Inside Look At My Touch Designer GLSL Workbench

Here's an inside look at my GLSL pattern processing network developed under Touch Designer to process video clips. Touch Designer is a visual creation interface where components of various sorts are connected together to perform operations. On the left side of the screen, four GLSL patterning components (that I developed with Claude AI) are feeding patterns into various levels of compositing and  HSV manipulation. At the bottom of the screen, a video file is being played into the system. (There are various nodes that I use to adjust resolution, aspect, and format - portrait or landscape - of the incoming video clip.) After that, there are two keying pathways (chroma or luma) which feed thru their own set of signal manipulations. On the right are the final compositing and mixing stages, as well as the record function and the output to second monitor window. 

Note that the configuration is intended to be dynamic with the ability to disconnect, insert, connect and reconnect various nodes as desired before recording a final processed output.

Network Processing A Dark Goddess Clip
(full clip posted previously below)

Every node in the network has optional control settings to fine tune functionality. Below are two control panels for one other the GLSL components I created. 

Pattern Controls

Colorizer Controls

Psychedelic Shaders - Nudes

Here are a few full length nudes (9:16 aspect ratio) processed with multi-layered compositing from several of the Touch Designer-based GLSL psychedelic pattern generators I've been developing.

Psychedelic Shaders - More Goddess Samples

Here are a few more samples of multi-layered compositing from several of the Touch Designer-based GLSL psychedelic pattern generators I've been developing.

Psychedelic Shaders - Dark Goddess

Here are more samples of multi-layered compositing from several of the Touch Designer-based GLSL psychedelic pattern generators. 

 

 

 

 

 

Psychedelic Shaders - Goddesses

Here are more samples of multi-layered compositing from several of the Touch Designer-based GLSL psychedelic pattern generators.

Psychedelic Shaders - More Examples With Complex Layering

Here are samples of multi-layered compositing from several of the Touch Designer-based GLSL psychedelic pattern generators used in combination.

Audacity Processing - pt. 2

Here are some sample processed frames using a Kali image (the final image below is the input source).

Audacity Processing

Taking some time to play around with glitch processing via Audacity audio editor, importing .bmp, .jpg, and ,tif files (as raw data), manipulating them with filters, then saving stuff back out (as "raw" data) once again. I find .jpgs are not worth the hassle and really don't achieve much more than linear runs of pixels or complete noise. Of the other two formats, I like the some of the complex RGB spacial layering effects when applied to .tif files that have been saved as planar data (RRRGGGBBB).

Here are two examples of .gif animations built up out of processed frames.

Pareidolia - seeing things in the sky

 

Angry Sky Goddess

I came across another one of my Pareidolia videos - can't recall exactly how I created this. Anyway, the face is from a Marilyn Monroe video found somewhere on the web. 

When I get a chance, I'll post a few more Pareidolia videos.

Forest Goddess Redux

Some more plays on the Forest Goddess / Forest Spirit theme - the hidden, sensed, almost seen:

Forest Goddess Variations

My recent Pachamama series got me interested in playing around more with the emergence of a figure from (within) the positive space of a veil of leaves. Here is a selection of Forest Goddess image variations including some calling upon her guise as animal spirit totem.

But a few of the Goddess variations I played with stand out in terms of 'hidden mystery' and embodied forest spirit energy. Check these out:

Dakini Redux

Early in December I had my 60th birthday. One thought that bothered me concerned what would happen to my artwork when I'm dead and gone? Would anyone really be able to trundle through endless directories of work on my computer to discover everything? True, a lot of stuff is posted on my various websites, but... So, over the holidays I printed out a bunch of my images and organized them into presentation binders.

Well, some older images bothered me greatly and I decided to go back in to rework them. Below is an example of the before and after state of one of my Dakini images. By removing a lot of the background (photo of a golden geometric pattern from a ornamental door) and remixing the figure's layers, I think the newest version is much more dynamic and allows the Dakini figure to be read better.

Dakini "before"

Dakini "after"

Planetary Mandala

I recently started work on a new series the I have been thinking of as planetary Goddess mandalas. I suppose this might seem astrologically influenced, but not exactly. More shamanically attuned / intended.

The original notion was to work with a double exposure technique using the Goddess bodies overlaid by sacred flowers, tree branches and leaf textures. In the heart of each mandala appears the particular astronomical body. The Goddesses hold court in each image - 4 in the Solar mandala, 3 in the Gaian mandala, 2 in the Lunar mandala, and 1 in the Venusian mandala. Additionally, various associated birds and power animals appear (Earth -> owl, Moon -> hummingbird, Sun -> hawk, Venus -> bat and rattlesnake).

Gaian Goddess Mandala

Lunar Goddess Mandala

Solar Goddess Mandala

Venusian Goddess Mandala

These pieces are current on view in the "Double Exposure" exhibit at the Blue Door Gallery in Yonkers thru April 27th. www.bluedoorgallery.org

Green Tara Visualization

It's taken me quite a bit of time to finish this series of images for the Tara Self-generation visualization practice. (I took the empowerment over a year ago...) In order to simply present the sequence, I decided to put together a gif animation combining the images with associated textual instructions.

The sequence is based upon my notes from the original empowerment ceremony as well as study of the booklet "The Yoga of Enlightened Mother Arya Tara" from Tharpa Publications. The images present the core sequence - including a "no self" meditation practice at the end, but excluding the ceremony's typical framing prayers and offerings.

Green Tara Visualization

Triptychs!!!

I was rummaging around some work from a few years ago and decided that I wanted to see if it might be interesting to combine a few pieces into triptychs panels. Below are 2 of the resulting compositions. What do you think? The results are surprisingly powerful! Definitely something to explore more...

Durga Altar Triptych ©2012

Lady One Death Yantra Triptych ©2012

CIrcle of Spirits

I just completed a new piece based upon journey imagery that I received a week ago. The work combines three sources of guidance from three different realms - the sky world, the tree world, and the ocean world.

CIrcle of the Spirits

In the nighttime sky, the Pleiades star cluster is overlaid with a constellation of an owl carrying a rattlesnake in its beak. (The rattle is the Mayan symbol of the Pleiades). The ocean quadrant is populated by whale and dolphins singing song lines of the deep (deep ocean, deep time). The forest quadrant presents a cathedral of redwood trees, the spirits of which are gathering in a ritual circle (called forth by Lady One Death, the great dark spirit of nature).

Goddesses of the Elements

This is the second series of images that I discovered in my dusty digital closet. The Elemental Goddess panels were created in 2004.

Aether

Air

Earth

Fire

Water

Goddess Creation Panels

Going thru my image closet... Came across some stuff from 2004 that I thought I would share. This is an early set of mandalas - a five part series of Goddess Creation panels.

Birthing the World of Forms

Birthing the World of Plants

Birthing the World of Animals

Birthing the World of Frequency Keepers

Birthing the World of Ancestors

The Many Faces of the Goddess

from: http://www.OriginoftheWord.com ~ Sacred Journeys Within.

Healing Altar Installation

Now showing at The Blue Door Gallery's "Arts for Healing" exhibition, July 1st - August 1st.Opening Reception Wednesday, July 1st 4pm-8pm. 13 Riverdale Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701. Gallery Hours: Wednesday 12-5pm, Thursday 12-5pm, Friday 2-7pm, Saturday 12-5pm. For more information: 914-375-5100

Healing Altar - M.Gilliland ©2009

The Healing Altar installation is intended to bring needed healing to our selves, our loved ones, our community, our nation and our planet. Gallery visitors are invited to write offerings on joss paper and then place them into a prayer box, as well as to place other offerings (stones, candles, incense, flowers, herbs, photos, etc.) onto the altar itself. Once a week – on Saturday afternoon, the artist will come to the altar to bring new flowers and light incense offerings, to pray for peace and well-being, and to burn (offer up) the written prayers left by gallery visitors.

About this piece: the two cut-out side panels depict the artist as embodying a Buddha with hands held in the gesture of prayer and gratitude – Namasté. This is a form of the meditation of Tibetan Buddhist deity self-visualization practice - training for a compassionate mind and heart. The central panel depicts the figure of a dancing Black Dakini – a protective female aspect of nature embodying raw energies of creation and destruction – the cycles of life. Her flaming aura shows both purity of intent as well as showing her spiritual power. She dances on a skull to indicate that she has conquered fear of Death. Above her, an offering cloud of incense and flowers wafts into the realm of Spirit, a gift of gratitude to our Ancestors, Guides and Protectors.