self portrait
I		II

I am levendis, creator of the works here. I was born and lived the first quarter-century of my life in Texas, but now I have moved to the Land of Enchantment. I have always strived to be unique and present myself and ideas in a way as different from others as possible; yet I am very much just like every person I meet. One thing that always strikes everyone about me is my outgoing nature, and all my eccentricities. First impressions are lasting impressions in my mind, and I always manage to instill in others a sense of lasting enigma. I hope to, anyway. With that I present the collective works of levendis- The Transcendental Experience. Beginning with a single drop I have travelled to lands distant and gathered many other-worldy experiences, which I share in my drawings, paintings and written words. I feel imagination is a great commodity that lasts longer than any man or machine ever can, therefore I dilligently produce my thoughts on paper. When I was younger I felt as though this material, physical world we dwell in was "reality." As I grow and learn I see my vivid imagination as more "real" than any day-to-day experiences could ever hope to match. My visions that appear in these works are my reality. When that burst of inspiration hits me like a tidal wave, I sink into this world; I no longer feel bound by my body. Some call it creativity, but I refer to it as "life." For without it I am nothing, I mean nothing, I am more dead than if my body were underground, joining with the universe. This used to plague me, when the experience overtakes me and my eyes close and my body disappears and I AM. However, as I have grown accustomed to the feelings and can see they are more me than my physical self, I love life more fully. A typical day for me consists of more time spent in this realm than in the physical, though my ego tends to dominate interpersonal relationships. I can have both at once, of course, both surreal and real; therefore can appear crazy, yet I definitely know I am not, and everyone who does not cast away the hard, earth-born physical world dayly must certainly be certifiably insane. Or close to it, anyway. With this expanation of me I hope to give you a closer look into my mind, but to really see me, you must look upon my visions as I have tried to capture them on paper and canvas. I welcome criticism, and friendship, so please find a moment to send some words my way such that I may broaden my horizons by adding your wisdom and insight to my collective.

Currently I subscribe to a discussion group involving scientific pantheism. This is an embodiment of many different belief systems. I used to consider myself an atheist, however upon closer examination I realized I do hold reverence for, and feel one with the universe. Everyday I look at the clouds and moon and sky and ground and am a part of this universe; I feel like an atom of the body of Gaia. The pantheist credo enlightens us with a certain divine feeling toward this universe we are a part of. Totality is another word for it, where everything IS and all things make up the whole, with no personal or vengeful god to worry about. Every human, every animal, every grain of sand is a part of the whole; and there is nothing supernatural about any of it.

I was not born with the name levendis, yet it has become more descriptive of me than my given name- not to belittle my parents for their decision, of course, but as a chosen path. This name first came to my attention in a short story written for Omni by Harlan Ellison, entitled, "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore." In it, levendis is representative of all the supposedly insignificant people who make a big difference in history simply by playing the part of the cog in the wheel. He is the boy-scout who walked the old woman across the street, the man rowing a truly visionary Columbus from his ship, the poet on the street-corner spouting words to no audience but still having an impact on humanity. When The Transcendental Experience first awakened in me the story was fresh on my mind, and I found a huge part of levendis in me. More recently I have learned levendis also has meaning in Greek: hero. The irony plays well on my imagination, and makes me wonder who I am... or rather- who we are and why we choose our paths the way we do.

I hope to reach people and touch them with my vision, and if you have read this then you are one with me. It sounds a little 'out-there' I know... but just by sharing words and images I feel as though our collective unconscious has mingled. Understand that I want to become more than I am, and if touching you has in any way changed who you are even for a moment, then I have achieved my goal. One of my favourite artists of the twentieth century is HR GIGER, and he has a similar vision. I simply love what he creates- I love his art. I feel comfortable knowing that he has changed me, as I one day wish to change him- through my creations. Notice I do not refer to my work as "art," though I do his. This is very basic for me, for anyone who creates can see art and respect art and know art- but cannot call his own work art. That is someone else's job.

Peace, Happiness, Love and Wisdom to all.