Creative Souls are multidimensional beings with many talents. They dive deep within their core and connect with the source of their souls, to become creators of their own path.
Creative Souls bring inspiration, assisting many in their journey, lighting the way for those in need. Creative Souls heal through their dreams and art.
The camera is the pen used to write stories through pictures, and Creative Soul, Jahnoi R. Smith, writes inspiring messages with the lights and shadows beyond the lens. Jahnoi’s photographs surpass the limits abound in colors and speak louder than words.
Born in Jamaica and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Jahnoi is a professional photographer, writer, and artist. His inclination for photography was a mere curiosity in his early days, roaming the streets of Brooklyn, snapping pictures of the crowd. However, he didn’t get serious with photography until years later, making Portraits his specialty.
In 2001, Jahn was diagnosed with kidney failure and moved to Boynton Beach, Florida, to get on the waiting list for a donor. After he got the call to receive his second chance, due to the delicate procedure, and extensive and excruciating recovery care, Jahnoi made Florida his permanent residence. He currently works for the City of West Palm Beach Parks Administration.
After his successful recovery, Jahnoi would go wherever the lens took him. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in Studio Art from Florida Atlantic University and started working on creative projects. “I like to take the idea of everyday people, showing the world how people live no matter where they are,” explains Jahn, who takes inspiration from photographers from the 20th century such as Gordon Parks, Peter Lindberg, and Daido Moriyama, narrating stories with pictures.
Jahnoi collaborates with models and artists looking for self-expression, going to venues that suit the story, and evolving through the photo shoot process. He creates characters that portray meaningful concepts, such as “Cammy” and “Agent #6” made with model Sunny Strange.
He has worked with organizations like No More Starving Artists, and the City of West Palm Beach, and you may find him at local art events capturing the magic of the moment. One snap at a time, Jahn reminds us that nothing can take away our unique perspective in life. We just need to use it for something greater and better.
A picture can be interpreted in a million ways, yet the person holding the camera knows the meaning behind the flash and the story they want to tell. Jahnoi’s photography storytelling is a must-read.
“Be more creative. Just do it. Pick up a pen and write. Have a story to tell? Write it down. Pick up your phone and take pictures. Just be more creative.” – Jahnoi Smith
It is said that life is an illusion, yet no matter how we perceive it, life is felt deeply in any state or dimension. Creative Soul, James Jimenez, is an illusionist wizard transforming the way reality is interpreted, frolicking with rhythms and shapes to tell the story of life through movement and flow.
James, AKA Animated J, specializes in finger-tutting, freestyle, and different street dance styles. He’s the founder of Think Outside The Box, sharing helpful tips, interviewing creatives, and offering online classes, including consultation services on different ways of evolving creativity.
Whether it is a plant, a TV, a paper clip, or a laser beam, James believes that anything can be interpreted through movement. “How far can you push something to be an illusion? My perspective is movement. I don’t see myself as a dancer. I create the illusion beyond the movement,” explains James, who considers himself an experimental artist.
“If there were no humans around, I would still create with movement,”James shares that there is no difference between dance and not dance because everything is in constant motion. He lets his body narrate stories through conscious movements such as tutting. Tutting, as James explains, comes from the style of dance popping, which people were inspired from Egyptian-style movement, making squares with the hands, lining with the body. He took this technique as far as he could, bending, flexing, and stretching each one of his fingers, helping the ligaments evolve. Now it’s second nature for him – intertwining his hands and fingers, creating a mirage of the unseen space with his hypnotizing movements.
“Children are closer to the creative source because they are not so conditioned. We need to go back to the free curiosity – be more like children… Play with everything!” – Animated J.
Born in Queens, New York, he moved to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ during middle school. Dance has always been part of his Puerto Rican roots, and at family celebrations, dancing was a given and James was on the dance floor like uno, dos, tres. Growing up, his parents were video gamers and made it a time to bond as a family, a tradition that allowed James to tap into the world of visual arts and give his imagination more room to grow. He also did martial arts, and by 6th grade, he was very athletic and played football.
“It’s interesting how we get to where we are,” James shares the journey that led him to fall in love with creativity in general. He recalls getting fascinated with dance while watching people do DDR at an arcade, but beyond dancing at family parties, James had little interest in the art. But his younger brother was, and he was good at it, sparking, for the first time, James’s interest in dance. He started browsing dance videos online, compilating his favorite ones from all over the world: contortionism, Hip-Hop, and funk styles. James recorded a two-hour mix video and locked in his room, he would practice daily. Learning the moves. Assimilating the flow.
“Movement is how people tell stories with their bodies.” – Animated J.
After James had mastered the dancer within, he went to the studio where his brother had taken classes to test the waters of performance. “Who? How? What?… Didn’t you used to be shy before and now you got these moves???” This was the reaction James received after he poured his newborn talents on the floor. From then on, the doors to the dance world were wide open and he walked right through them, dancing three-hour-long sessions, and getting into the dance scene in Philadelphia.
James and his brother started a dance group and competed around the city of Allentown. At their first competition at the local Fair, they won first place, prompting James to get into battle dancing. James was getting better and better, not only in technique and performance but in allowing the art to flow through him like a waterfall without constraints. He joined Facebook dance groups where he met more like-minded creatives, and he also started posting videos on YouTube.
While in Philly, his parents encouraged him to get a career, and James became interested in understanding human emotional state and behavior, earning a BA in Psychology. He currently works as a Counselor for children with autism.
“Take time to master yourself. If you know yourself, you will be more clear with your life and you will know what to do,” James’s motivating words come from his experience as a psychologist. He reflects on going through a period of self-realization when he needed to embrace his own world to better guide others with his practice. By embracing his love for dance, he united mental health with art.
On one occasion, one of his muses, a French professional dancer, was running a contest and James submitted his video and won. He got to meet his idol in person, being the catalyst for his creative purpose to be reshaped.
James eventually moved to Los Angeles CA, where he connected with a broader dance community and participated in different contests. He went on to host special events at his place every 2 months. James invites 22 creatives to his living room to discuss topics about creativity, exclusively curating the freedom within the creative arts.
One of his latest projects is World Dance Stories: Who are the more creative people in this place? Who is bending and expanding their limits to express their art soul?? James travels around the world collecting the stories of interesting dancers and creatives, empowering cultures and society and what makes them be part of what they do. His first stop was France in 2024, where he interviewed several creative souls, including Tawatha Camilla, Mila, Gerrit, and Mr. Robot to mention a few.
Creative Movers Podcast : Bale
“Nurture creativity – bring all the arts – it’s refreshing when we unite everything,” James expresses, giving details on his extensive research about the power and source of creativity through time: “The Greeks – by the gods, the Renaissance – from the self, and the Western – it’s the brain/mind,” he explains. James affirms that he is going to be part of the Renaissance of creativity, coming together all at once, and he’s earnestly working to pursue this goal.
“Time has to be used wisely and work every day. You got to do it. Figure out how to find clarity within. Your art is going to represent you,“ James encourages us, adding that we have an unlimited potential for ideas and nothing is wasted when we create.
James Jimenez is a vessel moving freely like the wind, inspiring us to dare to be open to all directions and perspectives in life. With his animated flow, he’s reminding us that reality is an illusion dressed in creativity, ready for us to tell its story with our art.
When we know what we know and feel sure of what we know, all that’s left to do is work with audacious determination and let no one or anything make us doubt ourselves. Creative Soul, Constanza, was born with the unshakable certainty of who she is and what she is here to do. She has fulfilled her artistic dreams with sweat, tears, and smiles, making her music and art beacons of hope.
Constanza is a multi-dimensional artist – she’s an actress, singer-songwriter, and dancer from Chile, currently living in Los Angeles. She also teaches voice and breath lessons, and she plays the piano, guitar, and ukulele. Most recently, she started playing the harp, an instrument that suits her Goddess’s presence. “My main instrument is my voice,” Constanza trusts in her vocals to carry a message of honesty, reflection, and a little bit of spice and fun.
Between the ages of 11 and 12, Constanza started to sing with friends in small bands, joining the high school chorus, and focusing on acting, dancing, and painting. Though she felt more like an actress, when she was 15 she was elected to sing a solo for an audience of about 1000, and at the end of her performance, she received a standing ovation. People were coming up to her with tears, congratulating her, wanting to meet the one with the angelic voice. “If a voice can have this much power to impact people’s lives, then I need to explore it,” Constanza recalls having this reflection after such a powerful experience, and it made it easier for her to decide to pursue a music career.
“I’ve always been an artist,” Constanza expresses in the most humble ways the certainty she’s had since childhood of the star within, and she’s embraced her innate talents and has worked earnestly to reach her aspirations.
Her college days were combined with gigs, performing at events, including weddings. At one of those gigs, she got discovered by producer Gustavo Pinochet, who had led KUDAI to become a multi-platinum Pop-Rock band in Santiago, Chile. He was looking to start a new band and Constanza joined Gustavo on a journey that led to success. They even opened for Mexican Latin Pop group, RBD’s Nuestro Amor tour, when they went to Chile in 2007.
At 20, Constanza had already tasted stardom and the world was wide open for her to keep exploring and growing. With time, the music industry began to change and the record sales declined, making it difficult for her to move forward with the band. This led her to decide to move out of her country to the Big Apple to study Musical Theater and combine all of her skills and passion for the performing arts.
“Chile’s culture is so different,” expresses Constanza recounting the bold move she took to fly out of her parent’s nest, something unusual to do in her hometown at such a young age. She explains that the first few weeks were fearful and challenging, but things just got better and better from then on. Constanza earned a 5-year degree in Music and Singing, and a Certificate in Performing Arts from the prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York.
About a decade ago, there were very few opportunities for getting into Musical Classical Theater, however, for Constanza, it’s natural to be in front of the cameras. “I felt like a fish out of the water in New York,” shares Constanza, who started to pursue more acting roles and was guided by a friend to relocate to the mecca of acting, Los Angeles. She’s considered Ethnically Ambiguous, meaning they can’t quite figure out where she’s from, and with her striking beauty, she’s picked to fit several roles.
Constanza has acted in shows such as “Jane The Virgin,” “LA to Vegas,” and “Kevin From Work,” to mention a few, and she’s done dozens of commercials, being the face of Lexus car commercials.
She also starred in a movie in Thailand called “1 Million Followers” available to stream on Apple TV, Prime Video, and at selected theaters in the USA.
Being in L.A. helped her discover new parts of her artistry, inspiring her to write as a soloist for the first time. Constanza worked diligently alongside producers to make her music streamable, and in 2016, she released her first Electro-Pop album called “Make It Happen”. She’s released several more smashing songs including, “Miel,” “Come Home,” and “Dimelo”. Her latest singles include, “I Miss You” with Joelii, and “Dame Más,” a Spanglish-R&B-Pop song that will make your body dance involuntarily.
Constanza has been invited to several TV shows in her hometown and her projects keep earning her a great reputation. She has been educating herself about sync opportunities, taking workshops such as Sync Secrets with Ash, for possible placements on film, TV, commercials, and so forth, and earning a sustainable income with her songs.
Constanza and her sister Daniela founded Palave-Sisters Productions, where they produce content for different brands and have their own YouTube channel “Palave-Sisters”, sharing the most hilarious sketches about fantasy vs. reality, family, and love.
Constanza is amiable and talented beyond this world. She invites us to take a leap of faith in ourselves and let go of doubts about our life’s purpose. It may take us some time to get there, but we can find inspiration in creatives like Constanza to keep going after our heart’s desires and to be sure that when we know what we know the only blockage is our potential to believe in our talents and to know that we can. ¡Claro que sí podemos!
“Everyone’s gifts are so unique. Your art is needed in the world, so everyone is going to bring something different. Art creates change. It is needed for our evolution.” – Constanza
Cuando sabemos lo que sabemos y nos sentimos seguros de lo que sabemos, sólo queda trabajar con audacia y determinación y que nada ni nadie nos haga dudar de nosotros mismos. Creative Soul, Constanza, nació con la certeza inquebrantable de quién es y para qué está aquí. Ha cumplido sus sueños artísticos con sudor, lágrimas y sonrisas, haciendo de su música y su arte faros de esperanza.
Constanza es una artista multidimensional: es actriz, cantautora y bailarina de Chile y actualmente vive en Los Ángeles. También imparte lecciones de voz y respiración y toca el piano, la guitarra y el ukelele. Más recientemente, empezó a tocar el arpa, un instrumento que se adapta a la presencia de su Diosa. “Mi principal instrumento es mi voz”, Constanza confía en que su voz transmita un mensaje de honestidad, reflexión y un poco de picante y diversión.
Entre los 11 y 12 años, Constanza comenzó a cantar con amigos en pequeñas bandas, se unió al coro de la escuela secundaria y se centró en la actuación, el baile y la pintura. Aunque se sentía más bien una actriz, cuando tenía 15 años fue elegida para cantar un solo ante un público de unas 1.000 personas y al final de su actuación recibió una gran ovación. La gente se acercaba a ella llorando, felicitándola, deseando conocer a la de la voz angelical. “Si una voz puede tener tanto poder para impactar la vida de las personas, entonces necesito explorarla”, recuerda Constanza haber tenido esta reflexión después de una experiencia tan poderosa, que le facilitó la decisión de seguir una carrera musical.
“Siempre he sido una artista”, Constanza expresa de la manera más humilde la certeza que ha tenido desde la infancia de la estrella que lleva dentro, y ha abrazado sus talentos innatos y ha trabajado seriamente para alcanzar sus aspiraciones.
Sus días universitarios los combinó con conciertos, actuando en eventos, incluyendo bodas. En uno de esos conciertos, fue descubierta por el productor Gustavo Pinochet, quien había llevado a KUDAI a convertirse en una banda de pop-rock multiplatino en Santiago, Chile. Pinochet estaba buscando comenzar una nueva banda y Constanza se unió a él en un viaje que lo llevó al éxito. Incluso abrieron para el grupo mexicano de pop latino, en la gira Nuestro Amor de RBD, cuando fueron a Chile en 2007.
A los 20 años, Constanza ya había probado el estrellato y el mundo estaba abierto para que siguiera explorando y creciendo. Con el tiempo, la industria de la música comenzó a cambiar y las ventas de discos disminuyeron, lo que le dificultó seguir adelante con la banda. Esto la llevó a decidir mudarse de su país a la Gran Manzana para estudiar Teatro Musical y combinar todas sus habilidades y pasión por las artes escénicas.
“La cultura de Chile es muy diferente”, expresa Constanza al relatar la audaz decisión que tomó para salir volando del nido de sus padres, algo inusual en su ciudad natal a una edad tan temprana. Ella explica que las primeras semanas fueron aterradoras y desafiantes, pero que las cosas mejoraron cada vez más a partir de entonces. Constanza obtuvo una licenciatura de 5 años en Música y Canto, y un Certificado en Artes Escénicas de la prestigiosa Academia Estadounidense de Música y Drama (AMDA) en Nueva York.
Hace aproximadamente una década había muy pocas oportunidades de ingresar al Teatro Musical Clásico, sin embargo, para Constanza es natural estar frente a las cámaras. “Me sentí como pez fuera del agua en Nueva York”, comparte Constanza, quien comenzó a buscar más papeles actorales y un amigo la guió para mudarse a la meca de la actuación, Los Ángeles. Constanza es considerada étnicamente ambigua, lo que significa que no pueden entender de dónde es y, con su sorprendente belleza, la han elegido para desempeñar varios papeles.
Constanza ha actuado en programas como “Jane The Virgin”, “LA to Vegas” y “Kevin From Work”, por mencionar algunos, y ha realizado decenas de comerciales, incluyendo ser la cara de los comerciales de automóviles Lexus. Constanza protagonizó una película en Tailandia llamada “1 Millón De Seguidores” disponible en Apple TV, Prime Video, y en cines seleccionados en los Estados Unidos.
Estar en Los Ángeles la ayudó a descubrir nuevas partes de su arte, inspirándola a escribir canciones como solista por primera vez. Constanza trabajó diligentemente junto con los productores para hacer que su música se pudiera transmitir y, en 2016, lanzó su primer álbum de electro-pop llamado “Make It Happen”. Ha lanzado varias canciones más sensacionales, entre ellas, “Miel”, “Come Home” y “Dimelo”. Entre sus últimos sencillos se encuentran “I Miss You” con Joelii y “Dame Más”, una canción Spanglish-R&B-Pop que hará que tu cuerpo baile involuntariamente.
Constanza ha sido invitada a varios programas de televisión en su ciudad natal y sus proyectos le siguen ganando una gran reputación. Se ha estado educando sobre las oportunidades de sincronización, tomando talleres como Sync Secrets con Ash, para posibles ubicaciones en cine, televisión, comerciales, etc., y obteniendo ingresos sostenibles con sus canciones.
Constanza y su hermana Daniela fundaron Palave-Sisters Productions, donde producen contenido para diferentes marcas y tienen su propio canal de YouTube “Palave-Sisters”, compartiendo los sketches más divertidos sobre fantasía versus realidad, familia y amor.
Constanza es amable y talentosa más allá de este mundo. Ella nos invita a dar un salto de fe en nosotros mismos y dejar de lado las dudas sobre el propósito de nuestra vida. Puede que nos lleve algo de tiempo llegar allí, pero podemos encontrar inspiración en creativos como Constanza para seguir adelante tras los deseos de nuestro corazón y estar seguros de que cuando sabemos lo que sabemos, el único bloqueo es nuestro potencial para creer en nuestros talentos y saber que podemos. ¡Claro que sí podemos!
“Los dones de cada uno son únicos. Tu arte es necesario en el mundo, por eso todos aportarán algo diferente. El arte crea cambios. Es necesario para nuestra evolución”. – Constanza
Although our fragile bodies limit our time in physical form, our souls are transcendental and infinite. What we do and with whom we share our lives while we are on this earth becomes part of our story, of our legacy—leaving behind pieces of ourselves so that our loved ones can create something beautiful with it when we are gone, even when beauty is obscured by grief.
Meg Stewart is a visual artist, illustrator, professional photographer, and haiku master. She’s the founder of The Art of Grief, a collection of abstract art pieces and poetry dedicated to the loving memory of her husband, Jerry Stewart.
Under The Sea
This love story turned into art and became a story about creativity and transformation, which goes beyond the clichés about happiness and soul mates. Jerry and Meg met in the Fall of 1998 and got married in 2004. They were like John Lennon and Yoko, destined to unite their hearts to create a fascinating piece of art with their love.
Jerry was the painter and the multifaceted Creative Soul who was admired by all. He found in Meg the perfect canvas to paint his masterpiece, and he continues to co-create with Meg, guiding her through the right path, brightening the way with the light of his soul, and reminding her how spectacular and ravishing she is.
Sadly, Jerry was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. In the two years that followed, Meg stood by Jerry’s side, caring for him. Her love for him continues to palpitate and with every stroke, she leaves a piece of her heart on the canvas, and with every word she writes, Jerry’s love goes on.
It can be hard to describe how it feels when the unavoidable of life takes a loved one. The awful pain opens a hole in the chest, making every part of the body feel as if it’s vanishing, and whatever we are left with goes unnoticed because the physical world no longer makes sense.
Missing Pieces
Meg had to embark on a journey that was not part of her and Jerry’s vision board. There is no need to describe the dark night of the soul that she went through in detail, but the courage inside her veins, and the love she shared with Jerry, boosted her senses and helped her stand on her two feet and begin the process of healing. Meg sought ways to conduct her pain, joining a grief group program where she was guided to use art to approach grief differently. This is how The Art of Grief was born.
Exposed
Through The Art of Grief, Meg allows the art to take charge to help reveal what she’s truly feeling. This practice serves as a tool to help her understand what she can’t put into words. Meg lets it all out through the brush, going from canvas to canvas, facing her emotions and embracing them, missing him, her eternal love.
During the pandemic, Meg decided to create an Instagram profile to share her extensive collection of abstract art, not knowing how much she would impact people’s lives. Her art is eye-catching and profound. It’s visual emotion on paper.
Bloom Again
Most of the art supplies Meg uses were Jerry’s – charcoal, ink, oil pastels, and watercolor, to name a few. She sells her art by request, on canvas, watercolor, mixed media, and acrylic.
Feeling underwater, lost, and broken is a continuous routine for the grieving heart. Meg has found refuge in her Creative Soul to give her the necessary space to feel comfortable as she allows art to take charge and shape her days and nights.
Besides painting to express her grief, Meg also started writing haiku poems to Jerry. She wrote many heartfelt poems, turning them into a book titled Grief Haiku, available on Amazon.
“Can we just be kind?” Meg is asking us. “We don’t know how much weight the other carries, so please be empathetic. Ask yourself why someone has certain reactions. Try to be kind because something dark may be happening to them. Stop and think, breathe.” Meg is encouraging us to take responsibility for our actions and be considerate of others, even when they may treat us in a hurtful way.
Life is a long road filled with smiles and tears, and when the path leads to tragic experiences, our reason for existence can disappear. It can take many, many years to recover and a whole lot of courage to decide to do it. The pain doesn’t go away; we just learn to live with it, find the light within it, and finally see its beauty.
Meg is the most beautiful example of how to rise from the ashes. She is like the mighty Phoenix, and she has risen, filling the world with the colors of her Creative Soul.
In 2004, Meg got into photography motivated by her husband Jerry – her muse. He would encourage her to pursue photography, knowing well that she had the gift of a ‘seer’ helping time stand still in a single shot. Her photos are available on Zazzle, Shutterstock, and Fine Art America.
Award-Winning Unique Abstract Book Sculpture Artist
Many books have lost their value, packed away in boxes awaiting their final day to draw dust and mold or become ashes. Some books have been fortunate enough to land in the hands of Ted Wray, a Book Sculptor who understands that there is more to a book than meets the eye. He is saving books from extinction, resurrecting them with his resplendent art.
Ted Wray was born with the soul of an artist and the hands of an alchemist. He can hold a book in his hands and see through it, perceiving the magnitude of its essence, knowing that he can sculpt it and turn it into something meaningful.
Playing with various creative disciplines throughout his journey, Ted discovered his interest in carving pages of old books back in 2014. He cultivated a unique book sculpting style in the process, making him realize that he had something new to offer to the creative community.
In 2020, Ted launched his Book Sculpting collection on Instagram, where he shares photos and behind-the-scenes clips of his work, and we can purchase his pieces. We can also join his Patreon account for exclusive access to his art.
Books, and sometimes magazines, filled with images and colors are transformed into masterpieces by Ted. Using a craftsman’s knife, Ted carves one page at a time, starting with the book’s cover and moving inwards. He does not add anything to it but brings out the beauty that already exists within the pages. Time varies, but it can take him about 12 to 80 hours to sculpt, depending on the book.
To create the book sculptures, Ted becomes a willing participant in the creative process allowing the inspiration from beyond the cosmos to guide his X-acto knife and rewrite the book’s story. Ted carves the pages to complement each other, forming a striking psychedelic effect that reveals the most incredible details, which perhaps went unnoticed before.
One of his pieces won first place in the 3-D Art category by The Gilmer Arts (Ellijay, GA) annual juried show. Ted has been exhibited at many art galleries including the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center (a Smithsonian affiliate) “On Paper” national juried show.
Often, the pages that hold our personal stories need some carving to remove what’s needed and bring out the charm that already exists inside each of us. “Though we may think we have a lot of things figured out, there is far more that we don’t, and experience is a wonderful teacher,” Ted explains, adding that “life is for the experiences, so we must collect as many of them as we can, learning to identify along the way what works and what doesn’t.”
“We need to have the audacity to share our art with the world,” Ted’s message is a reminder that as Creative Souls, it takes a lot of guts to put ourselves out there, and at some point, we must trust in our creative flow and have the confidence to share it with the world without constraints.
Through his notable art, Ted Wray invites us to take a leap of faith, look at the pages in our book, and realize that we can sculpt them and rewrite our stories into something extraordinary.
Ted Wray is a lifelong multi-disciplinary artist who, before delving into Book Excavation, spent 20 years as one of Tampa Bay’s busiest working musicians.
Words are a source of power that can edify, destroy, motivate, enchant, and deceive, all depending on how they are used. Creative Soul, Louis Faber (‘Lou’) wields words with his scintillating wit, filling the pages of life with words that are constructive and charismatic, without forcing their power, making Lou a symbol of respect and admiration.
Lou Faber is a writer, poet, author, and bird photographer from Rochester, New York, currently residing in Florida, with his muse and fellow poet Elaine Heveron, and their furry friend, Teri.
His passion for writing awoke early in his teenage years and in college, though he scrambled for a career but not in writing, earning an MBA from Florida International University, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He also earned a J.D. from SUNY at Buffalo Law School, becoming a practicing patent litigation and licensing attorney for Xerox Corporation. Lou eventually gave himself a chance to write, expressing his political opinions and even getting published in several publications such as Rattle, The Worcester Review, Borderlands, Exquisite Corpse, South Carolina Review, Pearl; Vigil, Living Poets and European Judaism in the U.K.; and Greens Magazine, Tower Poetry, and Amethyst Review in Canada.
After meeting his wife Elaine, Lou started writing with a different approach, inclining towards love and affection. He and Elaine attended writing workshops at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, Block Island Poetry workshops in Rhode Island, and participated in writing workshops in Taos, New Mexico, and Ireland. They also have been part of the Taos workshop writing group, Imaginative Storm, with writing teachers and poets they studied with in the past, Allegra Huston and James Nave.
“I write because I have to. I publish because I can,” expresses Lou, holding an admirable collection of over 100 books that have published his works worldwide including, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales, India, and Japan, to mention a few.
With over 600 readers and subscribers, Lou has been sharing daily poems for the past eight years in his blog, An Old Writer and His Words. Each piece holds words that express anecdotes and reflective memories of the past, present, and future.
In 2008, Plain View Press, published a collection of his poetry, The Right to Depart. Divided into chapters, each page is embellished with poems that will take you on a journey across the world, palpating the sentiments that hang with each line, perfectly fitting the flow of his world of poetry.
Words dance in a flawless and impactful way, crafted with distinction by Louis Faber “Lou”. He allows words to be powerful on their own, making his poetry stand through time, holding valuable wisdom between the lines of An Old Writer and his words.
“You are here and now. Be here.” – Louis Faber “Lou”
ACHIEVEMENTS
His work has received a nomination for a Pushcart Prize and was honored with the Green’s Magazine Award (in Canada). It has appeared in the anthologies Torture and Triumph and Kafka Kaleidoscope. A complete list of publications (as far as he can remember them) appears on the page surprisingly titled Prior Publications.
Have you ever felt deeply inspired by a song so much that it elevates your spirits to exhilarating heights? Songs that touch our souls, filling our hearts with hope and light. Sarah Packiam’s songs have that effect! Her music is as beautiful as she is, and she’s here to enchant the world through heartfelt lyrics, unforgettable melodies, and iconic songs.
Creative Soul, Sarah Packiam is a singer-songwriter, nominated for an International Emmy for her participation as a TV Host of HBO’s music show, A Tiny Audience. Sarah has released four studio albums, with memorable singles such as Love Yourself, Never Find Another Like You, and She’s A Riot, all anthems of life, uplifting our spirits to go after our dreams.
Photo by Nina Rodriguez @imninarts
East meets West with Sarah Packiam. She has an exciting mixture of cultures – her talented father, Peter Packiam, a blues guitarist and singer-songwriter from India, and her mother, Joy, an elegant bohemian goddess and poet from Ireland. Sarah felt drawn to music, learning how to play the guitar at an early age. At 14, she represented Ireland with a song she wrote called Homeless Teenage Girl, setting off her Creative Soul to soar and sign with EMI Records.
In 2000, Sarah relocated to Spain, where she honed her craft alongside her family band, on stages of bars and restaurants up to eight times a week. Through the 8 years of live performances, she had time to fine-tune her favorite instruments: guitar, mandolin, piano, and harmonica. All the while, still writing songs and collaborating with producers.
In 2004, Sarah’s talent drew the attention of Grammy Award-winning producers in Miami, who recognized her potential and invited her to collaborate on recording and writing projects.
Photo by Nina Rodriguez @imninarts
Sarah embraces her roots with admiration and humility and has beautifully blended both cultures, showing this in her choice of rhythms inspired by indie-pop, folk, and some rock-and-roll. In addition to her impressive musical repertoire, Sarah has toured as a backing singer and guitarist for Shakira, and in 2024, she performed at Sugarshack Live Sessions, in Bonita Springs, Florida.
With a spectacular and distinctive voice, Sarah’s songs are empowering. She enjoys songwriting, telling stories that connect her to raw and deep emotions while having fun. Her music makes us reflect on the value of relationships: when we experience heartbreaks when we miss our loved ones; when we need to love ourselves.
Her songs can make us dance, sing, smile, pick up the phone, call our families, and tell them how much we love them. We can find her music on Spotify and iTunes, subscribe to her YouTube channel, watch her starling music videos, and follow her on Instagram to keep in touch.
Photo by Nina Rodriguez @imninarts
“It’s okay to allow things to fall into place as they come and enjoy the process of creating,” Sarah wants us to embrace our creativity. Her motto is Quality over Quantity, and she encourages us to create and create. Most importantly, to not beat ourselves up when we don’t complete a project.
“These times have helped us to think about our dreams, and it has allowed us to focus more on our true purpose – our calling,” Sarah explains, motivating us to focus on our heart’s desires, knowing there are infinite ways to feel happy and do what we can to reach our goals and see our dreams come true.
Today, Sarah resides in the countryside of Miami, where she finds solace in tending to her garden and creating music in her home studio. Her latest release, “More Love to Save the World,” reflects a return to her roots, channeling the same heartfelt messages that captivated audiences in her teenage years, now intertwined with themes of peace, women’s rights, self-love, and the will to keep going through times of struggle.
Sarah is a stunning Creative Soul.
“Create with purpose, but above all, never stop creating and support other artists.It’s okay to allow things to fall into place as they come and enjoy the process of creating.” – Sarah Packiam
Can art heal our emotional and mental conflicts? Is it possible to experience authentic and positive change through any artistic expression? Whether it’s music, writing, or photography, the creative arts have been a beacon of the healing process for so many people. Creative Soul, Patricia Gagic, uses art as medicine to assist those searching for alignment and expansion in their lives and transmute their emotional conflicts into an artistic experience.
Patricia Gagic is an International Contemporary Artist, Award-winning Author, and caring humanitarian from Ontario, Canada. She’s passionate about drums, and since 2021, she’s been an active percussionist.
Patricia studied Applied Mindfulness and Transformative Mindfulness and Mindfulness Without Borders from the Faculty of Social Work Factor Inwentash at the University of Toronto and is a certified Meditation Specialist and Facilitator. She is a Reiki Master and has completed courses at Yale University and the University of Alberta. Patricia became serious about becoming an abstract artist, and with her conviction, she hired a tutor to learn the French language until she was dreaming in French. She was mentored by Maestro Dragan Dragic in France, enhancing her career as an artist and developing a dear friendship.
As an Etheric Energy Leader, Patricia founded The Karmic Art Experience, an online or in-person project, merging realism with soul, guiding people to take them to a know-nothing place, using meditation, and music, where participants share their life stories and create an art piece which represents them. Through this project, Patricia wants to bring everyone into a state of community, where everyone is equal because as she explains, “we are just packaged differently”.
The Karmic Art Experience is “a global project that is transforming lives, giving people the confidence in art to show up”. Whether we are stuck in a creative quicksand, or if we are going through an emotional and turbulent time, The Karmic Art Experience is a perfect fit for everyone, whether we are an artist or not. Patricia specializes in emotional and mental healing based on the present experience, helping us “meet with our emotional triggers,” and providing tools to find healing through sound and colors.
“People crave conflict. Stay in your natural flow and don’t invent any conflict with yourself or anyone else,” Patricia encourages us to stray from dilemmas, and she uses techniques such as visualization, sound healing, and painting to unlock that which is causing conflict in our lives and to help activate our creative juices, setting a safe and comfortable space where emotions can find the freedom to express themselves through the hands onto the canvas.
Patricia exudes charisma and divine light, constantly figuring out ways to best give a helping hand. The sharpness of her wisdom reaches the soul level with the purest of intentions to help us face our inner battles and embrace our highest potential.
Through her assiduous passion, Patricia has become an iconic figure in the arts and a highly regarded female figure in Canada. She’s received and keeps receiving countless respected awards on a global scale, and her paintings are exhibited in the most prestigious museums, including the Vatican Museum.
Amongst the many accolades Patricia has received are WXN TOP 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada 4 times inducted into the Hall of Fame, winner of a gold medal in photography at the Salon National des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, and Titan award recipient by ATIM with a documentary feature to be released in 2024. Ending 2023 with a golden crown, her work was displayed on the I Love New York jumbotron screen in Time Square on New Year’s Eve. Patricia is an admirable and honorable artist, and we can better appreciate her journey and achievements on the timeline presented at the end of this article.
“Tenacity. Resilience. Following your path. Find a solution and do the work. Hesitation is the worst crime in the making of something… Allow yourself the opportunity to execute it without hesitation. Do not second-guess yourself.” – Patricia Gagic
Art Titans Episode 6 presents The Enlightened Artist Patricia Karen Gagic and the Karmic Revolution
A production of ArtTour International Magazine. Art Titans Episode 6 presents The Enlightened Artist Patricia Karen Gagic and the Karmic Revolution. Directed by Alan Grimandi & Viviana Puello
Solo mentorship with Master Artist Dragan Dragic in Savoillan, France.
2006
She participated in building the first Buddhist library in Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Together with Master Keo Ann, they built a school for poor children, an orphanage, and a school for monks. Patricia remains committed to this project. She is involved in Boeng Meala, Cambodia with a library and Innovation House. Currently, she is working with Sothany Peung in Village Romeas with a morning school for 50 children.
The Reflections Initiative is now partnering with Patricia to combine their work in Nicaragua. The People’s Improvement Organisation has also named her an Ambassador.
2007
Appointed Honorary Commissioner at the 52nd Venice Biennale in support of Transcendental Realism -Art by Adi Da Samraj.
Recognized by the International Institute for Arts Accreditation as an International Certified Artist.
2008
It was her great honor to exhibit with Dragic in Sault, France with curation by Jean Pierre Thelcide.
2013
Knighted as a Dame of the International Order of Saint George Grand Prior of Canada.
2015
Recognized by WXN (Women’s Executive Network) as one of the TOP 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and received the BMO Arts and Communication award in 2015.
2016
Recipient of the WXN Top 100 Most Powerful in Canada in the Royal Bank Category Champions.
2017
Received the WXN Top 100 award in the BMO Arts and Communications category in 2017.
Received the Arts Excellence Award for Courage and Commitment to Human Rights, Dignity, and Freedom from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in Toronto, awarded to Canadians who dedicate their lives to service and art.
2018
Exhibited at Parallax Art Fairs in London, Chelsea, and Kensington UK.
Inducted into the WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada Hall of Fame.
Won the gold medal in photography at the Salon National des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.
Her paintings were exhibited at the prestigious Whitney Commons Gallery in Toronto, Ontario.
2019
Exhibited at the Salons des Indépendants Grand Palais in Paris, the Brussels 3F Art Fair, and the World Art event in Cannes.
Accepted the silver medal in Photography from the Societe Academique Arts, Sciences and Lettres de France in Paris.
2020
Accepted the Pewter Medal for painting by the Academique Societe in Paris
Received the Apollo and Daphne award from the Le Bernin – International Biennial of Baroque Art Salentin in Italy, the International Prize New York City.
2023
Received the Silver Medal for painting.
Awards, Memberships, Published work and more:
She is named Artist of the Year 2023 and a Lotus97.7 work is on the cover of the prestigious magazine.
Patricia is also a Titan award recipient by ATIM with a documentary feature to be released in 2024.
Patricia hosted the Art In A Box project for the WXN (Women’s Executive Network) Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in July 2020 and a CAN#150 event for Female Olympians.
She was named Artist of the Year 2020 by Art Tour International Magazine. Her painting Escape to Reality was displayed on the cover of the summer issue.
Patricia received the Lifetime Achievement Award as a Woman of Inspiration 2020 for the Universal Women’s Network and is currently an ambassador.
Member of Mondial Art Institute.
World of Art Contemporary Art Magazine and Contemporary Artists and named one of the Top 10 Contemporary Artists.
Art Tour International Magazine named Patricia Gagic one of the Top 60 best artists in New York in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Patricia was a co-founder and a participant in the Colors of Freedom Art portfolio. Funds were raised to support various organizations, including Round Square schools, Classroom Connections, and children affected by 911.
Presenter on world stages to encourage and promote servitude and art: Harvard Club of Boston, on stage at Carnegie Hall in New York and the NASDAQ podium.
Her painting was exhibited on the NASDAQ Jumbotron in Times Square in NY. She interviewed Walter O’Brian (Scorpion) on the stage of Carnegie Hall where she discussed the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of art.
Awards and nominations, including Status of Women – Woman of the Year, YMCA Peace Medal, YWCA Women of Distinction, and the Toronto Women’s Expo Award of Excellence.
Member of the IWF (International Women’s Forum) Toronto Chapter and past member of the Engagement Committee.
She was a member of the Ontario Cabinet of Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Sir Edmund Hilary Foundation.
Consultant at AiDA, Academy of Imagination and Dramatic Arts in Hamilton, Ontario, and Advisor to Help Heal Humanity a registered not-for-profit supporting education in Haiti. Her work as a humanitarian includes membership in the Rotary Oakville Passport Club.
BOOKS:
Karmic Alibi, her first book published by Bettie Youngs Books, was a finalist at the USA Best Book Awards 2014 and a finalist at the International Book Awards 2015 in the Non-Fiction Narrative category. Karmic Alibi received the 2017 Book Excellence Award in Non-Fiction.
She is co-author of the Amazon Best Seller Voices of Inspiration with Marlon Smith, including RockStar Success stories with Craig Duswalt, Sexy without Boundaries with Hidi Lee, and Rock Your Life with Craig Duswalt among others.
She is currently doing a re-write of her book “Karma and Cash” originally released in 2015. Patricia is working on several other book projects, including “The Black Snowflake”, “Thirsters and Quenchers”, “Anger to Zen” and a collaborative piece “How to Be Human Again” with Earl Ameen.
EXHIBITIONS:
Patricia is represented by Mann Gallery (formerly 13th Street Gallery) in St. Catharines, Ontario, Art Tour International New York, and FACEC in France. She has exhibited with BB International Fine Arts in Switzerland with her work accepted to Art Fairs including Geneva, Berlin, France, Austria, Zurich, London, United Kingdom and Seoul, Korea. Exhibitions across North America have included the Coda Gallery in New York, Meg Gallery and Peak Gallery in Toronto, Artworld Fine Art, and Denison Gallery in Toronto.
We often search for and do things that can help us feel happy, and sometimes the feeling doesn’t last long, but every day we can find reasons to smile if we give it a chance. Creative Soul Logan is a cheer creator, and he is sharing the elixir of happiness through songs that carry an important message, setting us up for a joyful experience.
Logan is a Musician, Motivator, and Hypeman, from Maui, Hawaii, living on the Big Island. He’s also a Jiu-Jitsu professor, runs an academy for children, and dedicates time to teaching music to kids at local schools. Logan plays drums and ukulele and enjoys playing with words and freestyling on the spot.
He can be considered a modern-day troubadour, with the ability to observe a room full of people, feel their vibes, listen to what each person has to say, and within minutes, Logan can throw down a freestyle folky rap that would leave anyone stunt. The flow of his words has a way of threading parts of our souls with an enriched message, adding humor, sweetness to the heart, and a connection like no other.
Throughout his life, Logan dabbled with music and after college, he drifted from his passion, but eventually, he reconnected with it. “Those times were pivotal steps in learning strength in life to embrace music,” Logan recalls the difficulties throughout his journey of letting go of what no longer served him, embracing the person he wanted to become, and living up to his life’s purpose.
As a Jiu-Jitsu professor and a continuous student, Logan has built strong self-discipline on the mat and in his life in general, helping him become a better son, service member, and community member activist. Both music and Jiu-Jitsu allow him to be in a floating state of mind and keep him in a good balance.
For over 10 years, Logan has been volunteering with the Brotman Family at the Hawaii Songwriting Festival on the Big Island of Hawaii. He’s been playing a big part in the program, inspiring him to appreciate his talents as a musician.
Logan started the Project Happy Chair, online and in person, with a sign that reads ‘IF YOU WANT CHEER, SIT HERE’, inviting people to take a seat and be courageous to receive cheer free of charge. Logan asks two simple, yet open-ended questions: What do you do? and, What is your favorite? How the person answers them, helps him discover parts of them to improvise a cheering song.
“It’s the struggle and pain in our lives that connect us,” Logan explains that he tries to honor people with his songs, making them feel better no matter what they have gone or are going through. He loves that he gets to meet someone for the first time, learn about them, and heal them with music.
Project Happy Chair has allowed Logan to connect with people from Egypt, Canada, Saudi Arabia, England, and Chile, impacting their lives in the humblest ways. Even if it’s done virtually, we can feel the cheerful energy transmitting through the screen, taking us to a phenomenal level of happiness.
“I’m grateful to be in the developmental stage of my life and be a source of joy for others,” Logan keeps defining and giving shape to his discipline and self-improving, constantly trying to learn and do better, and sharing his gifts with others in an empowering and estimable way.
We can certainly use a good cheer to remind us what happiness feels like. No matter where we are located in the world, Logan is making sure that it becomes a reality, creating a memorable moment to lighten our days.
“We are so similar, and I’m here to help and bring cheer.” – Logan
When our talents are as profound as the vastness of the universe, we may shy away from such greatness. Yet, it doesn’t stop existing. It simply waits patiently for us to be ready to reveal its brightness. Creative Soul, Elaine Heveron, has emerged from her shell revealing the most precious pearl, shining her creative light, and weaving the tapestry of the human experience with the vastness of her artistic expression.
Elaine is a poet, photographer, and a friend, from Rochester, NY. She resides in Florida with her soulmate-husband, a writer, poet, and photographer, Louis ‘Lou’ Faber, and with their more human-than-cat companion, Teri.
She started writing stories in 7th grade, using writing as a way to “talk to someone”. Growing up with six siblings, Elaine found journals to be her confidant and to listen to her emotional dilemmas. She enjoyed creating stories and making words rhyme, but it wasn’t something she pursued as a priority in her early days.
“Are they paying you?” We get questioned a lot as artists,” expresses Elaine, understanding the painful road that artists walk upon, especially when being questioned repeatedly. It took Elaine some time to embrace the writer within, but she didn’t hold onto self-doubt for long. She has accomplished her visions and her entire life is a living prose.
In 2000, at 52, Elaine tested the waters of self-publishing and became an author with her chapbook, Standing Room Only in My Heart, in conjunction with Groose River Press. In 2006, Elaine submitted some of her work to Plain View Press, who took an interest in her work, and a manuscript later, in 2007, Email to Cleveland was published. In 2010, Plain View Press published her second full-length book of poems, Not Every Woman Swooned, celebrating with book release parties and readings at Open Mics around Rochester and one in New York City. Elaine has received high accolades from readers expressing how much they enjoy her books and even how her poems made more than a few shed a tear or laugh out loud.
It was years before Elaine published another book. “I tossed any poems I wrote into a folder entitled, Manuscript 2011, but didn’t have publishing at the forefront of my mind again for years,” Elaine shares her process of getting back into publishing.”One day, after reading an article in Tricycle Magazine, about how people in hospice know exactly what they need to do before their life is over, I asked myself if I only had a year to live, what would I want to accomplish? My inner voice replied with a question, “Hello?! Your writing?” She was surprised, still not feeling like “that good” of a writer, yet she found the courage to dive into the folder, editing and organizing her work of over a decade, bringing to life Notes From Paradise.
Plain View Press was once again delighted with Elaine’s new work, and even though they were not accepting any new manuscripts, in September 2023 they published Notes From Paradise.
In Notes From Paradise, Elaine shares her life’s anecdotes, describing details of her most intimate moments, reliving her first date with Lou, going into her spiritual journey, and so much more that will keep you turning page after page, filling your chest with raw feelings of joy, nostalgia, sympathy, and hope.
“This is what I live for, to connect with people,” smiles Elaine, feeling passionate to inspire others through her books to own their creative talents. She focuses on writing about love, life, loss, dreams, connections, magical moments, and friendship.
Alongside Lou, Elaine has traveled to some unique writing workshops at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, Block Island Poetry workshops in Rhode Island, and participated in writing workshops in Taos, New Mexico, and Ireland. “On Saturdays on Zoom, we write from visual prompts, shared group words, and timed 10-minute writing exercises,” Elaine explains how they have been part of the Taos workshop writing group, Imaginative Storm, with writing teachers and poets they studied with in the past, Allegra Huston and James Nave.
As a photographer, Elaine brings back memories of when her dad got her a camera when she was 9. She started taking pictures of anything and everything, which stayed with her throughout her adolescence and adulthood. “There’s so much beauty to capture,” Elaine admires the fauna and flora through the lens, capturing the most intimate moments of nature; a solitary Blue Heron patiently waiting for its prey; the dance of the Ibises as they claim branches on a dry tree; an alligator playing statue… Elaine has the touch to bring out the magical colors within one still moment in time.
We are made of light, and Elaine found a way to allow her vastness to shine through, caressing the world with healing words of love. Elaine is now breathing art with a creative flow that enriches and inspires everyone she encounters, and the world is a better place because of her.
“Pay attention to the moment. Don’t miss it. This moment”. – Elaine Heveron
Elaine is also an occasional crafter, from her unique series, Palm Frond People, created by painting cartoonish faces on fallen palm fronds with metallic paint, to designing eye-catching jewelry pieces from Pongamia pods.
Lou and Elaine met in 2000. Both of them were working at Xerox when a childhood friend of Elaine’s and a co-worker of Lou’s introduced them. “Lou’s and my shared love of Writing poetry was part of the reason I was willing to go out with him.” As their life grew together, and they traveled to some unique writing workshops, she felt ready and connected to herself and her dreams, and it became clear to her what she had to do to fulfill her passions.
