• Film:  Paradise Gardens

    Film: Paradise Gardens

    Howard Finster, the grandfather of the Southern Folk Art movement was a pioneer that showed the world that Art can thrive outside of museums and galleries in ordinary places and in everyday objects. He took what others might deem trash or obsolete and turned it into something contemplative. He opened Paradise Garden for the world [...]

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    | May 17, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • Film: South of Southern

    Dinner & Derangement: Black-tie optional, but a straightjacket would be a fine idea South of Southern is a timeless film and it is not just a story about the South – it’s about complicated family relationships and how we act when everyone comes together.  It pulls back the curtain and shows that no matter where [...]

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    | May 15, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • Film: Keepers of the Gate

    Keepers of the Gate is a thriller about the way information is used in the 21st century. It examines the way it is obtained and delivered to individuals through the story of two journalists in Iraq covering a story. It explores the convergence of old and new technology and how messages are constructed and filtered. [...]

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    | November 5, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Novel: Everything in Between

    Novel: Everything in Between

    Everything in Between is a fictional drama about McLean Edwards who is making all the preparations to leave home for the first time to attend college. She is armed with the goal of education and marriage – her first milestone is to land a place on sorority row. After being blacklisted during rush, her life [...]

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    | October 10, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Novel: Memoirs of Oblivion

    Novel: Memoirs of Oblivion

    I am proud to announce my novel Memoirs of Oblivion. I was compelled to write Memoirs of Oblivion after my family’s experience with traumatic brain injury. If the injury itself was not enough, all the systems in place to provide protection and support were severely broken. This story takes place over one year and is [...]

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    | October 5, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Poetry:  Symphony of Chaos

    Poetry: Symphony of Chaos

    Ava Leigh Stewart’s “Symphony of Chaos” is a compilation of fifty poems and illustrations that explore the human experience.  It takes the reader on a poetic and artistic journey discovering universal truths in life.  This work will strike every reader with a unique energy each their own.  Each artistic composition has been designed to elevate [...]

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    | September 29, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Behind the Film

    Behind the Film

    South of Southern is a feature film that takes a comical look at a dysfunctional Southern family through the story of Holiis and Heyward’s engagement. It centers around Heyward’s sister, Katie, who is a magazine editor for the Southern Post.   Katie has been tapped to write a dynamic feature article for the magazine and suggests [...]

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    | August 16, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Poetry:  Fledgling Darlings

    Poetry: Fledgling Darlings

    Fledgling Darlings is my third book of poetry that is an all-encompassing artistic journey exemplifying the soulful depths of the human experience. This work celebrates personal freedoms and challenges established theories with glistening imagery that is sure to strike every reader with a unique energy each their own. With every turn of the page, discover [...]

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    | June 1, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Screenplay:  Wake the Shepherds

    Screenplay: Wake the Shepherds

    Synopsis: A night of drinking and drugs turns into a mission of vandalous revenge for unruly teen, Justin Wright.             Script Overview: Adrenaline pumping chaos reigns as adolescent mischief erodes into felonious mayhem. By dawn, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and all may finally be well… [...]

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    | May 31, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Wasted Time Writing

    Wasted Time Writing

    A friend of mine was being really hard on himself for allotting eight hours to write, then only writing for two of them.  I said, “Well what did you do?”  He said, “I read the trades, the newspapers, played guitar, and played “Tiger Woods Golf” on the Wii.  After I impugned him for playing the [...]

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    | May 31, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Editing creates Genius

    Editing creates Genius

    To paraphrase Truman Capote, unedited work isn’t writing, it’s typing…Having mapped out the story structure, developed the characters and plot, the initial hurdle of starting the writing project has ended with a first draft.  The first draft to me is really the beginning of the discovery of the work.  New themes and payoffs emerge.  Opportunities [...]

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    | May 31, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Six Basic Questions – The Discovery of Being in Film

    Six Basic Questions – The Discovery of Being in Film

    My time spent working in the field of Journalism taught me the importance of six basic questions. Why? When? Who? Where? What? And How? This is a very useful exercise in storytelling on a basic level. If you adapt the question to a film, they can be morphed to help establish insight into creating the [...]

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    | May 28, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • Shared Writing Inspiration

    Shared Writing Inspiration

    I recently read the biography of Honore de Balzac, a French writer from the late nineteenth century. I very much enjoyed his stories and I thought it would be interesting to read about his life and the inspiration behind his genius. He wrote so many stories and I was curious what drove the ambition he [...]

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    | May 28, 2011 | 0 Comments
  • 10 Tips for Getting Started in Hollywood

    10 Tips for Getting Started in Hollywood

    When I arrived in Los Angeles, it felt like a home to creative professionals and I met so many like-minded people. To arrive in Hollywood is a step towards career success, but your journey has only just started. There are so many resources and opportunities, but you have to work to find them. I was [...]

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    | May 20, 2011 | 0 Comments

BOOKS

Novel: Everything in Between

Novel: Everything in Between

Everything in Between is a fictional drama about McLean Edwards who is making all the preparations to leave home for the first time to attend college. She is armed with the goal of education and marriage – her first milestone is to land a place on sorority row. After being blacklisted during rush, her life [...]

Novel: Memoirs of Oblivion

Novel: Memoirs of Oblivion

I am proud to announce my novel Memoirs of Oblivion. I was compelled to write Memoirs of Oblivion after my family’s experience with traumatic brain injury. If the injury itself was not enough, all the systems in place to provide protection and support were severely broken. This story takes place over one year and is [...]

Poetry:  Symphony of Chaos

Poetry: Symphony of Chaos

Ava Leigh Stewart’s “Symphony of Chaos” is a compilation of fifty poems and illustrations that explore the human experience.  It takes the reader on a poetic and artistic journey discovering universal truths in life.  This work will strike every reader with a unique energy each their own.  Each artistic composition has been designed to elevate [...]

WRITING

Reinventing the Model

Reinventing the Model

Writing a spec script for a television show is like turning water into wine.  It is a miracle to finish a compelling, emotionally visceral script that touches the hearts of agents and studio executives.  In the old model, your perfect words would culminate into a green light for a pilot from a network.  Up until [...]

Preview Poetry Book:  Beyond Fear

Preview Poetry Book: Beyond Fear

Get an exclusive limited preview of the poetry book, Beyond Fear. You can purchase the book or download the electronic book from Amazon.com. Open publication – Free publishing – More stewart

Art West Magazine – Southern Post

Art West Magazine – Southern Post

Art West Film offers an annual virtual magazine that includes past feature articles, present productions, as well as future projects in development.    The magazine also has industry tips for surviving the entertainment industry as a creative professional, as well as staying inspired, and more. This year we have a special edition of our magazine [...]

FILM

Film:  Paradise Gardens

Film: Paradise Gardens

Howard Finster, the grandfather of the Southern Folk Art movement was a pioneer that showed the world that Art can thrive outside of museums and galleries in ordinary places and in everyday objects. He took what others might deem trash or obsolete and turned it into something contemplative. He opened Paradise Garden for the world [...]

Film: South of Southern

Film: South of Southern

Dinner & Derangement: Black-tie optional, but a straightjacket would be a fine idea South of Southern is a timeless film and it is not just a story about the South – it’s about complicated family relationships and how we act when everyone comes together.  It pulls back the curtain and shows that no matter where [...]

Alisa Riggs Petitt on Itunes

Alisa Riggs Petitt on Itunes

Go behind the story with our cast and crew!  Our first podcast features leading actress, Alisa Riggs Petitt, who plays the role of Anabelle Honeycut.   In this interview, she talks about creating the character of Anabelle Honeycut, creating her costumes, and her experiences working on the film South of Southern.  

ARTICLES

Reinventing the Model

Reinventing the Model

Writing a spec script for a television show is like turning water into wine.  It is a miracle to finish a compelling, emotionally visceral script that touches the hearts of agents and studio executives.  In the old model, your perfect words would culminate into a green light for a pilot from a network.  Up until [...]

When writing gets personal

When writing gets personal

Writers share the need to tell stories, a compulsion of a true writer. Writers enjoy entertaining audiences – making people laugh, think, and feel.    Ultimately a Writer shares an important message with the audience. Most stories have a layered meaning, “Like when you peel an onion, you have to peel away each layer to reveal [...]

Wasted Time Writing

Wasted Time Writing

A friend of mine was being really hard on himself for allotting eight hours to write, then only writing for two of them.  I said, “Well what did you do?”  He said, “I read the trades, the newspapers, played guitar, and played “Tiger Woods Golf” on the Wii.  After I impugned him for playing the [...]

DESIGN & ART

Production Design

Production Design

For Films & Television Working as a production designer on films and television in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and London for over ten years has been instrumental in my creative experience.   I rarely slept for the duration of the productions and worked non-stop, which most people do not realize is the norm for the entertainment industry.  [...]

Film Titles:  The Angel

Film Titles: The Angel

I worked with Paul Hough to create the graphic design for his film “The Angel”. Since a lot of the film uses lighting design that focuses on flickering fluorescent bulbs, we incorporated that visual effect into the light animation of the title sequence design. I chose a font that complemented the genre to set the [...]

A Million Little Pictures

A Million Little Pictures

Photography is an important part of the entertainment industry and has been a passion of mine for years.  During the summer of 2009, one thousand artists from around the world were selected to document their lives in 24 frames using a simple disposable camera with a flash. On September 25th, 2009, an exhibition housing over [...]

POETRY

Preview Poetry Book:  Beyond Fear

Preview Poetry Book: Beyond Fear

Get an exclusive limited preview of the poetry book, Beyond Fear. You can purchase the book or download the electronic book from Amazon.com. Open publication – Free publishing – More stewart

Poetry:  Symphony of Chaos

Poetry: Symphony of Chaos

Ava Leigh Stewart’s “Symphony of Chaos” is a compilation of fifty poems and illustrations that explore the human experience.  It takes the reader on a poetic and artistic journey discovering universal truths in life.  This work will strike every reader with a unique energy each their own.  Each artistic composition has been designed to elevate [...]

Poetry:  Fledgling Darlings

Poetry: Fledgling Darlings

Fledgling Darlings is my third book of poetry that is an all-encompassing artistic journey exemplifying the soulful depths of the human experience. This work celebrates personal freedoms and challenges established theories with glistening imagery that is sure to strike every reader with a unique energy each their own. With every turn of the page, discover [...]

IN THE MIX

South of Southern Preview – Atlanta, Georgia

South of Southern Preview – Atlanta, Georgia

| March 9, 2012 | 0 Comments

The South of Southern preview screened at the Puritan Mill in Atlanta, Georgia on February 22, 2012. We had a full house for the 22 minute extended sneak preview of the feature film. The film networking group, Get Connected, hosted us, as well as a panel of guest speakers, and other special guests from Atlanta’s [...]

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Music Video:  Nine Inch Nails

Music Video: Nine Inch Nails

| December 27, 2011 | 0 Comments

This is a music video done for Nine Inch Nails 36-track instrumental album entitled, Ghosts. It aired during various events and concerts. The concept for this video was developed with the idea that synchronicity is the experience of two or more events, that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance, that [...]

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Commercial: Lonely Planet

Commercial: Lonely Planet

| December 27, 2011 | 0 Comments

This is a commercial that was done to promote tourism in the American Southwest for Lonely Planet. The video was shot in Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, California. The concept was developed to commemorate the memories of the Native Americans who once inhabited the lands. The video takes the viewer on a virtual [...]

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Commercial:  Ecospot

Commercial: Ecospot

| December 25, 2011 | 0 Comments

This is a commercial for Ecospot was broadcast on CurrentTV to promote people to make changes to their lifestyles in order to address the detrimental effects of consumerism on the planet.  The idea was to demonstrate the damages of over consumption and the detrimental effects of not replenishing our environment, and then the lightning strike [...]

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Television:  Dark Sorcery

Television: Dark Sorcery

| December 19, 2011 | 0 Comments

Art West Film did the production design for the pilot, Dark Sorcery, a supernatural television series that is sexy, sultry, and otherworldly. This is an example of a collage of a number of production design elements that will be featured in the television show. The idea was based on a cult of witches and warlocks [...]

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South of Southern on Itunes

South of Southern on Itunes

| November 20, 2011 | 0 Comments

Go behind the scenes of South of Southern by visiting our Itunes channel and downloading the latest trailer, interviews, and more! South of Southern is a timeless film and it is not just a story about the South – it’s about complicated family relationships and how we act when everyone comes together.  It pulls back [...]

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Film:  Tibet in Ruins

Film: Tibet in Ruins

| November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

This think piece was conceived during my work on the groundbreaking documentary film Tibet in Ruin. I was inspired by a poem written by Tenzin Tsundue entitled, Betrayal, while working on this film. This video was used to promote the “Candle for Tibet” campaign. The campaign was a worldwide candle light protest held on August [...]

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Commercial:  Erotik Vodka

Commercial: Erotik Vodka

| October 10, 2011 | 0 Comments

This was a commercial campaign done for the new brand of Erotik Vodka.  It was filmed in a studio using a unique mixture of traditional studio lighting and special effects.  The idea was to tell the story like a dream sequence that ended with the establishment of the brand.  The vodka is being marketed in [...]

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South of Southern – That’s a wrap!

South of Southern – That’s a wrap!

| August 30, 2011 | 0 Comments

Director and Producer, Ava Leigh Stewart just finished the comedic film, South of Southern. She is the head of Art West Film and co-wrote the screenplay with her brother Drew Stewart. They produced the film under the Art West banner. After many successful projects, seasoned Director, Stewart has a Penny Marhshall-esque style and sets the [...]

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New Media:  Sack up Sports

New Media: Sack up Sports

| August 9, 2011 | 0 Comments

This is a web identity for an adventure sports company that specializes in extreme sports.  They launched a website that allowed users to create profiles, exchanges photos, videos, and detailed information about unpublished trail maps, gear, and many others.  This was one of a series of web identities done for their winter tour in 2010 [...]

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