1986: the beginnings of Conscious World Art

In June 1978 when I was in Santa Fe NM visiting friends Pasha Buck and Amelia Hartzel I first encountered the Creed of the Magi (quoted in full at the end of this posting) which immediately struck a responsive chord in me. Once back in NYC I was inspired to create a b&w poster incorporating the text
for which I also penned the calligraphy, combining it with a 9″-square work of art done in ink using both a triple-0 Rapidograph pen and a brush. This early version of the poster is shown above; at left is the detail of the art. While in NYC I had a hundred copies of the poster printed in an 11″ x 14″ format on four different tones of off-white card-stock, as well as a reduced 8-1/2″ x 11″ version on bond paper which were used as envelope stuffers by one of my clients. However I didn’t market either version well, instead giving copies away primarily to friends. Soon after moving to Philadelphia in 1986, my teacher JMH recommended that I consider republishing the poster with more serious intent to sell, advice which I wisely chose to follow. But first I needed a name for this budding enterprise which I was being encouraged to start. After tossing around several possibilities, I came up with two variations using my initials AWC that expressed my aspirations as an artist – World Conscious Art or Conscious World Art. JMH choose the second; thus I was off on a new business venture of my own.

For the initial run I printed 500 copies on 11″ x 14″ off-white card stock which I first marketed to my former employer Samuel Weiser Inc. who agreed to distribute copies to their book trade. Later in the fall of 1986 I started selling copies at the Garland of Letters on South Street in Philadelphia. It took almost eight years, but eventually all five hundred copies sold, so I decided to republish. This time however I wanted to improve the overall quality of the poster by typesetting the copy, rather than maintaining my calligraphy which was looking rather quaint by this time. The latter typeset version of the poster, published in 1994 is seen above. I still have copies available at $10 each; as well as a few copies at $20 each of the original poster, shown at the top of this posting, which incorporates my calligraphy, the naif charm of which increases the more I look at it these days.

“I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon upon the mysteries of the waters, I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the
universe. From me all things proceed and unto me they must return. Let my worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And you who seek to know me, know that the seeking and
yearning will avail you not unless you know the Mystery: for it that which you seek you find not within yourself, you will never find it without. For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.”