emergence

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Haven't been here for a while. I've been thinking about going back to painting. Sometimes I think too much!

A short voyage

Me: photograph by Nilo.

Working so much that the desire to make cloth has slipped away from me for the time being. I'm too exhausted to think creatively in that direction.

Sunday morning offered a little time off and the chance to make a short voyage with Nilo and a couple of friends to the other side of the Golfo Dulce by lancha.

We got lucky! On the outward trip we saw many manta rays, jumping into the air and swimming gracefully at the surface of the water. Fascinating! On the return journey, a group of dolphins right beside the boat.

Nilo: self portrait.

I need to remember, sometimes, it's important to do nothing.

A boro beach house

Full Moon: March 2011

A few of my images of the big March full moon. Although it looks the same as our regular full moons that we have at this time of the year.

Does yours look any bigger?

Nilo's image (taken with his Nikon Nikkor 10x zoom ). Nice one!

Too much moon

After a day of too much sun...

Too much moon! :)

Tabebuia chrysantha (Bignoniaceae)

Taken this morning at my work.

For the past month, along the country roads, various tree species - particularly those more commonly associated with dry forest areas - have been bursting into flower and the air is filled with sweetness. Now I have to photograph the Jacarandas!

It was a curious feeling to be standing not 100 meters from the coastline on Friday, not knowing if the latest news reports were infact acurrate, or whether we really would be engulfed by the ocean at around 4:43pm.

Mid-morning, I heard that a whale had appeared in the Gulf just infront of the town. A good sign?... A bad sign?... I figure these creatures must know something.

Reinaldo and Nilo left town early and headed back to the farm for the weekend and for higher ground. Meantime, I kept my crews moving... transplanting trees on the beach... wondering!

As it turned out, there was no noticeable change to the sea levels here.

My thoughts go out to those who have been affected by the tragic course of events.

Far removed

Thanks to Jude's recent post, I've discovered Valerie (Anna?) Claff and have added a link to her Raven Wood Forest blog in the right hand column.

Hello Valerianna! :)

Reading through her latest post, and seeing images of her studio (the paintings and brushes and collections of natural objects) reminded me in some way of a self that I was. And it made me think how far removed from that self I am now. And it made me wonder about how that happened. How, unwittingly, I forced that self into the shadows. Infact it made me think about alot of different things. And it reminded me of these. Unfinished watercolor studies in a sketchbook from the way back when.

Two leaves. With fungal or larval damage.

Two fruits.

One fruit (detail of above study)

In many ways I was happier then. Now I need to figure out why I think that.

Of course, you cannot go back. But I think you can re-MEMBER... a slow and intensive piecing back together of self???

Freshly formed wings.

And eyes that made me chuckle!

Conversational

I have been thinking alot this week about time and about the things - which are not really things at all - that are most important to me. And how it's probably wise for a person to review these points on a daily basis. And how it's probably wise for a person to weigh each one against the other, and adjust one's settings as needed. Because, as we know, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of living life on a default setting! And, perhaps because I have been thinking about these points, or perhaps through sheer coincidence, several poignant conversations with different people have occurred this week, which in some way, have helped bring me to a deeper understanding of...hmmm... the things which are most important to me. And so in the spirit of sharing, and also in an effort to make a note to self, in today's post, I'm just throwing some of that "out there". Although, admittedly, in a kind of rambling way :)

Yesterday, at work, I had a brief but, to me, profound conversation, with a special friend (who is also a fellow consultant on the project), about... hmmm... I suppose you could call it approaches to life. We were talking about some people we know, who manage their day according to a timed schedule, literally moving from one activity to the next. Let's say, 7 'till 9, yoga. 9 'till 10, breakfast. 10 'till 12 tennis. etc, etc. And we were discussing how that's how these people have "fun". And we were imagining how that kind of life style might be, and thinking that it didn't seem to allow for any time to reflect on the "fun" that might be being had. And we both realized that, as much as the activities we like to do ourselves, what makes them worth while as far as each of us is concerned, is the moment for reflection. And of course, not everyone's the same! But it got me thinking about how, those moments are really the most important thing to me. Fleeting as they may be. And a good example of what I mean being, this particular conversation that we were having... sitting on the grass, in the shade, by the edge of the lake, and really being in the moment. And really appreciating the value of that. And really feeling the layers of meaning attached. Then we got back to work. In the blazing sun, on an open grass plain, surrounded by a constant flow of heavy equipment, and the air (and our skin) covered by a blanket of dust rising up from the roads, as is so typical of this place at this time of year, in this season of unimaginable dryness. The whole conversation lasted maybe 5 minutes. But for me, the moment felt somehow life defining. In a some small yet powerful way. Weaving complexity, yes, but at the same time, perfect in it's simplicity. If you know what I mean ;) And it makes me think of something Jude said here.

I continue to be kept busy with work. Very long days. And very long evenings. So I haven't had a chance to focus on my current cloth. But in my head it is moving slowly forward. And on paper I've come up with this, which will be somehow incorporated with what already exists.

Scattering the stars

"...that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space...."

An excerpt from Time XXI - Kahlil Gibran

It's exhilerating to be speeding along on the water - over darkness and through darkness - in a small boat at night.

A few hundred meters off shore on the Gulfo Dulce, bobbing and floating on the waves yesterday evening, we were treated to a firework show, the likes of which I have never seen in all my 40 years!

Apart from the excitement of being there, in the moment, I was shooting into darkness, and not knowing which split second of beauty would be captured on the camera's memory, but at the same time knowing it had to be inspirational...

Like stitches. Like seeds. Like circles.

Father and son.

A young boy whose dreams are still intact.

A special friend who made the whole experience possible.

Wishing You All A Sparkling 2011!!!

Encircle

"... But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,

And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing."

An excerpt from Time XXI - Kahil Gibran