Tags
artivive, augmented reality, Domenica & Amelia, Lisa Brunetti art, Museo Portoviejo, portoviejo ecuador, step into my world
Portoviejo Ecuador
Domenica & Amelia – Traitor
(Olivia Rodrigo Cover)
3,000+ views in 20 hours! Not bad for a cold start from the middle of the world!
Meet my friend Shadia’s beautiful and multi-talented niece (Amelia) and her friend Domenica. Pass the link and help their YouTube view counter soar to the stars! (It’s already soaring without anyone’s help – just their God-given talents and beautiful energies!)
Domenica & Amelia
Voz: Ameilia Mendoza Safady
Guitarra: Domenica Zapata Duenas
Disenadora de Vestuario: Rima Safady Darwiche
Her mother (Rima, who is also a culinary artist and describes herslf as an ovarian cancer warrior) has designed some amazing evening wear, so her name on the video credits as dress designer was no surprise to me. Peek at her instagram posts: rimasafadyatelier https://www.instagram.com/rimasafadyatelier/
The gown on the far right is Rima’s design.
Ok – Back to the present! Immersion in nature is a good choice for these extended Covid times. There seems to be an acceleration of ‘back to normal’ lifestyles – which concerns me. We, as a species, are weary of being proactive against the invisible enemy. We yearn to attend events, sing in collective harmony, bask in traditions that are comforting and familiar. Most of us ponder the events of the past year and hope to emerge from this virus-tainted chapter of life. Do we resume our previous patterns and behavior after this extended pause? Have we grown wiser, more sensitive?
While many celebrate Thanksgiving, others reflect on the loss of loved ones. Some are battling their own health challenges. A good friend and his family are presently ‘sweating out’ Covid infections even though they were vaccinated. They feel that the vaccinations will buffer them from what could be a worst-case scenario, but I will be relieved when they are all well again. The virus continues to play the role of a Trojan Horse, and we should all remember to remain cautious.
…………………
“Step into My World” – Museo Portoviejo – Ecuador
October 2021 – April 2022
Some visitors tested the app on the banner that anchors the first flight of stairs at the museo.
The unexpected egret tracks make people smile.
Sometimes our attempts fail for spacing the visitors.
After activating the Artivive app, these visitors were asked to aim their phones at Carlos Wellington’s shirt … and augmented reality leaped into their world.
“Como John James Audubon *, estoy retratando mi amado mundo natural, uno que espero capturar y compartir con otros antes de que los humanos hayan destruido este frágil ecosistema.
Like John James Audubon*, I am painting my beloved natural world, one that I hope to capture and share with others before humans have destroyed this fragile ecosystem.” – Lisa Brunetti
Between visitors at the museum, I add watercolor to the prints of some of the drawings. (Common Tody Flycatcher)
The whimsical iguana remains a favorite. The people stare in wonder as the image changes to an iguana holding that same pose, then bobbing its head in classic iguana style.
The balsa tree trunk on the left anchors the final painting before the show weans to Giovanni’s section. The portrait captures the tree’s essence when it seemed to exist solely for my personal viewing pleasure. Many people requests poses here.
Every so often a few people from the museum duck into the gallery for a quiet meeting. Sights like this warm my heart and also make me thankful.
A group of displaced people from Venezuela hope to one day return to their homeland. Their histories remind me to be grateful during this Thanksgiving holiday.
The study of a monkey mask (from Panama) changes into a video of Howler Monkeys in their natural setting. This one is also popular.
It is especially touching when someone reads my words out loud:
“… Ya no es ‘suficiente’ admirar esta porción de cielo en la tierra. Hoy el área permanece desprovista de los sonidos de la invasión humana. Los sonidos de las motosierras regresarán; el aroma de los incendios anunciará otra área despejada con éxito, “Desmalezado” de la vegetación original, el paisaje ilustra el silencioso mensaje por parte del hombre: “Esto es mío”, con poco respeto hacia lo que una vez floreció aquí.
Nuestro futuro depende de reconocer que las viejas formas no siempre son las mejores, y que es hora de encontrar nuevos modos de ser dignos guardianes de este planeta “.
“…It is no longer ‘enough’ to admire this slice of heaven on earth. Today the area remains void of the sounds of human encroachment. The sounds of chain saws will return; the aroma of fires will announce another area successfully cleared. Wiped clean of the original vegetation, the landscape illustrates man’s silent message: “This is mine ” – with little respect to what once thrived here.
Our future depends on acknowledging that the old ways are not always the best, and it’s time to find new ways to be worthy guardians of this planet.” Lisa Brunetti
Nov 20, 2021
A new series incubates: Vanishing Manabi
Here in my daily museum routine, most everyone observes the importance of masks. There is often a lapse in good judgment, however, for the sake of a group photo. I struggle with this, as it seems to be for vanity’s sake, but I also note that most of my friends who have lost loved ones to Covid are the ones who keep their masks in the proper place.
Another recent event about violence against women.
An event in the nearby Parque las Vegas for Womens and Children’s rights.
As we finish this year and prepare for a new one, please continue to be smart and proactive. This virus wants to survive and is playing hardball. We wouldn’t run a marathon and then stop when the finish line is in sight; we can’t afford to have made it this far, only to let down our guard. As a good friend and fishing guide once said to me when we were tarpon fishing, “Lisa; you rest, and the fish rests.”
My niece Karen – Jumping Tarpon – Rio Colorado Lodge Costa Rica (Her brother Don and his wife Dana are in the other boat.) Great memories!
Stay proactive everyone, and may you all stay well.
Love, Lisa
Yellow-tailed Oriole – hand-colored print by Lisa Brunetti.
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
I enjoyed your post about the museum! I absorbed it as if I was there. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and Jennie sings her annual Thanksgiving song to you! 🦃
Sent from my iPhone
Hola Amiga, and thank you for Remembering Jennie again. Thinking of you on this special day. Love, Lisa
Thanks Lisa. I love the tour, especially being serenaded by Domenica and Amelia. Nice job. Keith
Thank you, Keith, for the thumbs up for their video! Happy Thanksgiving! What’s on the menu? (My dressing flopped, hahaha. I planned to take it to the museo, but I’ll spare them the pain of artfully dodging their critique of my culinary skills! )
Lisa, sorry about it flopping. We are actually foregoing the turkey and doing only the ham this year. We also have a second Thanksgiving tomorrow at a picnic shelter. Happy Thanksgiving. Keiith
Lisa!!!!
Thank you for the words for my niece, her friend and her mom. We really appreciate it.
Loved your pictures and paints.
Hope your friends get healthy again soon.
Next time you guys meet I hope I can make it and see you.
Take care. Be safe
Shadia! It’s been so wonderful to peek at their video and witness its popularity. Today at the museo I asked Carlos to play it on his phone, and eveyrone in hearing distance agreed – what a gifted voz! Yes, we are way overdue for a visit! See you soon!
Thank you for make them sound in the museum, glad people enjoy it.
Yes!!! I’ve been lost a lot but promise next time you guys meet I’ll be there.
hey amiga. sorry i did not see this earlier. i look forward to seeing you and learning more about ‘behind the scenes’ of making the video. they’re doing really well with the views and comments!
Your Oriole is beautiful, Lisa. Wishing you a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you! It took many layers of watercolor to build those yellows, but definitely worth the effort. Thanks, Amiga!
Again, Miss Z, beautiful photos, wonderful thoughts, and excellent music to boot. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and hopefuly more to br thankful for in the next year. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours both in the States and your adopted land.
Thank you, Don. It’s been a busy day, but probably not like it is in the USA. I hope that you’ve had a nice Thanksgiving with your loved ones! It’s hard to believe that December is almost here!
I love the photo captioned “Who’s there?”—it looks to me like a surfer who just got smacked back by a wave. 😄
You made me laugh, and you’re right!
The last time we had a strong earthquake, you ‘caught it’ really fast via Latin news — half an hour ago the landscape jiggled a long time – the epicenter in neighboring Peru…
Lisa, I always love seeing your beautiful art and of course your nature photos. The bases of those trees are so amazing! The owl is so cute. The turtle shots amused me. When I first started going to the Preserve, I’d see small, dark things sticking out of the water. I didn’t realize they were the very tips of the turtles noses. 🙂
Thanks for including the beautiful music.
janet
Yes, it’s hard to spot those turtles – and down here the crocodiles or caimans – not many and not often, but those latter ones are sneaky and fast!
Always a pleasure to see your art, Liss. So glad that your museum show will be up to enjoy for many months. Happy Thanksgiving!
Yes, the museum is really good to the local artists and do many events for the locals. It’s rewarding to work with them. Thank you so much!
Lisa!
Your oriole is beautiful! This morning I discovered brilliant goldfinches at my feeders; last night’s (not so terribly cold) front and strong winds no doubt brought them in. We rarely get to see them so colorful; they usually arrive later, after they’ve begun to fade a bit. It was a nice after-Thanksgiving Day reason to give thanks! Good to see your report of all the goings-on, and it’s good to know you day was a fine one, too. The feast I shared with friends included the best collard greens I’ve ever had. I’m on the trail of the recipe!
How lovely that the goldfinches added their own splashes of color for the holiday season! You made me laugh about being on the trail of a recipe, and if anyone can track it down, it’s you! You’ll return with a great story to pair with the recipe!
Love love love your ‘songs of the season’ post. I’ve not heard the song and am heading there in the next half hour to enjoy it. I’ve been out most of the day or else sleeping between outings. The strong earthquake in Peru jolted the entire country into ‘fight of flight’ mode at 5:53 this morning. I was already awake and working on the computer before attending an early morning event. later in the day, the entire city seemed to be buzzing wiht actifivity – probably all stocking up, much in the way people in your area stock up before a hurricane arrives. this morning’s minute-long salsa was a literal ‘wake up’ call.!
She has a lovely, clear and resonant voice! The birds are simply wonderful as always. The Oriole is especially beautiful. We have our own endemic Jamaican Oriole (and a very occasional visit from Baltimore Orioles!) I can honestly say they are my favorites. There is something about that gold and black. And they always announce their arrival with a little song! I wish I could visit your museum. I am happy to hear from you – it’s a wonderful round-up of events and musings (the logging – not so wonderful, in fact heartbreaking). Sending warmest wishes from our little island!
Wow. thanks to eBird, I admired that Jamaican Oriole – what a lovely one to call your own!
https://ebird.org/species/jamori1
It reminds me of a mix between the Golden Grosbeak and the Orioles. Looking for a good image of the Golden Grosbeak, I discovered it has a new name – the syntax is lousy: Yellow-bellied thick-billed and also: Yellow ventricle thickbeak
https://ebird.org/species/gobgro1/EC-M
Who knows, maybe one of these years the show can find its way to Jamaica – featuring migratory and resident species that are found in both places – or their close cousins. Hmmm, we’ll have to let this incubate!
You are right about the songs that are almost as colorful as their plumage. I was pleased with the colors in the ‘test’ — almost as vivid as seeing one in real life!
I”m glad that the hurricane season wasn’t too brutal to your area this year.
EBird is so great isn’t it! We have several other Orioles (different races) across the Caribbean. That’s an idea about the show, now! Who knows, it could happen… Yes, the hurricane season has its moments – we had the edge of two bad storms that caused more damage – but compared to recent years, it was bearable. Take care and enjoy the holiday season!
This year an area a few hours away is preparing for a Christmas circle — am so looking forward to participating.
On a totally different thought, is your moringa still blooming, hosting hummingbirds and making fresh green leaves?
Lisa, I’m overwhelmed – there is so much in this post, I don’t know how to digest it. Well, I will say that the park looks incredibly exotic to me – ohh, I would have fun there! The SA Snapping turtle looks an awful lot like the ones we have here. 🙂 Once I rescued one in the road…pulled over, very carefully lifted it, set it down away from the road, and hoped it wouldn’t try to cross again. 😉
There’s not any real ‘back to normal’ here – masks are still a requirement inside just about every place I can think of other than private homes. As tedious as it is, I agree with you, we have to stay cautious.
The app T-shirt is very cool – that’s new to me!
Oh, Joe would LOVE the app that makes the iguana’s head bob – he still talks about the time we visited a zoo and watched ‘Rocco’ the iguana bob his head, seemingly with great pleasure, when the docent gave him attention. Too cute!
I’m glad you put that quote next to your artwork.
Are the prints that you are adding color to going to be sold at the Museo?
Your Museo photos surprise me with the crowds of people who look so comfortable there. It’s not the kind of museum visitor that you see in New York’s major museums. It’s good. 🙂
I thought the numerous logging trucks we see here had big trees on them but they are nothing compared to that giant on your truck. Ugh. Yes, we need to, and we can log SOME trees and we can do it sustainably – but never those huge trees. They need to remain in place.
Vanishing Manabi – yes, Lisa, do it! Please! I love the pictures of the buildings and I know you will find so much more.
The final hand-colored print is beautiful. Congratulations again on the show, Lisa!!
Thanks for the chuckles about the iguana. Every so often when someone is there at that painting – before it changes to the video, I ask the painted iguana, “Do I look like I’m 30 years old?” and of course, the iguana never gives a ‘no’ reply, always ‘yes yes yes,’ so we chuckle, admire the video then move to the next distraction. I think I’m going to have to find a way to do a ‘walk through’ for all of you on WordPress – to hit the high points and experience some of the videos.
The hand-colored print started out looking lousy. Those first layers of anemic watercolor made me think, ‘not worth the effort’ but the other voice spoke louder, the one of experience and patience and trust, and it said, ‘come on, Lisa. you’re too old (ja!) to second guess this!’ It was amazing how strong it became, but only after many layers of color, and a bit of gouache that gave it even more depth.
A belated happy Thanksgiving Lisa. I love the oriole. So beautiful. And the multi-hued iguana.
Alison
Thanks, and may colors take us through this final month of the year – the oriole especially seems to own a color of hope – and a lovely voice as well.
The claws on that turtle!
Between claws and jaws, we have good reasons to give those turtles due respect! Thanks, Emilie!
I was thinking the other day that you’ve given us so many samples of Bisbee, that I feel as if I’ve visited!
Thanks for the link to the beautiful musical performance. And for sharing your beautiful art in picture and words. I wholeheartedly agree with your advice to stay vigilant and alert.
Best wishes,
Tanja
Ha. After reading your post about your trip and back – (esp the first part!) you are a good judge and example for travel in Covid times! Thank you!