Jeff Oliver’s Strange Sounds

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If you are among those that others in our population might describe as being a misfit, or strange and misunderstood,  then you are among the exact readership that Jeff Oliver is hoping to reach with his poignant and gut-wrenching poetry.  It is in your face real and relatable to those of us that walk to the beat of a slightly different drum.

Real

Jeff was born in Baltimore,Maryland in 1982 but was brought up in southern Pennsylvania.  He now lives in western New York with his beautiful wife and soulmate, Jennie, who he credits as being his inspiration and reason to continue dreaming the dream he’s had since the age of 11; that of becoming a published author and presenting the square pegged into round holes of society with a voice that he hopes will meld with their own and speak to them from the depths of his soul.

His first published work is a compilation of his poetry whose honesty and uniqueness is wonderfully refreshing in an age of followers that don’t mind receiving a trophy for the dubious honor of only showing up.  This man actually creates.

You can find this debut work for sale at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon by clicking the respective links.

STRANGE SOUNDS at BARNES and NOBLE

Strange Sounds

STRANGE SOUNDS at AMAZON

The following is an excerpt from the book:

All She Ever Wanted

#JeffOliverPoet

She always had a self esteem
That she kept away from the world
She always had the biggest dreams
Of a special kind of girl
Always needed the support she craved
Never asking for a thing
With all the cards she has to play
The dealer’s always winning

All she ever wanted
Was the love that she lost
All she ever dreamed
Was to stop paying the cost
All she ever wanted
Was you

She was always there
All along
Playing over and over
Your favorite song
She never could really get away
From the burdons of her heart
Until the day came
When she took over the stars
Revealing every scar

All she ever wanted
Was the love that she lost
All she ever dreamed
Was to stop paying the cost
All she ever wanted
Was you

She never could really get away
From the burdons of her heart
Until the day came
When she took over the stars
Revealing every scar…

Jeff states- “This collection comes from the very depths of my soul, no storyline, just pure emotion. I just let the words flow through me, without thinking. One moment I write about love, the next could be Hell. The subjects in this book range from, love, hate, pain, beauty, monsters, and my views on racism. Racism is s very touchy subject for me, as you will read my explosive emotions. As you read each page, these words and images will take you on a journey you will never experience again.”

The images I’ve included with this post are from Jeff’s Facebook fan page. which is dedicated to his work.  You can find WORDS FROM THE SOUL by clicking that title.

Make sure that you visit and also, do each of your friends and family members a favor and share the link to the page with them so they can visit and enjoy his work as well. Don’t forget to smash the LIKE button for the page while you’re there!

I particularly love the next piece.

Jeff also says, “I am releasing a novel unlike anything else in February 2020, I have fused poetry into a horror story which I hope takes readers into a place they’ve never been. My book Strange Sounds was my debut poetry collection and it was a milestone in my writing career.

Jeff also has dabbled writing lyrics and with fellow band member, Melekai Joe, has created what I find to be a very interesting sound, which when matched with his haunting lyrics combines for an awesome listen.  Check it out below.

Suffice it to say that Jeff Oliver is a man of many talents and gifts and we’re lucky to have him creating at this time in  our lives when so much is fraught with dishonesty or hidden behind masks of what people think we want to see when actually all most people want, or at least I know I do, are a few Words From The Soul.

Don’t forget to stop by Barnes and Noble or Amazon and pick up a copy of Strange Sounds.

Artwork By Ble

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Nikos Blempoutzakis, whose artistic name is Ble, was born in a village in Hungary 43 years ago and started drawing when he was 18. He now lives in Athens, Greece with his wife Katherine, and their pet poodle.

"jack in the box"

“jack in the box” ~charcoal on paper ~42 x 30 cm

Jo and I first noticed Ble when he posted his work in the group Arts from the Darkness~Open Minds which is directly related to the Facebook Page for this website, also named Arts from the Darkness.

He states that he believes H.R. Giger is the reason he began drawing and this makes perfect sense as the group is dedicated mainly to art related to that type of genre, although Expressionism is Ble’s favorite. Other artists that have influenced him include Zdzisław Beksiński, Eric Lacombe, Alberto Giacometti, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, Francisco Goya, Francis Bacon, and Lucian Freud. With such a varied scope of interest, it’s no wonder that his own work is so confident and aptly captures such dark emotion.

born plugged

born plugged~charcoal on paper~29, 7x21cm

At present, he is only able to pursue his passion on a limited basis as he is also employed as a communications technician, although he yearns for the time when he will be able to give that up and concentrate solely on his art. He estimates that from beginning to finish, a piece can take as short a time as ten hours to complete or can take weeks to a month. Being able to dedicate his time entirely to his art would perhaps give added dimension as the time frames he must currently adhere to limits the time he has to devote himself to his preferred profession.

SHE

“SHE”~ charcoal on paper~ 42×29,7cm 16.5″x11.8”

He enjoys travel and being with his wife as they enjoy doing things together of mutual interest.  She is also an artist and that helps make their leisure time that much more enjoyable.

"ObscuraPoema"

“ObscuraPoema”~charcoal, carbon pencil, powder and pastel on fine paper~42×29,7cm

When asked what he thought he might be if not an artist, Ble answered that he thinks perhaps an inventor or a teacher. At 43 he considers himself to still be a beginning artist although he has been practicing his art for 25 years.

"face 5"

“face 5″~oil on paper~42×29,7cm

His advice to others who are new to the field or may be struggling is that they should seek professional instruction and take courses at an art school.

pareidolia XIV

pareidolia XIV~Charcoal on paper~ 21×29.7cm

He also advises that you should follow your dreams and not pay attention to those who tell you otherwise and to always be true to your self. Sage advice to anyone at any time.

"Un-winged and naked"

“Un-winged and naked”~ mixed media on grey toned paper~ 42×29,7cm 16.5″x11.8”

His favorite medium is charcoal.

"Feline"

“Feline”~watercolor on paper

His works have been shown for the last two years at the Aeon Gallery in Richmond, Illinois, located near Chicago here in the  U.S.

"cosmic birth"

“cosmic birth”~oil on stretched canvas~70 x 50 cm~27.5″ x 19.6”

He also is active on social media and you can find examples of his work at the following platforms, Instagram@ble_art, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/bleartwork/ and in his Etsy shop, https://etsy.me/2VohkEu.

"Phantom"

“Phantom”~charcoal on paper~50 x 70cm

If you would like to contact Ble for permission about using his work for any purpose you can do so by emailing him at nikosbleb@yahoo.gr.

The final piece I’m showing you is titled “Shame”,  and I have to say that it would also be a shame if you didn’t check out the sites I’ve linked to so you can experience more of his work.

shame

“shame”~ ~charcoal on paper~ 7~0 x 50cm

I was very surprised at the reasonable prices on his pieces that are for sale, both at Etsy and the Aeon gallery. Chances like this don’t come around that often from such a talented artist. INVEST!

Here We Go Again

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I’ve had this blog since 2005 and you would think I might actually have done something with it in almost 14 years, but something has always stopped me from posting regularly.  At one point it was cancer, but I licked that.  Usually, it’s because I’m doing stuff for other people and I become more involved in their projects than my own, but that’s OK because I love doing it or I wouldn’t. So I’m going to try this one more time.

I have no idea what I’m going to write about.  I’m not in this to make money and I have no “niche”, so no telling what you’ll see here.  One thing you won’t see are articles yanked from other sites and poorly rewritten or not altered at all.  I imagine there’ll be a shitload of opinion pieces, and, as my tagline reads, whatever blows my dress up.  SO- if you happen to stumble across this site, do me a favor and check back now and again.  I might write something that you’ll find interesting.  Wish me luck!

OH yeah! Music. You’ll probably find music posted quite often. 😉

Pissed Off

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Dear Folly,
I swear that there must be at least one retard on my end of the floor in my dorm. The reason that I say this is because either he is seriously stupid or he’s drunk when he goes to the bathroom to piss or both. I mean seriously, the guy(s) doesn’t know how to aim because piss is all over the toilet seat. He doesn’t even clean it up. It’s as if he thinks that he has a monopoly on the bathroom. Or he thinks that he has to piss all over the stall to mark his territory. I sometimes wish that I could take a test that when I pass I’ll be given a license to beat stupid people.
That will never happen because of the fact that it’s deemed socially unacceptable to beat stupid people. Plus even if I were given free rein on beating stupid people I would get nothing done since I live on a college campus and am surrounded by stupid people, which is a bit unfortunate since this is supposed to be a place of higher learning.
To say the least, I’m starting to get pissed off. Sorry for the bad pun.
Sincerely,
Pissed Off cos Everything’s Pissed On
Dear Pissed,
I must first and foremost tell you that I am a lady and I don’t know if my tender sensibilities will allow me to help you as this is such an indelicate subject. I shall do my best, however.
We first must hope that this individual is not actually a retard as you suggest seeing as you say this bathroom is in a dormitory on a college campus. I realize that Affirmative Action has significantly lowered the bar for admissions but I doubt that a retard would be able to step over it. I think we can safely say this person must be drunk.
In consulting experts in this arena, they all agree that they can’t manage to piss without hitting the toilet seat and surrounding environs after the 12th beer. It is nothing as primal as “marking territory” as according to The Pet Professor “A dog does not urinate with the intention of relaying any information or signaling anything to another animal (i.e., marking their territory), they are just answering the call of nature!!!”
So what have we learned? What you already knew. There’s a drunk pisser in your dorm, who is also a slob you’d like to beat the hell out of. How can Folly help? I can suggest having a urinal installed that looks like this:
I know of no man that wouldn’t be able to aim directly between those two lips. If you cannot persuade the powers that be to install such a urinal you could also try gluing hair around the edges of the toilet seat and obtain about the same results.
It is indeed unfortunate that you are surrounded by fools on a college campus but the idea you can’t take a test to obtain a license to beat stupid people is absurd. You could become a police officer in almost any small Southern town and have a field day beating stupid people.
Thus my advice to you is to manage to get that urinal installed (or save the trimmings from your next haircut) and change your courses to law enforcement. I hope this helps!
Sincerely Yours,