Outside of my advertising career, my media making extends to movies, books, music, and fine art. At a glance, these creations include documentary films: Voices of the Grandmothers and Wild Family; children’s lit: Be Well Bee, Brave Spirit, and I Walk In Beauty; youth fiction novels: Wyld, Wyld 2; creative non-fiction: Big Idea Patterns; music albums: Colors Flying…
Menu: Filmmaking / Storytelling / Harmonizing / Trailblazing
Filmmaking
Voices of the Grandmothers
Voices of the Grandmothers is a documentary film, presenting the powerful messages of indigenous elders. Grandmother Flordemayo leads a list of world-renowned speakers working to light up the world. This film is divided into four parts: Sage Wisdom, Heart Intelligence, Sacred Ceremony, and Healing Paths.
***
Standing with Standing Rock
Being an admirer of indigenous cultures, I also supported the Standing Rock movement at its height in 2016. At that time, I served as a video journalist. From my point of view, this was a mystical event uniting 200 tribes for a common purpose, for the first time in history, in a peaceful and prayerful form of activism. To me, Standing Rock represents a unification of all tribes—red, yellow, black, and white.
It was a cold October night when I arrived at the Standing Rock Reservation, in North Dakota. I carpooled with friends so I packed light, with practically nothing but my clothes and a camera. Immediately upon arrival, people fed me, made me a fire, and offered me a warm place to sleep. We all cared for each other. In fact it was the finest example of harmonious community living I have ever seen.
Storytelling
Big Idea Patterns
My first book is called Big Idea Patterns, published by Lambert Academic Publishing in 2011. This non-fiction book explores the science of creativity, including the behavior patterns, techniques, and resources for discovering big ideas. My insight is that big ideas are largely the result of committed work, rather than inspired flashes of light.
***
Brave Spirit
Brave Spirit is a story with multiple formats. It began as a folk song, made for a campfire or a bedside. Then, when I recorded it with Cosmic Butterflies, we made an animated music video, painted in vivid watercolors. Brave Spirit also materialized as a children’s book.
***
Wyld
I’m currently writing a four-part youth novel series called Wyld, introducing The School of Human Interaction with Animals (SHIWA). This is a coming-of-age story about two timeless and universal struggles: survival in nature and survival in adolescence. The first two books are already published, with more coming soon.
Harmonizing
Hive Open Mic
Hive Open Mic is a virtual live music event, attracting hundreds of musicians and thousands of listeners each week. I launched this community in 2020, offering a much-needed stage for expression and connection worldwide. Global harmony is our mission. World peace is our vision. And in fact, music is a universal language that unites us all.
I hosted the Hive Open Mic weekly live music event for over a year, until a team of co-hosts and moderators arrived. Now the community is self-sustaining. My only current involvement is the creation of these conceptual art pieces, as shown here. I create a new illustration each week, inviting musicians to stretch themselves outside the box.
***
Cosmic Butterflies
Through co-creating with other musicians, I really feel in harmony, in rhythm, and in sync. I belong to a band called Cosmic Butterflies. We are an indie rock band, and we like to say we’re creating “Far out songs for the journey home.” This means our music is different from the mainstream, and we encourage everyone to join in and enjoy.
Visualizing a song called “Dancing Constellation,” I invited dancers to embody stars. This concept felt fitting for a song encouraging people to bring artistic gifts into the world. What we co-created is a spirited music video. This song is now available for streaming and digital download: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon… Our complete album Colors Flying is also available for purchase.
***
Marshall Charloff
The “2 Chords” music video brings us on an artist’s journey as the seeker goes out to find her inspiration. She sees music in her surroundings, walking into various displays of brilliance and beauty that energize her. The song is performed by smooth jazz artist Marshall Charloff.
***
Melissa Gail Klein and the morning dew
“Crystalline Charm” is the first single and title track of the 2020 album by Melissa Gail Klein and the Morning Dew. Simple, subtle animated illustrations enhance the emotional feeling. Hand-drawn artwork stirs the imagination while keeping the audience’s attention on the song itself—an anthem for the redemption that comes from within.
Trailblazing
Freedom is a primary area of my interest, noticeable in the natural settings and wildlife appearing in my art. Being a rad daddy, my passions often revolve family activities in the outdoors. For example, I created a documentary film called Wild Family—a documentary film featuring interviews and outdoor adventures with 40 families.
Wild Family
This is the story of two struggling parents searching for new ways to raise a family, traveling across the U.S., cameras firing. Their findings reveal a wide range of family dynamics, including a nudist colony, a multigenerational household, schools off-grid… Following the film’s success, we launched a docuseries called Wild Family TV, with 20 episodes in total.
The Wild Family film premiered at the Alamo Drafthouse in our hometown of Austin, Texas, in 2015. Video promotion efforts began with a Kickstarter fundraising video. Then, the filmmakers traveled to 26 states, interviewing 40 families, continuing to promote the film during production. Today, Wild Family is available for purchase and streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
***
Watercolor Splash
Another example of my innovative expressions is a “Watercolor Splash” series of illustrations. These paintings represent the core facets of who I am. They are titled as follows (clockwise from top-left): Austin Found, Chill, Curious, Harmonious, Spiritual, Resilient, Groovy, Edgy, and Magik.
