Artist Decoded: Gems - "Every Full Moon"

GEMS is the evolving ethereal pop project of former lovers Lindsay Pitts and Clifford John Usher. After an agonizing romantic split, the duo are continuing to make music together with the project: ‘Every Full Moon’. The full moon represents a time of culmination and fulfillment, of coming full circle, and a symbolic illumination in our inner lives that is mirrored in the night sky. GEMS will be releasing a new song with every full moon as they work through the ghosts of their past and face the uncertainty of the future. Their hope is that the music they create can serve as a vehicle to transform the pain and work through things that otherwise seem totally overwhelming.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Being able to separate yourself from your art
• Constantly investigating and navigating the world
• Neil Young, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell
• Astrology
• Releasing their songs at the end of the full moon cycle
• Changes the duo has been going through both personally and with their musical career
• Technological advances
• The music industry
• Getting trapped in systematic styles of living / thinking
• Social and emotional education
• Positivity through individuality
• Artwork affecting culture

www.gems-band.com

Artist Decoded: "Drawing Your Own Path" with John F Simon Jr.

John F Simon Jr. is a multimedia artist and software art pioneer who work and installations are found in the permanent collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others. In 2011, he collaborated with Icelandic singer Bjork to write an app for her album, Biophilia. Simon's newest publication, Drawing Your Own Path: 33 Practices at the Crossroads of Art and Meditation, is out now by Parallax Press. Simon grew up in central Louisiana and currently lives and works in Sugar Loaf, New York.

Topics Discussed in this Episode: 

• Creative ruts leading to personal creative breakthroughs
• His experiences going to Brown and SVA
• How he started to experiment with digital imaging
• Communal VR and AR spaces
• "Snowcrash", a book by Neal Stephenson
• Classic panopticons
• His research into AI
• The "no-self" experience
• Discussing the idea behind his book "Drawing Your Own Path"
• Understanding and dissecting meditation
• "Secret of the Golden Flower" (book)
• Mindfulness being executed when the verbal and non-verbal parts of the brain sync up
• The personal narrative
• Bruce Lee
• Creating your own reality

www.drawingyourownpath.com

www.numeral.com

Artist Decoded: "The Warrior's Path + Developing Mental Toughness and Resilience" with Daniele Bolelli

Daniele Bolelli is an Italian-born writer, martial artist, university professor, and podcaster. He is the author of several books including On the Warrior's Path. He's also known for his podcasts History On Fire and The Drunken Taoist.

• How martial arts and physical activity can change your life
• Developing mental toughness
• The ability and willingness to challenge yourself
• Making small improvements to your life
• Joe Rogan
• The reasons why he started his podcasts The Drunk Taoist and History On Fire
• Existing as yourself
• Living an unedited existence
• Tackling fear
• Understanding work from a conscious perspective

Artist Decoded: "Overcoming Obstacles + Becoming Focused and Disciplined" feat. Yoshino interviewed by Cory Allen

Artist Decoded host, Yoshino, interviewed by Cory Allen.

This interview was originally on Cory's podcast The Astral Hustle.

Artist Decoded: "Opening Access Points of the Mind" with Matthew Ryan Herget interviewed by Jarell Perry + Yoshino

Born December 21st, 1990; Matthew Ryan Herget is an emerging self-taught artist from Miami, FL. 

After attending University for two years, Herget opted to leave formal education to pursue his personal calling in life; to live as a contemporary explorer. 

Herget's work is what he calls, a "constant collaboration" between himself at all points in his life. The evolution of his work mimics the evolution of his own self - a student of life, the mind, nature, and spirituality; Herget continues to explore anew without losing the childlike confidence that propelled him to the person he is today. Earlier paintings consist of juxtapositions of visual metaphors that tend to represent overcoming personal fears and limitations. These juxtapositions mix serious tones with playful imagery: an ode to finding who he is while at the same time never forgetting where he was. 

Newer paintings jump in and out of the boundaries of form and abstraction. Occasionally paintings are figurative while others take the shape of full on abstraction: a reflection of where Matthew is currently in his personal journey. Matthew's process in the studio is that of high-energy and adventure. Paintings usually begin with no set concept and evolve into a dialogue of mark-making and feeling between the painter and painting. Dozens of paintings are often worked on at the same time and rotated throughout the studio. His painting style relies heavily on instinct, risk, and uncertainty. Things that are learned today may be dropped tomorrow in an effort to consistently keep oneself open to change and discovery. Herget's main focus is making the process the reward, and to allowing that process and inner voice to mold and evolve what comes of the process, as it pleases. 

“Each piece is a journey in-and-of itself. I’m constantly trying to take it somewhere that I haven’t been before. The way I paint is kind of a metaphor for who I am, and why I’m here. It’s not about taking it to a point where you can see something; it’s about bringing it to a place where you can feel something. We all have a space suit on; whether it sits in the closet or goes to the moon is a choice we get to make. It’s a constant mission of finding ourselves. I think that pursuit is nurtured by consistently pushing ourselves further than we did yesterday. That’s how we change, grow, and evolve. That’s what these paintings are about. It’s pretty simple, but means a lot to me."

Matthew Ryan Herget currently works out of Los Angeles, CA.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Psychedelics opening up mental portals
• His adventures traveling
• Artist For Peace And Justice in Haiti
• Meditation and spirituality
• His love for Eckhart Tolle books
• Finding purpose as our work as an artist
• Learning from the ways animals interact 

www.mrherget.com

Artist Decoded: "Create Like There's No Tomorrow" with Andrew Hem interviewed by Justin Hopkins

Born during his parents' flight from Cambodia in the wake of the Khmer Rogue genocide, Andrew Hem grew up poised in the balance between two cultures - the rural animistic society of his Khmer ancestors, and the dynamic urban arts of the tough Los Angeles neighborhood where his family eventually came to rest. Fascinated by graffiti at an early age, he honed his skills with graphics and composition on the walls of the city before following a passion for figure drawing to a degree in illustration from Art Center College of Design. Working in gouache, oil and acrylic, he weaves atmospheric, richly textured narratives in a vivid palette of twilight blues enlivened by swaths of deep red and splashes of golden light. His haunting impressions of culture and landscape evoke the life of the spirit through the visionary manifestation of memories and dreams.

Over the six years since his graduation from Art Center with a B.F.A. in Illustration, Andrew Hem has exhibited in venues worldwide, from Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York and the Portsmouth Museum of Art in New Hampshire to solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Miami, Toronto, Zurich and Leece, Italy. He has lectured at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. His personal work has been featured in Beyond Illustration, the Society of Illustrators annual, Communication Arts, Spectrum, American Illustration, 3x3, Swallow and Hi-Fructose, among others, and his illustration clients have included The Atlantic, New Scientist, the Los Angeles Times, the Fort Worth Opera, Adidas and Lucky Brand Jeans. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

www.andrewhem.com