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- Newsletter #004
Hello, everyone! So... Last week's newsletter was a problem. It was delayed due to an injury on my shoulder, but that's not important. To some degree this can be considered a rant, but if you trust me and read to the end, you will be satisfied. I promise it won't end on a sad note. You see, there's a part of #theMadness that I love very much and it's what I like to call "Shared Madness". This refers to those moments in social media where I would bring forward some of my local colleagues and their works to my audience. Since art and alternative culture in the Dominican Republic are not really given the deserved credit, I would take it upon myself to share the pieces of my fellow artists and their upcoming events. It may not have been much but it was something. Well, last week's newsletter was going to implement said dynamics to the newsletters and, aside of sharing where things are within this little bubble of mine, I was going to share some interesting events and art shows happening in the island that week. But then the most unfortunate yet not surprising thing happened. Someone decided that "art" was not something this country needed. Let me explain... From the 19th to the 28th of July, "Areyto Antillano" was happening in the city of Santo Domingo. A group of amazing muralists and graffiti artists representing various latino countries had prepared a show of wonderful works. These pieces brought to the light the marvelous heritage that is shared by these artist. A remembrance of the roots that have been neglected and buried by colonialism and its consequences. One of the many pieces created for this show was a mural gifted to the city by all the artists in unison. Such a beautiful piece gave the community something to look up to and be grateful for, which was expressed to the artists by the locals. However, not even a week later, a video started circulating of a man repainting the walls to black. The outrage of the artistic community was "felt" through repostings of the video and expressions of disgust. This is not just a bad image internationally, but it really shows the position of this country towards supporting artists and their projects. And the ugly part is that this is not an isolated event. This has been a constant for a few decades now. It may be just me, but something happened in the 90's in this country and many cultural and artistic opportunities started to disappear. When it comes to murals, in my young life and to my understanding, the first one to go was in 2003 when Molinos Dominicanos erased a Venezuelan artist mural that was almost a national patrimony at that point. Then came the UTESA's "Obreros Pintando Nubes" situation, which was an iconic mural in the city of Santo Domingo. While it is true that the mural was in disrepair, instead of investing in a process of restoration to preserve its legacy, they just chose to completely erase the piece. This even led to legal action due to the copyright of the piece and what was agreed upon before its creation. This kind of infringement against the artistic community can be found all over the country, with examples in Santiago , Puerto Plata , Nagua , Jarabacoa , Elias Piña and sadly many, many more... Cases like the one in Santiago are baffling, where the murals in question belonged to the School of Fine Arts. Or in Nagua, where the artists were literally called "Satanic" by the media, after a local pastor took it upon himself to spout ignorant rhetoric about the art, to then eliminate one of the murals, in less than 10 hours of its creation!! It is certainly overwhelming, the silence from the authorities in these cases. Even louder is the effort in our society to make ignorance the norm. An interesting project to destroy our nation and to silence the voice of the artists, specially those who question the status quo. Some have even called it a "Cultural War" or more like a war against culture. But at the same time, many Dominican artists reach center stage in various other countries like Spain, the US, Argentina, Germany, South Korea, and oh! So many more. I guess that old phrase isn't wrong after all and "No one is a prophet in their own land". In some ways it feels like this society thinks its people are trash until someone else says otherwise... The reality is a harsh lie, but it is our reality. That means we have our work cut out for us artists. It is now, more than ever, that we need to really take this narrative and create. Create to express the truth behind this lie, to break the eggshell minds and fill them with bliss and knowledge, to really question the status quo. That's why we keep working, that's why more show are happening, and why there's a plethora of poets, painters, dancers, actors, designers, graffiti artists, musicians, even circus acts! Because we all still believe in the Power of Creation, we understand that the calling is real and the message is there for us to re-interpret and share with a world that insists on being blindfolded. We are what's left after they've burned all the books. We are the ones who will re-write them all. And we don't care if it's going to be within the DR's boundaries or not, with or without the support of society, the government, or even the people. Our voices are timeless and their echo is eternal. Anyways! Next week we'll get back to our regular programing and the new section of "Shared Madness" will be then introduced properly. Hope your week is productive and filled with success. Irie bless!
- Newsletter #003
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the 3rd edition of this weekly Newsletter. Got a couple updates to share today with you all. So sit back, relax and enjoy the read! Have you ever really seen the passing of time manifested in front of you? When we dedicate time to any particular endeavor, sometimes we don't realize the passing of it or even the actual results of our efforts. That being said, last week I received copies of my latest books and noticed that for the first time I have copies of all my published books in one single place. I first started writing while in high school. It used to be mostly poetry and lyrics for the hardcore band I was a part of back then. Then, one evening, someone told me I should write a book. I may have taken the advice to much to heart, but I don't see that as a problem. To think that since 2010 I've published 8 books total, that's kind of a flex, honestly. Go check them out at the Books section of theMadness . I can tell you, however, that I'm not done at all. As a matter in fact, there is one book that is certain to release by this October (fingers crossed), and I'd like to share with you all this image from it. This will be the front cover illustration for "7531". Eight short stories that will mess with your head, just how I like it. Also, I'd like to share that there's another project in the horizon. We still don't have a release date but we're working hard on what I like to call "Project Rebirth". I won't give you any spoilers, but it is something special and certainly important in my professional life. Soon I'll bring you more updates on that. On another note, many new items have been added to the merch side of the store. Check out these new t-shirts! These are all original designs and the quality of the prints and fabric is top notch. I'll keep making more of these for y'all to enjoy. Let me know down in the comments what you think of these, and if you have any suggestions for other designs, feel free to drop them there too. Click on the t-shirt to see it closer! There are many more waiting for you at theStore . Go check them out! Remember that you can be a part of theFamily by joining our community for Free! That way you can share all the love you have for the arts and crafts world with other likeminded art-lovers like yourself. Also, being a part of our community comes with many perks and advantages within #theMadness. Anyway, that's all for today, so have a wonderful week, and may all your plans move positively towards satisfactory results. Irie bless!
- Newsletter #002
Hello, everyone! This past week has been filled with work. Things moving things forward. All these "things" in the oven are really making my kitchen smell great, to be honest. But non of it is ready for any sort of preamp, so let's try something... Today I’d like to take some time to introduce the team and also the Madness. This should be easy... Hello! I am Logan, the team. Logan has many sides to him and they all work together to bring all the Madness he can muster for your experiencing pleasure. But, what is the Madness? you ask. Simple! The combination of the creative and the logical to make beautiful illogicals, the balance between the brain's hemispheres and the peace that comes with it. It is swimming confidently against the current with a storm on the horizon, and nonchalantly making it to the other side in time for tea. It is how I refer to the crazy ideas that lead to beautiful results. Long story short, #theMadness is everything you will find within this site. It is truly a pleasure to have this space for all of you to mingle and enjoy. And there are many things to see and spots to visit. You see, the site is designed with you in mind, so your experience is smooth and exciting. Let me give you a small tour. On arrival, you are greeted with the latest video in a long playlist of the works I create. The books, the Illustrations, the new collections, the exclusive merch and much more. Accompanying the playlist you will also find the newest article/blogpost, so you can jump right into it and read my latest rambles. The menu is vast but resumed. Each section is well organized for easy browsing, with theMadman encompassing the Services, Courses, Contact and Stones, while in theMadness you have Books, Images and Jewelry. But there are many other pages of interest. Like Ookami with the Webcomic and the 8bit-Music. There's also theFamily, your entrance to our small but tight community of creators, art lovers, thinkers and believers of theMadness. You'll have your own dedicated profile, manage your orders, get special deals and so much more. Just like every other area, the member's only areas have been optimized so that it is comfortable to browse on a computer as well as on your mobile phone. Within theStore you'll find the most exclusive pieces from my collections, the original illustrations from my books, prints of those illustrations and other merch items. I'm certain you'll find something in there that will surprise you. For example, did you know I have quality shoes with original designs for sale? How about the original t-shirts? The embroidered patches? Go and check them out! The Books are sold on Amazon and other bookstores. Check out the dedicated area for them to know where can you find them. While newslettering isn’t exactly my forte, I must admit I’m having fun with this process. It's not easy, but to some degree it is rewarding. This week's newsletter is coming out a bit late in the day, but that's just how it is sometimes. As I continue to curate content, the format of the newsletter will change accordingly. In the meantime, thank you for reading this far. Remember to leave your thoughts down in the comments and stay tuned for more Madness to come. Irie bless!
- Newsletter #001
Hi! Welcome to the first of our new (hopefully weekly, but most likely by-weekly) Newsletter. This is a way to really force myself to give you updates on the projects and processes I'm going through with #theMadness that we all love so much. These will differ from other posts in that these will cover many topics of interest and give you a much clearer perspective on where we are in terms of work. So, after a lot of backstage work and preparation, I can finally say that The Community is Open . What does that mean? For many years I've called you Madness Lovers, but now you actually have a chance to "Join the Family, earn Crystals and turn them into Rewards". With every dollar you spend you get 1 Crystal. Accumulate Crystals to get rewards like X% off from your order, free gifts, free classes and more! Make sure to add your birthdate to your account for a gift! I will continue to add more rewards over time. All for your enjoyment. Also by joining the community you get access to our exclusive forum, only for Madness Lovers. There you can stay in touch with your fellow Mad Ones, share your art or the art you admire. Just remember to always be respectful when posting or commenting. If you joined the old community anytime before May 2024, you might want to sign up again, as that old prospect is no more. On another note, I am currently working on the illustrations of my next independent publishing. It is scheduled to be released in October this year. It is called " 7531 " and it's a short stories book with an interesting twist to it. As I progress with the Illustrations, I'll share some of them with you all. Continuing on the literary topic, I've chosen to do something interesting with the poetry published in my book " Dimensional ". I'm going to be making a couple spoken poetry albums and recording some footage for y'all to ravel on. But at this point it's just an idea that needs polishing in the execution. So as it evolves, you will be on the know. Thus far this is what we have, so remember to stay tuned for the next newsletter or regular blog post for that matter. We're determined to bringing this community together and hope you can find a worthy tribe among us. JOIN ! This is Logan, signing out and wishing you a wonderful week. Irie bless!
- New book out now!
This is just to let you know, my dearest Madness lovers, that Ookami and the New Dawn, is now out and available on Amazon and Ubuy, and soon more retailers will join. Remember to leave a review after reading through it. I'm certain it will be of your pleasure and enjoyment. The website has been updated to reflect this new addition to the catalog. I am very happy that this new book is out now, and it is certainly a pleasure to share it with you all. Irie Bless!
- The Land of the Rising Sun
I'm back at the workshop, making some madness for y'all to enjoy. However, the last two weeks of April, I was fortunate enough to be part of the Fusion Artistic Residency 2024 in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun. While I would love to talk about all the beautiful things seen, the wonderful people encountered, the marvelous places visited, I rather do a small photo dump of some of the work done and link you to a 6 minute video that recaps the emotions of the trip. So, without further ado, here's what Japan had to offer. And here's the link to the video. Irie bless!
- The Path of Time
Since I arrived from Japan, things have been hectic. A lot of madness in the works that I will soon be sharing with you all. I still wish to share just a bit of what is going on right now. First off, June 6, Ookami and the New Dawn was bound to come out as a hard cover graphic novel, printed on beautiful quality full color glossy paper. But Amazon decided to delay the release, so when it does come out, y'all will be the first to know. The work with my editor has gone pretty far, and I've done two new illustrations for the re-publishing of Gaia 0. I have the new collection of necklaces on hold but soon will retake the threads and knots. I'm also working on the illustrations for a short stories book coming out in October. So, as you can see, I've been really busy. But as I ride this wave, I'm here to share the illustrations created during the Fusion Japan 2024 Residency. This is called "Jikan no Michi wa Sentakudearu", meaning "The Path of Time is a Choice". It is a 4-part illustration that visits the view of the city of Kaga from afar. It depicts the Past, the Present and 2 possible futures, a Dystopia and a Utopia. These are done in charcoal on white paper. Enjoy! Irie Bless! Jikan no Michi wa Sentakudearu
- The New Dawn, a different kind of graphic novel
It's funny to consider that my first actual graphic novel was done through such unconventional means. To think that I didn't draw a single frame in the entire book is baffling to me. But not having drawn it doesn't change the fact that I created every single frame, manipulated the stage to have every picture be perfect and to really bring out the personalities of the characters, all while dealing with the limitations of hardware and software. It surely makes for a different kind of graphic novel, somewhere fresh to have your mind travel to. The release was bound for June 6th, but it was delayed until this upcoming June 20th. I had to ensure the quality of the released product, and I'm well beyond satisfied with the final result. This is certainly the closing of a chapter in my life, but also the first steps into something interesting. I don't know how long it'll take to really complete the whole trilogy but it will surely be a work of love and passion. It's also interesting to consider that I'm using "recycled" characters... At this point, it is already a spoiler on its own, but I just love the possibility to spend more time with these characters and have them interact in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible. To me, this is healing a great deal. It is the stepping stone to a deeper concept, a value that had eroded but is now restored and represented. It fills me with joy to see this through and to remember the struggle, the reason why this happened the way it did, the root, the teaching. Let us rejoice together :) Anyway, in case you're curious, it is with great pleasure that I invite you to read the webcomic, if you want to have at it before the book comes out. It is HERE for free, and if you enjoy it, consider purchasing the Hardcover Graphic Novel and add it to your collections, my dear madness philofiles. Irie bless!
- The Madness, Today
So, here's a bit of the Madness, today. I've been working on new pieces lately, and it's been a lot of fun. The new collection is called "Triads", however it is still a work in progress. It will be comprised of nine necklaces divided in 3 sub-collections, all with raw Larimar stones for maximum impact. Five of them are ready for some loving while I work on the last four. But before I share the images of the ones already done, I wanted to share some news. You see, I will be joining a group of very talented artists on a residency program in Japan. I am now part of the Fusion family of artists. This is a dream come true for me, and though I'm not much of a pictures kind of guy, I'll try to take a few to share with y'all. So for the remainder of April, I will be enjoying the creative process in the land of the rising sun. To learn more about it and meet the other artists, visit THIS website. And now, for the main event, here are the pictures of the 5 pieces from the new collection.
- New Collections!
So, as promised, here are the news about the new collections being worked on. For the past couple of months, a lot of design work has been done here at theMadness. While I'm still working on the rest of the collections, three of them are ready to be shared. You can check them out with more detail at the Portfolio area of the website, or at the Store. But here's the TLDR on them. In the Vines These 5 pieces are inspired (like most of my work) by nature and its grasp on our reality. The stones are (from left to right) Sodalite, Prehnite, Malachite, Lepidolite and Picture Jasper. The common element in their design is the single vine going around each stone with a couple green leafs, meant to represent that side of nature that is always around us. The next element they share is how each pendant is connected to the neck-string, using a spiral pattern, sharing the color of the stones themselves. Threaded This collection came about from the idea of creating designs meant for wire wrapping and then applying them to thread. The process was quite interesting, considering that I didn't have a thread thin enough to emulate the designs properly. To solve this issue, the regular 1mm Linhasita thread that I regularly use was divided in half, allowing for smaller and more delicate designs. The four chosen Larimar cabochons are truly accentuated by the design around them. I love them, what do you think? Coral Duet When our world evolves, things happen that sometimes we rather ignore. That idea happens in the social level as well as the personal level. One way to represent this concept is mixing deep sea and dry land, considering that what was once underwater for thousands of years is now under our feet as we walk on it. I convey this idea by mixing Coral with vines, leafs and cocoon-like settings for the stones. The result speaks for itself. And yes, it seems like I have a thing for spirals, as well as for nature. I am currently working on five more collections, mostly Larimar stones, yet other stones have already been put aside for future designs and works. Most of them are necklaces, but I do have a few bracelets in the plans. I just have to get around to making them, even though I have found comfort in making neck pieces. There is a lot going on here at the workshop. From new books and stories, collaborations, and even some surprises I rather not spoil just yet. More greatness to come your way so stay tuned for news and updates on these matters. Irie bless!
- The Poetic Endeavor
On December 23rd, 2023, I published "Twenty-One Murders", a suspense short novel with an intense aim towards mental health and self discovery. Three days ago, on February 10th, 2024, I published "Dimensional", known to me as "the Poetic Endeavor" (I like to give weird names to my books sometimes...). It's a poetry compilation with a curated collection of the past 23 years. It is certainly a pleasure for me to finally put these works out there for everyone to enjoy. In these poems you can find my evolution as a person. The many paths I've taken to define who I am, even if they're not in a chronological order. What it does have is a very interesting presentation of the works. It plays with the concept of duality through two main languages, plus a few trilingual pieces, to bring about confusion and critical thought. The truth is that without the poetic endeavor, my evolution as a writer would have never happened. It is through poetry that I play the game of cat and mouse with my thoughts. With new and creative ways to express myself and describe my environment, I bring my truth to live through prose and rhyme. In other news, I also have a few new macramé collections in the works. Beautiful new pieces with great stones and unique designs. I'll be soon releasing some of them so, stay tuned for those. I might bring before and after pictures, but not so much from in between... we'll see. This 2024 will have a lot of new things going on. I have a few surprises, plus a couple good news that I rather wait until they materialize before making any announcements for. But know that theMadness is manifesting proper. Sometimes, good things do happen. Irie bless!
- Long overdue news update
Welcome to this Holiday Extravaganza! For the past 8 months I've been silently working on my next projects. It has been a long period of hard work and dedication towards the goal in sight. Today I can gladly share where these projects stand, and it's a pleasure to claim solid ground. So here's your news update. With great pride I hereby announce that the Holiday season will see the official independent release of my newest short novel "Twenty-One Murders" (get it now Here!). A psychological suspense story with an interesting approach to storytelling. It deals with issues such as mental health and self discovery, and leaves the reader with interesting questions about the reality of life. I hope y'all can appreciate the madness within this project and embrace the journey with its main character. Can't wait to read your feedback! You can also check out the illustrations here. Regarding the other projects, I am still trying to figure out how to bypass some restrictions in order to publish one of my most creative books so far, or so I'd like to believe. A poetry compilation with a very unique take on presentation. My hope is to be able to release it by February 2024, but if the odds wind up being to complex, be ready for a double feature. Then there's also a hardcover print version of the entire Volume One of the Ookami webcomic. All six chapters in one beautiful graphic novel, very much dressed to impress. That one is coming out Summer 2024. With regards of Volume 2 of the Ookami webcomic, after a technical issue with one of the external ssd's that resulted in the loss of a lot of work, this particular project remains on the back burner. I was pushed way back by that mishap, and now I need to practically start over from scratch. The third album is even further away. Still both projects remain in my to-do list, so worry not, their time will come. Lastly around the final quarter of the year we'll have the release of "7531", the cherry. A book with 8 short stories that play very deeply with the concepts of Death, Life and Acceptance. This one's an interesting project for me. It is the first time I use AI as a reference tool for the illustrations, and it has shown promissing results. Out of fear of spoiling anything, I will keep the details, but do know that, well, this one's a doozy! In any case, though you may hear a silence or see a long hiatus, know that I'm always here, always working towards the next projects, may they be literary and/or artisanal. So thank you for your patience and love. It is very much appreciated. 'Til next time, and here's to hoping that it doesn't take forever for me to give you another update :p Enjoy the festivities and remember that there is always room for love. Irie bless!












