Work of Art – You Earned This!

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Bamboo construction, Bamboo Creations, jama ecuador, New Year's Traditions in Ecuador, Rycardo Alcivar Jama

It’s not fair to keep you in suspense, though the suspense for me will be wondering how long it will take to compose this post on slow internet!

So where did we stop on the last post? Oh yes, with the recipe!

200 Sections of Bamboo
200 meters of fabric
70 pounds of Nails
12 Gallons of Paint
80 Spray Cans of Paint
One Air Compressor
3 Pistols of Silicon
Rycardo Alcivar and 6 Volunteers…
7 weeks of work and counting…

Please, please, come inside! OSHA’s not watching!

Step inside and enjoy the tour!

Work of Art – You Asked for This!

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Bamboo Sculpture, Building projects with bamboo, jama ecuador, Rycardo Alvicar

Jama/Manabi/Ecuador –  Yesterday’s post hinted at a new project that’s underway in this cowboy town: “Jama DOES have one amazing work of art under construction. Thankfully it won’t be burned, but this project in progress deserves its own post.”

No, those cross sections of bamboo are not for a giant tic-tac-toe board!

Unless you passed over the bridge in Jama, you might be totally baffled.

Gallivanta replied, “I am looking forward to that work of art :)”

The hands of the artist Rycardo Alcivar

The highly-talented artist/sculptor Rycardo Alcivar often undertakes an end-of-year bamboo sculpture near the Jama River bridge on the outskirts of Jama.

RECIPE:  Take 200 large sections of bamboo,  200 meters of fabric and 200 sticks for a hot-glue gun…

Any guesses?

Bente added, “Work of art? waiting for it! :

Ecuador’s End-of-Year Effigies

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ano viejo customs in ecuador, new year's traditions, new years eve customs in ecuador, what to do on near years eve in ecuador

With a tiny slice of time, I am again sharing images of my most favorite mascots that dot the Ecuadorian landscapes during this final week of the year.

Each year they seem more scarce, and their absence concerns me.  As with flowers, the presence or absence of these ‘ano viejo’ effigies somehow represents the soul of the community.  Why are they no longer enjoying this custom in my sweet community?

Mingling with the Birds

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Ailsa's Where's my backpack birds, approaching the magic hour, Love of Birds, Love of Nature, Studying birds, Walter Anderson, Wordpress Weekly photo challenge Joy

A hummingbird would compliment the heliconia/ginger/angels trumpet painting!

(detail) Watercolor – Pelican study

“The heart is the thing that matters, the mingling of the heart with the heart of the wild bird:to become one with the thing I see.”  Walter Anderson

Pelican Harmony

In late June, when I mentioned Walter Anderson, (Timeout: Happy in Nature) many of you had never heard of him or his brilliant and diverse body of work.   Anyone familiar with his paintings and story would probably say that the birds were his favorite subject.   (Anderson/Ocean Springs Mississippi 1903 -1965) 

from APPROACHING THE MAGIC HOUR by Agnes Grinstead Anderson

At times the birds on the river have such a profound effect on me, that I often compare my experience to Walter Anderson’s joy for the birds.  Once while using a friend’s kayak, I paddled up river and eased into a rookery tucked within hearing distance of my house.

Oh, to be a Bird!

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ailsa where's my ackpack birds, ecuadorian birds of the coast, hummingbrds

Alisa’s theme this week is Birds!  I smiled when I read her post,  and I knew there were a few worthy shots from the thousands of images on my computer! Before pushing off from Point C to return to B and finally home to A, I present to you a collection of bird images from the middle of the world!

Through Foreign Eyes

This post is stacked right behind the Timeout for Art one, as I’m about to be traveling today and tomorrow. Thanks for the great feedback on the botanical painting!
The Inti Raymi Mask, also knows as Aya Uma, is on his way to his new home in the USA, but wow, does he ever have a story to share!
Without leaving the comfort of your home, travel to latitude 0- 00-00 and enjoy this cultural immersion in the Christmas traditions of Jama Ecuador! Lisa/Z

Zeebra Designs & Destinations

(Jan. 2013) “An artist’s eyes never rest,’ and mine have been working overtime in the Jama Ecuador area!  The Cevallos-Sabando family invited me to their Christmas Eve family feast, which is traditionally served around midnight.  Their home and country store, located on the prominent corner on incoming Jama Avenue,  faces the highly-popular park in the center of town.   Throughout the year, friends, neighbors and strangers ebb and flow past the storefront, where an always-changing sidewalk display reflects the current holiday theme.  On Christmas Eve, a cluster of people sat in plastic chairs and stared at the nativity scene while family members visited near the corner door and greeted passersby.

(Update Dec. 2016: The buildings in the background were destroyed in the April 2016 earthquake, and the one where the people are sitting has damage and is being altered…)

I arrived early to help my friends with the preparation of…

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Timeout for Art: Looking but not Seeing

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Acrylic Painting, art by Lisa Brunetti, botanical paintings, how to see what's there, i can do this painting workshops, Learning how to see, painting flowers, Timeout for art looking but not seeing

All of us are watchers – of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway – but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing. (Peter M. Leschak)

Look over my shoulder and see through my eyes!  The flowers in my friends’ Mindo (Ecuador) gardens were the inspiration for this 38 x 54″ painting in progress.  Drawing and painting from life forces us to examine what’s in front of us, and we learn to see instead of guessing what we see!

Children & Their Gifts

This will be one of two reblogs from posts about Christmas in Jama Ecuador from last year. Everyone should experience one Christamas in a remote area where there is little focus on materialism. Happy Holidays everyone, and enjoy the post! LisaZ

Zeebra Designs & Destinations

JAMA ECUADOR – December 2012

When I first sank my roots into this farming community, I was one of few transplants. The locals warmly accepted their pale-skinned ‘Gringa Alta,’ and the children learned to quickly spot the strange-talking outsider when she came to town.  Parents sat in the shadows and nudged the ninos to greet the Gringita.  Those children (and their families) have enriched my life.

Many have a basic and simple life that bestows them with rich virtues, although they aren’t often exposed to advanced technologies.   When I compare their simple lives with those in the more-cultured world, I question if one can give a child too much.   Material possessions are oftentimes a curse;  we stay so focused on the newest gadget that we lose sight of the simple and free gifts at our fingertips.

ThisMansJourney’s sensitive post about children and their gifts will warm any…

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One Poinsettia from the Garden!

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Poinsettia photo, Wordpress Photo Challenge One

Pulling up the rear for this week’s theme of ONE, here’s a holiday poinsettia from my friends’ garden near Mindo Ecuador!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Z

“…The Envelope, Please…”

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best of blogs 2013, http://nepaliaustralian.com blog, internet in Ecuador, thank you everyone

The first few days of December delivered a surprise notice to my inbox; for several months while I was chasing butterflies and hummingbirds and riding milk trucks in the cloud forest near Mindo Ecuador, “M” of NepaliAustralian was receiving nominations for the “Best of” blogs!!! Photography, travel, fashion, personal, design of blog, diverse, new, etc. — I was totally unprepared to see Playamart’s name perched at the top of the list beside four very-deserving blogs as Best Blog for 2013!

Timeout for Art: Attention to Details

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acrylic paintings, adding details in painting, art by Lisa Brunetti, Inti Raymi mask, inti raymi painting, Mola Art, summer solstice celebrations

Sample Inti Raymi Masks – Otavalo Ecuador

“It took me 4 years to paint like Raphael, but a life time to paint like a child.”
-Pablo Picasso
Thanks, everyone, for your amazing feedback on the Inti Raymi mask! Although it seemed ‘finished’ to most of you, did any of you guess what those very-important final details might be?

“Did You Fall Off the Milk Truck?”

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Internet service in rural Ecuador, old fashioned milk delivery, travel in remote Ecuador

While long check-out lines and snarled traffic hamper the flow of many people’s holiday routines, life in rural Ecuador delivers its own set of travel frustrations. Bus routes spider from terminals in key cities and provide inexpensive options throughout the day and night. With gasoline prices a constant $1.48, taxi and private drivers can help passengers reach a destination faster and with more personal service at a fair price. At a cost of fifty cents to several dollars, mototaxis in smaller towns help you get from A to B much faster than walking.

But what does one do when one lives half an hour via 4-wheel drive from town and the cell phone signal doesn’t stretch over the mountain?  

Timeout for Art: Sharpen the Saw

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happy colors in painting, inti rami paintings, timeout for art sharpen the saw

“Well, why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw? I’m sure it would go a lot better.” The man replies emphatically: “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw. I’m too busy sawing!” — Stephen Covey – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 

Hi from Mindo, Ecuador, where I am property sitting while my friends are preparing to move their pets from the USA to their new home at latitude zero! Although the current painting lacks one more day of extreme focus, I am taking a timeout from art to sharpen the saw!

Several factors have held me to a schedule of very-long painting hours; the painting will travel to a new home in another country – hopefully in time for Christmas! There is also a very delicate factor of losing the spontaneity in the painting; if one’s focus veers elsewhere, it’s very difficult to resume with the original freshness. The painting – and the psyche of the artist – suffers!

Timeout for Art: Total Immersion in Color!

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paintings by lisa brunetti, quotes by van gogh, stress during holidays, taking time for yourself, Timeout for Art - Immersion in Color

“As you can see, I am immersing myself in color—I’ve held back from that until now; and I don’t regret it.” (Vincent van Gogh)

December often crams our lives with tasks and obligations that prevent us from taking a timeout for ourselves. We dart and dash from home to work to social gatherings and events, and we return home to unfinished tasks. Which balls do we drop while juggling too many, and what triggers us to throw on brakes and claim a timeout for ourselves?

El Matal Ecuiador – having fun with color!

Although my life is fairly uncomplicated, the past few weeks have kept me rolling with little time for art. Even though hurried, I am always calmed and grounded even if I only have ten minutes to apply a bit more color to a painting before dashing out the door. I am instantly focused and grateful that I have found an outlet that grounds me in hurried times.

Who Will Win? The Turtles or the Frogs?

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000, eastern pacific sea turtles, endangered sea turtles, endangered species, Hawksbill Sea Turtles, ingrid and alex sea turtles, rio jama mangroves, save the mangroves, sungevity prize 20

Jaime, my downstream neighbor, makes paddles from Playamart materials and knows every nuance of the river.

(Jama/Manabi/Ecuador) – Yesterday I visited with Jaime, the fisherman who lives at the mouth of Rio Jama, and I asked him about the turtles in the river.  He confirmed that sea turtles navigate the mangrove-lined river, and he added that the turtles have three types of meat – oh my!