Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kent Bond. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kent, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I’m a modern painter and a modern yoga teacher. I come from a classical education in both disciplines but consider myself self taught in the evolutionary approach to my study and practice. I’m not a revivalist, I’m not interested in repeating or reproducing things or images from the past as they appear. I’m oriented in the “doing ” or process of making paintings and drawings. I work constantly in sketchbooks and small works that might end up as preparatory studies or smaller works in their own right. These constant musings often grow into larger or more finished large scale works. I work thematically from history’, myth, as well as contemporary subject matter that intrigues me. I use analogue tools, ie. classical means, oil, watercolor, paper/canvas etc. I learned by doing. I’ve spent thousands of hours since I was a child making paintings while exploring different mediums and modes of expression. I’ve studied classical art and its history up to the modern day. Drawing and observation were and continue to be essential. The only obstacle I’ve found is being discouraged from experimenting and not following my own inclination. This pertains to the art and science of practicing and teaching the physical aspect of yoga.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Kent Bond. I’m an artist and entrepreneur. I have a BFA from the College of the Arts and a masters degree from UC Berkeley. I created Willow Glen Yoga in 1996 in San Jose California and still have an online presence. I have studied and pursued making paintings since I was a child. I’m a modern painter. Im a realist painter. I’m process oriented and make numerous drawings, sketches and preparatory images as a means towards a finished work. I work in a variety of media. All the preparation I do makes it possible to enter the arena of painting and realize the final image through a creative fugue state much like free jazz meaning I may have no idea of the outcome. The concept, idea and prep work delivers the final image. I’m self trained for the most part in spite of my having attended institutions..I’m a classicist in the sense that I use analogue tools to make my paintings, ie. charcoal, oil, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, etc. I work with modern day and ancient archetypes and myths. I’ve recently completed a book on the Mexican Lucha Libre tradition of wrestling. It is comprised of watercolor and gouache paintings completed since the late fall of 2019. It’s title is “Enmascarados” the “Masked Ones”. It’s a love letter to the Luchador tradition and a nod to the modern day heroes that walk amongst us.
I’ve been a yoga teacher for 30 years now.. I look at the physical practice as art and science. It’s a discipline as well as an art. It is skill in action. As self care it is or can be slow surgery. It can be a spiritual practice or enhance any spiritual practice one may have. I’ve studied many different lineages of yoga and out of those inquiries developed a singular style of teaching I can cater to the individual needs of each participant.
I’ve led teacher trainings for over 24 years at the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara California. My credo is “always a student”. It’s the only way I know to remain on the cutting edge of whatever craft you practice.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Without art there would be nothing in society but eating, sleeping, foraging and reproduction of our species. No science, no internet or any of the ever present forms of distraction that take us away from nature and anesthetizing ourselves to the all encompassing beauty that surrounds us. Our society needs to push back at the anti intellectual fever overtaking us, slow down and pick up a book, take a walk in nature , go to a museum, pick up an instrument or make a drawing , attempt a poem. When art dies society suffers and we all die. When curiosity is marred by boredom we’re all in trouble. There’s is a feast all around and most of us starve for inspiration even though it lies inside us and an arms length away.
In short, EDUCATION. We need to find that sense of awe in everyday life, in each other, in the natural world, and in “society”. By education I mean self education whatever that might mean.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The reward is in the work. Period. Whether running to the painting studio to explore what myriad things might be conjured through practicing craft towards making a visual statement. The same can be said about choreographing a sequence to teach a holistic yoga session. Utilizing what you have learned over decades to come up with something fresh and exciting. The contrast between isolation and the creative urge in the painting studio juxtaposed in the community found in the classroom. Both are energetic cultivations. They become experiential devices that reveal ourselves to ourselves and allow a deeper inquiry into the world around us as well as our individual path. Art and science, skill in action which becomes in its finest sense the discipline of freedom.
It’s age old, it’s standing on the shoulders of the past, it’s participation in thousands of years of tradition.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Willowglenyoga.com
- Instagram: Kentbond1
- Facebook: Kent Bond
Image Credits
All works copyright KentBond
All photographs by Kent Bond