Timeout for Art – A Measure of Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving, the art of sharing, Timeout for Art

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

Rosa sets up her booth in the early-morning sunshine.

This dear woman, Rosa, patiently set her hand-made items in front of the restaurant where I enjoyed breakfast each morning.  With a smile, she tolerated the many photos I took while she flashed in and out of the early-morning sun.   I bought a small handbag and  a smaller zipper bag to hold my pens and pencils.

On the third morning I invited her for a hot chocolate, which she drank while setting up the morning’s display.  I handed her a little scrambled egg sandwich from some petite rounds of toast and took more photos as she worked. 

Ecuador’s Colourful Andes

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Chocho Beans, Lupines, Otavalo Aniimal Market, Otavalo Ecuador, Otavalo Saturday Market, What to do in Otavalo

Stained glass artwork scrapes the skies over Otavalo Ecuador.

The Aya Uma mask is an important icon for the June Solstice Festival.

There are subtle colors and explosions of colors in the Otavalo Ecuador area;  one can sample the quiet hues of the landscape or take a giant immersion in the Saturday market in town.  There are colors to suit all moods and personalities!

Let’s start with a leisurely walk in the mountains that overlook Otavalo.

Timeout for Art: “Just Being & Growing”

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Ecuador sights, Lago San Pablo Ecuador, Lecheros Tree, Quito Flower Market, Quotes by Robert Henri, Timeout for Art

Oswaldo Guayasamin Sculpture – Overlooking Quito Ecuador

Guayasamin Bird-Sculpture

“Genius is not a possession of the limited few, but exists in some degree in everyone…

…To be an artist is to construct, and to whatever degree one shows the genius for construction in work of any sort, he is that much an artist.” –  Robert Henri – The Art Spirit

With slow and deliberate patience, this lady displayed each bag with loving attention to its best presentation.

“…I think the real artists are too busy with just being and growing and acting (on canvas or however) like themselves to worry about the end.  The end will be what it will be.  The object is intense living, fulfillment; the great happiness in creation.  People sometimes phrase about the joy of work.  It is only  in creative work that joy may be found.  

… the object is not to make art, but to be in the wonderful state which makes art inevitable.  

 The artist life is therefore the desirable life, and it is possible to all.”

  Robert Henri  – The Art Spirit

Waiting on the 11 p.m. bus (left) and a hurried sketch in the Guayasamin Museum private collection of pre-Columbian art.

The past few weeks have found me on the road with tour groups and with friends.  While embracing each moment, I have also dedicated time for sketching.

Friends have nudged me into a skull/bone series, and now cow skulls seem to wave to me most anywhere I travel!

Robert Henri’s words resonate when I reflect on the interactions between strangers – how chance interactions open the doors to rich experiences.  I treasure my time alone when I can focus 100 percent on creating art, yet opportunities for cultural exchange inject amazing energy into my life.

Many times I stop and quietly ask, “What is your name?” and the person reflexively slaps his/her chest and replies, “Me?”

“Yes.  You,” I smile, and they immediately stand a bit prouder and hurriedly rattle their entire name.

Jose, with cataract-clouded eyes, appreciates the chance to boast his age; 92. He smiles as tourists walk past his house at the Bahia de Caraquez lookout, yet he yearns for interaction with others. “Hola,” makes him proud to be alive.

Many times a tourist forgets that the experience is not all about being a tourist, but about slowing down and telling a local what’s great about his/her community.

This gentleman has taken photos at the same park location in Quito for over 70 years. At age 90, he says that he has never been sick or in the hospital.

Traveling opens that wonderful state of being that Henri mentions.  From the flower markets throughout the country to the pastoral landscapes of the Andes, one’s day is enriched by slowing down and appreciating the local color.

Magic Carpet Airlines – Special for Subscribers Only

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b, beach erosion, jo's morning walk, La Division Ecuador, magic carpet ride, Playamart, Sand Mining

Good morning, buenos dias & welcome aboard all galactic travelers!

As a token of appreciation, we’re offering you a free mini escape on the magic carpet!  You will be transported to a magical land, one that will help you connect to the person you might have lost somewhere along the labyrinth of life.

Did you ever pick wild berries when you were growing up?

We at MAGIC CARPET AIRLINES think it’s best for our clients to remove their shoes and reconnect with Pachamama – or Mother Earth in the English tongue.  because many of you are not native to planet earth, she can – at times – feel foreign and at other times feel extremely foreign.

What if fish COULD fly?!!!

For that reason, we will transport you first to the middle of the world – to walk along an isolated beach, soak in the healing properties of equatorial sunlight and pure unpolluted air while connecting via bare feet with the energizing properties of slightly-wet beach sand.

Zen symbols whispered in the sand.

Prepare to glow in the darkness as you uptake natural energies from Pachamama. You’ll soon be communicating with the frigates and pelicans who will teach you the art of soaring.

Pelican Harmony

Yoga alignment – Yep; ready to fly!

Ready?

Click your heels together…

Set?

Let’s go there!

Timeout for Art: Scavenging through the Seaweed

Costa Rica’s beaches provide an abundance of material for Playamart!

“Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war.” – Loren Eiseley

Do you see anything useful here?

The residents of El Matal surely feel as if they are veterans of an ongoing war and continue to search for a way to make peace with Mother Ocean.   The photo above is not of an Ecuadorian beach, but of one in Costa Rica during the rainy season.

In Costa Rica and also now in Ecuador,  my friends sometimes surprise me with unique pieces that the high tides wash ashore.     When I see a pile of debris waiting to be burned on Playamart’s beaches, I often exclaim, “NOOOOOOO! Don’t burn the sofa… or the bed… or the bench!”

It came from Playamart!

My friends usually laugh, but know that I am serious! Some transformations take a short time, and others need a period of incubation, but eventually, I reach for the stockpile of beach treasures.

RED FLAG… “It’ll Never Happen To Me”

This has been a popular post and illustrates things that can go wrong when buying real estate in foreign countries. . Many more tales have reached me since this was published, but for now, this might be helpful. There are many great people out there and there are great stories, but there are also booby traps for unsuspecting buyers. Enjoy the reblog. Z

Zeebra Designs & Destinations

A true fixer-upper!

Due Diligence: “Research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction’ (Merriam-Webster) ” Due diligence is the process of systematically researching and verifying the accuracy of a statement.”(WhatIs.techtarget)

… But the landscaping has such potential!..

I love a good fixer-upper, and I’ve also learned that the best part of a property might be the gnarled tree that guards the entrance!  I’ve learned to spot potential problems, and I’ve also learned how to see past the neglect and find an ugly duckling waiting to transform into a swan.

With a dozen years of living in second and third-world countries, I’ve learned from trial and error and have also learned by watching others.  We applaud anyone who embraces a new life, but when things go wrong, often times those new transplants find they’re playing David against Goliath.

Over the past several…

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Paradise is not always sunshine and pretty flowers!

The Claro USB Modem works well in cities, and by the graph above, it appears to work well at the riverhouse. But when you compare the signal strength from the house to the one near Canoa Ecuador… and then compare Canoa’s to San Vicente-Bahia de Caraquez, you can understand why it takes half an hour to reach the inbox and sometimes half an hour more to send an email. Ditto for viewing posts, images or opening a “New Post” page.

Compare the signal from Jama (far left) to the one in San Vicente /Bahia.
There are times when the Claro comes in handy, like any time I am traveling in the country.

The Timeout for Art post waits in queue to fire out in the morning, Ecuador Time Zone, and for the next week I’ll be re-posting a few of the popular posts from archives. Thanks, as always, for your amazing support!

Sigh; what one does in order to get an internet signal!

Z

Timeout for Art – Drawing & Memories

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charlie boy williams, drawing hands, Timeout for Art - Drawing & Memories

“Drawing makes you see things clearer, and clearer, and clearer still. The image is passing through you in a physiological way, into your brain, into your memory – where it stays – it’s transmitted by your hands.”
― Martin Gayford, A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney

“Daddy’s Hands” 1990 – pencil – Lisa Brunetti

“Solitude has soft, silky hands, but with strong fingers it grasps the heart and makes it ache with sorrow.”  …

 “You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept. ”
― Khalil Gibran

The pencil drawing captures my father’s love of turkey hunting;  a kind and unique man, he was once described by a lifelong friend as an ‘individual of individuals.’   He died in 1994, but his smile and spirit are still very much alive to all who knew him.

Today’s Timeout for Art is dedicated to my sister, Pat, who has been enduring some difficult times.   Remember, “Older” Sister, that tears can be a catharsis as they purge the soul.

“Younger” Sister – Z