Art

Sad Princess

Sad Princess, an experimental short film by Yogi Taji, released April 1st, 2017.

Sad Princess is a eletric story of a soul who feels trapped in her life and finds a sweet escape within a lover.

Consumed every night by the shadows, always ready to fall over the edge, but after a self meditative sesh in the park it was fate to believe in the sweet smile that skated her way, reminding her light still existed. Since that destined encounter a dark fantasy was ignited with black flames by these lovers. After the innocence of late night city walks, after the romance of rooftop sunrises and after the passion of listening to favorite guitarists there came an. . . . end. Leaving Soul (Jaya Marie) to vent, to realize after this heartbreak strength will rise.

Watch below, a raw impromptu interview with Sad Princess, Jaya Marie.

Being a Sad Princess defines a certain “lifestyle” where being a pretty girl you sometimes get branded with a judgement that you have all the guys and you break hearts but that is not true. Yes, you may have a lot of guys but its because you feel for these guys, like sometimes when you reach a certain awareness you realize that its ok to have someone for a moment, to enjoy them for the time being that they were placed in your life. Like if you care then care, if you love then love. So with that mentality you do fall easily for love and find yourself with many lovers even if it wasn’t meant to last, understanding that it wont. It was meant for that moment in ya lives for both to learn & grow, but each time it ends with feelings of sadness and the loneliness returns. 

Having a self pride and self love doesn’t come easy but you have other souls who help you work through the feelings and I have been inspired by lady artists who express their vulnerability with love so beautifully, through music. These lioness are filled with love stories of happiness and misery, sharing pieces of their lives through words and sounds. I have been moved to share my story through visuals but had to pay homage to these Queens that evoke such deep emotions that only can be felt when you have loved & lost, which is all of us. So all my Sad Princesses enjoy the visuals, keep loving!

Below all four emotions, being expressed by @jayamarie91

 

BTS captured by Bonita Fresh.

Playlist curated by Ch0colategirlwonder for the vibes!

Soul Flower

Soul Flowers is the first visual album to come from S.O.U.L.

The films are based on the concepts of the Soul Flower which is the logo of Soul Dreamin and within that flower there are 7 components, which I call Soul Phases, that everyone experiences. It begins with the Seed, then the Stem, then Flower Bud, then Petals, then Sunrays, then Om symbol then Moon symbol.  Fun Fact: When I figured the deeper meaning behind by the logo, designed by Spal ,I also learned that the moon goes through 7 phases and recently remembered that there are 7 chakras.

The films or "tracks" in the album would be created around the concepts of these 7 phases and below are 6/7 which are expressed visually and so beautifully by the souls of

Jaya Marie

Say Sukii

Najja Safara

Bonita Fresh

Yogi Taji

The 1st phase is the Seed and represents the darkest times of the Soul. This is the times when we feel enclosed in darkness but eventually in that lonely state we find the light within and find the strength to grow.

That strength is represented by the 2nd phase, the Stem. It is what holds it all together and allows to us reach higher, striving towards love&light from Ra. Our Stem is rooted, grounded and supported by Nature, just how us Souls need to be replenished by Earthing to continue growing.

Once making it out the dark into the light, a flower bud is formed and that represents the wholeness that is reached, the 3rd phase. After experiencing the pain and gaining strength you start to realize the purpose of life which is to create and heal. You start to understand the cycles of life and how it is all part of a greater scale to just create, we are created to create. Even with knowing that things may happen where you start to break, you still are aware that the state of being whole is inside of you always, and always attainable.

The 4th phase is the petals and this is where you start to live life with a certain tenderness. Once you have experienced your personal struggles and sadness, you see the world differently. You gain an understanding that everyone goes through troubled times and everyone has a battle to fight and endure. With this knowledge you move differently and interact with people differently. You share kindness and softness, you are more gentle and understanding with lovers, strangers, family and friends. Your touch is a soft as petal, your energy as vibrant as the sun...

The 5th phase is the Sun Rays which represents love&light. Love&light is the ultimate state of being and a grand phase to ascend too because energy is light and light is love. You have experienced pain, gained strength, realized creation is you & you are whole regardless of these experiences, you gain compassion for life in general, and then you live as a being of vibrant energy, like the Sun. RA is life and gives knowledge and energy to us with its rays, as we move within a vessel we execute this same frequency and we now have within us space for the light&love to flourish.

Once flourished, the 6th phase is the Om symbol which represents the state of true awareness/consciousness and the state of dreamin/reality. Usually when we experience these moments in our lives we grow spiritually, pushing us to question life and find the deeper meanings of our purpose here. The wisdom learned from blossoming opens our Souls.

The 7th phase is the Moon. The moon, I believe is the total inclusion of Soul. The moon governs our emotions and with its energy reaches deep within us, moving the way we feel, think, act etc. Also I believe that every goddess is the moon, has the force of the moon and since we all come from She, then we all have that attribute. Also, when going through all the soul phase 1-6, and you reach the 7th phase,  you have bloomed and come into your knowing of who you are and there is no way to have reached that without going through the darkness and loneliness that is related to being or feeling like a moonchild. In this phase you have explored your light and the dark, you explored the mysteries within yourself, allowing your Soul to glow through, until we repeat the cycle. 

Visual Collab: Blossom

Visual Collab: Radiant Dream

Herbs&Mangoes Visual Collab.

Radiant Dream is a visual collaboration curated by photographers Ra (@radiantsun9) and Yogi (@souldreamin). 

To simply say, the message behind this creative project is to create and connect with fellow light beings and to remind Souls how Ra(sun) nurtures Mother Nature to grow which in turn helps your Soul to dream and grow, allowing I&I to appreciate the simplicity that life has to offer. 

Visual Series: Tainted Smile

Tainted Smile Series with the souls of NxkoLegacy.com, @theegokillas,

@senseiiispal, @saysukii, @jayamarie91, @souldreamin. 

Created with digital photos of damaged and worn family prints from the '60s and combined with modern day smiling portraits taken by Soul Dreamin.

It can be easily said that the concept behind this series is that everyone has a story and a past, you never really know what someone has been through or is going through especially when they wear a smile everyday but really underneath....

So with coming to understand that everyone has their own struggle and we all go through events in our lives that leave us scarred, damaged, and conditioned, I wanted to merge these bleeding ink prints that tell they own stories with the faces of stories I am familiar with.

These experiences can leave you with ghosts that haunt you and an imprint of demons that don't stop chasing you until...

Until you get through the darkness and come to light and understand that none of those experiences are you. They don't define you nor do they belong to you.

So Smile freely, smile happily, and yea, smile through it all.

Visual Set: Feliz Cumpleaños After Party

Feliz Cumpleaños After Party with the soul of yours truly and photographed by @indigenous_empress

I wanted to express my feelings of my childhood. 

Growing up in a Dominican family there were always parties to celebrate birthdays and with that comes a lot of fun and dancing but also a lot of  drinking and eventually drama.

I remember always being the one crying while my sisters held me. I remember always being took to the room but being curious creatures we will sneak out and catch a peek of drama which including knives, police, bottles and blood.

SOULSPAL

"Their collaborative work includes Soul Dreamin’s landscapes and city nooks overlaid with SpalSpal’s beautifully tattered line formations.  The different pockets of nature that she captures sets the tone for the characters that fall upon the page from SpalSpal’s mind. The two create magical mashups."

                                                     -UrbnFresh.com Art of Miami Series

Soul(Dreamin)Spal(S.pread P.eace A.nd L.ove) = Spread Peace and Love while livin' your Souls' Dream, is a concept made by photographer Yogi Taji and painter Mikal Perez. 

For more of his work, shop through his Art

Drawing on the Door Series, photographed 2016 in Wynwood. I followed Spal as he went around leaving pieces of his art.