. 

These last few blog posts were only an introduction to the digital world of Bitcoin, Crypto Currency and NFTs. I encourage you to do more research to familiarize yourself with the different platforms and complete your due diligence before entering the marketplace. 

Stay tuned to my first NFT drop on OpenSea with singer/song writer SEAY. I will offer more instructions on how to sign up with OpenSea on the next post. 

This is the second in a series of posts explaining the concept of cryptocurrency, NFTs and the future of money.

What is an NFT? Stands for non-fungible tokens. Physical money and cryptocurrencies are “fungible,” meaning they can be traded or exchanged for one another. They’re also equal in value—one dollar is always worth another dollar; one Bitcoin is always equal to another Bitcoin. Crypto’s fungibility makes it a trusted means of conducting transactions on the blockchain.

NFTs are different. Each has a digital signature that makes it impossible for NFTs to be exchanged for or equal to one another (hence, non-fungible). 

An NFT is a digital asset that can come in the form of art, music, in-game items, videos, and more. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency, and they are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos. Hence, they become embedded on a blockchain.

NFTs have been around since 2014, generally to buy and sell digital artwork. The market was worth a staggering $41 billion in 2021 alone. Since then the market has dropped for different reasons the main one being that crypto prices have fallen significantly since the start of the year. In the crypto world everything rises and falls on Bitcoin which is the number one decentralized (no one owns or controls it) crypto currency in the world. 

Many NFT's are placed on the centralized (owned and controlled) Ethereum (ETH) blockchain network, which generally follows the ups and downs of Bitcoin. There is volatility with Bitcoin because it is still tied to US and world financial markets. Within the next decade it will decouple from those influences and become its own value system, which if the predications are correct will far surpass the fiat systems that have been used for hundreds of years.

But even with the NFT downturn, they are still selling by the millions, despite the lower price point and declining ETH value. In fact, that number is rising lately, with some 8.78 million NFTs transacted in September—up from 7.68 million NFTs sold in August and 5.89 million sold in July.