Karen Axelrad Archives - TheAppWhisperer

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 3 November 2019

03/11/201903/11/2019 by Joanne Carter

“Romantic love is an obsession, it possesses you“, said Dr Helen Fisher, an anthropologist in her book ‘Why we Love‘ and it’s true. It’s incredibly distracting, falling in love and yet it is perhaps the greatest natural high there is. When you mix Oxytocin – the love hormone with a good amount of Dopamine (the pleasure hormone), you get a very heady mix, perhaps you could say, it makes us insane but what if you’re not looking to fall in love and it creeps up on you when you least expect it…then that’s not walking on air, that’s flying by the seat of your pants… Can falling in love be diagnosed? I asked myself this week and I found the answer, according to Freud, yes, pretty much and there’s even a genuine condition called ‘broken-heart syndrome‘ when/if/usually things head west – and even knowing that that happens and it’s basically awful, we still crave the primary high. When you fall in love, everything looks better, the rain becomes gentle kissing drops on your face, as opposed to wet, cold, ghastly drops. A traffic jam becomes another excuse to dream of your loved one, as opposed to a delay for an appointment that’s going to cost you dearly. Actually, falling in love is getting into a beautiful trap set up by nature, a natural occurence that’s very hard to fight. The term ‘love is blind’, I feel is fitting, because you never know when your brain will encounter love. It’s a natural muse, one that will leave you puzzled and in deep thought…possessed even and ultimately exhausted…

I hope you all love this weeks mobile photography and art showcase as much as I do. Thank you to all the talented artists for submitting your works to our showcase this week. If you would like your work to be considered for entry in to our weekly Mobile Photography and Art Flickr Group, please submit it to our dedicated group, here. You can also submit images to our Instagram tag for this section #theappwhisperer.

Kathy Clay – @kathyc2136, Catherine Caddigan, @setanua – Seta Nua, Anca.balaj, Susan Latty, luison – Lrh Aquietco, ja_graham, @winter_lines, @imagomimago – Mimi Svanberg, jproudman.art – Joan Proudman, Filiz Ak, MaryJane Rosenfeld, @berleyart – Kim, clau_clara, @xxfromneptune – Aylin Argun, @patragraphy, mitrydate, effe5 – Guido Colla, Annette Armitage – @aaoffie, @hipstanitaelle – Anita Elle, Karen Axelrad, Cindy Buske, Hanni K, Jane Schultz, Deborah McMillion, Susan Rennie, p.a. hamel, Judy Wahlberg, Gianluca Ricoveri, Manuela Basaldella, Vadim Demjianov, Qingxian Guo, Susan Blase, Cintia Malhotra, Paul Toussaint, Arko Rayhan, Rita Colantonio, Andy Alexandre, Jun Yamaguchi, Michael Beresin.

This weeks’ music is by London Grammar, entitled ‘Wicked Game’ a very fitting song this week.

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 27 October 2019

27/10/201927/10/2019 by Joanne Carter

I spend everyday thinking creatively, as indeed all our readers do and I would go so far as to say, everyone does in somepart. What does surprise me is when writers bandy around the phrase ‘creative industries‘. I can honestly say, hand on heart, I don’t know of any ‘uncreative industries‘. Creativity is the most powerful competitive advantage any business can possess. New ideas, fresh thinking are the fizz companies to make their business’s pop. There’s this overriding notion that creative artists are cut from a different cloth, this needs to be debunked. Young children overspill with ideas, they cannot hold back. Earlier this week, I was walking one of my dogs on a green, close to a primary school and a little bright red haired girl, of around 6 years old came bounding over to my dog Rosemary (named after the herb) and I. This little girl asked me five questions in the space of around 20 seconds about Rosemary, or so it seemed, she was thoroughly invigorating. Her mum appeared and rushed her away to a playdate. As we walked away, I began thinking how important it is to empower people to use their imagination. Schools are so focused on children passing exams, that when these children join the workplace they’ve been conditioned to conform and have in many cases lost the ability to ‘think outside the box‘. Remember, that old Apple ad that said ‘here’s to the crazy ones!‘ – that’s us, rule breakers, creative thinkers and thus this should lead to creative leaders. You can only get to that place, if you stay creatively minded. Boardrooms need to affect the changes and become more innovative, it can be done. Twenty years or so ago now, I managed to pull off a face to face meeting with a major photographic retailer here in the UK. It was a meeting with their Chairman and all of their board in their headquarters. I remember saying to them, as they announced yet another new shop opening, ‘customers will start to make purchases online in the future, you need to create an online presence and once you’ve done that, you need to offer cheaper prices for your products online with free shipping‘. Every person around the table laughed in my face, and it’s not the first time, I could give you many examples of similar meetings. I wanted to run their online presence but they could see no need to have one. Earlier this week I read this same company, not for the first but for the second time, since that meeting, has plunged into receivership and announced job losses into their thousands. I thought, perhaps this is dawn of a new epoch: the creative age for mankind. It’s needed urgently, more now than ever.

Thank you to all the talented artists for submitting your works to our showcase this week. If you would like your work to be considered for entry in to our weekly Mobile Photography and Art Flickr Group, please submit it to our dedicated group, here. You can also submit images to our Instagram tag for this section #theappwhisperer.

Anca Balaj, Eliza Badoiu, before.1st.light – Jane Schultz, @tatteredphotographs – Kim, @cawestruck – Carol Wiebe, @bee_dobs – Barbara Braman, @da_ny550, Shelley Benjamin – @sbenja823, Marianne Rieter, Christine Mignon, @vadqcooper – Vicki Cooper, @mitrydate, @rosaliehellerphotography – Rosalie Heller, klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, Nicole Christophe, Filiz Ak, Lorenka Campos, @rain.is.poetry – Paul Sucicu, @marymodale – Dale, @pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, Sukru Mehmet Omur, @niels_b – Niels Brunelli, @tankaqueen – Alexis Rotella, @cresting_wave – Paul Yan, @remintrusions – Damian De Souza, @ja_graham, Kathy Clay – @kathyc2136, @karenklinedinst – Karen Klinedinst, Gianluca Ricoveri, Vadim Demjianov, Deborah McMillion, Joyce Harkin @harkinjoyce, Maarten Oortwijn, Susan Detroy, Susan Rennie, Hanni K, Jill Lian @jilllian2, Catherine Caddigan, Tonytang Tang, p.a.hamel, Frank Van Dongen, Clint Cline, Linda Hollier, Steve, Karen Axelrad, Yasuo Furue, Paul Yan, I Rome, Rita Colantonio, borisbschulz2009, Rob Pearson-Wright, Laila, Jun Yamaguchi, Judy Wahlberg, Karen Axelrad, Damian De Souza, Carol Wiebe, Vicki Cooper, Christine Mignon, p.a.hamel, Jun Yamaguchi, Barbara Braman, Filz Ak, Frank Van Dougan, borisbschulz2009, I Rome, Vadim Demjianov, Gianluca Ricoveri, Maarten Oortwijn.

Music this week, another English singer/songwriter who I adore – Jess Glynn with ‘Take me Home’

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 6 October 2019

18/10/201906/10/2019 by Joanne Carter

One of the treatments I have commenced at hospital this week, is to take part in a six week course of Chi Kung and I’ve been practising it at home ever since, much to the amusement of those who I share my life with. Chi is considered to be the flow of energy through the universe. It is said to flow through channels in the human body and if blocked can lead to poor health. Chi kung involves performing movements that stimulate the flow of chi through the body. As such, it is often referred to as “meditation in motion”. You don’t need to be fit or athletic to do it, it can be adapted to your physical prowess. Chi Kung is very gentle on the body and arguably the most important thing to do when practising this ancient Chinese art is to relax, physically and mentally. To relax, you need to hold a position and take some deep breaths through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. In today’s society where we check our phones every 12 minutes, the lost art of concentration and relaxation is a concern. We need to switch off, as creatives, in order to create, make love, at least I do. When overwhelmed with mental stimulation, I have a few techniques up my sleeve, that I can call upon, these include, music – especially the music of Sade and I have included one of her tracks in this weeks showcase, this song speaks for me, another is photography, of course, I also read avidly, and particularly, when overwhelmed with physical pain, I love to descend into a very warm solitary bath and now I also have Chi Kung.

Whilst creating this weeks showcase, I have viewed all of the art through a Chi Kung lens and with each and every inspiring image, I have created a meditation, of your art. Feel the rhythm, the surging uplift, as we fall into mutual devoted freedom….

@pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, Eliza Eliza Tsitsimeaua-Badoiu, clau_clara, Nicole Christophe, @mitrydate, Kerry Mitchell, @dunga_brook, @rejanerubino, @sandralbmartins – Violet Martins, @impro_visions, sunflowerof21_365 – Elaine Taylor, @patragraphy, @marymodale – Dale Bradshaw Botha, @marianne.rieter Marianne Rieter, Jane Schultz, @marian.rubin – Marian Said Marian Seid Rubin, @ilemusi – Ile Mont, @janisbrandenburg Janis Brandenburg Lee, accidental_artist3 – Ransom Candice, @fichristian – Fiona Christian, @clarisse_debout – Clarisse Debout, @schwitter.li – Liliana Schwitter, @ange_ombre – Ro Lannes, @klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao M. Cecilia São Thiago, ja_graham – Jennifer Graham, @peterwilkin1 – Peter Wilkin, @remintrusions – Damian De Souza, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Jill Lian, Karen Axelrad, Yasuo Furue, Rita Colantonio, Gianluca Ricoveri, Catherine Catherine Schell Caddigan, Clint Cline, p.a.hamel, Susan Rennie, TheiPhoneArtGirl – Meri Walker, Lorenka Campos, Rob Pearson-Wright, Paul Yan, Mark Walton1.

Music this week, another of my favourites – Sade with ‘Somebody already broke my heart’ (lovers live)

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 29 September 2019

29/09/201929/09/2019 by Joanne Carter

Susan lived “in constant terror that [her mother] would withdraw suddenly and arbitrarily.” […] In the house she grew up in, love was not given unconditionally. Instead, it was extended temporarily, only to be dropped at will: a winnerless game whose rules the girl learned far too well. I am currently reviewing new literature by Benjamin Moser, a heavy tome of a book, entitled “Sontag: Her Life and Work”, sent to me by Allen Lane the publishers and a subsidiary of Penguin Books. I’ve not finished this book, not by a long way (yet). This week has been a tough one personally, not least with the resurgence of early years’ abuse, which actually coincided while I was reading the beginning chapters of this book and I’ve been staggered at some of the similarities with my own early life, as it pushed me back. I experienced much the same but was also berated for it and when it returned again this week, out of the blue, I struggled to climb out of the misery I felt. Fortunately or unfortunately I had other more pressing distressing problems to cope with and these took priority and I think that helped, funny how things work out. Of course, I will publish the full review of this book, in due course, but it will require two or three reads first. What I would say is Sontag was a controversial figure, but I have always truly admired her work. Unlike Sontag, I do know exactly what my feelings are and in respect of mobile photography and art, my perspective is demonstrated brilliantly in this weeks showcase. Enjoy!

@pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, @ringuin – Dieter Gaebel, @elizabadoiu – Eliza Badoiu, @patragraphy, schwitter.li – Liliana Schwitter, @christinemignon – Christine Mignon, @mitrydate – , @clixit2020 – Clint Cline, @loveanalogcollage1 – Jen, jilllian2 – Jill Lian, Deborah McMillion, Cintia Malhotra, Sergiy Beliayev, Lorenka Campos, Hanni K, Sheldon Serkin, Jun Yamaguchi, Russ Merz, Robin Robertis, Rita Colantonio, Jeremy Cassell, Sherrianne100, Karen Axelrad, Lindy Ginn, Laila, Ginaluca Ricoveri, Judy Wahlberg, p.a.hamel, Susan Rennie, Rob Pearson-Wright, Clint Cline, Linda Hollier, @imaco57 – Isabel Afonso, Sandra Martins – Violet, Clarisse Debout, @berleyart – Kim Clayton, Sukru Mehmet Omur, ja_graham – Jennifer Graham, clau_clara, @harkinjoyce – Joyce Harkin, @rkreationsmi, Ilise Harris, hedgehogstudio – Julie Denning, @wallopart.

Music this week is by Laura Doggett entitled ‘Old Faces’

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 25 August 2019

25/08/201925/08/2019 by Joanne Carter

“Everything was calm. The sun was shining. I was swimming in the deep. And then, when I surfaced twenty years later, I discovered there was a storm, a whirlpool, a blasting gale lifting the waves over my head. At first I wasn’t sure I’d make it back to the boat and then I realised I didn’t want to make it back to the boat. Chaos is supposed to be what we most fear but I have come to believe it might be what we most want. If we don’t believe in the future we are planning, the house we are mortgaged to, the person who sleeps by our side, it is possible that a tempest (long lurking in the clouds) might bring us closer to how we want to be in the world…Life falls apart. We try to get a grip and hold it together. And then we realise we don’t want to hold it together.” The Cost of Living, by Deborah Levy a book I have been engrossed within this week. This was part of an autobiographical project by Levy, something she calls ‘a working autobiography‘, it’s a mediation on marriage, death and writing. Levy is a woman of our times, she confides in the reader, giving an account of her internal life, which to many, is so much more interesting than their external life. This is a book that hits hard and fast, in some ways, not so much a memoir as an eloquent manifesto or what Levy describes ‘a new way of living‘ and thus mobile photography and art, represents ‘a new way of seeing‘ and this is as clearly apparent in this weeks showcase as it is in the post-familial world. Enjoy!

Clarrise Debout, Eliza Badoiu, Aanca Balaj, Oola Cristina, @talesbytully – Tully Chant, @not218.808, Wemarriage_goddes – Bridget Robertson, @ja_graham, @rain.is.poetry, @after.1st.illumination – Jane Schultz, Manuela Matos Monteiro, Marshadraws – Marsha Estes, kmartist – Kathleen Magner Rios, elaineofyork – Elaine Taylor, john_nieto – John Nieto, cresting_wave – Paul Yan, eilisrealize – elis, @mariette_schrijver -Mariette Schrijver, filizakart – , @janisbrandenbury – Janis Brandenburg, cpatrickphoto – Cindy Patrick, emilio.nadales – Emilio Nadales, marian.rubin – Marian Rubin, aqua_libra – Max Lies …, Anne Highfield, Arko Rayhan, columnsovsleep, Charlie Little, Candice Railton, Karen Axelrad, Linda Hollier, Paul Toussaint, Oola Cristina, Jun Yamaguchi, Vadim Demjianov, Lorenka Campos, Albion Harrison-Naish, Sebastian Burczyk, Clint Cline, Salwa Afef, woltarise, Susan Rennie, Laura Peischl, Hanni K, Deborah Field, zananiro, Judy Wahlberg, Gianaluca Ricoveri, jilllian2 – Jill Lian, Barbara Braman, TheiPhoneArtGirl – Meri Walker, Rob Pearson-Wright, Sina, Tuba, p.a.hamel, Deborah McMillion, Jeremy Cassell, Rita Colantonio, Sergiy Beliayev, Catherine Caddigan.

Music this week is by one of my favourite British performers, Rhodes with his live track ‘Close Your Eyes’ at Burberry Menswear Spring/Summer Runway Show

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 18 August 2019

18/08/201918/08/2019 by Joanne Carter

All the players in this weeks mobile photography and art showcase come together in a heightened climax whilst simultaneously unravelling within an orgy of sight and sound. There’s a sense of joy thats imperative throughout, as we begin at the end with an an image, untitled by I Rome, lending a certain panache. It revels in nostaligic as it glides overwrought with energy matching the earnest angst of the narrative, complemented by the mournful strains of Veda Gail’s ‘Falling Too’. This energy is tangible within the showcase; as a refreshingly invigorating and unvarnished romance, underscored with a hint of tragedy and thrumming with anxious life. Bravo!

Liliana Schwitter – @schwitter.li, @queenoffilter, @accidental_artist3 – Candice Railton, @vadqcooper – Vicki Cooper, @jules4921 – Rita Colantonio, @marshadraws – Marsah Estes, @elizabadoiu – Eliza Badoiu, @realityfragments, @danziga – Arie Danzig, Frederic Deschenes, Clint Cline, Rob Pearson-Wright, I Rome, Buzz Kills, Deborah Field, Deborah McMillion, Paul Yan, Ewelina Makos, Tomaso Belloni, Karen Axelrad, Fleur Schim, Matt Kayden, Kristie Michele Art, Erik Beck, Enio Godoy, @sunflower21_365 – Elaine Taylor, Lorenka Campos, @photosthebluetable – Christine Sobczak, @imaco57 – Isabel Afonso, Jane Schultz, Gianluca Ricoveri.

Music this week is ‘Falling Too’ by Veda Gail

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 4 August 2019

04/08/201904/08/2019 by Joanne Carter

Sleepy, exhilarated and refreshed, having spent time with talented mobile artist and dear friend, Linda Toki from the United States in Kew Gardens yesterday. What joy! To me, there’s nothing quite like ‘sealing the deal‘ of a ‘social media‘ friendship, with meeting in person. Our intellectual circles overlap, our mutual interests conincide and our views of the world chime together. Supple, incisive with infectious warmth and humour, what a gift of intuitive turns and juxtapositions yesterday turned out to be. My body felt so stuffed with good luck, I almost woke up this morning choking on it. My advice, to anyone who doubts the relevance of true online friendship, is stay open because life only gets richer as it unfolds.

This weeks searing showcase of kaleidoscopic mobile photography and art is a masterclass in tempo, tone and character. Apoplexy ebbs to stunned disbelief, as you contemplate each one of these images has been created from artists throughout the world on their mobile phones. Enjoy!

Meri Walker, Rita Colantonio, Vadim Demjianov, Jun Yamaguchi, Fleur Schim, Karen Axelrad, Kat McClelland, Paul Toussaint, Hanni K, woltarise, Jeremy Cassell, Russ Merz, Linda Hollier, Susan Blase, Klaudi Cechini, Kathy Clay, jillian2 – Jill Lian, Yasuo Furue, Peter Wilkin, Barbara Braman, aka Tman, Catherine Caddigan, Rob Pearson-Wright, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Marina Sergeevna, Gianluca Ricoveri, Judy Wahlberg, before.1st.night – Jane Schultz, David DeNagel, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Susan Rennie, Clint Cline, Dina Alfasi, titika.vision, rain.is.poetry – Paul Suciu, j.a.graham, theartofmayte, effe5, Sandra B Martins, Anca Balja, Edith Meier, mazetman, reneviolence – Rene Valencia, Diane Neubauer, Nicole Christophe, rklika, Fiona Christian, Eliza Badoiu.

Mobile Photography/Art Pic of the Day (1,080) via Instagram

01/08/2019 by Joanne Carter

Here’s day one thousand and eighty of our mobile photography/art Pic of the Daysection via Instagram. Each day we select one image a day for our Pic of the Day section on Instagram, with this hashtag #theappwhisperer.

Today, we congratulate @iphotami – Karen Axelrad with this image, untitled.

To ensure your image receives our attention, please upload it to Instagram with this hashtag #theappwhisperer.

To view more of her work, please go here

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 28 July 2019

28/07/201928/07/2019 by Joanne Carter

‘Would you like a cappuccino?‘ the early morning shadow, prickly with dark stubble, leans over, breathes into my ear bushing my lips. I am asked the same question in the same way, every single morning and still I tingle. The answer is always the same, ‘yes, please, x 3‘ . And so the narrative begins, bringing together two lives, in an emotional and intense drama. We have been in love for many years and each day we develop new neural pathways to ensure we keep meandering along in the present, not only with passion and compassion but also with love and humanity. We are promiscuous observers of photography and art, there’s not a day that goes by without our minds deeply conjoined within imagery. I think in pictures and when I play back yesterday, before rising, sometimes I am insouciant but the relief of being loved so intensely is ultimately fulfilling, what’s not to love about passionate love? Fortunately, love is abundant and grows and extends to others. When I view the stunning mobile photography and art that has been contributed to our Flickr and Instagram groups my heart grows. Take a look this weeks showcase, yours will too. Enjoy.

jagraham, Laurence Bouchard, Eliza Badoiu, Marshadraws- Marsha Estes, Oola Cristina, ilemusi – Ile Mont, Fleur Schim, Fichristian – Fiona Christian, wmson2000_art – J Williamson, @badgrowshop, @lorenka – Lorenka Campos, @jormain – Jormain Cady, @vadqcooper – Vicki Cooper, @hipstanitaelle – Anita Ellis, @rejanerubino – Rejane Rubino, @ricardas.jarmalavicius – Ricardas Jarmalavicius, @elizabadoiu – Eliza Badoiu, Jane Schultz – before.1st.light, Susan Rennie, Paul Toussaint, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Tomaso Belloni, Jill Lian – jilllian2, Karen Axelrad, Jon Arne Foss, Laila, Catherine Caddigan, Clint Cline, Robi Gallardo, Qingxian Guo, Rita Colantonio, Sergiy Beliayev, Mark Walton1, Rita Colantonio, Kathy Clay, Erik Viggh, Larry Lefever, David DeNagel, Deborah McMillion, Anandamoy Chatterji, la Takalandze, Joseph Cyr, Jun Yamaguchi, p.a. hamel, Gianluca Ricoveri, Giancarlo Beltrame.

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 30 June 2019

30/06/2019 by Joanne Carter

Her body is “like a car that you park in the projects, you don’t leave anything valuable in it ’cause you can’t keep it from being broken into,” a frustrating but all to realistic quote from ‘Baise-moi’ (1993) a novel by Virginie Despentes. The quote calmly describes her friend who was gang-raped, she reasons, ‘at least they left her alive‘. The book itself is about two young women on a revenge sex and killing spree following the gang rape. The author, Despentes, herself was gang raped at 17 and had a knife in her pocket at the time but was too terrified to use it. She writes in her memoir ‘King Kong Theory’, 2006, “I am furious with a society that has educated me without ever teaching me to injure a man if he pulls my thighs apart against my will, when that same society has taught me that this is a crime from which I will never recover,”. I am not trying to set the scene for a rant here, merely frustratingly mentioning that living a life as a man is a wholly different experience to living life as a woman. Art, for so many is a sanctuary and a necessity and I fiercely guard everyone’s entitlement to it. Some artists get distracted with soul-sucking tasks to make money, it’s a necessary evil. What I see here every single week, are the heftiest and most fascinating inspirational artists. I make this statement not with empty braggadocio but without falsity. This weeks showcase results in an allegory that feels elevated. This is multi-dimensional story telling, of real people because this is what is required, so we can luxuriate in the crevices of our emotional rational irrationality. Enjoy!

Anca Balaj, Clarisse Debout, klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, Jane Schultz, Mazetman – Monsieur Georges, berleyart – Kim, Niels Brunelli – @niels_b, acciental_artist3 – Ransom Candice, Rosa Perry, Loulou Buntbein, Rita Colantonio, Linda Hollier, Deborah McMillion, Jun Yamaguchi, Lorenka Campos, Albion Harrison-Naish, Damian De Souza, Fleur Schim, David DeNagel, Peter Wilkin, Sheldon Serkin, Alexey Amelyushkin, Jeremy Cassell, Karen Axelrad, Susan Detroy, Clint Cline, woltarise, Rob Pearson-Wright, Yasuo Furue, Laila, Judy Wahlberg, Susan Rennie, Gianluca Ricoveri, TheiPhoneArtGirl – Meri Walker, jilllian2 – Jill Lian, Deborah Field.

Music this week is ‘True Intimacy’ by Leah West