New Painting

Hi friends, I have had some time lately to create my own paintings. Here is one that I will be leaving here. It started out as a image for a line Joanna Newsom's song "Monkey and Bear", but has since taken on a life of it's own.

Another painter I've had the privilege of working with -Maria Kreyn

Here's another new friend - Joakim
- who's paintings I love

A Mirror to the People (part 2)

In the evening of the first day we arrived at Mirror, there was already something exciting to take part in. P. Aye told us that a man in a neighboring Akha village had just completed the building of his new house, and there would be an important home-blessing party, as is hillltribe custom, to bring luck to the household. P. Aye encouraged the volunteers to make an appearance, an important symbol of a bond of friendship between the Mirror group and their neighboring tribes. We met together with the other volunteers to pool together a little money, which is customary to present to the family of the new home. We tried to think of other gifts to present to honor this important occasion, and someone managed to come up with a bottle of cheap, nasty hilltribe whiskey, which we presented to our host with red faces and stifled giggles. It was the best we could come up with, as the nearest shop was miles away and we didn’t have much warning in advance. Our host accepted the gift courteously with feigned enthusiasm, clearly a whisky snob like many of the hilltribe men.

My first exposure to a hilltribe village had me pinching myself to check if I was actually there living it for real, not watching a PBS series. Small bamboo huts perched on stilts above my head; packs of children wearing filthy, oversized tee shirts worn like dresses, and colorful blessing threads wrapped around their tiny wrists and necks; water buffalo grazing near by- it was so surreal. The entire small village was outdoors that night, drinking, and sharing food and laughter, glad for the excitement and the excuse for a celebration. The hilltribe people’s faces were dark and striking with high cheekbones and strong features hinting at the Tibetan origin of their ancestry. Their well-worn clothing was a mixture of traditional hilltribe jackets and pants, colorful Thai skirts, and some cheaply-made western-style tees and pieces that somehow found their way to this remote mountain village from a factory in China.

It’s amazing how one’s appetite can go completely away when in a third world country. Luke and I and the other volunteers politely nibbled at the feast that our honored host had spread out on the floor of his new house for us, his guests. We took delicate sips of the brain soup, munched on the raw stalks of some flowers, and gratefully washed the unique flavors down with some Beer Chang that had been specially provided for the occasion.

Later in the week as I sat in the main office on my computer, researching and writing grants for several of Mirror’s initiatives, I forced myself to come to grips with the fact that on this particular trip, the people of Mirror group and the hilltribes would be teaching and helping me more than I would be helping them. Hopefully some benefit could come to them despite the limited amount of time Luke and I could spend with them, but it is I who would benefit the most from this particular visit.

Before we can begin to serve and help the people who’s lives we want to effect and improve, we have to first take time to listen with a closed mouth, to watch with open eyes and hearts, to learn and to understand. Then hopefully in the future, the learning of a culture and understanding of ways that I began on this trip, will enable me to work towards lasting change.

August Mix

Here's the second installment of paintings honoring Ryan's "that time of the month mix". Some of these works were my favorites before our trip to Norway. While some of these paintings I've only discovered since being here. Nevertheless, they are among my favorites.

1. Saint Ana, the Virgen , the son and Saint John - Leonardo da Vinci (1498) - London National Gallery
2. Portrait of Paul Verlain - Carriére (1891) - Musee d'Orsay, Paris
3. (Girl Bathing) Odd Nerdrum (21st Century)
4. Gamle furutrer- Hertervig (1865) - Stavanger, Norway
5. Perseus and Andromeda - Titian (1553/62) - Wallace Collection, London
6. Self Portrait with Dr. Arrieta - Goya (1820) - MIA, Minneapolis
7. Saint Onufri - Ribera (1637) - Hermatige, St. Petersburg
8. Self Portrait as Munch - Helene Knoop (21st Century)
9. The Knight with the Falcoln - Rembrandt (1660's) - Gothenburg Museum, Sweden