WES WILSON... FATHER OF PSYCHEDELIC FONT

In psychedelic art Wes Wilson’s art helped to define the psychedelic style that defined the era of the 60’s and 70’s.  In fact he is generally acknowledged as the father of the 60’s rock concert poster.  His poster feature  his admiration and respect for the feminine form and are considered to be an enduring representation of the entire period.

It is about the recognizable balloon shaped writing with complimentary colors right next to each other in very exciting ways.  He wanted a poster that people liked to look at.  He wanted to use up all the space on the poster.  His art was based on a combination of a whole bunch of things and all based on his idealism that things are going to get better.

Wilson’s idealism had him doing posters and fundraising for the “Appeal”and  the Merry Prankster Acid Tests  were dance hall concerts to benefit  anti involvement in the Vietnam War.  He was also doing posters for, the Family Dog, Fillmore Auditorium.  In May of 1967 he had a dispute with Bill Graham over money and Wilson no longer did posters for Graham.   However, he continued to produce posters the Avalon and other venues.

Seth and I have had the good fortune of meeting Wes and have a few of his postcards available for our customers. They will not be on the Website and you can call Mom at 856 424 6166.  At this time I have 4 of each of these post cards “The Sound” which 8” x 4” and Grateful Dead Fillmore Jan. 1967  5 1/2” x 3 ½”  .    I also have in my personal collection a copy of his newsletter that was a tribute to Rick Griffin which is not for sale .

Rick Griffin

Mom, Seth Randy & Doc at Postermat with Rick Griffin, Bob Schnepf and Ben Friedman circa 1989

Rick Griffin was born near Palos Verdes, California June 1944.  During his childhood he would accompany  his father, who was an archaeologist on digs in the Southwest.  His exposure to Native American and ghost town artifacts influenced his art work.  He was introduced to the art of surfing at a very young age, this along with his love of cars and motorcycles were influences in his professional art work. His character Murph the surf was well known in surfing circles.

Destiny played a profound roll in his life at the time he was about to leave the US and emigrate to Australia, Rick hitched a ride and was involved in an auto accident that left him near death.  He remembers hearing the words of the 23^rd Psalm.  In later years this event proved a factor in his later conversion to Christianity.  The event also caused his left eye to be dislocated and it is thought that this influenced his characteristic fluid lettering.

In 1967 he produced a poster for the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park this was advertised as the “Gathering of the Tribes”  and as the Summer of Love continued he was in high demand.  He produced a series of posters for Chet Helms,( Family Dog) and Bill Graham (Avalon Ballroom and the Filmore).
Along with Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso and Wes Wilson, he became known as one of the “Big Five” of psychedelia.  In 1967 they founded the Berkeley-Bonapart distribution agency to produce and sell psychedelic poster art.  The famous “Flying Eyeball” poster is among one of the most important of contribution to the psychedelic art movement. In  the 70’s he produced the illustrated Book of Saint John and later created work for the Calvary Chapel in Costa Messa.
It was on August 15, 1991 that Rick placed a phone call to the Robert Beerbohm’s gallery from a payphone in a grocery store.  He learned that one of hjis paintings had just sold for $1800.  On his way home he was forced off the road by a van and he died three days later from his injuries.

I am so happy to have had the opportunity meet him and know that his work will be appreciated for generations to come.  His loss was overwhelming he was a true visionary and an outstanding talent.
Many of his art work is represented in Woodstock Trading Company in poster, magnets, clothing and products for the home.

THE BEGINNINGS OF PSYCHEDELIC ART

The “big Five” San Francisco poster artists Lto R Alton Kelly, Victor moscosso, Rick Griffin, Wes Wilson, Stanley Mouse. Photo by Bob Seidemann

Where would psychedelic music be without the art that accompanied the sound of visual experiences that represented the spirit of the times from then until now and into the future, forever!

When you think about psychedelic music do you not automatically think about the art that accompanied and enhanced the experience?  It is probably the time around 1966 to 1971 when the San Francisco Music Poster had its impact in the arena of graphic art.  This resulted in all sorts of posters, handbills and flyers advertising rock concerts.

Bill Graham,  who promoted concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium,  Winterland and a dance hall he renamed The Fillmore West  along with Chet Helms, who headed  an organization called The Family Dog, were influential in having art posters that “rocked the world” to help promote their shows.

At this time there were a handful of San Francisco artists that were commissioned to produce much of this art work.  The had become known as THE BIG FIVE.  They included Wes Wilson, Alton Kelly, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin.  Their influences were that of the masters in the Art Nouveau moment  In addition, Mouse and Kelly had some expertise in advertising art.They founded the Berkely-Bonaparte distribution agency to produce and sell psychedelic poster art.

Outside of Moscoso, who taught lithography, the artists had no formal training in printing techniques   and it was the wonderful pressmen of firms like Tea Lautrec Lito and West Coast Litho  that helped to produce the art work we have come to love and recognize.

Further Blogs are being written about each of the artists…keep in touch

THINK PINK WHEN YOU THINK SPRING BEADS

Seth and I have had a passion for beads almost our entire lives.  Beads of all kinds from all over the world.  It was a natural for us to add an extensive bead collection into the equation when we started to formulate what we wished to showcase in our store.  The Woodstock/hippie phenomenon certainly included art music and crafts.  What would the 60’s be without love beads.

Our interest spurred us on and we not only collected beads for our store from every corner of the world and type but to make beads of our own.  We have become lamp workers and have and have slaved over our torches to produce hand blown beads for Woodstock Trading Company.
The key words for pink are love, passion, romance, purity, kindness, power, tolerance, compassion courage, loyalty, faithfulness, happiness, protection and softness.

My thoughts today have turned to spring colors and one of the most interesting colors to use in the torch is pink.  One of the major colorant for pink glass is erbium for light transparent pinks.  Neodymium can be used for purple pinks.  The most famous is the use of Gold in glass to produce that cranberry pink called “gold ruby” However they are hard to use in the flame and must be heated very gently or they “pop”  Seth who usually sits to my left when we blow glass can tell you, mom has not patience and very often sends particles of beautiful pink glass every which way.

The meaning of the color pink (4^th chakra) and an air element is the universal color of love.  Emotional love of self and others,   It is a color of friendship, affection, harmony  and inner peace.
We have brought in a large supply of natural stones both polished and rough for wire wrapping or other uses.  Pink stones are calming, soothing, relaxing.  They attract increases in love for yourself, family and friends.

Pink stones include pink agate, rhodochrosite, pink tourmaline,  rose quartz, rhodonite.

Smudging 2

Before you take any action with this strong and powerful ritual, consider your intention.

Keep this thought clearly in your mind.  Smudging should be done with care and reverence along with a positive attitude and that of love.

The flame from a candle is recommended to light the smudge that the bundle starts to smoke.  If there is a flame blow it out so that the smudge bundle is smoldering and not burning.   When smudging a room, after the bundle is smoking, you walk around the perimeter of the room.  Give special attention to the corners and the places behind doors.  You can also fan the smoke through the room with a large smudge feather.  If you wish, you may state a payer of gratitude  for the cleansing and keep in mind your intention of removing negativity during the ritual,

Many people like to break off loose leaves and a candle may be used for them as well.  In the very near future, Dr. Seth will have, along with the wonderful hand-made ceramic incense burners, smudge pots for the use of Smudging rituals.

SMUDGING blog 1

Over the years I have sold many bundles of sage and for the most part my customers knew what it was that they wanted to do with it and how they would and why they would “smudge” their environment.  It has come to my attention that there is an interest in this activity.  I will give some information and I am not professing to say these are the total of reasons and/ or activities of this technique.  It is just a small taste of a ritual that is many centuries old and used in many different ways with different herbs.

At Woodstock, we have provided Sage for most of our customers Smudging techniques.  Smudging is the name given to the cleansing technique from Native American.  This tradition of burning herbs for emotional, psychical and spiritual cleansing is practiced among many religious, healing and spiritual traditions.  It is a ceremonial way to cleanse a person, place or object of negative energies.
Smudging can be helpful for when you feel depressed, angry, and/or restful,  You can smudge your home, work space or crystals to remove negative energy.

In blog Smudging blog 2 I will talk about how to perform a smudging technique

We're happy to add yet another incense to our ever-expanding and improving library.  This fellow is Dharana Sutra.  This is a remarkable incense that is profound testimony to the potential elegance of bass notes in fragrances.  Dharana Sutra'  fragrance profile is a deep, winding complex of tunnels that offer sandalwood, vetivert, and crisp resinous notes.  It certainly has certain similarities to the much beloved Ambica heaven.

It is available in house and for phone order at this time.  It will be available for on line orders quite soon.