Indian Writing

5.1 cm x 7.6 cm, 2B graphite & Not-2B eraser ;P

February 2016

From photos I took

"Indian Writing" would be a nice companion piece for "Steady Hand" (see Feb. 20 post).

The first two items are from photos I took at a heritage village, DakshinaChitra, on the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu, South India:

~  an old writing tool (made of wood & metal, looks like a combination switchblade & hoof pick)

~  an old "book" of bamboo slats, bundled in its mid-section with a silk cord and sandwiched between two boards of elaborately carved wood

I don't know which language is written in the book.  I do know that some ancient Indian languages  - including Tamil -  were originally written on palm leaves.  Tamil, one of the most common languages of South India, is one of the oldest languages on the planet, yet it's still spoken by about eighty million people around the globe!

The writing tool was mounted to the wall on a plastic plate.  It was held open with fishing line (you can see its straight lines in the drawing) wrapped around a plastic knob (lower right corner of the mounting).  One thing I like about Indian museums I've visited is their resourcefulness in building displays.

The book was resting on a small plastic shelf, but I drew it as resting atop a stone.  A stone I saw somewhere else.

~  The stone is part of Kailasanatha Temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.  This temple was built in the 8th Century CE.  Nearly every surface of it has elaborate carvings of images & of script.  Yet none of it is guarded by "cinema rope" or anything.  Most of its outer sanctum & fifty-eight smaller shrines are exposed to the weather & to people.  A behemoth, ancient work of art, left unprotected because it is still a living temple.  It contains a symbolic passage for circumambulating.  If you want to know the meaning, you will have to either visit or ask me ;)  If you think circumambulating is silly, quaint, or atavistic, you should get yourself over to the labyrinth at St Andrews Church on 24th St W (Billings, Montana) & just try it!  You will surely discover something.

I was thrilled out of my gourd when our guide pointed to this stone  - and other parts of the temple -  and told us that the script carved into it is in Pali.  Oh what a thrill!  Why is this so arresting?

1) Pali is the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon, the first known documentation (1st Century BCE) of the historical Buddha's oral teachings.  The Buddha wanted people to transmit his teachings in their own tongues instead of using Sanskrit, the language of scholars & of the priestly class.  Truly a man of the people.  The joy of seeing Pali was akin to the joy I would feel at seeing Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus the Christ in a time when scholars & clerics used Greek & Hebrew.

2)  Pali had non-aspirated consonants, so it would have sounded very, very soft to the ears.  You can hear 14 seconds' worth here:  http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/smp_pali.mp3.  One thing that always strikes me about so many Dravidian people is the extraordinary softness in their speech and movements.  It's contagious.  I soften there.  On the last trip it started the moment I stepped out of the airport & smelled burning Water Buffalo dung / cow dung.  South Indians say "Slowly" quite often, a gentle reminder similar to Costa Ricans' "Tranquilo", but I have seen some running... in bare feet... on stone.  The day after I first ran & danced barefoot on marble, my heels were so painfully bruised I could hardly walk.  I never had that problem again because I've adopted that wonderful Dravidian softness... at least while I'm there.

Above the book at DakshinaChitra was a sign whose words & font I copied in this drawing.  I found it interesting that the sign was in English, one of a handful of linguae francae in India (with 23 official national languages).  I also get a kick out of the juxtaposition of "Please Do Not Touch The Exhibits" & all the historical objects & places that don't make this request.  I question reliance on our decent upbringing ;P

MAY YOU BE AWARE OF YOUR CONNECTION WITH ANCESTORS

MAY YOU RELAX INTO SOFTNESS IN YOUR BODY & HEART 

Keeping an Eye on You

 13 1/2" x 10 1/2", watercolor & watercolor pencil, December 2008

From a photo I took

I wondered if this Great Green Macaw, its beak tucked under its right wing, was trying to sleep.  I don't see how they can sleep, since they're so noisy! 

  My dad often said, w/ a wink & a smile, "Someone's always gotta keep an eye on you."  So even today, when I focus on the eye of a creature, I remember this & feel Dad's loving presence :))  And I get why he would think that....

My husband, his daughter, & I were illegal immigrants for about ten minutes when we entered Panama (en el camino to the Bocas del Toro Archipelago).  After passing inspection at the first passport-inspector, the next border guard denied us passage unless we had proof that we would return to Costa Rica.  What to do?  We had already walked  - carefully! -  across the dilapidated bridge into Panama (which quite a few Latinas glided across with surprising grace & aplomb in their stiletto heels).  

A helpful Panamanian told us we could go to a nearby kiosk & buy a bus pass, good for the rest of our lives.   A meager amount of dollars later, we presented our bus passes to the same border guard, who waved us through.  The same stranger who told us about the bus pass kiosk offered to lend me his jacket for the three days we would be in "Bocas" because it gets cold at night.  He also phoned the shack at the über-rustic boat dock, asked for me by name, and said he was calling to make sure we were being taken care of & didn't need anything.  This gentleman made up for the chap in the passport office who reproached Em & I for the USA's attack on Panama City... when I was at university & she was a small child.

Stay tuned for artworks that tell more true stories:

~   of how singing "Buffalo Soldier" along w/ a crazy-behaving person in Bocas made him smile warmly... then go away {Moral of the story: You never know what snippet of experience or knowledge you have that will help you in the future; life itself is education!}

~  of an even more nervy border crossing from Nicaragua to Costa Rica; being called into the border station for questioning because they thought I was taking a $20,000 cultural antiquity out of the country; the relief & bonhomie everyone in the station felt when we figured out my mistake {Moral of the story: Take whatever happens to you in good faith, & remember when the culture you're in uses commas vs periods!}  [The Nicaragua series (yeah, there are more cool stories) will probably be "framed" in cigar boxes.  There's a reason for that ;)  BTW nobody asked about the $4,000 hammock!]

~  of the 14+-hour flight from Dulles (in D.C.) to Dubai, seated between two Afghani brothers who treated me like a queen... we prayed together, sang, & laughed our heads off for hours {Moral of the story: Prepare, at all times, to be delighted.  "Nothing is exactly as it seems, nor is it otherwise."  - Alan Watts}

Metric tonnes of true stories are clamoring to come out of me!  They're drivin' me nuts!  But now that I've given them some airtime here, they will relax so I can make more art (whew!)....

MAY YOU NOTICE THE BEAUTY OF THIS WORLD & THE GOODNESS IN PEOPLE 

Hope is the thing with feathers

watercolor & watercolor pencil, 2009

size: ? I don't know.  Given as a greeting card to someone.

from a photo I took in our yard

"'Hope' is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops  - at all-

And sweetest  - in the Gale -  is heard - 

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I've heard it in the chillest land - 

And on the strangest Sea - 

Yet  - never -  in Extremity,

It asked a crumb  - of me."

- Emily Dickinson

from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edit. R.W. Franklin, Harvard University Press, 1999

This is one of my favorite graces for mealtime/anytime: giving thanks for things in nature that don't demand anything of us.  

Provocative question: Does the universe operate on a quid pro quo basis?  Does your conclusion carry a prescription for how we should operate as humans?  How does this inform our relationship with the Divine?

I chose the Black-capped Chickadee for this poem because of (besides its Cute Factor) its remarkable ability to regulate its body temperature.  You could look it up ;)

Holding Her Station

24.2 cm x 32.7 cm soft pastel, May 2007

From my mind.  I have since learned that a bullfighter does not wear a flouncy scarf.  But I would ;P

Originally I made "Holding Her Station" to describe my overall feeling while being groomed to assume directorship of a prestigious, international, private, K-12 school in Costa Rica.  I had never lived outside of the USA, had a paltry command of Spanish (though I needed that as well as French, Russian, etc.), & was in a job w/ more challenges than I had encountered since puberty.  My characteristic, lifelong hiccups disappeared for two weeks!  But I felt so alive.  I felt like I was contributing in some bumbling manner, walking w/ a positive footprint... and standing in my suit of lights, facing El Toro (challenges).  You can see the "Whoosh!" of the air above my red cape.

{BTW while doing this piece, I thought that a toreador suit would make a fabulous (& highly visible) cycling kit!  Pearl Izumi said they would evaluate a design if it was patented.  There's an idea for you, anyone who wants to do this.  Just please make a woman-shaped version of it, too.  And notify me so I can buy one.}

Now I relate to this piece as a metaphor for facing the slavering bull of managing my time.  A brilliant cellist has curvature of the spine from his work.  A great & influential thinker got carbuncles on his bum from sitting to write his magnum opus.  A master painter had a disastrously messy home.  I am grateful to people like this for their sacrifices for their huge contributions to humanity, but I choose a more balanced, healthful life for myself.

I enjoy connecting w/ people (friends/strangers, in all moods/dispositions).  People delight & energize me.  I enjoy doing useful things, whether vigorous physical labor, serving food to homeless folks, brainstorming/meditating together, or listening to someone unload (or lock 'n' load, since I live in Montana).  This human experience is so unbelievably rich!  

        .... But I'm doing art now.  I've given the last two decades of time/energy to helping/working (w/ & w/out pay) & stepping up to the plate when someone needs something.  These next several years are for Lisa.  I must create art w/ improving proficiency so that I keep my life force; I am sealing the leaks.  I must hold my station every time someone suggests that I should do more of whatever they are doing.  Of course it's so nice to be invited & to know that other people want me around (thank you; I'm fond of you too).  Of course I will continue to step up to the plate for friends, & as the Divine guides me to.   Will my intention be easier to notice if I'm wearing a suit of lights?  

I like the Costa Rican way of stating what one does (for occupation or avocation):  "I dedicate myself to...."  ¡Y así, me dedico al arte hasta nuevo aviso!

¡MAY YOU DISCOVER & RUN WITH YOUR PASSION!

¡PUEDE QUE DESCUBRA Y CORRER CON SU PASION!

No Ordinary Ride

2" x 2" 2B graphite (& Not-2B eraser)

From a photo taken by Kristi Drake

This is also going into the Sunrise Gallery Miniature Artworks show.  A magnifying glass reveals cool details (the expression & action of the walking figure, the textured design of the iron streetlamp, the topiary in front of the building, etc.).   "No Ordinary Ride" shows me on an ordinary; all other elements are from my imagination.  See my post "Too Short for This Ordinary" for the full story.  

I did research images to use (w/ credits, of course), opted not to use them, but want to mention one potential source anyway because I was so jazzed up about what this blogger is getting across:  mcaputo of http://www.hoerrschaudt.com/what-makes-a-great-urban-street/.  I think often about how public spaces are places for social connection, physical activity, & mental vitality.  

May you enjoy these opportunities in my belovéd Billings, Montana :)

Steady Hand

2" x 3", 2B graphite & Not-2B eraser ;P

Detail of a photo taken by Joel Bowers

Finished "Steady Hand" last night.    

It will be in the Miniature Artworks Show @ Sunrise Studio & Art Gallery (2923 Montana Ave) February 22 - March 7.  Come watch us actually work on art & meet the artists @ the artists' reception February 25, 6:00 - 9:00pm... & bring a magnifying glass!  

"Steady Hand" is from a photo my wonderful husband took in Nov. 2012, in Tamil Nadu, South India.  At 10:30am our friend Vijayji told me that extra digits are very auspicious in Dravidian culture.  Excited that their culture values this anomaly instead of cutting them off, I prayed for the sight of this.  4:30pm I noticed that the artist painting mendhi on my right hand/arm had a vestigial "thumb"  - no knuckles, nail, or prints -  on his right hand.  This drawing shows the moment I noticed (I remember how much of the design he had applied already).  I noticed mainly because of the facial expressions of Vijay Vijaysan!  BTW if you go to Chennai, you'll want to know Vijay, so ask me.

The Divine DOES respond to our prayers/intentions!!  And it doesn't have to be about something "noble" such as "make me more patient"!  Prayers can be "answered" so fast, in ways you didn't expect... so PAY ATTENTION :)

The script in the upper right-hand corner is in Tamil.  It says, "mendhi 80 rupees". 

Notice the perspective; the artist's toe in the lower left corner is a clue.  Which knee is my wrist resting on?  Whose hand is supporting the top hand to steady it?  What is his right pinky finger braced against to provide more stability?  Did I do a decent job of drawing a gold-foil mendhi holder (shaped like a cake decorator) in graphite?

This is the debut of my new signature.  The four dots over the "i" represent the Trapezium in the Orion Nebula.  This is gravid with symbolism & actual amazing facts.  But that's a whole 'nother essay.  Ask me if you want to know.  I will answer you during office hours :)

My Calliope

14" x 17", Colored pencil (some metallic) & metallic gold pen, February 2016
From a photo (I've taken liberties with) on this website: http://thc.utah.edu/lectures-programs/past-lectures/Allende.php

My favorite fiction author, Isabel Allende.  

The symbolism:

Main motif: Calliope Hummingbird.  Calliope = Greek muse of eloquence and epic poetry; the most assertive muse.  The male Calliope Hummingbird has a brilliantly-colored gorget.  This pattern of specialized throat feathers erects during courtship and territorial behaviors.  Although this is the smallest bird in North America and the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world, and although males aren't usually aggressive toward other species, they are extremely aggressive toward other male Calliopes during breeding season and have been observed chasing large hawks!  Allende eloquently speaks her mind in epic style.  She's also a social activist, particularly in the realm of female issues across the globe.  In this drawing, there are two different Calliope gorget patterns repeated in the wallpaper, in Allende's skirt, and featured as a pendant at her throat. Her hair mimics some shapes in the gorget patterns (or do they mimic her?).  

Allende is way prettier than I have depicted (just wait 'til I gain some skill).  While I was drawing Allende's eyelashes in this portrait, I had memories of being late for classes  - while at university, nearly thirty years ago -  because I had "mascara accidents".  The only way to get your eyelashes to separate is to use a tool.  If you accidentally poked yourself in the eye, the eye would water so much that all the mascara you had already applied would cry right off, and you had to dab it thoroughly and wait for the eye to stop watering to reapply it, now a bit nervous about the tool.  After dipping into this memory, I realized too late that I had made the subject's eyelashes very unrealistic-looking.  Perfect.  This is what we women do... on purpose.  I think I'll wear makeup next Thursday (no tool this time)....

I changed the colors of her attire & background for symbolic reasons I'm sure Allende would like.  I made the way she is holding one of her books with its spine facing that hand, i.e., she is looking at the back of the book.  I imagine that she's feeling a surge of vitality after reading the words "crackles with action" in a comment from the Forth Worth Star-Telegram.  

I saw my rudimentary sketches of Calliope Hummingbirds as a chance to introduce layers of alternate planes of reality into this piece, since Allende's style is often described as "magical realism".  The bird above the quote at her right shoulder has a very assertive look to his eye and posture.  He appears to be part of the wallpaper, but also part of the wood-framed quote hanging on the wall.  The bird at her right shoulder is active, too, flying toward her with a more friendly eye, as if he is eager to tell her something (muse aspect, male voice).  The bird below her elbow is gazing directly at the viewer, at rest, as is Allende herself.  One commenter said it's an "'I told you so' look".  I like that.  There is a less-detailed (more in mystical realm) female (no gorget) incorporated into the wallpaper behind the direct-gazing bird.  She is active, but flying away and behind the scenes.  She is quietly carrying out the work of Allende's voice, both through eloquent words and her non-profit foundation.  The female (no gorget) above her left shoulder is whispering in my fave author's ear (muse aspect, female voice).  The male birds represent the yang way of working in the world (tangible, active, direct, using force, making things happen); the females represent the yin way of working in the world (mystical, subtle, indirect, using appropriate timing).  Both are needed; both are beneficial.  BTW this is about qualities, not gender.  Everyone contains both types of qualities.  Many people are born w/ physical qualities of both; see http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency to get an idea how common this is.  More on that later; this post is about this pencil painting.

BTW, it's meaningful/beautiful to me that I remember learning the word "calliope" (in reference to the music machine on wheels) from my father when I was a kid.  Many years later, I love the music from Baka Beyond!

MAY YOU HANG OUT WITH YOUR MUSES!

Personal Mountain Realm

14" x 18", oil, October 2012

This lives in my studio, beneath the doghouse-style skylights (thanks to Ed Gulick of High Plains Architects & TurnLeaf Construction for energy-efficient remodel).  The studio feels like an owl aerie: 

~  halfway up the Rimrocks, w/ huge skylights looking up to the top of "the Rims" (what the locals call them), big windows w/ views along the Rims both East & West; sweeping views of the Yellowstone Valley + three mountain ranges to the South: Bighorns, Pryors, & Beartooths

~  pictures of mountains & Mountain Goats (one of the three animals I most identify with)

~  a year-round soundscape of Great Horned Owls, Red Foxes, & sundry birds (ex., Canyon Wren, Western Kingbird, Rough-legged Hawk)

~  smells: mostly the herbal teas I drink a lot of, graphite, paint, turp; visitor-smells (when the windows & skylights are open) include pine & woodsmoke (especially this past Summer)

This is my lofftice!  Too nice to hog all to myself, so sometimes friends come over & do their thang (ex., one does pastels, another plays her flute) while I do mine.  I love both company & solitude.

MAY YOUR ATMOSPHERE BE PLEASING TO YOU

Odalisque in Hay Twine Culottes

14" x 17", soft pastel, February 2016
From a Matisse work (details below; photo thanks to Henri Matisse: A Retrospective , John Elderfield, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1992) & a photo by James Woodcock in Jennifer Groneberg's article "Modern Day Tales From a Big Sky Ranch Wife" in the May/June/July 2015 issue of "Magic City Magazine".  Thanks to the Groneberg family for inspiration + horse image :)

Some folks (who've seen my work from years ago) wonder why I'm not posting artwork on here.  Keep yer chaps on & hold yer horses, cowpokes!  I might post those at some point.  But now is now (can't argue with that).

This piece will be shown at the Montana Agri-Trade Exposition at Metrapark this weekend, in Audubon's Baling Twine booth.  Since ranchers are already a resourceful bunch, this piece is to 1) educate the non-ranching public about uses for repurposed hay twine, 2) give ranchers a laugh, & 3) raise money for our local Audubon.  They're seeking a barn to store up to 40,000 lbs of used hay twine so it can be collected for recycling.  Anybody know anybody with an empty barn?

The title, "Odalisque With Hay Twine Culottes", is an obvious parody of Henri Matisse's "Odalisque With Red Culottes".  My challenges were showing a "credible" horse-woman physique and making fringe (on the browband & noseband, to keep out flies) out of actual, used hay twine, each fiber of which wants to twist & to stick to other fibers.  The wallpaper design is both a nod to Matisse's painting & a combo of common ranch brand symbols.  This gal's beauty tools (hoof pick & sweat scraper) are hanging on the wall with actual hay twine.  There's no curry comb b/c it would've made the background too busy.

Cycling in Pondicherry

This is also my first blog.  I wanted to put it off 'til I get skilled at art.  But this way you get to go on the ride with me!  I promise to be good company, to take good care of you, & to bring snacks ;P  This blog's for you!

Notice my feet reach the pedals on this bike.  Photo taken in Puducherry (formerly "Pondicherry", which is what most Indians I met call it), South India, a year ago.  I normally wear a helmet, but didn't bring it to India with me.  And I only had flip-flops, okay!  In this pic: riding past the Secretariat (provincial government) building.  

"Pondi" is a French protectorate, with French Colonial architecture & other elements of French culture.  Many citizens are fluent in French, and Tamil is the primary language.  It's the only city where I saw a female tuk-tuk driver.  Pondi is the home of Auroville, the "City of Dawn".  I could go on, but we have a few miles to go on this journey today.  Won't you join me?

Too Short for this Ordinary

OK here I go!  This kind chap is hanging onto the bike frame because my feet don't reach the pedals.  I was so enthralled at being allowed to ride an "ordinary" (a longtime dream) that I forgot the Billingsite owner's name.  He let us ride it after a bicycle film fest.  I love this town!  Always something cool happening and super interesting, friendly, helpful people everywhere.  One never knows what surprises are in store when one wakes up in the morning....

I'm finally embarking on fulfilling my greatest worldly desire of making art.  I've squashed & covered up this desire for at least 42 years, permitting myself to merely dabble once in awhile.  Now I'm diving in.  Full immersion.  A skill that doesn't come naturally; an unpracticed skill.  My studio log from yesterday reads "erasing, holding my breath, crying - 8 hrs".  But by bedtime, I had produced three pieces I'm crazy about & I think will delight others.

This journey feels similar to  - but more intense than -  riding an ordinary for the first time when my feet didn't reach the pedals.  It's more like the moment I had to let go of the wing when I went skydiving (not tandem; I had to deploy, brake, & steer).

  I'm so grateful for my mentors, who are hanging onto my metaphorical bike frame.  Robin Earles, of Buffalo Art Press (http://www.buffaloartpress.com), is the most amazing drawing teacher & one of Billings' best kept secrets.  Anyone would benefit from her classes (+ the health-giving laughter we enjoy each class).  I'm about to start a watercolor class taught by Noel Hawke (will share her contact info after I get permission), an irresistibly personable & bright gal whose mere presence inspires me.  Sheri Jarvis (https://www.facebook.com/SheriJarvisPottery/) & Meagan & Michael Blessing (http://blessingfineart.com) are my incredibly talented, endearing, & hilarious coaches & cheerleaders.  My spiritual parents, Amma & Bhagavan, have guided & given me so much, I can't even begin to thank them enough.  All I can do is bow & weep & feel joy spread through every cell of my being.  The greatest one on my team, the one to which I fall on my knees in gratitude every day... is my Divine.  But I will gladly accept assistance from anyone ;)

MAY YOU TAKE HEALTH-GIVING RISKS, 

KNOWING THAT YOU ARE GUIDED & SUPPORTED