DUNUN VILLAGE SPRING 08

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COLLAGE

This is Alaya. I met her outside my house yesterday and hardly recognized her. Some of her friends are moving in two houses from me.

Tomorrow I'm off to Dunun Village. The weather forecast says 100° (38° Celsius)!
The moon is near full and the nights will be warm. Bolokada is coming and I think it will be a big gathering this time.

When I come back there is barely two weeks to the first of June and we have not found a house yet. Wish me luck!

FUN

This is a small painting made on the computer and worked over with color pencils.

CERAMICS

Yesterday a bunch of things I have made in class came out of the kiln. Out of thirteen pieces only two were disappointing, so I was really happy with the result.

ANOTHER YEAR

Today was my birthday - 83 years old. I am lucky beyond belief, being surrounded by young beautiful friends who keep my inner child alive.

Today we looked at a house in Bonny Doon that seemed ideal except for the distance to town. I don't really care, but the others, who commute every day, are worried about the cost of gas and the change in lifestyle. I liked the house a lot; it is spacious and sunny, and if we were five the rent would be reasonable, but……
It's hard to make a decision and when four or five people have to agree - even harder.

THE TRUTH

My friend Shawn got this t-shirt at a powwow.

TIME OUT

Napoleon takes a rest after a hard days patrolling the neighborhood.

TIBETAN MONKS

Photos and letter sent by a friend living in Lhasa












Passed over in all the hype about the trials of the
Olympic torch, is the fact that the monks at Serah,
Drepung, Ganden and the Johkhang monasteries remain
confined in their monasteries.
"Being re-educated" is what we're told by the government - wonder what that means?
I sincerely doubt that these monks are enjoying their confinement, so let's not forget them. Please, say a prayer for them; they're a big part of what makes Tibet such a great place.

May they be safe from harm.
May they be healthy and strong.
May they be filled with love and compassion.
May they be happy.

ANDREW JOHNSTON

LISTEN TO HIM!

NO WORDS NEEDED

Speaks For Itself!

Copy this pic post it on your blog and tell your readers to do the same thing; see if we can get it on as many blogs as possible.

UNTITLED

SUNDAY NIGHT'S PAINTING

FRIDAY NIGHT

I did this oil pastel last night and afterwards Miguel and Leela came and we had Cherry Garcia ice cream and watched "There Will Be Blood". It's a long and painful movie that left me cold and bored; I could not feel anything for any of the characters. I really hate that kind of movie and I wish I'd followed my hunch; it's such a waste of time.

2ND ASSIGNMENT

This is my triangular vase ready to be fired. The black stuff is called engobe and is just clay. When it gets a clear glaze on it will become a shiny dark blue.

MAGIC FROM AFRICA

Sunday and Monday we had a visit, here in Santa Cruz, of one of Guinea's most accomplished dancers, Alseny Yansané. I missed his Sunday morning class, but his wife took him to see me in the afternoon. Afterwards we joined the players at the beach in a cold March wind and bright sun.
Monday night Alseny taught class. He is a mighty dancer and he inspired the whole group to out-do themselves. He finished the class with a solo with such incredibly fast footwork that he was virtually flying. And he didn't stop dancing; the drummers played Dununba, the strong men's dance, and Alseny showed his graceful strength in some acrobatic moves. I was too taken by what I saw to bother with taking photos, but instead I have these pictures from the garden:







Oh! I love my garden so! There is nothing like the light spring rain to make it sparkle.

HOMMAGE A PICASSO

I watched a movie about Picasso the other night. He painted picture after picture and most of the time you saw just the picture growing into existence. It was inspiring to see the resoluteness with which he went at it. I tried to apply the same swift determination to a painting - and this is what came out.

MASK

WHAT IS THIS?

I don't know what to call this painting. Any suggestions?

THOUGHTS ABOUT STRUCTURE

I’d say that the ultimate point of contention between different beliefs is about the character of the primal energy. Modern physics have proven that the material world is structured of ‘particles’, which are really energies, and the aim of physicists is to pinpoint the basic energy that they believe is underlying all aspects of reality.

Some holds that life is meaningless and absurd futility, but apart from such nihilists, most philosophies and religions teach that a spiritual power is the source and animator of the universe.

If we want to see a dichotomy in these views, it is between spirit-energy and mechanical energy. But in truth they are two sides of one coin. Spirit-energy is free-moving creative energy and mechanical energy is the energy bound in the structures of creation. These two are one because all structure is contained within the Great Spirit.

Is structure absolute or does a primal energy exist outside and independent of any structure? Maybe the question cannot be answered, but I believe that only the Spirit that transcends structure is absolute. Spirit contains the dichotomy between spirit-energy and mechanical energy.

When you build a tower you put one brick on top of another, layer by layer, till the top. In the same way everything is build up of small parts. And just as the tower would not stand solid if there were not solidity in every brick, so, a being could not have a mind if there were not the qualities of mind in every particle.

In the mind with its contents - sensations, emotions, awareness and consciousness - structure is the expression of the Spirit.
The one thing that may be beyond structure is love. Not the love that is fueled by lust, but a love that opens the way to affirmation of all thing’s unity in the Spirit and manifests itself as a blissful force.
Bliss is absense of structure.
That is worth a prayer: to be a conduct for that kind of love.

We live in the grossest mechanical structures build of molecules, but our true nature is spiritual and spans as far as we can sense and imagine the universe and into the gossamer of dreams and to the very center of the source of all structure.
There is such overwhelming richness in just one moment of this universe that one must be in awe of its power and adore its beauty.

Through every living being the Great Spirit senses itself from a different point and embodies itself in relative movement and stillness, unfolding the playground of time-space.

In time-space we have four-dimensional structures that are within the grasp of our senses. What are the structures of the remaining seven dimensions? Can we also sense them and are they as necessary to our being as time and space. Are they the dimensions in which we exist in death, when we have left time and space?

NEW PAINTING

I decided to use softer colors this time, but then I had to add, as finishing strokes, the strong lemon yellow and the orange to accentuate the softness.
The fun and the challenge of this kind of painting is for me to create a diversity of forms that are interconnected, so the eye is led along a path of contrast and surprise, where everything still seems to belong.
This "belonging" is of course a purely subjective feeling. I start on impulse and stop while the going is good. Then I stare at the picture; I feel something more is needed, but I have to wait until an idea pop up. Then I act on it and then wait again. Sometimes ideas come fast sometimes slowly. The trick is to keep the timing, keep the head cool and the heart warm.

FIRE PITT

Monday we did the firing of the animals and the beads we have made. Here are some pictures from the process:

Ready to be cooked

The empty pitt

Mike and Dylan

Kevin preparing to catch loose scales from his fish

Kathryn placing the animals in the pitt

Covered with wood

Lighting the fire

it's coming along

The results of my efforts were revealed today.

TODAY'S PICTURE

Peter came by today and gave me a letter of reference praising me as a model tenant. I guess I'll need that. It's ironic that I have no credit rating because I pay my bills straight up and never borrow money. In order to have credit rating you have to be in debt and pay it off.
What a system!

NIGHTLY FUN

Last night I was creative and inspired and I felt good about the result. That doesn't happen too often!
Tonight I had drum class with Abby, Brie and Michelle. I'm throwing some difficult stuff at them, but they are really eager to learn, and doing good.

MORE SCHOOL

This is Andres and Kevin, the boy I noticed the first day in school. He is a serious sagger as you can see. He is making the fish in the second picture and I think he is talented.
As the days go by I begin to relate to my class mates and they are all very friendly, and so is Kathryn, the teacher (OK!), who praises my work. I think some of the others are doing better. My turtle is more a feat of engineering than of art, but I'm learning!

BAD NEWS

This morning I was told that I have to move. I have been given ample time - till June first - but it doesn't change the fact that I must leave my abode of 15 years with all that I have invested in it over the years.
My two house mates just swapped rooms and Leela only finished painting her new room a couple of days ago and hasn't even moved her things in yet.
The rent has been low in exchange for some care taking of house and garden and it's not easy to find affordable places in this town.
It's a challenge to keep the faith, but change is the law and I have to show that I'm not attached (though I'm afraid that I am). So, wish me luck, and it might be for the better.