ENKINDLER

She works from behind the scenes. Like a spider, she weaves her Web into digital dreams. She is capable of transforming letters and numbers into Art. Webmaster Kristine Cummins, is dedicated to excellence in all she creates. She is an artist that builds professional graphic designs in the Napa Valley.

Sometimes, she works well into the night to produce faultless coding only to wake up early to perfect designs. She is the most driven person I have met. Always educating herself, she learns the most current techniques. She is disciplined and she often works sixteen hour days. It is rare to see her far from her office.

Her clients get the best of her Artist eye as her first love was visual arts. She is a brilliant Watercolorist, her detail is mesmerizing. She has had several of her paintings used in books, CD covers, and theater. In 1987, she attended the first all-jury California State Summer School for the Arts. She graduated high school with honors and received scholarships. Kristine attended Plat College of Graphic & Computer Design in San Francisco, where she fulfilled two internships for newspapers during the big transition from “paste up” to full digital creation of publications in the early ’90s.

Her twenties were spent in Nevada churning out two publications per month for a publishing company. Deciding that publishing was not for her, she moved back to San Francisco where she landed a position contracting for Microsoft designing websites and created banner advertising for Bay Area merchants in 1998. For most, it was their first Web presence. With that post, she discovered that Web design was her forte and soon began working in the Silicon Valley during the dotcom boom as an Online Marketing Designer.

With her experience in web design and marketing, she decided to go into business for herself. Kristine soon became a highly sought after Webmaster. She has made over 135 unique websites, currently maintains over 75 websites, and has created roughly 1000 banner graphics for the Web. She is a member of the International Webmaster’s Association and continually updates her skills through online classes.

Kristine champions the arts as her start in life was painting and drawing as soon as she was able to hold a paint brush. She chose Arts Council Napa Valley, a non-profit organization, to partake in community service since 2003. She developed the Council’s first online Artist Registry, and in 2009, she designed one of the state’s most distinct Open Studios website. She was the mastermind behind Napa County’s Arts & Culture Event Calendar (NVarts.org ), helping to unite art lovers to events in the community.

Kristine is dedicated to promoting the arts in Napa Valley. She actively promotes and supports local arts organizations including Wandering Rose and Artist Tree, helping to transform downtown Napa into a more vibrant arts and cultural community. She has become a pillar in the arts community and most people wouldn’t even know it! She lives and breathes art.

Having felt she has finally reached a strong clientele base, she is determined to no longer be the mysterious Webmaster behind the scenes. When away from her desk, you will find her with her husband enjoying art events, she’ll be the one shooting photography just for fun.

Visit her website at www.KristineCummins.com.

admin Blog This!, Short Stories

Her

She stirs

I conjured her, I’m sure…

Her

She stirs

Her love is a blur….

Imagine a red cloud
of energy so pure
shaped magnetically with
a natural cure
placed unspoken
from lips unbroken
hands churning a spiral
heaven bound
Desires known from
destinations previously unbound
grace displaced gently in
proper measure
Wisdom from the womb confounds
such merciful treasure
guide my steps as I walk
with - her.

Thank you, for her.

For my wife Kristine

published in 2009 in December issue of

The Spinning Compass

A Wandering Rose publication

admin Lyrics, Poetry

Ever since Belizean Reggae Artist Ras Indio was a small child, he has had Reggae music in his consciousness. Son of a famous Belizean musician, he literally grew up underneath the keyboards in the family studio. With a keen ear for Reggae and a foundation in Belizean Punta rock, Dance Hall & Calypso, he has a sound that is very complete. He learned to play the drum as a child and started performing at local events throughout Belize at age 12 as the keyboardist in his father’s band, “TRIBAL VIBES”. Between the Ages of 15-21, he toured with the band internationally throughout Mexico, U.S., and Europe. After his first solo release, Ras Indio linked up with other talented musicians around Belmopan, Belize to form the “BRIMSTONE FAMILY”, a group with which he still performs. They are well known as the “Purest, Roots Reggae band in Belize”.

On his latest CD, “Jah Bless Us” he shows us why he is considered a Belizean Reggae Star. This production is Ras Indio’s coming of age recording. From The title track to the last song “Liberate”, JBU is a musical odyssey that is sure to become a modern classic. Twenty melodies that mirror the journey Ras Indio has loved and lived. This release is bursting with traditional African elements mixed with the hardcore sound of Roots Reggae, lyrically filled with inspirational messages of truth & righteousness.

“I do Music & Sing for the Love of doing it, not with an expectation of financial reward. My reward is in the Happiness & Joy I bring into people’s lives through their enjoyment of my music”. His songs are one with his soul and purpose. Tracks with a positive message of ONE LOVE amongst all mankind with equal rights & justice for all!

Ras Indio has catapulted to the top of the list of people artist want to work with. He has collaborated with many great Reggae artist including Lutan Fyah, Luciano, Chezidek, Turbulence and NORRISMAN. He is ready for prime time. His contagious charisma and exciting stage shows have made him a household name in Belize and soon around the world. He is a gentle spirit with a powerful presentation of passions.

I asked Ras what inspired his lyrics. He replied, “Sometimes it’s like lightening striking…as in the case of Jah Bless Us, it was like Jah was saying, “This is going to be the name of this recording” It must be!” “Of my Lyrics, I can only say they are truly divinely inspired.” He exclaims humbly, “Faith in the Most high is what has gotten me this far, knowing that with him all things are possible.”

I recently caught up with Ras Indio while he was recovering from a fractured foot injury while in Northern California. If you’ve seem his energetic and captivating performances you’d wonder why he doesn’t have more injuries, this one was he sustained while playing basketball. I want people to have fun, I have a serious message, but it doesn’t have to be stoic. People should feel free to jump dance and sing along, just as it is with raise. His liveliness on stage is amazing inspiring. Of his following he would say, “I want to generate supporters of my music, not just fans…fans just blow breezes, supporters ignite movements and create positive vibes wherever they go!”

Be sure to catch Ras Indio at a festival near you, he will begin the next stage of touring February 7, 2010
at “REGGAE CONCIOUSNESS” in Seattle Washington. Jah Bless Always! He is currently collaborating with DJ Supermario for select Dance Hall performances.

Article appears in reggaefestivalguide.com E guide 2009

admin Blog This!

“Women in Strange Places”

By Celeste Ramos

As I read the first of nine short stories from “Women in Strange Places” by Celeste Ramos, my mind focused like a falcon’s eye zeroing in on its prey. I began reading the pages faster and faster, searching for as many details as I could find to complete the mysterious algorithm that was unfolding through the characters’ narration. I didn’t foresee where it would end up, but was certain I’d follow it to its conclusion no matter the outcome. My heart began to race as my emotions began to identify with Margaret, the first woman who finds herself in a precarious and perilous situation.

“Panic bullies my memory. Where the hell am I? All I remember

is pulling the key out of the apartment door, opening it, and then

everything goes bright white like I’d opened the door into another

world.” Excerpt from “Women in Strange Places”

When asked Celeste why her characters often find themselves isolated and vulnerable situations. She said, “By placing the women in these situations… a lot ideas are perpetuated when you think you’re the “only one” who thinks or acts or feels a certain way.” “It also forces one to think about how they got into the dangerous position in the first place and what they may have done differently if they had been more aware of their surroundings.”

I met Celeste on Twitter in a writers group. She is from New York, but resides in San Francisco. She is the author of crime drama, suspense, and surrealist fiction. She is a public speaker and editor. I saw her perform in “The Vagina Monologues”, she has a wonderful voice. She is a sexual abuse survivor and activist. She is also spoken word artist.

Here is an example of her poetry.

“Behind Mirrors” by Celeste Ramos

Does none of this sound strange to you?

I told a friend the other day that the right one won’t feel intensity

only genuinely and only obsession with the best of intentions

I‘ve sat here in front of all these mirror silver, banging my head against them

The chards pushing through my fingers

And now look

and now see…

Isn’t it funny?

Yet perfect and clever in my own making that behind that mirror I found a brick wall

And like a super hero enraged my fist bled through pounding

Until beyond that wall

I found a tree growing

from stenching cement and it’s fruit makes a ray of my heart

10,0000 of my heart’s pumping the blood of your own.

When I asked her about her goals, she responded, “My long term plan is to travel and raise awareness to under served people in all parts of the world, particularly families and lone children struggling with AIDS and repercussions of war. My projects are to write books and documentaries that not only inform people all over the world about the problems in “3rd world” and under served nations, but to also teach empowerment and awareness to the people struggling. I want to teach people that they have choices, ownership of and potential and in their lives.”

By purchasing her book you are helping raise money for her cause. Here is a link to her You Tube postings that you may find interesting; http://www.youtube.com/user/womeninstrangeplaces

admin Blog This!, Short Stories