Photo: Felice Neals

(Re) Founder, Publisher, Co-Editor, Visualist: Felice Neals         

(Re) Editor-in-Chief: H.E. Fisher

     Featured (Re) Contributors:  

TEXT

Poetry: CYNTHIA MANICK.

Portrait(s) of a Writer: Interviews with BRIAN ALESSANDRO, author of Julian’s Debut
and NANA EKUA-BREW HAMMOND, author ofMy Parents’ Marriageby Felice Neals. An interview with KOSS, author of Dancing Backwards Toward Pluperfect by Kristine Esser Slentz.

The Multi-Genre Science Corner.

ART

Stella Berg

MUSIC

Portraits in the Key of You

OTHER STUFF

Bits and Bobs and (various) Credits

Welcome to our Winter issue!

In our first issue of the year, we are excited to (re)turn to the fold with a journey in portraits through powerful poetry, (Re): An Ideas Journal 8-Question Interviews with three inspiring authors, vibrant art, unique music, and the magical world of science.

Thanks as always, for stopping by!

“Every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.” — Samuel Butler

POETRY

Mama by Jessica Frances Grégoire Lancaster, 2023.

PORTRAIT(S) OF A WRITER

THE MULTI-GENRE SCIENCE CORNER

“Science is the poetry of reality.” — Carl Sagan

Portrait of a Planet

One of my favorite planets in that wondrous sky of ours is Jupiter. Why? you may ask. Well, it is the oldest planet; has more than 75 moons – some with oceans beneath their crusts; is home to a huge storm (its red spot) that has wreaked havoc for over a century and completes its Jovian days in a little under 10 hours.

It is also the only planet, due to its immense size – about eleven times larger  than earth – that can influence the orbits of other planets, asteroids and comets.

How cool is that?

When the Juno spacecraft was launched in 2016 to capture images of this grand master of the universe, this space geek was over the moon (so to speak) and tuned in whenever possible to follow the results.

Here are some of the latest portraits of Jove, Zeus, Brhaspati, Mushtari… c/o the  NASA Junocam gallery.

https://science.nasa.gov/gallery/junocam-images/

—  Felice Neals

“Jupiter shall emerge, be patient, watch again another night, the Pleiades shall emerge, They are immortal, all those stars both silvery and golden shall shine out again, The great stars and the little ones shall shine out again, they endure.” —Walt Whitman

ART

Mosaics 

STELLA BERG

(Re)interpret

I was born in NYC, and spent my middle and high school years growing up in Istanbul, Turkey. Mosaics are a quintessential art form in the Turkish culture. I had the privilege of witnessing ancient mosaics carefully preserved in mosques and archaeological sites, as well as modern mosaics used in everyday design. Stone tiles of various color and clout, carefully arranged to tell their stories. Used in reverence in mosques, decor in homes, design in cobble stone streets, mosaics are everywhere. 

I was given a “self-portrait” assignment in high school. On a subliminal level, I was inspired by mosaics enough to endeavor to create my image out of tiles. I gave it my own spin by trading in the traditional ceramic tile for the unconventional paper one. I scavenged through magazines to find pages with the right color, texture, pattern, hue that I was searching for. Once found, I hand ripped each piece. A glue stick took the place of mortar.

My self-portrait mosaic was a good first exploration, though lazy. I cut corners because, well, I was a teenager. Who knew that teeth and eyelashes were critical in depicting a face? My art teacher called me out on it. I’m so grateful that she did because it forced me to actually consider what I was making. I started to experiment and play. I found it exhilarating to stumble upon and try unconventional pieces that could convey the essence I wanted. Hay fields for dog fur? A bedazzled designer handbag for their rump? A gingham shirt for a 5 o’clock shadow? Heck yes! They all worked.

From my self-portrait I moved on to mosaics of my friends and family members. A few years in, I was commissioned to make a pet portrait, which became another avenue for my work. Later, I started my own collection that I call #BossWomenSeries. These are women in the public eye that I find remarkable. They come from various industries, are trailblazers, support women, and are badasses. The two portraits featured here are from my #BossWomenSeries. My most recent mosaic exploration is in children’s book artwork.   

Mosaics are deeply revered in the Turkish culture, and I am so appreciative of the influence they’ve had on my work and development as an artist.

Stella Berg was born in New York City and moved to Istanbul, Turkey with her family at age 11. It was during these formative years in Istanbul that she developed a deep admiration for mosaics. After high school, Stella returned to New York to earn a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University. A decade of acting and producing later, Stella found her way to visual art, and specifically to mosaics. She cultivated her own spin on the traditional art form by swapping ceramic tiles for torn magazine pieces. 

Stella is developing a Boss Women Series, a portrait collection of influential women whom she admires, with the intent of having a gallery showing of the work. She is in the early stages of illustrating a children’s book about an eager Jack Russell Terrier and her ball. Stella is accepting commission requests for custom pet portraits.

When Stella is not creating, you can most likely find her in a park depriving a child of a swing.

www.instagram.com/stellabergmosaic

MUSIC

When pondering portraits and music we wondered if it was possible to commission a musical composition that reflects one’s persona, i.e. a musical portrait.

In our research we discovered a few possibilities for this undertaking.

The idea, it seems, is that after a thorough “screening” through in-depth conversation, questionnaires and in some cases, meeting in person – your musical portrait will be created by the artist.

(SIDEBAR: We have not yet explored this artform, but our curiosity may lead us to check out how the notes of our “soul” are translated onto the lines of the bass and treble clef. )

To find out more, here are a few composers at your service:

https://www.danielaustinsperry.com/musical-portraits

https://rickerlien.com/music/portraits.html

https://www.musicportrait.it/en/

And…for a classical musical treat, here is Aaron Copeland’s Lincoln Portrait, a profile of Abraham Lincoln in music and words:

https://www.npr.org/2009/02/12/100601104/abraham-lincoln-a-portrait-in-music-and-words