the mascot and color

People never tire of elephants; these cumbersome beasts are lovely to observe and seem so foreign and they certainly don't fit in our environment but only in the wild. Here you see the mascot gracefully moving the best he can and in such sad spirits it seems to carry, as he drags every bit of weight with him reluctantly. Afterwards, you can see the riot of color by women adorned in their green saris bearing offerings to the Ministry of Tourism. The festival was fun and loud; often the off beat drumming was too much noise but who cared because we were all so happy to witness an Indian celebration.

the ghats

After coming from the town of Aurangabad, Hampi was a soft and wondrous place; filled with Westerners like us, experiencing India's landscape of enchantment and awe. Early mornings, we would wander down by the river and observe all the bathers at the ghats doing their ritual cleanse for the day. That day, we got to see their mascot, the elephant being bathed. We were to see that elephant in Hampi's festival later that evening. Also, the elephant would be placed on the corner of the town square; taking your rupees by his trunk and flinging it into a coin basket would only leave you smiling. Hampi is set up for the Westerner, but it didn't take away it's ancient ruins, humble countryside nor it's magic. It is a place to be visited.

intermezzo and gray studies

Here are some cowboy hats that eight graders painted using tempera paint. Our objective was to study values of gray. I brought in my cowboy hat that I bought in Arizona years ago and I illuminated the object by using a strong bulb overhead. The light cast a good shadow on a sheet of white butcher block paper. Shadows create the shape, form and make the object look like they are sitting on something rather than floating.

This is another example using shades of gray. Done nicely!

(I took a three month assignment at Mears Middle School for the art teacher who is away on maternity leave. The experience has been challenging and I am continually fascinated by the behavior of these young adults.)

Hats off to some good work!

rural India, a Hampi landscape

(I have been tooling around and experimenting with video for almost three years; working on editing and not to mention meaningful content is a rigorous journey. This is a new art form for me and most of these clips I term as travelogues or vignettes.)

While we were in Hampi, we discovered rural India and everything else under the sun. We loved walking down to the river mornings while most of the community bathed and completed their daily rituals. In the same water, you can see woman doing the laundry. Other parts of Hampi were peppered with ruins and some very significant temples. It was very magical and had a relaxed air of centuries past. One day, we rented bikes for five bucks and rode to the outskirts of the city. The warm breezes and dusty winds were very comforting. Every minute in India is full with never a dull moment; you are either surrounded by the locals walking by or the painted oxen in the fields, not to mention a musical air that accompanies the scenery, that uplifts, takes you in and sweeps you off your feet.

temple dancers

These drawings are done on masonite with oil stick, paint and gesso. After observing several caves and outside facades on our India travels, I decided to do some figurative gestural studies. I work on a table surrounded with several boards (perhaps fifteen or more) and I rotate very quickly going from one image to another. I look at some imagery of photographs that I took from the sites; but work collectively and intuitively, mainly stemming from gut responses, these drawings were hatched very freely. Personally, I love them, because the figures dance openly and evoke movement from the moment.