TIMEOUT FOR ART – To Live Eternity in an Hour

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bahia de caraquez museum, concentration, john and mary mcdonald ecuador, TIMOUT FOR ART live eternity in an hour, watercolors of pre-columbian art

“The difference in men does not lie in the size of their hands, nor in the perfection of their bodies, but in this one sublime ability of concentration: to throw the weight in one blow, to live eternity in an hour.” – Elbert Hubbard

I had the honor of ‘bunking’ with the ancient artifacts at Museo de Bahia de Caraquez during the Mola Series Exhibition in 2012! The guards, surprised that I was thrilled to be staying there, told a few ghost stories and said that I was very brave!

After hours, the museum was deliciously quiet, and while reviewing photos in my room, I painted a watercolor of one of the artifacts.

Music of the Andes – Children of the Wind

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ecuador music of the andes, good andean music, music of the andes, putumaya music, putumayo music, susan and luis andean music

With a HUGE smile, I introduce you (again) to my multi-talented friends Luis and Susan (Tribus Futuras) whose original track “Children of the Wind” is featured on Putumayo’s  new CD, Music of the Andes!  (Hijos del Viento)

Susan and Luis live in Mindo Ecuador, and I mentioned them in last-year’s post Did You Fall off the Milk Truck?   I am so proud to share this incredible news, and I look forward to buying a copy and getting their autograph!  Enjoy their track here: CHILDREN OF THE WIND!  

z

Twist: Items that Caught My Attention

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el nino ecuador, hate between cultures, things that surprise us, Wordpress photo challenge twist, world issues, yusani

Do you remember these posts?

Krista asks on the WordPress Photo Challenge, “This week, share a photo of something that says “twist” to you. It might be that perfect ice cream cone, a yummy bit of liquorice, or something unexpected that surprised, shocked, or startled you.”

My sister Kate once stated, “Lisa, you never cease to shock me.”    She was totally surprised by a package that a “complete stranger” hand delivered to their pharmacy in Monticello Arkansas – straight from Costa Rica, where I lived at that time!  It was fun to send her a care package that was hand delivered by a just-met person from her town!

Payback usually rolls around, and Life continues to sprinkle unexpected tokens into my life; some of them  have been good, and a few recent ones have been a bit shocking.

One of Luchy’s well-designed posts and his lovely assistant!

Many of you remember the story about the post-painting competition and watched the infectious enthusiasm spread through the community. Those original ‘first’ posts, replaced by taller posts,  now gather dust in the electric company’s old-light post purgatory.   (After stewing and incubating, I have a plan!)

Timeout for Art – Periods of Incubation

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Immersion in Nature, Mindo Cloud Forest, natalie merchant where i go, relaxing with nature, Timeout for Art - Periods of Incubation

Across Rio Cinto – An entrance to one’s imagination!

Wherever I go I need a period of incubation so that I may learn the essence of nature, which never wishes to be understood or yield herself. -Paul Gauguin

(Ecuador) Immersed in Mindo’s cloud forest, I spent more time watching and absorbing the beauty of the area than taking timeouts for art this past week.   Several ‘exercises’ of art were photographed, and a few slipped by (like a weird armadillo rock!) without a photo!  The attempts at serious painting seemed stiff, so I tweaked my attention to the abundance of beauty of the area.

Lunch in the cloud forest comes with lovely feathered surprises!

While we waited on landslides to be cleared, Julie and I enjoyed a leisurely walk along the road that parallels Rio Cinto.

How’s this for an entrance? Rio Cinto/Ecuador

We’ll skip the swing today and will stay close to the road!

Rio Cinto – near Mindo Ecuador

A leisurely walk allows us to discover hidden jewels.

With no particular destination in mind, we ambled down the deserted road and wondered how many landslides were between us and town!

The stroll rewarded us with an endless bounty of beauty!

Cloud Forest Work of Art

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rain forest scene, wordpress photo challenge work of art

WordPress’s Photo Challenge for the week is “Work of Art,“ and I thought of this cloud-forest scene.

Between rains

Between rains and mudslides and power outages, my friends and I enjoyed this end-of-day light just south of the equator near Mindo Ecuador.

Today finds me back on the Pacific coast, and the rains seemed to have tagged along!  After an overnight at Hostal Ciragan, I’ll  be home on the river later this morning.

See you on Thursday!

Z

Timeout for Art: Listen to Yourself!

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letting go, painting concept from start to finish, struggling with a painting, Timeout for Art Listen to Yourself

Hi from Mindo Proper (Ecuador)

We cleared one small problem while waiting on the road grader to clear beyond their home.

Julie and I have made a fast trip to Mindo while the mountain road is open, though the road graders have cleared dozens of mud slides, and many of them were HUGE.  The roads between their home and town are sloppy and un-passable unless one is in a four-wheel drive.  We are in town to buy supplies and return while there is still light.   It’s been raining since noon, and I predict more mudslides.  The roads are ugly, and I am amazed that some of the large landslides have been cleared!

With a 30-hour power outage, some of the items in the refrigerator/freezer were questionable, and we were out of staples like garlic, onions, spinach, eggs etc.  The kitchens will be well stocked when we return! (Their car had been in the shop for two months, and they had just retrieved it (and me) from Quito and returned Saturday evening.)

 

And then the rains came pouring down.

And down.

And down.

Most of the timeout for Art was written last week, so now here’s the rest of the post!

Z

June 2012 – Post Painting Competition at El Matal Ecuador, when trees and boat shelters lined El Matal’s ample beach.

“Someone else’s vision will never be as good as your own vision of your self. Live and die with it ’cause in the end it’s all you have. Lose it and you lose yourself and everything else. I should have listened to myself.”
― Georgia O’Keeffe

While I photographed the young artists at work, these skulls caught my attention in 2012. They patiently awaited in incubation…

Thanks for your feedback on the ‘Zebra-Energy’ (ZENnergy) painting! I treasured every comment and critique! While answering the comments, I realized that you’ve all earned a more in-depth explanation of the creative process of this particular painting.

The inspiration has been tap tap tapping at my senses for years at nearby Playa El Matal, where the beach is quickly vanishing. The skulls first tweaked my attention from the young artist who was painting a nearby post, and a year later I photographed them again. I worked out a concept on paper while having lunch in town.

The skulls caught my attention again in July 2013, and I tossed around ideas on paper while waiting on lunch.

Another nine or so months passed, and I sometimes glanced at the sketches and thought, “I really need to bring you to life!”

Alive and Well in Mindo

All is well, but we have had extreme rains, landslides and power outages at my friends’ home near Mindo, Ecuador. After 30 hours, power was restored, but we are still waiting for the roads to be cleared.

Through Julie’s help, we are publishing this through painfully-slow iPad connection. We hope to be able to reach town in a couple of days.

The only things we miss are onions!

Timeout for Art: Courage

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acrylic paintings, Cindy Ricksgers, Timeout for Art Courage

“To create one’s own world takes courage.” Georgia O’Keeffe

“Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse

This past week I showed a new painting to friends, and I prefaced their first view with, “Look what I birthed this weekend..”  

There were times when I looked at the painting and silently asked, “Where did you come from?”