Morning…the Most Memorable Season of the Day…

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being awake at dawn, daily post dawn, daylight photos, moon set, Playa San Miguel, Sunrise

Sunrise over the shrimp ponds…

“Morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour…”   and for a minute some part of us “… awakens which slumbers the rest of the day and night…” – Thoreau

I left my house around 4 in the morning to walk to this spot to capture the awakening day… and an ample amount of photo moments awaited…

Matt at WordPress tossed a morsel of a prompt, and since I had just reviewed the images marked, ‘Dawn,” I quickly opened a “New Post” page.

Sometimes I work on artistic projects all night and am brought to a stopping point by the sounds of the awakening birds.  Viewing dawn on the river reminds me of how timeless this last bend of the river can be.

The anticipation of dawn beneath full-moon skies

The moon sets over the river.

My most memorable dawn moments happen when I awaken around 4 and venture outside to witness the visual beauty to the start of the day.  My senses are usually heightened, and with a strong attachment to the surrounding landscape, I try to capture that beauty.

Join me on a cyber walk on one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful beaches, Playa San Miguel. We’ll start with photos from the awakening day photo from above:

Timeout for Art: An Invasion of Ideas

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An artists's studio, Timeout for Art Invasion of Ideas, Understanding Artists

Hmmm, which task comes next?!

The problem isn’t coming up with ideas, it is how to contain the invasion. My ideas are like uninvited guests. They don’t knock on the door; they climb in through the windows like burglars who show up in the middle of the night and make a racket in the kitchen as they raid the fridge. I don’t sit and ponder which one I should deal with first. The one to be wrestled to the floor before all others is the one coming at me with the most vehemence. Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed — from Brain Pickings

Sundays at Casa Loca are deliciously serene.  The workers on the shrimp farms go to town or to the beach or family gatherings on their day of rest, and the pumping stations (supplying fresh water to the shrimp ponds) stay mute.   Aside from a random car or motorcycle passing on the road, the riverside’s background music comes from the whisperings of birds.

“Yikes! I’m growing feathers!”

The internet signal often works well enough to open emails in the early-morning hours, and most web pages show the text but drop the images.   Comments and emails that I write are often missing in action when I check later to see if they reached their destinations.   Brain Pickings, a once-a-week tonic written by Maria Popova,  arrives on the Day of Rest and delivers an insightful and comforting assortment of reading material that rivals the Sunday edition of one’s favorite newspaper.  Not seeing a Sunday newspaper for a fortnight of years, I look forward to the visual and intellectual tonic that Brain Pickings delivers to my remote location.

(Do I get a prize for breaking two hammers?) Some of the hardwoods are like concrete!

The above quote struck a strong chord as I peered into Herzog’s psyche.  He summarized and eloquently nailed how many artists approach their work.  It’s often difficult to explain the creative process to others.   There are times when one of my paintings is going really well, and after a break, I detour in a totally different direction with a new project!  I often create several small paintings while working on a more-challenging one.

Those small exercises in spontaneity are like little appetizers that sustain me and provide a little kick of energy to resume the larger work.   “The one to be wrestled to the floor before all others is the one coming at me with the most vehemence.”

I’ll Be Watching You

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casa loca, creative ways to protect your home, eyes, how to stop thieves, watching you

This Watching Eye never sleeps…

Earlier in the year someone broke into the house and stole a few small items. Small, but they were items of comfort – like a pair of binoculars that I used on a daily basis.  Because he had stolen a hand saw I had carelessly left in the yard, I suspected  that the burglar was the fisherman who lives downriver…

Busted! I chose to pretend not to notice; I pondered the best way to approach him…  “He needs it more than I,”  I said to myself.

I also thought that I might find the saw later beneath some leaves or misplaced in the house or gardens.  At the time there was no fence around the house, and I should have been more careful about leaving the saw outside where I had been working.

When I pondered his basic life and lack of proper shelter, I reacted (after adjusting to the loss) with compassion instead of anger. I realized how lucky I am to have been born into a loving family, to have been raised with a loose rein, with the freedom to grow up with a proper education balanced with an immersion in nature. How might I have evolved if I had no proper roof over my head or a formal education and the best shoes I owned were a mismatched set of rubber boots?

The canoe leaks but has character.

Instead of being angry, I decided to approach him through mischievous and creative ways.

Timeout for Art: Heroes in the Seaweed!

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beach trash, driftwood projects, leonard cohen, making things from beach trash, suzanne, What is Playamart?, WordPress Daily Prompt Opening Lines

“It came from Playamart…”Would any of you like to guess the purpose of this piece of driftwood from the nearby beach?

“Suzanne takes you down to her place by the river…” (Leonard Cohen)

Jama Ecuador (Manabi Province)

When one of the Ecuador Expat tours visited Casa Loca, someone asked me, “Do you know Leonard Cohen’s song, Suzanne?”

“I do!” I smiled, though I didn’t say that it was often on my painting playlist…

She added, “I just met Suzanne.”

I smiled, reflected on some of the lines and peered at myself through her eyes.  She was probably correct!

Although I have many images of the newest ‘driftwood’ projects, I left the USB stick with those images at the house.  While using faster internet in town, I am pairing a few new ones with older ones from the archives.

Quite handy for a kitchen towel!

Here are some older photos and a few lines from the song to illustrate her point:

…Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river…

Low tide – before the mangroves were removed…

You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her…

PEOPLE WATCHING

President Rafael Correa visited Jama – August 09, 2014

Jama Ecuador (Manabi Province)

Last Saturday when I was running a new water line to the kitchen sink, a friend stopped by with a message, “Lisa, President Correa will be speaking in Jama at ten o’clock this morning.”   Abandoning my task, I focused on getting to town in time to witness the event!

A neighbor was harvesting a shrimp pond, and I pondered the opportunity to photograph the birds.As I continued my trek to town, the wood storks and President Correa’s helicopter rewarded me with a unique photo!

Five minutes later, the owner of the pond gave me a ride to town, and I took one grand total-immersion step into the crowd.

Click your heels together…

Those red shoes might steal the show from the President!

Step into the scene and join me in a people-watching session:

Gotta Wear Shades

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El Matal Ecuador, feeling groovy, gotta wear shades, things to do in manabi ecuador, Whale watching in ecuador

The past few weeks have offered so many impromptu photo ops, and most of the photos are self explanatory!

(Jama-El Matal-Manabi Ecuador) August 2014
Are you ready for a feeling-alright-unique scene here at latitude zero?  Climb aboard!  (Sun shades optional.)

While photographing the frigates against the setting sun, I turned to see the rising moon sneaking into the scene…

Using an irrigation pipe for a rest for the camera, I waited for the frigates to circle overhead…

Walking toward home, I scanned the skies for returning birds. I found an ultra quiet one sneaking across the sky…

The next day my feathered friends (wood storks) escorted President Rafael Correa to Jama! (Post in progress.)

Speaking of sun shades!  Those shoes were bright!  Now back to the story…

In between numerous distractions, I have been painting mosaics on pottery. (Timeout post will be a little bit tardy!)

A few days later I wondered what the pelicans were doing at El Matal…

“Are you SURE you are ready for what we have planned for you?” asked Mr. Pelican…

“Buckle your seatbelt and VAMOS a El Matal!”

Ahem, well the past week has been in-cre-EE-ble, so I thought, “Maybe I should wear shades for this visit…”

In my haste to leave the house, I forgot to wear shades…

Rockin´500!

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500 posts, Wordpress stats

Wow, amigos!

The previous post, Timeout for Art Start Small, gleaned a WordPress notice ´Congratulations on writing 500 total posts on Zeebra Designs & Destinations.´

Inward concentation and focus….

Before logging off at the cybercafe, I checked the stats. In the history of those posts, there have been 107,225 views, 1,494 followers and 17,792 comments. With apologies, I am far behind on replying to your amazing comments. I will blame the burrito computer, may he rest in peace!

2013 Burrito repair ‘ external keyboard required…

Put me out to pasture!  I would rather pick coffee cherries!

Without your approval, encouragement and support, I would never have reached those numbers. Thank you, thank you and thank you even more. Because of your support, my life is blessed!

Through the wonders of ´Schedule to Publish’ options, this will hopefully reach you on Friday!

Z

TIMEOUT FOR ART: Starting Small

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La Division Ecuador, learning to draw and watercolor, timeout for art start small

In the distance, beyond that middle power line pole, is the little beach community of La Division…

“I’ll start with small things.”—Vincent van Gogh

Jama, Manabi, Ecuador 

Looking out the window and over the river and across the shrimp ponds, I often gaze toward the little pueblito of La Division. About a half hour’s walk from the riverhouse, La Division retains a refreshing authenticity that many coastal communities have lost.

View from the dining and art class area

With that authenticity comes the ‘manana’ attitude, and the 2 o’clock classes usually don’t begin until 3. Paying customers trump art class, and sometimes Nely prepares lunches, insists on serving me the family special, then scrubs her kitchen squeaky clean before switching to student mode. On sunny days I usually order a cold cervesa and sit back and absorb the tranquil vibe and practice the Ecuadorian lifestyle!

Timeout for Art – Barter Is A Noble Thing

Nelly and Margarita(right) and Rossi (left) study leaves on their second day of drawing lessons.

“If I had my life to live over again, I would elect to be a trader of goods rather than a student of science. I think barter is a noble thing.” – Albert Einstein

Last Wednesday and Thursday I walked to nearby La Division to give drawing lessons.   When asked what I would charge, I said, “One dollar per class, but you don’t have to pay with a dollar.  You can pay with eggs or plantains or lemons or yucca, etc.” Many people do not appreciate something that’s free – they don’t show up or they talk during the class, and there had to be some sort of exchange.   I supplied the pencils and drawing pads, and they could pay me however they’d like and whenever they’d like.

On the first day, I pointed out that a pencil and paper cost very little money, and the pencil could be a good friend to them. They could pull out the pencil and practice while waiting on the bus or an appointment.  They only needed the discipline to practice and they would improve each day.  If they wanted to paint well, they should first master drawing and shading.