Grounders Issue 4

ISSUE 4 FALL 17

GR ØUN DERS BELIEVE IN YOUTH

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THE TEAM founders

- coo kat larson - cco ash misra

words antonio velarde ife olaifa

design

olivia scarlet hoffman

jordan tate mason mcintosh

marketing adrian yong jessica spigott

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CONTENTS preface pamela szares - vicente simon bermeo - ehmann

there is no story jordan campbell alexandra cooper eric tsui laurena fineus nova supply steben alexander natalie george lauryn ahearn torsten raupach madeline benevides brian jiang enna kim nicholaus maiorana marcus

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“roi� medford

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preface Grounders is constantly evolving. In an effort to improve quality and consistency, we have decided to publish only two issues a year instead of four.

This change will allow our team to work on engagement in different forms through blog posts, events, and collaborations.

Like the last issue, we have decided to ask our artists a question. Initially, we asked our artists about worship. However, as time passed we focused on a more holistic question about changing perspectives. After this preface, all the words are the artists' answers to these questions. Their answers are diverse, enlightening, and effectively show the varied views of youth.

We would also like to thank all the members of our team, without whom this would not be possible. Our team is the key to our evolution and we are always looking for new ways to grow. If you would like to contribute in any way, contact us via email at groundersmagazine@gmail.com.

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New Perspectives: It is easy to become caught up in our own world and lose perspective. What is something that forces you to readjust your perspective, whether it be physically, emotionally, culturally, or otherwise?

Worship: In the past, religion was a huge part of society, but increasingly people are abandoning traditional religions and diverting their faith towards other, less conventional things. What would you say you worship?

As always, thank you for your support. Please enjoy this issue, and when you are done, give it life in new ways by passing it on, creating a collage, or adding it to your bookshelf.

Best, The Grounders Team

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Age: 28 IG: @zorrie_lu_artistry Location: Fayetteville, USA

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pamela szaresvicente

"I would say my interactions with everyday people while on the road for work “force” me to constantly readjust my perspective.

I work 8 - 10 weeks at a time with new groups of individuals, all with new quirks and ways of going about life. I’ve found if I go at it head-on in my typical way of everyday life, it’s not going to bode well for me. I’ve had to adopt a “go with the flow” attitude, and learn to accept the things and people as they come at me.

It’s like my artwork; it’s not predictable. The people and work aren’t predictable, and if I get myself set on a one-track course, I’m destined to be disappointed in myself."

"I would like to showcase my work because I feel that all artwork has a story to tell. It shows passion, drive, and creativity without borders and restrictions. It allows people to be themselves and others to interpret it as their mind sees the artwork - not necessarily as I’ve created it. I may showcase 10 pieces, but 10 people may view it and see it 10 more different ways. I’d like people who are thinking of trying art to see my pieces and realize it’s more attainable than you think. It doesn’t require being able to draw, or paint realism. Just a creative and positive outlook."

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simon bermeoehmann Age: 20 IG: @sbe_photography Location: Vancouver, Canada

"Traveling to a new place is very important if you want to understand the world better. Exploring an unfamiliar area and getting to know a culture other than your own is key to seeing different perspectives."

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"I wasn’t raised going to church or to worship a higher power, but that being said I think it’s a big world and people searching for meaning or purpose find solace in things like religion. I like to believe that there is something bigger than me, and believe that if you do good things, good things will happen and if you do bad things, bad things will happen."

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"I think it’s important to have an extensive understanding of images - to have a sort of image literacy. I say this because we live in a time when the world is so saturated with imagery. Be it social media or news media, you should be able to decipher between the truth and false imagery. I am attempting to depict what I see with as honest a perspective as possible. Photography and truth have a long and complicated history. I am happy to have anybody look at my work; as an artist I don’t provide answers but instead allow people to come to their own conclusions."

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there is no story Age: N/A IG: @thereisnostory Location: Toronto, Canada

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"Being in your world and doing your own thing is fine, but I think one should always try to learn how to empathize with others. I always try to see what other people are going through and make myself more aware. I also think empathizing is often seen in a negative light, when really it’s just understanding what the other person is feeling no matter how you might categorize it."

"Art and design have a unique way of connecting people to a work without actually meeting the creator. I want people to observe the simplicity in the shapes and compositions I create. To me, it is important that people feel. Showcasing my work allows my compositions to be exposed to a wide variety of people, and in all honesty, for me it is a way of healing and recovering. As any visual artist does, I put the things that I have learned and experienced into my work."

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"To me, the word “worship” means simply believing in a higher power and knowing that not everything is in our control. That can be many things for different people. I don’t think worship should be be a battle between what is conventional and not. It should be about a genuine feeling you get; almost a sense of thankfulness and gratitude."

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jordan campbell Age: 19 IG: @jordancamp_bell Location: Milwaukee, USA

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"My perspectives are challenged when I am in a state of discomfort. Discomfort in any form. It takes a lot of mental energy to realign your thoughts and feelings when they are thrown into a new, sometimes painful experience. I am a person of long introspective thought, and when I cannot take my time to weather through the ins and outs of a subject, I become uneasy. But in the face of a trial, one must alter their perspective to climb out and end up on top, and that is what I try to do."

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I think art, over time, is a reflection of one’s inner-self.

I want others to see that.

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One can worship something only a little, or a lot. I take the word in its extreme. It is all or nothing. So, do I worship something? I strive to worship all. I fail, but there is grace and there is hope."

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alexandra cooper

Age: 19 IG: @alexandrahcooper Location: Vancouver, Canada

"What forces me to readjust my perspective is being confronted with topics that may seem uncomfortable to me, but not being afraid to be wrong or open to new concepts. It’s so easy to live inside a privileged bubble, and the best way for me to actively combat the arrogance and entitled mindset that can accompany it is to let go of my ego and listen to the experiences of others with respect and in earnest. No matter how “woke” or progressive we think we are, we should always strive to be better."

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the quiet years I have always been quiet A good listener, attentive and silent My voice grew small in my classroom, smaller at the dinner table And the longer I stayed silent, the smaller my voice became With age, I could speak again The voice growing with my mind Soft, but strong Although I never knew how important the quiet years would be My pale skin has a voice of its own Louder than any school teacher or bully My skin screams Arrogant and proud

I did not realize the quiet years were a lesson This childhood silence universal I am celebrated for my skin, while another is muzzled If I had spoken, they would have listened But now my voice is silent again, leaving space, an option The most important lesson of my youth How to stay quiet

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bath water

there are little women living in my eyelashes they perch on the strands, unclean gleeful, they slide down my cheek and into their pool water laps over their tiny, delicate bodies laughter pollutes my mind the water ebbs laying in their cocoon to rest, quenched I lie restless erasing their path with the back of my palm in the morning they comb through my hair and climb reaching home, they sit and wait

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the womb goddess Belet-ili the womb-Goddess, our creator sacrificing life for more life mixing the body of Geshtu-e with clay sacrificing life for more life, the ethereal Mother assumes her role what is my role? the ethereal Mother is the eternal Mother the noise is silenced by water, heavy and peaceful immensely heavy, silencing everything Mother Earth has failed Mother fails

what is my role?

eternal motherhood silences everything the Mother has no choice

i have no choice clay and bone fill my body, washed out by the immense flood the womb Goddess knows the weight familiar with the deep wet, drying out the heart

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ERIC TSUI

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Age: 22 IG: @tirecius Location: Vancouver, Canada

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"I think people lose perspective when they become too comfortable with their lives. It’s easy to come home from work and do nothing for yourself besides relax.

Travelling to different places over the years has helped me gain perspective on where I want to be - not only spatially, but personally. It’s a privilege if you think about it - we live in a time where, if we had the means, we could actually move anywhere we physically wanted to. I feel like it’s definitely a cliche beaten to death: that once someone goes on a solo trip to India or wherever, they become

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awakened. But realistically speaking, you gain an insight on what different people like to eat, how they enjoy a Friday night, or when they want to get married. You just think about that and reflect on it yourself; you start to think about all the various possibilities in your life that could have happened if your parents weren’t born where they were, or if you went to this school or that school. For me at least, being able to travel is a humbling experience that allows me to compare other perspectives to my own on all levels."

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LAURENA FINEUS

Age: 18 IG: @lvurena Location: Ottawa, Canada

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"Outsiders are what force me to readjust my vision. I can sometimes go multiple weeks without any interaction with someone out of my immediate family. I don’t intentionally try to isolate myself, but it’s often the case because of how much dedication and time I put into my art. It’s impossible for me to create while socializing. It’s one or the other. So every time I get to reconnect with people (outsiders) I kind of step out of this imaginary world I’ve created for myself when I work alone."

"Women of colour are often objectified in terrible ways in the media, and I just want to create a safe space to share art that will serve as a reminder that we are all beautiful and magical beings in our own quirky ways. We are taught to put each other down, but I create to keep girl love and girl magic alive. I would like other WOC’s to see my art and feel beautiful for being who they are."

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"[Women] are taught to put each other down, but I create to keep girl love and girl magic alive".

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NOVA SUPPLY Age: 18 Ig: @novasupply Location: Toronto, Canada

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"I have to adjust my perspective each time I learn more about fashion and designs. To be technical, my perspective changes everyday, while still staying true to my ideas. I think of my mind as a camera, and I’m aiming at a certain target; each time I learn more about that target, I readjust for a better shot. I keep doing that until it’s time to shoot. To be more specific, while I was studying fabrics and the use for them, I was subconsciously putting each of them in a box: wool only can be for hats, jackets, and sweaters, or spray painting should only be on walls - nothing more. Virgil Abloh used spray painting on a piece of clothing, and it was mind boggling, and influential to me. That changed my perspective on fabrics. Instead of categorizing, I should experiment and see what I think works. I apply that to everything I do today."

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interview

with nova supply

by Antonio Velarde

Tell me about yourself.

I’m a stay at home kind of guy. To be real, most of my life consists of drinking tea, watching anime, chilling with my cats, family and making clothes. I know that sewing/constructing Nova cured me in a way. When I was sad or angry, I put it all into making clothes and that’s how I coped with those feelings. I have a tea collection; I started collecting back when I went to Greece and fell in love with this tea shop. Once I stepped in, the aroma was just so powerful, I had to spend a few hours in there just smelling the different flavors and imagining sharing it with my friends.

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Who/what inspired you to create clothing?

Anime was, and still is, a big part of my life. It gave me inspiration, and most of the clothing I make has some sort of influence from it. From the Winter in Cowboy Bebop, to the summer time in Samurai Champloo. The shows that changed my life are Hunter X Hunter and Steven Universe, and if you watched those shows, you would understand what I mean. They made me want to create clothing for others in a similar situation to feel more comfortable.

What is Nova? Explain the concept behind it.

Nova embodies the void between sane and insane. Inside the grey area where there are no limits to creations. No boundaries, no limits. Nova.

Nova is all about being comfortable in your own skin and feeling love.

You’ve been creating by yourself- by hand- for quite a long time now.

What’s that been like?

It’s been stressful, peaceful, frustrating, and a whole lot of fun all at the same time. It is a combination of things, but it has been an amazing journey overall. I still make mistakes here and there, but I enjoy the late nights, staying up until 5 a.m. just working on a shirt, making sure it is perfect. It’s my pleasure, and most importantly, my passion.

Talk about some obstacles you have come across and the lessons you’ve learned about yourself and your craft throughout this process.

Not everyone will love what I do, but over the years I’ve learned that doesn’t matter. I learned to never let the thoughts of others influence my creation - I create, for me and for the people who want to be comfortable. Took me a long time to really understand that.

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The majority of your pieces hold some pretty exotic names. What is the backstory behind the inspiration of those names?

My mother’s cooking is a huge part of why I know so many colors, her pallet is insane. They way she cooks and all the herbs she uses are unique, and I pay attention to that, so I usually take the name of the food she makes and blend it in to the name of the piece of clothing it reminds me of. Like Buttermilk Squash. One day I had this sweater and I was stuck on making a name for it, and my mom called me upstairs to cut some fruits for her.

While I cut the butternut squash, (which I accidentally heard as “Buttermilk Squash”) it clicked - the colors of it matched the sweater and that’s how I did it *chuckle*.

Explain the feeling of shopping for new fabrics and materials.

It is like Christmas, I spend hours there. It’s my safe place. I close my eyes and just let my hands guide the way. When I find that special fabric, it’s like seeing your wife for the first time, you just know - you know?

What are your thoughts on today’s youth compared to the way our generation, and those past, have grown up?

Today’s youth move in packs and waves, and I have seen more groups trying to be each other or force themselves to be different. Our generation is either being themselves or they follow.

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STEBEN ALEXANDER Age: N/A IG: @7steben Location: Montreal, Canada

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"To readjust my perspective and to refocus, I like to go to local exhibitions and museums or spend quality time with the people I love. It is usually in these moments that I get to find the time to wind down and go back to my roots. I find inspiration in figures such as Yma Sumac, Pete Burns, La Marchesa Casati, among other eccentrics. These are ways that I get to renew my focus in life and find inspiration."

"My father is German Catholic, and as a little boy I was baptized in the church and was a choir boy. There is something very beautiful about religion. It's a subject I enjoy reading about, and I particularly enjoy the symbolism and art within religion. However, at the moment I am not practicing any religion. I worship the words “be true to yourself.�

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NATALIE GEORGE

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Age: 22 IG: @natgeo_1995 Location: Eugene, USA

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"To have a connection and create a bond with someone that is different than yourself is truly eye-opening. All the difficulties and differences you may face help to shape you. I think these connections we make are those that help us get out of our own space, and allow us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.

Many times when I get stuck in an emotion or mood, I use my art to work through what I am feeling. Whenever I start something, I never really know how it is going to turn out or what I am trying to say. The process of working through my concepts can sometimes bring me to a completely new place. The act of creating helps me to discover what I am trying to say. Many times I come to the conclusion that it is something that cannot be answered - there is some beauty in that. I think the discovery of nothing helps take me out of my own head. It helps me realize that many times our feelings or what happens to us is out of our control."

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"As a woman, much of my work is focused on the female experience. It is heavily concentrated with the female form, often fairly graphic. Through the saturated disembodied forms, it begins to show the objectification women face today. I try to leave the identity anonymous to highlight the value given to the sexualized body, only my depictions are of deteriorating and morbid form.

I try to draw attention to the transformation and modification of the female form, and how that begins to translate the negative effects of the male gaze.

Although I hold a lot of personal meaning in my work, I don’t necessarily need that to translate to feel successful. I welcome laughter and humor in my work and don’t need everything I do to be taken seriously - in fact I prefer when people don’t. I feel it is easier to talk about larger concepts that could possibly be uncomfortable through humor. By exaggerating certain stigmas we associate with women and their bodies, I hope to challenge the viewer to alter their perception and try to see things through different eyes."

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"Sometimes I just have to acknowledge that I don’t have the answers, and I may never have them. All we have are those little moments where we forget, the ones we share with the people we love. We forget about all the things that weigh on our shoulders, and for a second, we are no longer searching for anything at all. We can just be."

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LAURYN AHEARN

Age: 34 IG: @laurynahearn Location: Vancouver, Canada

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"I feel death is the ultimate adjuster of perspective. It's inevitability is what juxtaposes life and death. This is what makes being alive so brilliant. Death shifts the act of living into an experience that requires our immediate thought and attention. The more I realize that this life is finite - that every day could be my last - the more naturally I am able to put trivial anxieties into perspective. It helps me focus on what is truly important to me, and ask myself questions about what it is I want my today to look like. When I can remember that this is it, it’s easier to look at the blue of the sky, catch the scent of grass in the wind, and keep lesser priorities from taking up valuable real estate in my everyday experiences. Ultimately, the life we live is a culmination of those smaller every day experiences, so it’s important not to lose touch with the effect they have on us."

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torsten raupach Age: 22 IG: @traupachh Location: Vancouver, Canada

"In my personal experience, the best possible way to constantly readjust my perspective is to interact with as many new people as possible.

I find that if my social group and life routine becomes too comfortable, then it is often easy to become caught up in the routines of my life.

This ensures that I don’t experience anything outside my created bubble. However, the best way to break this is by stepping outside of my routines and comfortable social groups. Living in a culturally and ethnically diverse city, such as Vancouver, has given me the opportunity to break out of the dangers of a narrow perspective. I enjoy speaking with people from all over the world, from different upbringings, or to people with differing life plans, paths and beliefs. Each interaction shatters the wall that is so easily built around our individual experience of the world. The more people we interact with outside of these constructed boundaries, I believe the easier it is to avoid the tendency to forget the world outside our immediate experience."

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stubborn bones

I forgot my body, but only for a moment.

I left it far behind.

I buried it under the earthy crust, beneath the arcs of so many little satellites, that watched, blinking like the eyes of conscious stars.

I left my body far behind and burned away flesh, muscle and stubborn bone to dainty piles of ash, picked up by passing winds.

I left my body far behind, hidden in carefully constructed castles with fat stone walls and a deep dug trench fortified around the ugly blemish protruding from the even field.

I forgot my body, but only for a moment before the gate slammed shut and the key clattered with a harsh clash against the spotless mirror of dazzling white tiles.

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dinosaur toothpaste Pressed fingers on fret boards that taste of maple taught me more than twenty pages before bed.

Tucked in, tongue still tingling from dinosaur toothpaste, when we were cognitively almost cavemen.

The first time I smelt the ocean, you took us there.

Sand buckets packed with blackberries we stole from bramble wardens.

Bare feet through snow stacks turned our toes black.

Cold stings– sticks, the bubblegum ice cream in sister’s hair.

Pretend I’m Thor to face the fact - mum’s fuming.

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MADELINE BENEVIDES

Age: 21 IG: @madelinebenevides Location: Oakville, Canada

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"I’m guilty of focusing on what’s to come in time, when in reality all I have is now. I have to remind myself that I create every moment. Realizing this helps realign my desires with my actions."

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BRIAN JIANG

Age: 19 IG: _brianjiang Location: Toronto, Canada

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"Realizing my mortality readjusts my perspective. It forces me to see clearly what truly matters in life. My time on earth is limited, so why not spend it doing something I consider to be worthwhile?"

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Age: 22 IG: @fongkikiddraws Location: Toronto, Canada

"For me, art is the strongest way of expressing oneself. I’ve always felt a barrier with other mediums, such as writing, because they didn’t truly represent what I was trying to say. I want to show my work because I believe that it is an important part of being an artist; sharing your work with others, but also being confident enough in your work to allow others to witness it."

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"I define worship as the act of reflecting and appreciating my craft, but spirituality brings life to those mediums. Drawing, painting, sketching, and observing are all variations of my personal worship."

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"Humble beginnings. Before coming to Toronto, I grew up in a very small town. A town so small that you had to refer to the next “biggest” town which wasn’t even that populated to begin with. I believe it’s important to remember and reflect where your seeds were sown, and when your roots began to grow. Even the weeds and pests that made you struggle. It’s all about the big picture. I admit there are several days when I dread getting things done, and long for people to empathize, but that is such a blurry lens to view life from. Usually when negativity strikes, it’s from keeping it buried inside. Examining your...

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...situation from a larger scale makes you realize how small your problem is. When we get caught up in our own mind, we circle the same thoughts in our heads. As a generation that is heavily dependent on immediate gratification, it’s extremely important to take some time to slow down and truly consider what our purpose is."

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nicholaus maiorana Age: 26 IG: @parcandward Location: Burlington, USA

"To avoid losing perspective and my place in the world in which we all inhabit, at least once a day, I try to consider what makes me happy. This slows me down. It forces me to look more closely at my place, and my interactions with everything around me. When I am unhappy, like a fightor-flight response, I often make rash decisions and drastic changes while losing perspective and failing to consider even the most obvious consequence. While I try not to dwell on the past or what the future might bring, it is not always easy. Taking time to think about what makes me laugh or dance a jig calms my soul. It makes me feel better about the present, and my place in life, and the world. It pushes me forward, leaving the changeless past behind, forever towards that next smile. I do have control. I always have control. I just have to force myself to remember."

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"Like art, modern religion is a bust. I have a real qualm with organized religions. Religion has a way of making one feel guilty simply for being their true self. If God created us to be such unique creatures, why is religion trying to make us all assimilate into the masses? There is also the factor of religious guilt. Why should I feel guilty for being me? There is nothing worse than being boring or unoriginal. Religion should be a personal connection between yourself and God - whatever God means to you. With this notion, I find worship to be sacrilegious and counteractive to my beliefs. God and worship should inspire us to be our truest selves. If I had to admit to worshiping anything, it would be the sun, the earth, my parents; for giving me life, my body, and the body of my partner."

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marcus “roi” medford Age: 23 IG: @marsthepoet Location: Toronto, Canada "I agree that it’s easy to get caught in your own head and perspective bubble. Often after an interview, I come away having learned something new and have become aware of a new perspective.

Talking, reading, listening and travelling open me up to fresh ways of thinking because they force me to consider something from an external source. I would definitely encourage it."

smother I’m wasting sleep, losing time trying to smile and swallow knives I should leave, its getting late I’m starting to suffocate, Slip beneath the ethereal surface hope and words are worthless.

Quietly into the dark I’ll purge desire from my heart, Shed my skin, eradicate my feelings Anything to stop the reeling, No kiss goodbye just start anew I’m sorry if I smothered you.

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lost in the electricity

The social network extends Friends of friends become friends, Enemies are conceived, Relationships end.

Some bonds can be recovered

There exists a breed

Others won’t ever mend.

Though rare indeed,

Something’s still hurt

Those who sip tea

No matter how many smiley faces you

And leisurely read

send.

Words other than texts

But hey,

Or posts on a newsfeed.

At the end of the day

Only concerned with me, me, me

I guess Facebook’s okay

We’re constantly

How else would you know

Too busy to see

It’s your friend’s birthday.

Friends who used to be

Why would we take the time to talk

Like family.

When we can twiddle our fingers away?

But you’ll find time

Time is money

If she’s a dime

And I don’t have enough to waste.

Or if he’s a QT.

I smh

See, I see

If this is our fate

The trends

Soon it’ll be l8

Having SO many friends

To teach a book and a face

Like that girl...

How to cooperate.

From the place...

Lost in the electricity

That you met...

Swept up in the current,

“idk” when.

Trying to navigate.

“OHMYGOD I MISS YOOOU!”

It’s a sad state

O M G me too.

When the only way to relate

I’ll see you then

Or to find a date

At that “don’t loaft on tix” all-ages event,

Is through a keyboard.

So we can dance,

We have all this technology

Get drunk

But we’re constantly bored

And forget we met again.

And struggle to communicate.

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Publication Š 2017 GROUNDERS All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher.

Editing and Design by GROUNDERS team Printed in the USA by Smart Press Library and Archives Canada Cataloging in Publication GROUNDERS Team; with contributions from Pamela Szares-Vicente, Simon Bermeo-Ehmann, There Is No Story, Jordan Campbell, Alexandra Cooper, Eric Tsui, Laurena Fineus, Nova Supply, Steben Alexander, Natalie George, Lauryn Ahearn, Torsten Raupach, Madeline Benevides, Brian Jiang, Enna Kim, Nicholaus Maiorana, and Marcus "Roi" Medford.

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