Noos-letter - Featured Artist: James "Seamus" Hiestand

[Photo of Artist] www.DreamScapesComeTrue.com

What is your artform and/or vision?

My artform is to explore the rhythms of nature and the nature of rhythms. There are two primary ways that I express this passion. First, I create magical landscapes and water features, and second, I use hand drumming & percussion to manifest healing rhythms. Landscaping has taught me to patiently pay attention to the space as a project unfolds. This allows me to organically add elements to an environment that would have never been thought of when originally designing it. That’s why my company is called DreamScapes, because I incorporate the dreaming process into my art. My goal is to create landscapes that look and feel totally natural, like they have always been there. My vision is to create inspiring spaces where people learn to ‘listen and speak to nature with their hearts’.

With drumming, I have learned how to play with time, to speed it up, slow it down or turn it inside out. Whenever I drum for people, I literally have no idea what rhythm will come out of me, or how it will be expressed until the instant it happens! One secret I have learned is that the space in between beats is as important as the beats themselves. I describe what I do most succinctly in 3 lines with 8 syllables each:

Percussive Trance Navigation
Ritual Rhythmic Reflection
SynchronoSonic Beat Surfing

What other artists inspire you?

Jose Arguelles (Valum Votan) & Stephanie South (Red Queen) top my list. The example that Votan set is both inspiring and astounding, how he integrated art into every aspect of his life. Red Queen also models this for me in her unique creative ways. My acting teacher Gene Bua and his wife Toni Bua have also had a huge inspirational impact on my life. I feel deepest gratitude for these inspirational role models and spiritual friends. In the end, nature is my primary muse and inspiration. From the way water and stone make light dance and sing, to the way trees and animals share their magic secrets with those who take the time to listen with their hearts.

What does the phrase "Time is Art" mean to you?

It means that Time itself is the Greatest Artist, weaving and unfolding not only our lives, but all life with incomprehensible precision. There are natural cycles within cycles that need to be tuned in to in order for us to realize our personal and collective synchronicity and serendipity.