♪ K☼zmic Dreams™ ♫ profile picture

♪ K☼zmic Dreams™ ♫

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.

About Me


From an early age, my passions have been art and science. While I have taken numerous art classes throughout my life, the primary focus during my college years was science. I obtained my Master’s of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Michigan in 1999 and also became a certified teacher. I have taught Biology, Physical Science, Mathematics and Art. I currently teach Algebra and Geometry to high school students with whom I also share my creations and passion for art. I continue to express myself artistically whenever time permits.
I also enjoy collecting things such as trilobites , Frank Zappa T-Shirts , cypress knees , ephemera , CDs and more.

Artist Statement
Creating art fills me with an unsurpassable joy. The psychedelic and surreal qualities of my work encourage the viewer to explore other places beyond their imagination. My artwork combines elements of nature with abstract and surreal imagery. I use saturated colors from the entire spectrum. Flowing, organic formations invoke a feeling of peace, love and contentment. I design my work to be observed from both close up and afar, as there are often tiny, complex details that only close examination would reveal.
I prefer to let my ideas determine the media to be used. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner---I am continually expanding my knowledge base by exploring new media. Some of my favorite media are painting (watercolor, airbrushing and acrylic), ceramics, sculpture, pyrography, drawing, pysanky and tie-dying. I also create images through the use of digital photography. I use macro lenses to capture insects and spiders on aesthetically pleasing backgrounds. I also manipulate my artwork and photography in Photoshop, often bringing it to life through animation.

kozmicdreams.com

All of the photography and art you see on this page is my own work. I also have a website where you can see further examples of my artwork , art cars , photography , collections , and more. You can click on any of the green words on this page to link to specific areas of my website.
Click here to visit my website at kozmicdreams.com


My Interests

Some of my Favorite Things Creating art, listening to music, digital photography, Frank Zappa, trilobites, collecting, science, reading, dancing, dreaming, nature, wildlife, gardening, teaching, camping.





My Love of Spiders

Over the past few years, since I started doing macro photography, I have developed a fascination with spiders, especially jumping spiders. They are the subject of many of my recent photographs.

Click here to see photos of jumping spiders I’ve photographed.

One spider in particular really stood out from the rest---I ended up keeping him as a pet and naming him Biglegs. Although he has passed on, he was one special spider who continues to enlighten people around the globe.

Click here to read about the Adventures of Biglegs and see photos of him and his girlfriends.

Animals
I love animals. Throughout my life I have had many pets. Pictured below are Darwin the Border Collie and Frank the Spadefoot . Unfortunately, Frank is no longer with me, but he lives on through two of my paintings that feature him. I now have four new spadefoots, two of which are shown below.





Nature
I love taking nature walks and looking for amazing things. Although I can't take credit for the huge puffball I'm holding below---my dad found that one! He also discovered a crazy fruit that looked like a tiny prickly watermelon. It had seeds in it so I planted them and grew some more. They are actually called wild cucumbers.




I'd like to meet:

Anyone and everyone. I am hoping to introduce more people to my artwork and photography that can be seen on my website at kozmicdreams.com . Unfortunately, because my job consumes most of my time, I don't have a lot of time to chat, but I would love to receive your comments about my art, photography, collections, etc. I will write back to everyone who writes me, but please allow several weeks for a response. Also understand that I like to look at a person's profile before accepting them as a friend. This takes time---please be patient.













Be sure to check out my Friend Categories---lots of great musicians and artists to discover!

Music:



FZ Rulz!
I love the guitar and anyone who plays it well. I am a Frank Zappa fanatic---I airbrushed him on the hood of my car and I've carved two FZ Jack-O-Lanterns. I also collect FZ T-shirts. Click here to see my Frank Zappa T-Shirt Collection .



Steve Vai Rocks!My favorite living musician is Steve Vai --- I've always found it interesting how we both like the God's Eye symbol that I painted on both of my art cars . I took this photo of him playing at the Detroit Zappa Plays Zappa Tour 2006.



Music is the Best! Other favorites of mine include Joe Satriani , Jeff Beck, Vinnie Moore, Pink Floyd, Ozric Tentacles, Santana, Allman Brothers, Al Di Meola, John Fogerty, Galactic, Jimi Hendrix, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Steely Dan, The Grateful Dead, Stevie Ray Vaughan and many more.Click here to see my CD Collection.



Nothing Beats Live Music! My favorite band to see live is Project Object . I am pictured below with two Zappa alumni from Project Object---Napoleon Murphy Brock and Ike Willis. We are next to the Music Machine.


Here I am with the entire band from the 2007 tour.



I have a few videos of the music machine and two other musicians that played in Zappa's bands---George Duke and Jean-Luc Ponty. Click on my player below to see them. After pressing play, hover over the screen to link to the other videos.

Movies:


Baby Snakes, Dub Room Special, Does Humor Belong in Music?, 200 Motels, Harold and Maude, any films by Jan Svankmajer and Bruce Bickford.Click here to see my DVD Collection.

Some of the movies in my DVD list haven't even been watched yet, but I bought them because I am interested in watching them someday. I don't usually have large blocks of time to watch movies, and if I do, I'd rather be making artwork or taking photography...







Television:



I haven't missed a Simpsons episode since they came out 18 years ago.

I also like Family Guy, South Park, King of the Hill and Mr. Meaty as far as animated shows go. Still watch Seinfeld reruns almost every day while I grade papers. I have all the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" DVDs (since I don't get HBO). I like all those wife swapping shows. I like "My Name is Earl" and "The Office" as far as newer shows go. Love the Wildboyz. Love Dave Chappelle. I also love any shows about nature, animals, scientific and medical discoveries, and most amazing video shows. I also watch COPS and America's Most Wanted when I'm home on a Saturday night.

Heroes:



Frank Zappa
Matt Groening
Larry David



Check out these awesome Frank Zappa videos...

Frank Zappa --- City of Tiny Lights with animation by Bruce Bickford ..

Frank Zappa --- You Are What You Is
..

G-Spot Tornado performed by Ensemble Modern ..

Frank Zappa --- Camarillo Brillo (live 1981)
..

I recently got into Roger Troutman and his band, Zapp. I love this video...

Roger and Zapp 1989 "Do it Roger" and "So Ruff, So Tuff"

One of my favorite animators is Jan Svankmajer. Here are some examples of his work...
Meat Love ..

Dimensions of Dialogue Pt. 1
A Game With Stones ..

Food Part 1 (Breakfast) ..

Darkness Light Darkness msprm name="movie"

My Blog

Click "view more" for a link to my active blog.

Click here to visit my active blog.
Posted by j K