Tag Archives: Levon Walker
December 13, 2010 good packaging fall 2010 issue excerpt
[ from a. addair who is listening to Sam Sparro (Sam Sparro) ]
Thank you once again, Good Packaging subscribers and welcome to the fall issue (we’re going by the solstice schedule) of 2010. For this edition we’ve focused on vulnerability and acknowledgement of interdependence concerning doing what you do.
Our collaborator for this issue is artist Emily Janowick of municipalmonarchs.wordpress.com. She is a great encourager for our Knoxville art community toward honesty and authenticity in our approach to art making as well as the life that makes possible the work. This issue is also heavily influenced by the book, The Gift by Lewis Hyde which we recommend wholeheartedly.
Here’s what’s Good in this Packaging*:
Original painting on woodblock by Ashley (see above statement)
Laundry Line: demo of new song by Levon
not sure how i’ll eat but i’m not picking your peaches : Levon’s latest EP
A Fragile Genius: On viewing creativity as a gift and an acknowledgement of the vulnerability involved in toiling and sacrificing to this endowment.
“The task of setting free one’s gift was a recognizable labor in the ancient world. The Romans called a person’s tutelar spirit his genius. In Greece it was called a daemon….The genius or daemon comes to us at birth. It carries with it the fullness of our undeveloped powers. These it offers to us as we grow, and we choose whether or not to labor in its service.” -Lewis Hyde
Watch Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk on this subject at http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html
Let your genius fly and “OLE to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.”
With love and thanks,
Ashley and Levon
* All the packaging for this issue is made from used materials to emphasize the cyclical nature of our world and therefore our interdependence.
Tags: art and music subscription service, art community, balance not stability, collage, creativity, cycles, ecology, elizabeth gilbert, emily janowick, fall, fragile, genius, good packaging, laundry line, Levon Walker, lewis hyde, municipal monarchs, not sure how i'll eat but i'm not picking your peaches, painting, sam sparro, song of myself, ted talk, text art, the gift, the grass that i love, walt whitman
September 1, 2010 with the noblest of intentions
[ from a. addair who is listening to Levon Walker (New York City Spanks Levon Walker) ]
I gave up store-bought toothpaste but failed in making a cavity-fighting homemade version and now I have cavities. Stupid hipster. This would be funny if I had spare teeth. Or dental insurance.
A few weeks ago, I decided to inquire within a charitable dental clinic for the uninsured. I approached the front desk and found that the anxiety in my body had collected in my throat, and that my only choices we’re to remain silent or sob.
Walking home, sniffling into my tissue, I realized that the anxiety stemmed from an uncertainty about my validity as an artist.
exploring the "why" behind painting. acrylic and pencil on canvas.
I didn’t feel good about asking for financial help because I believed that what I really should do was go get a job that would pay me enough to visit with a dentist on my own dime.
This implies that the work I am doing now is not worthwhile. I was equating financial provision with hard work and worth (thank you Benjamin effing Franklin), which actually I don’t believe.
With some counsel and thought I am working to shed this myth of our culture. My work and objective is to create good art; this requires sacrifice (and at least for today, the help of a dental clinic and Colgate) but it is my responsibility to order my life so.
Tags: acrylic, american ethics, benjamin franklin, boots, capitalism, cavities, colgate, dentist, economics, hard work, health care, hipster, insurance, Levon Walker, little girl, money, mustard green, new york city spanks levon walker, p, painting, provision, skin, starving artist, validation
- 4 comments
- Posted under Ashley, audacity, consumerism, Economy, Financial Literacy, Hipsters, how to, Humor, painting, simple living, social justice, things i'm reading/learning, Uncertainty, Work
May 10, 2010 letting work and play mingle
[ from a. addair who is listening to Levon Walker (New York City Spanks Levon Walker) ]
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the greeter at the Blowfish Emporium. i think of of Charley of Travels with Charley every time i see her [photo taken from their website
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blowfish emporium interior. [also taken from their site, visit it at blowfishemporium.com
now hanging at the blowfish emporium. go see it.
It helped me to keep my balance and I hope the excercise will allow me to be freeer, even during my more structured periods (if that time ever comes).
Tags: american, blowfish emporium, chaos, creation, downtown bristol va, gallery, Levon Walker, mailboxes, mid century design, mountain hippy, new york city spanks levon walker, outlet, painting, play, poodle, renovated buildings, tennessee, travels with charley, Work
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- Posted under Ashley, new york city, painting, travel and adventure, Uncertainty, Work
February 11, 2010 pictures i like: first inspired by mexico painting in progress
[ from addair who is listening to Levon Walker (New York City Spanks Levon Walker) ]
Tags: acrylic, cobalt, color, dancing, falda, Levon Walker, mexico, new york city spanks levon walker, painting, skirt, unfinished painting
- 4 comments
- Posted under Ashley, mexico, painting, pictures i like, travel and adventure
November 6, 2009 about the pursuit of a yearning. music by levon
(from addair)
Tags: 5th ave harlem usa, dancing, dreams, fall, Levon Walker, little art video, new york city spanks levon walker, virginia beach
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- Posted under Life, little art videos, new york city, Songwriting, travel and adventure, Work
September 9, 2009 me and my wheaties start the morning
(from ashley)
In response to Alain de Botton’s TED talk, Norman Rockwell’s Freedom from Want, and Coontz’s What We Really Miss About the 1950s.
Freedom from Want. by Norman Rockwell
In the small space of this moment, I want to question the myth of success and individual opportunity which dominates our culture. With the relative quiet of my morning, I’m wondering why exactly I am going to do what I plan to do today. I’ve worked hard to create my own definition for success and to ensure that my daily activity aligns with that definition but, I can sense the enormous power of culture myths in my thinking; and its unnerving. 
Questions resist the limits cultural frames impose on our perspective and so in an effort to bring awareness to my acculturation, I’m asking questions.
Why do I feel the need to ask, “What do you do?” when I first meet a person?
Of who am I envious and why?
What is my relationship to the world?
Do I buy into meritocracy?
Am I chasing the elusive American Dream?
What do I worship and why?
What events or trends am I experiencing that are important for understanding our current mythologies?
What is nostalgia good for?
To what am I saying “yes”? And as a result, to what am I saying “no”?
Do I leave room for the haphazard, or do I rigidly accept responsibility for all my good and bad?
Today, I’m going to leave space for the answers, and though it may be near impossible, resist the ready-made answers pounding at the door.
Tags: 1950s, alain de botton, american dream, cortney addair, critical thinking, cultural myths, dustin addair, freedom from want, Glen Addair, Levon Walker, meritocracy, norman rockwell, nostalgia, pocahontas, ready-made answers, success, ted talk, va, wheaties
- 2 comments
- Posted under Life, simple living, sustainability, Uncertainty, Work
September 1, 2009 pictures i like: because dustin lets me use his camera and its so much better than mine
(from Ashley)
Tags: dustin addair, guitar, Levon Walker, mail, musician, photography, road guard, virginia beach
- 4 comments
- Posted under Life, marriage, Music, pictures i like, street art
August 26, 2009 little art happenings (with music by levon)
Tags: art, art happenings, beach, cartwheel, environmental justice, Levon Walker, sand, seagulls, share
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- Posted under environmental justice, Life, simple living, Songwriting, sustainability
May 28, 2009 “the subway gets me down…town”
“To live intensely is one of the basic human desires and an artistic necessity.” –Michael Kimmelman
I just started reading The Accidental Masterpiece by Kimmelman so plan on hearing all about it. I’m just in the introduction and I’m already wild about it. This quote resonates with me because lately I’ve wondered if I might be crazy. I’m potently sensitive, acutely bent toward gloominess, and when I’m happy I can’t help but to tangle my fingers in a sort of bungling reflex (you’ve seen crazy people do this). Mr. Kimmelman made me feel okay about my intensity.
Yesterday I felt so intensely gloomy that I prayed for a brain/chemical/attitude modification (normally I would pray for the gloomy thing to go away). I had a change in prayer because I realized that on cloudy days, anything can make me feel sad (low quality films, James Taylor, and signs for Shoney’s to name a few) and so a more feasible and efficient solution might involve a self adjustment. Or rather a miraculous God-adjusting-of-the-self, because honestly, I wouldn’t know where to begin on this front.
Someone listened because none of our circumstances changed (and the dreary weather continues), but I’m feeling alright. Maybe its the non-gloominess speaking, but Levon may have written his best song yet.
Every good artist has a New York song and Levon has joined the procession. He got a chance to do one rough recording before he got called in to work early, you can hear it at http://www.myspace.com/levonwalker (I heart New York). If you’ve been following our latest adventure, you’ll be charmed with how well he captures it.
On another cheery news front, Dustin’s stencil suggestion is working great on the market tote bags.
on their way to http://www.ashleyaddair.etsy.com
thank you genius brother.
Tags: depression, dreary weather, dustin addair, gloom, i'm a big deal online, james taylor, Let, Levon Walker, market tote bag, michael kimmelman, new york song, no room for hipsters, prayer, shoney's, stencil, the accidental masterpiece
- 3 comments
- Posted under crafting, home, Let, Music, new york city, no room for hipsters merchandise, Songwriting
March 3, 2009 i do like modern art, but i’m not a yoko
Though I know Levon quite well, I’m often surprised when reading about events from his perspective. I suppose that since we share so many things, there’s an assumption that we would come away from mutual experiences with a common perception. Being a different human however, this is never the case. And so, I’ve agreed to join Levon in reporting the flight of the Walkers. I hope you will enjoy the collaboration, and for the more dedicated fans of all-things-Levon-and-Levon-only, think of this as supplemental insight into your hero.
Ashley
Tags: Levon Walker, yoko
- 2 comments
- Posted under Uncategorized
