Spirit House Art Studio

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Eco Friendly Artist

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Navajo Creed

Honor the sacred,

Honor the Earth,

Honor the Elders.

Honor all with whom we share the Earth.

Four-legged, two-legged, winged ones,

swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people.

Walk in balance and beauty.



















I was invited to attend Otis Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles, California. My summer scholarship programs in 1967 & 1968 exposed me to various types of professional art media. Life drawing classes and recycling art projects inspired me to pursue fine art as a major in High School. College curriculum included graphic design, architecture, technical illustration, electronic drafting, ceramics and photography. A drafting position with a computer power supply company in Orange County, California started my drafting career. A Senior Drafting position for a utility planning company in San Clemente, California was offered to me. Eventually I relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and worked for the Salt River Project & Arizona Public Service engineering departments as a professional draftsman. Working in the drafting field until manual drafting became obsolete and was replaced by computer aided drafting. I changed careers and became a Thai massage therapist until I retired. Currently I am creating hand sculpted bas-relief designs from byproduct plant fiber powders. Medium has the appearance of carved stone, hand sculpted on stretched wood framed canvas and dried on a flat surface. A collage of natural objects is installed into the soft medium after sculpting with pottery tools. Finished work with acrylic, or bio "green seal" paints. Sometimes leaving it natural earth, plant or spiced colored, he seals it with acrylic clear coat. Enhancing his work with sand, glass, stones and metallic finishes makes a beautiful natural contrast on the sculpted surface. His medium is composed of non-endangered sustainable plant, wood, flowers, earth and stone. His memorial artwork looks the same, but has cremated ashes interred into the medium. Ripley's Publishing featured his work in their 8th edition 2012 Annual Ripley's Believe It or Not! strikingly true Ripley's Entertainment exhibits his work in their Orlando, Florida and Hollywood, California museums. His abstract and expressionist artwork is created with an inner vision and cultural symbolism. Action Painting takes place with each work. Layer upon layer of various colors are applied to his medium. Various textures can be felt with your hands and explored with your eyes, like discovering a stone relic from an archeological dig. With interest in Mayan, Mixtec, and Zapotec cultures, he visited many archaeological sites. Mr. Ortega made a career change in 1998 due to drafting transitioning to computerization. He relocated to Oaxaca, Mexico and learned holistic medicine from healers and Nuad Bo-Rarn ancient Thailand bodywork. His artwork is an expression of earth medicine for him, using sustainable natural resources such as industrial hemp and a coconut husk byproduct powder. Earth Friendly Artwork is always evolving with new sustainable materials. Consider his artistic passion artwork a message to conserve our natural resources. Artwork that honors the earth and all her relations in the circle of life. Restoring balance to the planet and conserving our natural resources for future generations to enjoy is essential. Please respect the earth, and recycle to help reduce carbon footprints.

 


His memorial artwork looks the same, but has cremated ashes interred into the medium. Ripley's Publishing featured his work in their 8th edition 2012 Annual Ripley's Believe It or Not! strikingly true

 

Ripley's Entertainment exhibits his work in their Orlando, Florida and Hollywood, California museums. His abstract and symbolic artwork is created with an inner vision and cultural symbolism. Action Painting takes place with each work. Layer upon layer of various colors are applied to his medium. Various textures can be felt with your hands and explored with your eyes, like discovering a stone relic from an archeological dig.


 

With interest in Mayan, Mixtec, and Zapotec cultures, he visited many archaeological sites. Mr. Ortega  made a career change in 1998 due to drafting transitioning to computerization. He relocated to Oaxaca, Mexico and learned holistic  medicine from healers and Nuad Bo-Rarn ancient Thailand bodywork. His artwork is an expression of earth medicine, using sustainable natural resources such as industrial hemp and a coconut husk byproduct powder.

 

Earth Friendly   Artwork is always evolving with new sustainable resources. Consider his artistic passion  artwork as a "Save the Planet" message.  Artwork   that honors the earth and all her relations in the circle of life. Restoring balance to the planet and conserving our natural resources for future generations to enjoy is essential. Please respect the earth, and recycle  to help reduce  carbon footprints.

 















History of my  Memorial Ashwork




In 1975, I was given the opportunity to  work part time as a morticians assistant while I attended Glendale Community College majoring in fine arts. Death   is a   profound spiritual transition, and the disposition   of the body a   revered and sacred act. I became familiar with Tibetan and Egyptian myths concerning the afterlife. As well as Navajo and; Mayan creation myths. Birth and death is a sacred journey of the spirit. Working in a mortuary with the embalmers, cemeteries and crematoriums   gave me  a creative idea.  I realized  from an artistic point of view   there was   the possibility   of combinig art, death and ceremony. A recorded remembrance   like the ancients did. Hieroglyphic communication carved in stone by  ancient cultures  was  another inspiration for my hand carved and sculpted   medium. I developed the  medium to  create artwork using   sustainable byproduct powders  from the earth as a tribute to all our relations in the circle of life. My artwork continues to evolve as an abstract and symbolic expression of nature, man and mythology.


















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"Sufi Heart"


"Sufi Heart"  is   a tribute   to my   niece who   loved nature and   animals . She  enjoyed exploring   the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico.   A portion of her ashes are installed in this Stone of Light artwork above.

 













Organic Earth Work


Generally I use conventional primer, paints  and fixatives on my organic medium. I now offer  the   use of organic paint, primer and   fixative.  Earthstone is  my  hand sculpted non-painted medium.  Tinted with spices, earth, fruits and plants, metallic highlights, colored sand  and a clear finish (fixative) is applied. Earthstone is a new addition  to  my Earth Friendly Artwork.


Form & Function 


My artwork  can look like masonry, carved hieroglyphics,  stela's, or petroglyphs from  ancient cultures, and inspired by observing the composition of stones and rocks   in natural environments.  My mixed media  contains the essence of earth's elements which  I   use   to honor our   planet in a symbolic form.


Certified Green Artwork


I hope that you enjoy  my Earth Friendly Artwork  as a   statement to restoring balance and harmony to our beautiful planet. My proprietary formulas are a combination of organic earth elements certified to be 100% Green (environmentally safe). If you choose the line of   Green Seal certified primer, paints and   fixative, you will have an environmentally safe 100% green work of art to display proudly as completely earth friendly. 


With 40% volume solids and green seal certification,  the Green  Seal  paint performs like a premium conventional paint yet is low odor, has no harmful chemicals, and no added solvents. It exceeds green seal standards for performance and VOC levels. 


VOC's are the solvents in paint which evaporate easily at room temperature –the stinky stuff, bad for people and the environment. VOCs are thought to be contributors to the depletion of the ozone layer, as well as contributors to poor indoor air quality.




















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Custom frames available in all my Earth Friendly mediums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







 

tcmirage@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

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