AK

As much as I travel around and see other places, distant countries and cultures, I feel like I live in a remote part of the world which can be considered a paradise in itself. Alaska, for all it's quirks (and being from Palin land), has redeemed itself to me onto another plane. The skiing is superb; fabulous trails that go on for miles without seeing another person in sight. (And it is all free!) The recreation in Anchorage, my home at the moment, is endless. Also, the Native Alaskan mentality is rich and plenty; it takes some time getting to know and understand it. I have made a home here. I use to complain that the art was thin in places; it is, but I can get out and see other countries and places and bring back memories from afar and still create a rich cultural experience. As an entrepreneur - an artist and educator, I get ample time in the studio to work, contemplate, ski, cook, read, do thorough research; among other luxuries, the list goes on. Alaska has made me spoiled AND I have to watch that I don't get too comfortable because being comfortable always makes me suspicious. Who knows, maybe I have been missing out on this reality or never thought I deserved it.

so called comfort at Sagada - 12/15/08

The bus ride to Sagada was an exercise in meditation. You cannot read anything; there is too much bouncing around but I enjoy the frequent bathroom stops every few hours, one in particular at the local Comfort Room. This facility was very raw. I never sit on the toilet seat; squatting and peeing as fast as I can insures me a good isometric workout. Afterwards, I dip one of the old plastic jugs into a drum of water and flush my waste out. There are several women around, all doing the same; wanting to be liberated from this ridiculous act. The bus ride is long and winding and the small breaks; seeing the town folk, the farmers, the old wrinkled sun drenched women and men coming toward our bus, each with their fruits of labor to sell for small change, beautiful foods, plenty of green all stirs me and engulfs me. It is breathtaking and at the same time painful experiencing this landscape. Some of the small shacks that I see, their homes would not be imaginable to live in and the wretched poverty upsets me. I see a group of laughing young girls mount the stairs of our bus to catch a local ride and one teenager was missing her two front teeth. This stirs an anxiousness in me, a weird disconnect and I keep trying to reassure myself with nagging questioning if this is all okay with me.

journal entry 12/18/08

Thoughts while stranded on a long bus journey from the mountain province of Sagada back to Bagio; checking out interesting name titles of passing jeepneys keep me glued to the road. Some of the most intriguing and funny/odd names on the jeepneys were -
Hearty
Kingdom Melodies
Golden Rule
D'Young Riders
D'Best of Us
D'Champs
Ladies Choice
Help me Hold on
Help me Hold on II
God and God Alone

Sunday's Threads

Friday, I boarded a plane for the week-end to attend my reception at the State Museum in Juneau. My solo exhibition titled Sunday's Threads was nicely attended. Pictured is my video that welcomes the viewer into the room that hosts my scrolls and tapestries. These works are experimentations; predominately a painter, I often go off the beaten track to try to discover freshness with my expressions and seek other ways of working to uncover new ideas. I was interviewed on public radion that aired at KTOO that Friday, January 23. The museum will be buying a piece of my artwork for their permanent collection.

The next day, I hosted two workshops in scroll making. The students did a wonderful job collaging and painting on the surfaces of verticle pieces of fabric. Below, you can see how complicated and intricate some of the pieces became. The children were quite involved for a good two hours; a feat in the world of working with young people and keeping them inspired is always a challenge.

I was also fortunate to get a tour by one of the local residents and see the town of Juneau and it's immediate surroundings. Juneau is a lovely town littered with quaint homes of character that lean right up against the mountains. Flying into the town was dramatic. Below I got to see the splendid (and diminishing) Mendenhall Glacier. It was quite impressive.

Rama Beach

On our way up north to Central Luzon, we stopped at the Rama Beach Resort in the Zambales Province, located about four hours from Manila. One of the best ways of getting to know the country is being with the natives. Roger, an Australian expatriate and owner of Rama Beach Resort is married to a Filipino, and we became fast buddies during our stay. Roger showed us his environmental project - saving the baby turtles eggs that are often found on the beach by the natives. They bring the eggs to Roger; he buries the eggs and after a period of incubation in the sand, they are released out into the the vast South China Sea. Above, you can see them scurrying for their lives. I got to let a few go and wondered how the hell these tiny little creatures were ever going to make it.

The shells eggs were very soft and I was lucky to hold a few and let the tiny turtle work his way out of the shell. Some are still born, and chances of them swimming their way successfully into the ocean and surviving is about 10%. You can see part of the shell toward the bottom of this photograph.

This is a sight of the Zambales shore often lined with nipa huts. It is a rugged coast, rolling mountains with a vast sea horizon. The South China Sea was very calm that day. The Philippines are known for their tremendous typhoons. Also, this is the area that Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991. I collected some pumice stone still laying throughout the beaches.

from one paradise to another

I am showing pictures from my favorite spots from our recent travels. The Philippines wasn't our greatest venture, but I received some wonderful insights which triggered inspiration and excitement for new work to create. The rice fields above are like a quilted pattern; immensely beautiful with subtle colors. This is in the northern part of Luzon, in a small town called Sagada. Every morning at 4:30am, the church bells would ring loudly for mass. Ninety percent of Filipinos are Catholic. We met some lovely villagers one day and Ken and I had a magical moment of a ride in a jeepney (the standard mode of vehicle which is like a long wagon) with some of the elders all adorned with original headdresses and regalia from their regional tribe. Priceless.

I discovered that I love to leave a place and get onto the next destination. We bring our pack backs and go pretty light; although possessions get heavier as time passes. This is me at a bus station in Baguio, located in the northern area of Luzon. Bus rides were very rocky; lots of winding up steep inclines and dizzying sights from below. You were in deep denial most of the time or looked the other way. Both ways worked! Bus rides were L-O-N-G; sometimes close to 8 hours long.

This is an underwater shot that Ken took. I love it because is looks like an abstract surreal fabric print. We loved island hopping. You needed to rent a banka (a flat light weight motored craft with extended rudders on each side) for the day (which cost around 40 bucks) and you went from one place to another, snorkeling, looking at the wondrous shell life to soaking up the sun. It never got too immensely hot on the islands. It is the cool time in December. I never got too tired of the water, which relaxed me and soothed my soul. We picked up some beautiful shells to add to our collection. This shot was taken on Palawan Island, on the Sulu Sea.

And lastly, we spent some time in a colonial Spanish town called Vigan. Around town you would come across these wooden religious icon figures. I loved these painted reliefs and this place inspired me to work at some carvings for my next projects. I have in mind to make abstract wooden figures and adorn them with the shells, trinkets and curios that I picked up. Stay tuned.

adieu (and a follow up on it's a crap shoot)

Just off the phone with my friend Terry; who house sits for us while we travel, I exclaimed my dismay over the situation happening in Mumbai, India. Ken and I have fond memories of our visit to New Delhi in 2005-06. We were in the northern part of India when the tsunamis hit. It was a devastating day too; as I recall traveling back to meet Ken at the hotel from my residency at the Sanskriti Foundation and noticing the digital news info on a business billboard about the death toll from the floods. It shook us, and my first reaction was to return home, but as the hours passed we realized that the world resumes its natural state and you continue going about your business. The sun keeps on rising.

As we take off to the Philippines for another journey this early December, I remain peaceful about our upcoming trip. The world has seemed to take a darker turn; (has it always been this way? perhaps so.....) but ever so recently, the landscape appears to be getting bleaker. We continue to go about our lives, visit, see and experience, laugh and enjoy, all while recognizing how good we have it and with a humble heart too and as I told friends on the trails last week who I bumped into while skiing, that I thought it was a good time to travel. And yes, I still believe it is a good time to travel.