Alexandra*
Alexandra*
is the abbreviation used, as alias, by Maria Alexandra Oliveira, to sign her literary and artistic creations – the latter, namely, in
the domains of painting, drawing, and digital art –
and, in a more
intimate, yet simultaneously, more universal perspective, used, also,
as the symbol of a concept shared with author and artist Joseph
Randell Sherman (Joseph*), within a philosophy in which life and art
merge, forming a whole where individuality is, nevertheless,
protected and cherished, and that both define as OneLight*®.
Born in the North
of Portugal, in surroundings where rural and industrial components
blend, in a texture of perspectives with absolutely unique
characteristics, Alexandra* defines her creative path by means of an
analogy, inspired by her above mentioned background:
Like a fabric,
progressively woven of an intrinsic web of principles, education,
avid and diversified readership, and a multiplicity of evolving expressions of
impressions, and of an extrinsic warp of multiple
and mutable circumstances. Actually, a fabric in constant
development and refinement, in many occasions ripped, or even,
totally shredded and started all over again, and, in brief, never
quite finished.
In what
concerns her style, Alexandra* defines herself, simply, as someone
who writes, draws, paints, takes photos and creates digital
compositions following no particular genre or school, and who
doesn't feel influenced by any specific literary or artistic trend. “I'm
just myself… a being composed of several facets in constant
metamorphosis, and a being who composes in direct reflection of such
constant metamorphosis within her several facets.”
Alexandra* is co-author (with Joseph*) of the newly released book
”Universes Beyond the Visible ~ Elements of Dream”,
featuring splendid colour photography by Joseph* and bilingual texts
of poetry and poetic prose by both authors, published in 2005 by
Inapa – Medialivros, SA (to find out more about this book,
please visit the OneLight*® Bookstore). This is the second
published collaboration of Joseph Randell Sherman (Joseph*) and
Alexandra*, who created the illustrations for the book of poetry
“Echoes From Within ~ A Book of Haiku”, by that author.
(Publish America, Baltimore – Maryland, E.U.A.,
2004).
Alexandra*'s
poetry and poetic prose have also been published in three editions (2006, 2007 and 2008) of “Antologia de Escritas”
(3rd Anthology of Escritas) – a
yearly compilation of poems and other writings by authors of Portuguese language,
coordinated by José Félix, as well as in the 1st and 2nd editions (2007 and 2008) of "Antologia Poética Amante das Leituras", coordinated by Ana Maria Costa and published by "Edium Editores".
To read poems and
other texts by this author in the English language, please visit her
page in the international literary forum
AuthorsDen:
Artwork and poetry in
English illustrated and formatted by Alexandra* will soon be
available in this website.
Joseph*
Joseph
Randell Sherman was born in Iowa, in the United States of America,
where he also lived until he emigrated to Portugal in the summer 2004.
Joseph’s
creativity was encouraged throughout his life by teachers, friends
and family. Beginning at the age of four, Joseph studied and
developed an appreciation for music, theatre and dance. Although he
wrote his very first poem in elementary school, Joseph really became
interested in poetry at the age of eighteen and discovered that it
was another enjoyable way in which he could express his creative
thoughts and feelings. Joseph’s earlier poetry has been included in
six different anthologies published in the United States.
Several years
later, Joseph had compiled enough of his own poems to publish two
books: a book of romantic poetry titled “Songs of Love”
and a book of haiku called “Echoes from Within”. Both
books were released by Publish America in 2004 and are available at the
OneLight*® Online
Bookstore.
“Echoes” was his first collaboration with Alexandra, who
created the illustrations for the book. Joseph and Alexandra soon
discovered that they had a special connection with each other and
the Arts. Then, Joseph decided it was time to begin a new life and
moved to Portugal to be with Alexandra so that they could pursue
their creative dreams together.
Only more recently it became
possible for Joseph* to begin exploring in depth an old passion,
which previous professional obligations had not allowed him to
pursue as he longed to – photography.
And he started
simply by capturing images of the wondrous creations of life that
surrounded him. He found ordinary things that most people would
merely pass by without noticing and made them extraordinary by
looking at them in a unique way that was beyond the purely visible.
Joseph*’s artistic goal in photography has been to help people to
actually “experience” these precious moments in time. While viewing
his photos, you can really imagine being a part of the picture
yourself.
Joseph*'s highly
successful photography collection
“Liquid Universe” was exhibited in Portugal, in
January 2005, and, between February and March 2006, one more
collection, “Blazing Universe”, was shown in the city
of Porto, at Galeria 153. Both collections were composed around the
theme “Elements”, frequently used not only in Joseph* 's photography,
but also in his poetry, through images which, in addition to Water
and Fire, depict Earth and Air.
These
“Elements”, endless in their substance and essence, would actually
end up coalescing in another creation, presented in December 2005
and officially released in January 2006 in Portugal: “Universes
Beyond the Visible ~ Elements of Dream”, a book of
photography by Joseph* with bilingual texts of poetry and poetic
prose by this author and Alexandra*,
published by Inapa –
Medialivros, SA (discover more about this book at the
OneLight*®
Bookstore).
However, Joseph’s
photography and literary creations are, like his curiosity and
fascination for all life within and beyond the scope of visibility,
a permanently evolving, boundless kaleidoscope of subjects and
concepts.
An enthusiastic devotee of
short poetic forms,
Joseph* recently developed an innovation, close to Haiku and Poetrix,
which he named "Três Linhas"
(literally, "three lines", in the Portuguese language) which has
been extraordinarily well received.
A
"Três Linhas"
is written, precisely, in three lines, which must all rime in
syllables of 5, 6 & 7 respectively, and must include poetic
imagery which celebrates some sort of connection between nature and
spirit. Here is an example:
Both Joseph*
's poetry and his photography have been distinguished with
significant international awards:
Poetry
Awards:
INTERNATIONAL
MARGARET REID TRADITIONAL VERSE CONTEST –
Series of
“8 Haiku” distinguished,
among thousands of entries from all over the world, with one of the 30 prizes
awarded by the judges of the 2006 edition of this contest. (awarded Haiku
have been published in the competition's anthology,
“Sailing in
the Mist of Time”,
soon to be
available at the OneLight*®
Bookstore - and also featured on a
special page in this website.
“8
Haiku by Joseph Randell Sherman”
“WRITERS BUREAU”
INTERNATIONAL POETRY CONTEST –
Poem
“Piano Concerto”
distinguished with the 5th prize, awarded by the judges of the 2006
edition of this contest. Read the awarded poem at the small library
below :
"JOSEPH*'S
CHOICES - POEMS WITH IMAGES" (PERIODICALLY
UPDATED - CLICK ON THE BUTTON)
Photography Awards:
PILSNER
URQUELL® INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2006:
-
.
Photo “Colonnade” – 3rd prize in category “Architecture”,
sub-category “Historic”;
-
.
Book “Universes Beyond the Visible ~ Elements of Dream” –
Honourable Mention in category “Photography Books”, sub-category
“Nature”;
-
.
Photo “Shadow Art” – Honourable Mention in category “Art”,
sub-category “Abstract”;
-
.
Photo “Aura of Soul” – Honourable Mention in category
“Nature”, sub-category “Other”.
-
VIEW AWARD WINNING PHOTOS
Joseph R.
Sherman is a member of the Photographic Society of America, and some
of his photographic works are featured in his online studio:
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