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Beyond his personal fine art photographic work, Michael Ash is fascinated and deeply involved in the vast potentials of colloborative co-creative projects, the merging of minds and visions in something much greater than anyone could ever manifest on their own. Whether multimedia explorations, poignant documentary visual essays, or poetic ventures in word & light, these are the cutting edge of Ash's spiritual creative aspirations. They, as all significant creations, involve the contributive energies and support of many. As purely artistic ventures, they are funded primarily through sponsors, grants, and often, just grace and a shoestring. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor for any of these worthwhile projects - or getting involved in any other manner that may assist in positively bringing these to fruition - do feel free to contact Michael at visions@sacredelements.com. ::: A unique collective multimedia project involving renowned international artists – photographer, dancers, musicians, videographers, and technical directors – co-creating an unprecedented visionary phenomena, both in live performance spontaneous jams of light, sound & dance over the years on the Big Island and an evolving, deeper incarnation, several years in the birthing, aimed to be launched in
Elemental Journeys is a fusion of light and sound at play with themselves, their mirroring movements channeled, projected, upon body. It is a flowing stream of primal imagery unfolding to spacious ambient sounds, projected light upon live elemental dance that receives, reflects it in its undulating flow, its drift inwards… and out again. And again. It is what arises in the open space where light, music, and dance meet, and discover a deeper meaning of themselves in communion.
Elemental Journeys is a collaborative project of international artists located around the globe: musicians, composers, dancers, and a photographer with a dream.
It is the vision of photographer Michael Ash to discover a medium by which the whole journey, the immense context in which images arise, could be invoked and experienced simultaneously. The calling in of hidden streams of the flow of days through music and sound, the ever-present body at the center of the vortex of this experience of the world honored, lit up by the play of the world.
"I have aspired for a way to present the work, the images, in a manner that reflects the whole creative dynamic of the journey into the sacred, both the eternal and external movements as they ebb and flow. There is a step first into sacred spaces, the play of the elements, power spots… and then the surprising turn where the sacred steps into one. I feel this call to integrate vision, the light I have received, into the body through the dance and play of a spacious flux."
In realizing this vision, Ash is coming together with musicians and composers of both world and ambient music that mirror and resonate with the imagery in his Elements of the Sacred collection, containing elemental images from four continents and thirty countries worldwide, commissioning both previously created and original works specifically composed for the project from artists such as Ishq in England and Amorea in Hawaii, with contacts being made for further works from composers based in France and Sweden. A global perspective of sound is of the essence. At the core of the vision as well is a tapping in with professional dancers already venturing forth in the newly emerging fusion of dance and film, envisioning original choreography composed in conjunction with the image and sound streams. Envisioned as a several month long multimedia jam with configurations of musicians and dancers composing thematically around particular elements {air, water, earth, fire, space} resulting in a series of deeply layered creations. These are fused, entwined in the final edit of image and sound streams that are projected live on the performing dancers for the live performances. The is the essence of the Elemental Journeys project: Linking diffuse artists, elements, and mediums in creating a diverse yet unified live experience, an unsuspected birth, an enigmatic, captivating flow with global reach and impact. A manifestation by accomplished artists of diverse talents and skills of the visionary realm, beyond themselves, beyond intellect. Beyond control...
"The Yogini Project" A colloborative project searching for a writer with scope and sensitivity to team with to document some of the world’s most hidden yet empowered women, modern-day Tibetan Buddhist yoginis (female buddhist tantric practitioners). The project will document women, both Tibetan and western, within Tibet, Nepal, India, and the west, in traditional Tibetan three-year retreats, many in caves and seclusion, without any of the modern day apparati of current images of empowered women. Featuring the challenges, rewards, daily tone, world perspectives, and spirit of those actualizing true women’s liberation, the project would be realized through several Tibetan lamas’ auspices and permission to document their students so as to maintain the purity of the retreats of those documented. Envisioned to be funded primarily through sponsorship from the practicing western Tibetan Buddhist communities, with additional funding possible through a variety of mainstream spiritual and women’s magazine publications, the project will grow and expand from initial magazine features to a full-length book.
“Terma” A photographic essay documenting hidden spiritual treasure revelation sites and their fascinating phenomena over the centuries throughout Tibet & Bhutan, with a focus on those of Chogyur Lingpa, Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche, & Jamgon Kongtrul Rimpoche within the Derge region of Kham in eastern Tibet. This is a real heart project for Ash. More as it comes to wider conception, fruition...
“Radiant Whispers” An exquisite fine art collectible book weaving themes between visual and lyric poetry of Michael Ash - printed on the same tree-free fine art watercolor paper that the ‘Elements of the Sacred’ series of giclee prints are printed - featuring stunning black & white and color imagery and Ash’s inspiring verse. A prototype is presently in development, to be available through this site in early 2007!!
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