five cents.
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grae magazine. Publisher
Grae Editor in Chief
Natalie Zigdon content Editor
Sophie Lavac Contributors
Mikey Pauker Red Velvet Photographers
Natalie Zigdon Monique Taylor the treehouse
Portlan Beckman Cover
Jonathan Ducruix
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Find us online at GraeMagazine.com Please note all submissions to Grae Magazine are protected by copyright laws which belongs solely to the artist. If you would like to get in touch with any of the artists, please email us and we’ll gladly pass it along. Grae is always looking to expand our team. Whether you’re a photographer, writer, illustrator or designer, we want YOU to be apart of Grae. Email us at inspire@ graemagazine.com A Special thanks to Skyler Blair and Azura for a great interview. And a special thanks to Julia Sonmi Heglund for creating such an awesome cover.
editor’s note. I’m Natalie and I am the creator & editor of Grae Magazine. Grae Magazine was created to uncover underground artists who have a passion for creating. If you’re new to Grae, make sure to check out our talented artists and their take on this world. Read each word with an open mind, lose yourself in our treehouse and indulge yourself in our Rorschach Art Gallery. If you aren’t new to Grae, welcome back. We wanted to explore how our five senses affects our art and the world around us. For our sense of hearing, we got to interview talented musician Mikey Pauker. For our sense of feel, we have a creative writing piece by Portlan Beckman. For our sense of sight we are taken through the treasures of Red Velvet and their love and passion for all things vintage. You will come to see that what we have for our sense of taste is a real treat. Now don’t think we have forgotten about our sense of smell... this issue is scented.. you just can’t smell it on your end! Enjoy!
June 2011
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CHAOS. THERE WOULD BE CHAOS WITHOUT OUR FIVE SENSES. OUR SENSE OF TASTE, SMELL, FEEL, HEAR AND SIGHT COME TOGETHER TO GIVE US THE ABILITY TO APPRCIATE THE LIFE WE LIVE IN AND THE WORLD AROUND US. LOSING ONE OF THESE SENSES WOULD TEAR OUR WORLD APART THAT IS WHY WE MUST APPRECIATE ALL FIVE OF THEM. WE TEND TO FORGET HOW IMPORTANT THEY TRULY ARE. IN THIS ISSUE, WE WANTED TO EXPLORE HOW OUR FIVE SENSES AFFECTS THE ART WE CREATE. WHETHER IT IS A MUSICIAN, A FASHION DESIGNER, A COOK, A PAINTER, OR EVEN A WRITER WHO IS CREATING... WITHOUT THEIR FIVE SENSES, THEIR ART WOULDN’T COME OUT AS IT WAS INTENDED TO. SO, OPEN YOUR EYES- NOTICE THE BEAUTY IN THIS WORLD. BREATHE IN LIFE, SMELL IT AT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET. TASTE WHAT YOUR HEART HUNGERS FOR, LET YOURSELF FEEL HAPPINESS AND NOTICE WHEN IT’S GONE, AND LISTEN WISELY SO YOU CAN BE HEARD. LOVE AT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT OUR FIVE SENSES ARE FOR - TO BE ABLE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PEOPLE AND THE THINGS IN THIS WORLD. 8 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
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mikey pauker WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATALIE ZIGDON
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Who inspired you most when it came to music? My father was my first teacher and inspiration. I remember driving with him just to feel the acceleration of his sports sedan and hear the new tunes that he bought from the record store. We would drive around the block and listen to U2’s Joshua Tree via casette tape and Jefferson Starship. Not that we couldn’t listen in our house, but I guess, for my dad and me, it was that much more fun to be able to look at the changing scenery at the same time. We were mobile listeners. In High School, our choir teacher, Tom, would bring in some friends to show us their original music. Tom himself was an amazing folk singer who was close with Steve Poltz who wrote that song, “You were meant for me,” by Jewel. Tom was a true lyricist. When I started learning with him, I became much more focused on listening to music with inspiring lyrics. I started listening to Jack Johnson, Bright Eyes, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Ray Lamontagne, and Jeff Buckley, who have all influenced and inspired my music. Did you share your passion for music with anyone close to you when you were a kid? I started writing when I was in middle school and would run downstairs with excitement to share my new musical creations with my family. They would give me feedback, and usually tell me to try again. I would run back upstairs, make a few tweaks and the cycle would continue. I was never content. I’m still not. I’m always trying to elevate my writing to a new level. Where was your favorite place to preform at? During our record release tour we played a stellar show at a friends house at UC Davis. It was a college party so the energy was remarkable. It was so inspiring to share the stage with Sacramento’s Backward Beast, and the Golden Ghosts from LA. However that entire show we played great shows one after another. From Cafe Gratitude, to an unplugged show at Yoga Soup in Santa Barbara. Our home base venue beenMagazine the Mint |inThe LosLabyrinth Angeles. Issue They have 12has | Grae been great to us.
If music wasn’t apart of your life... what could you imagine yourself doing? Teaching. I have been teaching spirituality and communication through music for a couple of years now. Everything is a learning experience. Everyone has the power to inspire others. Go to it! How did Mikey Pauker & The JoyMachine form? How did you meet your two other mates? Three years ago I went to my first Burning Man, and met Elizabeth Joy Guilliams. We were introduced by a mutual friend that I went to camp with and drove up to the festival together. We shared a beautiful week together, finding moments to write songs and jam. With Joy, writing is easy. We just click. We returned from the Man, and had our first show together at The Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco with Local Natives. A year after jamming with Liz, I worked on staff at a Jewish Summer camp and became a song leader teaching Jewish music to the kids. The following fall, I recorded a new EP inspired by my amazing experiences at camp. After showing Liz the new music we decided to play shows together and to write new songs. I met Jared last year at a Spiritual Music conference in Wisconsin. He was free styling during one of the showcases. Little did I know we was a talented, violinist, singer, guitarist and composer. After I returned from Song Leading at a summer camp on the East Coast, I called him. Ever since that we have been playing together. Joy, Jared and I click... we were meant to play together. We are The JoyMachine. Can you tell us a little bit more about the type of music you create? We don’t want you to label it... We would just like a little taste. Tribal, spiritual, folk, world, love inspired vibrations.
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What is the hardest part about touring and making music as an artist?
Can you give us a playlist of your favorite songs or songs that inspire you and your band?
Getting enough sleep. Finding the right time and place to pass out. There’s so much excitement in the air.
Local Natives- Shape Shifter Sprawl 2- Arcade Fire Blue Ridge Mountains- Fleet Foxes Halleluyah (I Sing Out)- Todd Kessler White Table- Delta Spirit Floating-Elizabeth Guillaims Jared Stein- Oh Well Keep It There- The Weepies Death And All His Friends- Coldplay Dan Nichols & Eighteen- I Found My Love Song For The Divine Mother Of The UniverseBen Lee
Would you say you and your band mates are really alike or really different? And how? We all get each other. We understand our boundaries. We are a family. Yes, we are all different AND we know and support each other. What advice would you give to someone who is trying to pursue their dream in music?
Mikeypauker.com Never stop. Believe in yourself. Do the work!! Play wherever you can. Make friends, and have fun!
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the treehouSe.
where imagination is created. 20 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
Approximately 6:20 am March 11, 2011 I sit up in my bed as iIam abruptly approached by heaven Now 7 days gone, the world goes on Days are long, the people strong Working on… Fixing it together I see 200 billion dollars in damages And no foreseen economic advantages We’ve got 7,700 dead And another 12,000 missing Wrap that around your head They’ve got madness in March While we sit and watch March madness A bunch of dull people here Just sittin’ on our asses There are nuclear meltdowns People running around like headless chickens And dangerous conditions But let’s just stick to TV and listen Those poor people dying, bodies frying As the radiation is flying No doubt ensuing cancer It’s worth crying if you’re trying We’ve now moved on to bigger and better things like Shooting missiles at Libyan ships until they sink An advisor told you firing would be tantamount to war But i forgot you’re just the military’s whore So i will sit and i will pray That i can find my faith And conjure up the guts to tell you all will be okay But i ain’t seen him in a while so that’s kinda hard to say To say that it will be okay Or to say the cross, it is the way You see i struggle to keep my spirit alive i struggle as hard as the engine of that car
That was trying to escape that fucking wave But didn’t get very far Instead it just became a slave To that God-forsaken wave And as the water shattered glass That little car was swallowed On the highway overpass Windows busted and broke The bodies choked Their last words spoke Just before God or Allah or whoever Took from them the life they’d had forever But I suppose one could say it was never theirs to begin with So now the bodies sit rotting and swollen Undiscovered Perhaps forever covered by The mask of polluted black water Which morbidly distinguishes Japan’s unlikely slaughter A mother nature induced murder The same fashion as the devil he chokes out my spirit ‘Til it has no voice and i can’t hear it So i fear him But i’m near him and i can surely always hear him But i think i still have my heart So i can never be fully in the dark like Those bodies who lived until they went back to ashes Ashes, like the start
‘March 11 (and every other day)’ by Portlan Beckman
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“SURREAL LIGHT” By TANG YAU HOONG tangyauhoong.com
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CAN YOU T
Desserts are the best at tempting us. Making o stop at no cost to satisfy our taste buds. One o photographers done a good job at heightening chocolate and warm pastries? Try not to jump ally have any dessert left on this end... we don
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TASTE IT?
our mouths water and our eyes hungry, we’ll of the five senses is taste. Have these food g your taste sense through their art of flowing p through the computer screen, we don’t actun’t waste food around here.
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Delicious Shots
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Stephen Hamilton
La Kocinera
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The Pastry Affair
What if you were told exactly when you were going to die. Would you use it to your advantage and conquer your fears because you knew nothing else can kill you? Would you make every single dream a reality because nothing should be stopping you now? Would you actually
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appreciate life and ‘seize the moment’ because you knew how much time you have left? Or would you constantly feel the complete opposite because every single day you’re a day closer to the day you die. I guess you’ll never know. -grae
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rorschach. dont see with your eyes, percieve with your mind. They reflect your own desires and fantasies right back at you. They are a stolen world in which you create the streets, the faces and the sky. These pictures will be whatever you want them to be. To me, art is exactly like a rorschach. There is simplicity in what you are looking at but it is your mind that creates a beyond ordinary place. Every month this section will be filled with brilliant artists who strive to have their art lose you into an entirely different world.When appreciating art, let your mind wander. Let your mind be free.
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Jason Levesque
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Lois Van Baarle
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Kevin Chang
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Wesley Matthew Eggebrecht 42 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
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Lauren EngĂŤl
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Conrad Roset 46 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
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Melissa Cooke 48 | Grae Magazine | The Labyrinth Issue
Carole Wilmet
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Spkrn
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Lou Lou Jordan
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Luis Pippi
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Jason Levesque
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Sachin Teng
Lois Van Baarle
“Life begins at t comfort
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the end of your t zone.�
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Josh Liba - Gelato from Italy
RED VELVET. FOUR HEARTS. ONE DREAM.
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From selling handmade accessories at music festivals to building a home for their internationally recognized independent label, the Red Velvet girls have made their dream a reality. Red Velvet not only owns and operates the Red Velvet Boutique and Sweet Shoppe, their brick and mortar store as well as online shop strives to bring vintage treasures back to todays modern world. The best part of a team is that everyone contributes in their own way. Who makes up Red Velvet? Red Velvet is a group of creative gals who encourage and support each other. There is also a business part to Red Velvet, as Elsie and I own a shop by the same name and Rachel contributes products and e-courses and such all under the banner of Red Velvet. How did the name ‘Red Velvet’ come about? We liked it because it was both a fabric and a cake flavor. :) How did Red velvet form? It started as Elsie, Emma and Rachel mostly working on a book (that never got published) and selling handmade accessories at music festivals and other events. We just were all good friends who were starting our adult lives and still wanting to maintain friendships that would encourage our creative sides, and we gave our group a name to make it official. Ha! We’ve been together ever since, through many relocations, families starting and businesses changing. We’ve always been there for each other. What advice would you give to a blogger, small business owner or a lover for all fashion? Be yourself. Honesty and originality are such wonderful features for any one. No one can do or be exactly what you are-so be yourself and be passionate about it!
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We love that Red Velvet is a store online and in person, where are some places you find the treasures that you guys sell? We bought an existing vintage business, we purchase items from folks who bring things into our shop looking to sell, and we actively seek our estate sales and other opportunities looking for vintage treasures. Along with vintage Red Velvet also has it’s own fashion line of original vintage inspired designs (dress lines come out every autumn and spring season), e-course catalog and in our local shop you can pick up cupcakes and bubble tea at the Sweet Shoppe counter. What does Red Velvet have in store for us? What are some things you girls want to achieve in the future? We are looking to expand our fashion line, adding on accessories and outerwear for the Autumn/Winter 2011 release (due out September 1st). We also have some new e-courses coming out this summer! Topics include: how-to handmade fashion, art journaling and handmade accessories. We have a couple other projects in the works too, but I can’t go into too much detail yet. We all absolutely love what we do and are passionate about it, so we always have a few ideas that we are working on. Having your sister on board.. would you say its harder or even better? Do you guys fight or are you closer because of Red Velvet?
Emma and I have been best friends since middle school. There is no one else I work better with or would rather work with. We are gifted/interested in very different parts of business too-so it really works out. I love to design and create while she is good at keeping track of emails, orders and book keeping. The business has never been better! I know it would probably be more interesting if we had a lot of drama between us, but that’s just not the case.
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Meet Holly I’m Holly. A wife, a mom to 2 littles. (and #3 on the way!) Trying to live a creative life in the Canadian Prairies. I enjoy yarn crafts, tea, vintage, handmade, design and fashion, and being a Sahm.
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Meet Emma I’m Emma and I’m writer of the blog, ‘Food Coma’. I also own a catering business and work along my sister at Red Velvet. I am currently working toward my Master’s in Business Administration. I am the (very) proud owner of a beautiful fawn-colored pug, named Love Love. When I am not working or baking you can usually find me at home reading a novel and eating chocolate in bed. Like a lady.
Meet Elsie Well hello. I’m Elsie Larson (formerly Elsie Flannigan), but you can call me elsiecake. I’m a designer who goes crazy for bubble tea, thai food and little puppies. I love painting and making pretty things, especially things I can wear! I keep journals and make huge messes. I’m married to Mr. Jeremy Larson and I’m a proud mama to one little fawn pug named Suki.
Meet Rachel I’m Rachel Denbow, a creative soul who makes big messes with my two kids and still loves date nights with my husband. I teach online ecourses, design and sell products through Red Velvet, and have a crush on vintage.
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You all have Red Velvet tattoos.. can you briefly tell us what each Red Velvet girl has and what it means to her? Elsie’s (above)- its a red pin cushion with needles, thread and buttons around it. I love fashion, vintage and handmade so that’s what my Red Velvet tattoo highlights.
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Emma’s (below)- Emma’s- is an electric hand mixer, because she loves to bake! She has her very own blog by the name of ‘Food Coma’ and runs a catering business for Red Velvet.
Holly’s (above)- a yarn ball with a crochet hook. She loves to crochet and wanted to show off a more crafty design for her tattoo.
Rachel’s-a vintage cast-iron looking sewing machine. She loves to sew, and hers is the only Red Velvet tattoo that actually says “Red Velvet forever” so I guess that makes her the most hardcore.
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Robyn Lee - New York
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Helvetica - Sushi from Japan
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Nicole Nursen - Naan Bread from India
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rise lovin’
photography by Monique taylor
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our dance issue coming Jully 2011 We want to fill this next issue with the universal language of dance. Send in your artwork to inspire@graemagazine.com Send in any art regardless of the theme to be featured in our Rorschach Gallery as well.
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Contribute to grae. Rorschach. Want to have your art work featured in Grae? Send your art work to inspire [at] graemagazine.com. How do you know you’re qualified? Grae is searching for underground artists and people who simply have a passion to create. Whether it is a picture, a song, a canvas or a story. If you think your creations are creative and inspiring then you are more than qualified… you’re exactly what we’re looking for!
The TreehouSe. Consider yourself a writer? Send us a sample of your writing or a piece you wrote especially for Grae’s theme of the month and your work could be featured in our treehouse section. We only take fiction and creative writing. We’re not trying to sell anything or promote anyone in this section. The treehouse is all about writing with a twist. Show us your creative side by sending your work to inspire [at] graemagazine. com.
Featured InterviewS. Think you deserve a featured spread showcasing your art and your mind? So do we. Send us 3-4 photos of your artwork to inspire [at] graemagazine.com and we’ll answer back with the intriguing questions. You can get a featured spread with an interview by simply speaking up. How will we ever know you’re there unless you don’t use your voice? Don’t be shy. Feeling the opposite and think you know of the perfect artist to interview? Do your thing and send us the artwork and interview you’ve set up for them. We’ll be more than happy to feature you as the brilliant writer who found such an inspiring artist. Maybe you’re not a brilliant writer, just really good at asking questions. Hey, we’ll take it.
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Fabio Gloor
Thank you To ThoSe who live to create. MIKEY PAUKER
LAUREN ENGEL
DELICIOUS SHOTS
CONRAD ROSET
STEPHEN HAMILTON LOU LOU JORDAN THE PASTRY AFFAIR
LUIS PIPPI
LA KOCINERA
SACHIN TENG
CAROLE WILMET
RED VELVET
JASON LEVESQUE
MONIQUE TAYLOR
LOIS VAN BAARLE
PORTLAN BECKMAN
KEVIN CHANG
JONATHAN DUCRUIX
WESLEY MATTHEW EGGEBRECHT
RYAN RACHMANTO
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