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Ed Meredith

10 Years Ago

A New Book Of Art And Poetry Collaboration By F A A Artists

"On The Milky Way" is one more in a list of wonderful collaborative books of art and poetry generously brought together by FAA's poet laureate Viet Tran.

As an artist Viet's gifts go beyond his intriguing and unique collages, his playfully serious and thoughtful poetry where his humanity shines through, and into the realm of inspiration and generosity where he shares the creative spotlight with other artists asking nothing in return but thier participation in the creative process…

Please take the time to view this book, enjoy the images of fourteen talented and unique fine artists/photographers and read the poetry they inspired…

And as a side note... there is no mark up or royalties in any of the books published by Viet, they are done for the shear joy of doing and sharing the work...

On The Milky Way | Make Your Own Book

Photographers/Artist:
Bob Salo
Christine Till
Dale Ford
Deborah Smolinske
Ed Meredith
Fran Riley
Julie Lueders
Kenneth Walker
Lin Haring
Marlene Burns
Philip Sweeck
Richard Rizzo
Viktor Savchenko
Xoanxo Cespon

Also Viet's current thread here on FAA; " What Lead(s) You To The Creative World?" - is worth checking out.
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1442758

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Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

My Sundry Thought of Today
(a lousy advise to brother Saigon)

something would be really wrong with his mind
when a gun owner unsoundly decides
guns must be restrictedly displayed
weapons must be regulated
bullets couldn’t be sold
in his shop

it
ain’t right
whenever
color is blind
canvas becomes blank
artworks can’t be widely shown in a fine art gallery
and whenever words are restricted
poetry’s forbidden
all thoughts
must be
lost
in any articulate expression

like it
or not
it ain’t right
but for sure
it is his dammed rights
to do whatever he thought good for his business

hey!
brother
you’d better keep your quirky door shut
or a gun could be placed into your long-winded mouth
and you would be gone
in any minute

Thao Chuong
2014-07-05

 

SAIGON De Manila

9 Years Ago

Downsizing is synonymous to a DEATH SENTENCE:

Sell Art Online

"An expenditure of words without income of ideas will lead to intellectual bankruptcy."
Ravi Zacharias

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

@ Jim Taylor. thank you.

@ Ed Meredith: I was caught by surprise this morning knowing Maria Disley's wonderful on-going poetry thread was closed with her note that the closure was based on downsizing in the number of poetry threads from three to two. If there were a new restriction in the number of poetry threads on FAA forum, I would prefer to move my poetry to Saigon's thread. I am in favour of Maria's poetry thread that is more diverse as often attracts different poets. Thank you very much for allowing me to use your post to express my sundry thoughts and for my lousy poetry. Have a joyful summer, my dear poet friend.

 

Jim Taylor

9 Years Ago

Viet Tran, thanks for the image poem. You really put some soul to it!
I will put the poems to the painting descriptions. Much appreciated.

Poem created for painting by Poet Artist Viet Tran. Another F.A.A, Artist.


Thanks for the kind thoughts Maria.

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Photography Prints

“Description: First try on celebrity portrait, odne in two colored ink,on 15x9 paper. Photo taken in low mega pixel tablet cam.” By Saigon




El Turista - or A Modern Pirate
(Written for the new series Asian Perspective)

he ain’t Captain Jack Sparrow
sailing his pirate ship
On Stranger Tides
a
long
long way
from the Caribbean
for Dead’s Man Chest
or by the Curse of the Black Pearl
at World’s End

gone
on high sea
horrible pirates ships
with a black flag of a white skull and two crossed bones
yet, Dead Men Tell No Tales
about those days
of the past

now
crowded
on immense ocean
we could see aircraft carriers and navy ships
armed to the teeth

he
could be
Johnny Depp
coming here to enjoy real taste of coconut juice
or
an ex seal
used to station in the former US Navy base in Subic Bay
going back in search of his lost Filipina lover
or
just any male tourist
exploring erotic sex with local females
on his holidays

whoever he is
and whether it’s good or bad
this country has been infested by a tsunami of modern pirates from the West

Thao Chuong
2014-07-04

 

Maria Disley

9 Years Ago

Jim, love how you use the colour purple. No wonder Viet is drawn to your work.

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Jim Taylor. I like the simplicity and naivety of our naive-ism paintings. Of course, you can use it for your image description. Please don't forget to include the author of the poem. Thank you.

Sell Art Online



She’s Gone

she took his soul
and left for
another
man

it’s
forlorn
the city is vacant
the universe is blank

his heart’s shattered
his mind’s blurred
his life’s collapsed

he
felt
nothing
but dejection and gloominess
as a star is lonely drifted
in infinite milky way
in a stormy
night

he’s falling apart
and scattered everywhere in tiny pieces
like a plane crash
exploded
in mid
air

she’s gone
left him forever
certainly no longer in his world
everything of him has been burnt into ashes
he’s quickly sunk into
nothingness

Thao Chuong
2014-07-03

 

Jim Taylor

9 Years Ago

Viet Tran, what a wonderful poem put to my image. I will use it in my image description if that is alright. I do enjoy seeing these poems put to all the fine art. Cheers to all the other fine poets here, it adds a nice dimension to this forum.

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Photography Prints



An Apple A Day

honey!
you’re
no longer
in need of eating an apple a day
it don’t do any good for you
you’d rather forget this dreamlike advise
and let it rot with your damn doctor
who‘s been experimenting you
as a guinea pig
for his own
practice

for
your lovely heart
keep hugging and kissing me
once in awhile

for
your peaceful mind
pull your leash tight
to keep me in
your short
sight

to
keep
your erotic body
in good shape
please ignore your ancestral sins
and sexercise with me
in those tough mattress fights
as many times per night
as you’d like
‘til you become
deadly
tired

to
maintain
your healthy lifestyle
bury me permanently within your sinless soul
as you’re really in need of me
a nasty Satan
not an apple
a day

Thao Chuong
2014-06-03


Note: I combine the term sex and the term exercise to create a new term sexercise in the English language. My definition: Sexercise (verb or noun) is an action or any body movement that uses sex as a mean to lose calories and eventually to lose weight. It’s good for both mental and physical health of a human being. I must reserve my full copyright for inventing this new word (lol)

 

Maria Disley

9 Years Ago

But instead Viet Tran created a beautiful poem :)

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Photography Prints



Starry Night On His Front Porch


he sat on the front porch of his rural home
silently watched trillions
of bright
stars

up
high
in clear sky
on a moonless night
no pollution of city light

he
listened to
wind wailing in opaque bushes
and insects playing nocturnal sonata

he
assumed
if van Gogh or Beethoven were still here
they would artistically create best masterpiece
inspired by this very moment
of mystical
nature

Thao Chuong
2014-07-02

 

Jim Taylor

9 Years Ago

Viet, concise and lyrical like a song:)

 

Maria Disley

9 Years Ago

I love your contemplative moods :))

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago


Sell Art Online



The Moon, He and I

He’s on his stomach
I’m on my back
lying on the deck
looking at the moon

I hold my
beer
He keeps his
bone
No one wants
to share
He chews his joy
I sip my fun
'til I get drunk
He barks
I sigh
under bright
moonlight
tonight
quiet

Thao Chuong
2012-08-03

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Sell Art Online


Description: untamed need aka is our surging intimacy towards our partner's sensuality like sun and moon the attractions are fatal and spectacular . Carefully captured the moment in brown ink.- on scetch pad 14.8cm by 21cm. By Saigon


INDOMITOS OPUS

she rubs
her breasts
against his chest

he
could feel
as if a wild fire were increasingly burning inside
while her two firm nipples keep striking back and forth on his thick skin
he automatically squeezes his arms
in his natural reaction
to merge
her
in

his
hands
leisurely move around her inner thighs
and run wild on dense grass
oh her soft
prairie

she responsively curls as a mating snake
and moans like a cat
in high heat
urging for
sex

he
could feel his fingers
stickily
wet
when he unexpectedly makes a swift thrust

“oh no
stop it
I want to save for our honeymoon”
with strong echoes from an ancient bell
she resolutely pours torrent of rain on his parade
while she’s firmly pushing
his hand away from
her sacred
temple

Thao Chuong
2014-7-01


 

Jason Christopher

9 Years Ago

.

 

SAIGON De Manila

9 Years Ago

WHOA! What a Capricorn star got me into frigid surprise turning the bumble in me into a cartwheeling dragon!?

Never knew (on my last email check) you are still pulling on these thematic perspective series..oh thank you big brother! (hat tip to the Master)

P.S. Am about to travel next week in Singapore and will try to paint something on the quick visit if I can;t meet another fellow artist for a tea.
Will keep you posted.

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Photography Prints


Description: My first oil painting.. (Previous unfinished work) done on my vacation in Indonesia as seen from my Apartment terrace.. THis is my FIRST OIL Painting after falling in love with water color. It has different challenge the weather kept changing from sun toasting light to sudden heavy rain pour. The subject, depicts changing roof-scape of suburban Jakarta. If Hemingway can make a novel on his travel, i intend to immortalized my memoirs through brush rendition of this places i visited. Done in Oil CoLour Paper 9x12 on 250gsm.` By Saigon







The Yin-Yang Ceramic Tiles In City Jakarta
(written for the new series Asian Perspectives)

inspired
by the economic success of the West
his country has hurriedly sped up its development

gone
with the tsunami of time
his poor neighbourhood
mostly taken over by highrise
he and other squatters were drifted further to the far side of his city
they quickly merged themselves into many different kampongs
and slums with make-shift shelters
of
tarps
plastic
cardboard
rusty tin sheets
odd and end lumber
and all kinds of recycling materials

the leftover
in his former neighbourhood
that can been from an eagle's eyes
are rows and rows of yin-yang ceramic tiles
on rundown roofs of old houses
in the "luxury" Chinese
quarter

and
a tiny
Buddhist temple
still defiantly remains
in the sea of mosques
its lonely echoes from an ancient bell is flooded by the powerful sound of Muslim prayers around
it has always been like this
for many centuries

What could be gained when the East unambiguously leaves its quiet ancient path and swiftly follows the West on a busy freeway?

Thao Chuong
2014-06-30

 

Ed Meredith

9 Years Ago

Senryu Echo of 'Courtship'


lovers whisper thoughts
of passionate indulging
secret rendezvous


Ed Meredith
June 28, 2014

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Art Prints

(For the new series of Asian Perspective)


Courtship

neither
he is a blue collar living in Chicago
so he could go a noisy Irish Pub after work on every Friday afternoon
orders a couple mugs of beer
slowly sips to kill his time
then picks up a girl
for erotic need
on his boring
weekends

nor
he is handsome boy
born into a rich family
fooling around on bright sunshine streets of Florida
in his brand-new convertible sport car
picking pretty girls
and having fun with `em on sandy beaches
on any day of the week
to feed his womanizing
addiction

he's a timid young man living in a remote area
his way of love is totally different than that of those young guys in big cities
he has worked together with her for nearly two years on a tea farm
once
in a while
she smiled at him
when he waved at her from the distance

one day,
they happened
to pick tea leaves
from the same row
he had a chance to hold her hand
she looked at him saying nothing
and he pulled her close and tried to kiss her cheek

so
panicked
she unintentionally slapped at his face
"I wanna marry you!", he said
she
weepily
murmured
"I love you too
why have you kept it for too long?
Go talk to my mom"

Thao Chuong
2014-06=28

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

The Sound O Summer


trying
to take a nap
on a hammock
hanged between two fruit trees
he keeps rocking back and forth
to cool himself from the intense heat

it's windless
a bright sun`s scorching up high in the azure sky

his mind's lured by the joyful noise of summer
kids jigging
dogs barking
insect buzzing
and the sad ballad of a dove intermittently cooing inside dense leaves of a tree nearby

he's
gradually
falling into sleep

Thao Chuong
2014-06-27

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Sundry Thought To My Friend - Artist Marlene Burns

It`s
quite
clear to me

You`re
folding your tent
collecting your belongs
cleaning up
and about
to leave

I believe
you ain`t tired of life
but being fed up with nonsense stuffs that have kept going for a long time

I
fully
understood
You has weaved your threads
to make some warm sweaters for the coming cold winter
but
it was
likely not
possible to do it
while weaving yourself through heavy traffic
to avoid of being collided with other confused drivers

Nevertheless
it could ever be a fun drive
on a one-way street heavily watched by ruthless cops ready to ticket

summer has just started
I
wonder
if it would be a good time to leave any campground
and get back to busy cities

it`s life,
my dear friend
Nothing could be changed
but
us
ourselves

I
do
hope
you would
take thing as is

It`s nice
to see you around
have a second thought
stay or take a short leave
and come back
soon

Viet Tran
2014-06-26

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Man And His World

This
world
belongs to nobody
But some controlling freaks proudly thought
they owned it

why does man utterly forget
how fragile
he's

One day
in his insubstantial life
he must face his disastrous ending
that
certainly
will come
sooner or later

When
man is back to dust
he'll lost everything including himself

From
that moment on
the earth will unquestionably own his gradually rotten remain
'til nothing
left

Thao Chuong
2014-06-26

 

Viet Tran

9 Years Ago

Silence Is An Art

he’s extremely defensive in his own nature
whenever he’s irritated
he talks nonstop
much more than
needed

like a running away train
he
could
never cease
until he’s totally off tracks
he probably don’t know how to keep his mouth shut - the best strategy in defense
also he may forget his legal right to remain silence when arrested by police
as what he says can be used
to testify against him
in court

silence is an art
both for zen masters on high mountains
for criminals in court
and maybe for
defensive
people

bla..bla..bla…could be the best stress release
but it’s the worst form
O defense!


Thao Chuong
2014-06-25

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Maria Disley

9 Years Ago

Silence speaks volumes
Until conflict spikes
The drink,
Then,
The gentle hand
Leans across the table for the pen.

Maria Disley

 

Viet Tran

10 Years Ago

Hello Cher. Thanks for dropping by. Long time no see.

 

Cher Odum

10 Years Ago

This is a beautiful book!

 

Marlene Burns

10 Years Ago

ed,
i bumped, you get to grind
:::ducking::::

 

Viet Tran

10 Years Ago

About featured artist Xoanxo Cespon.

Xoanxo Cespon is a photographer, a digital artist, a painter of traditional media, and a poet.


One of his featured works in the book

Photography Prints


Autumn Romance

time
flies so quick
the hot summer's gone
without any notice

another
fall has come
colourful leaves
crushed under our bare feet
o amorous touch!

it doesn't matter
how many more autumns left
for our sweet
romance

I would keep the love for you
deep inside my heart
forever
even
after
my last breath

Thao Chuong
2013-07-27

 

Ed Meredith

10 Years Ago

HAHAHaaa... Marlene i just logged on and was about to "bump" but you beat me to it.... lol

 

Marlene Burns

10 Years Ago

bump

 

Viet Tran

10 Years Ago

Thank you
Maria Disley
Richard Rizzo
Magia Gomez

Also thanks to Marlene and Fran for bump some air to the thread (lol)

@ Gunter. I have checked your galleries. I think that you have enough images for a book. It is a very good idea to publish your art with the writing for each image. I'd like to share with you my own experience in publishing books as I have done 12 of them (5 poetry books in my mother tongue and 7 books in English).

IMO, you'd better define your target audience prior to deciding the type of writings and which of your images would go in the book with those writings. I believe that the major target audience of fairy tales are mostly for children who are not mature enough to enjoy the beauty of your photos. I think that as musician, you can allocate your skills to write lyrics that can go with your works.

FYI: I am interested in doing my poetic echoes to your Q - the collection with different photographers. Simply I like the beauty of those images that have been already posted there.
However, I am afraid that it is nearly impossible to coordinate a collaboration that is involved in too many artists around the world. To obtain the rights to use the copyrights of those images for the potential book would take a lot of time and endless headaches. There is no guarantee that those artists would send you their digital image in a resolution high enough for printing hard copies of the book.

Good luck with the book of your own art, Gunter.

 

Fran Riley

10 Years Ago

bump

 

Magia Gomez

10 Years Ago

What a beautiful book. Congratulations to all.

 

Richard Rizzo

10 Years Ago

Thank you Ed for starting this thread and congratulations Viet for all the hard work you poured into this project that I am happy to be a part of.

 

Marlene Burns

10 Years Ago

bump

 

Gunter Nezhoda

10 Years Ago

@Viet,

This is just an image, I didn't do the book yet, I guess I should soon, have plenty of images.
Need to write some stories. Will be most likely fairy tales. Old, "once upon a time" style.
I want the book look like in the image, same paper and binding.

But I also want one for Q - the collection with different photographers.
Wish I had more time .................

 

Maria Disley

10 Years Ago

Amazing!!! All of you and your poet publisher. :)))

 

Viet Tran

10 Years Ago

Many thanks to you all for your kind inputs:

Dale Ford,
Vivian ANDERSON,
Tom Roderick,
Angelina Vick,
Roseann Caputo,
Gunter Nezhodar,
Philip Sweeck,
Marlene Burns,
Fran Riley,
Christopher at CMG Design Studios,
Natalie Holland,
and of course to Ed Meredith for moderating the thread.

Have a good day or night to you all

@ Gunter. Your book looks very charming and characteristic. Would you mind sharing the link to your book preview.

 

Natalie Holland

10 Years Ago

Congratulations to all FAA artists involved! :)



 

Ed Meredith

10 Years Ago

Christopher... what link did you try?

it's there for me...

 

CMG Design Studios

10 Years Ago

Very cool project. You guys are amazing.
I tried to follow the link and it says the book does not exist.

 

Fran Riley

10 Years Ago

Viet has an extraordinary way with words - interpreting images that cuts right to the nature of the intended and unintended artistic vision that each artist created. I am humbled to have been included in his book. Many sincere thanks to you Viet.

 

Ed Meredith

10 Years Ago

No problem Marlene... your plate seemed extremely full...

i want to thank Viet for his tireless work in putting together this volume of Art and Poetry... it is my humble honor to be included in this group of talented artist...

My contribution was small, i just gave him my trust and the keys to my portfolio... oh and thanks Viet for including our poetry play on page 117... =>))

 

Marlene Burns

10 Years Ago

Thanks so much, Ed, for jumping in and taking the lead on posting a thread. Viet Tran has dedicated countless hours to promote and be inspired by many faa artists.
I am honored to be in this group.

 

Gunter Nezhoda

10 Years Ago

@Viet
This is an awesome idea and should be supported by FAA and all members ........... SUPER Viet

I would love to do something like this for Q - the collection, if somebody has time

Photography Prints







Gunter Nezhoda - Member of Q - the collection The Elite Online Gallery where published and award winning photographers show their work

 

Roseann Caputo

10 Years Ago

Yay!!!!!

Congrats!

 

Angelina Tamez

10 Years Ago

Congratulations on your successful collaboration!

 

Tom Roderick

10 Years Ago

BRAVO!

 

Congratulations all who have been a part of Viet's vision. It is a stunningly beautiful book....V

 

Dale Ford

10 Years Ago

I am honored to have my work appear in the book, On the Milky Way, along side the original poetry of gifted poet Viet Tran and to be in the company of so many talented artists. This is one of several books in which Viet has colaborated with individual artists to create something beautiful. I deeply appreciate the time it must have taken for him to peruse all my galleries, as well as the thoughtful choices he made. Each poem so perfectly compliments the corresponding image. Somehow Viet magically creates a relationship between each image and each poem similar to that of a beautiful song in which his poem provides the words and the image the music.

My thanks to Viet for all the time and effort he dedicated to the creation of this book. I applaud his accomplishments.

 

Viet Tran

10 Years Ago

Thank you very much, Ed

I would like to thank all featured artists for taking a leap of faith in the collaboration and for their great help that led to the publication of book. I also give a good credit to FAA for providing a good venue of connection with those fine artists around the world.

The book of 356 pages is set at the full preview for the public to enjoy awesome artworks of contemporary artists in the art of photography and the newly invented digital medium. Some of the 14 artists are also painters/sculptors in traditional media. However, the books features only their works in digital medium and in the art of photography.

I hope you would enjoy the book. I appreciate your feedback. Thanks for taking your time to read it.

 

This discussion is closed.