It can hardly be said that I am super soft about animals. I have known people who want to take home every cat or dog they see along their way. Much as I dislike seeing stray animals, I am rational enough to know that I cannot help except by calling the Humane Society.

When I was growing up in South Africa, at many of my friends houses there was a chain dog. My dog, if it was mine because my parents took care of it, would sometimes follow me to school, and wait till it was time to go home.
I wasn't a big animal person like my brothers, but I have had pets all my life and I enjoyed their company. Those who read my blog regularly or browse for earlier posts, will know that I am very much attached to my dog, Athena. She is my constant companion and it pains me that we are separated for the time I am here. I even brought her to Europe from the U.S. because I could not leave her behind while I was gone.

In Thailand, there are mangy dogs on every corner, usually close to the food stands, which are truly everywhere. They are fat, but have sores and the mange is so bad that it's horrible to look at.
At the big Weekend Market I had to go through quite a few moments of horror. There were animals of every kind for sale ranging from reptiles to little hedgehogs, with paws that were still rosy pink because they were so young.

When the local Humane Society puts dogs up for adoption at Pet Smart, they are usually barking or interacting in some way with the people who come to look at them. Not so on the market. Dogs cowering in a corner, looking you  with extreme submission. I am sure that many Thai love their pets, and I have seen quite a few with well pampered dogs at the vet, where we took the new addition to the family, a little Scottish Fold kitten for her shots.

I was surprised to see the Thai Ridgeback, a very unique dog and little known breed in the West, in cages, and although they looked physically well, they had the same forlorn look in their eyes as the other dogs.

It makes you realize that although people are much the same all over the world, there are cultural differences that we don't always understand, but I think that is why we travel. Precisely because we want to see and learn about these differences. If it was the same everywhere, which slowly we are coming to, with McDonalds and Starbucks doing their very best, travel would not be half as exciting.

Seahorse in Crayon.

It's not been all that easy to keep up with anything creative lately. First the lack of supplies, then the lack of inspiration, followed by the fact that weather makes all paper corners curl and most importantly lack of a table to work on. Of course, there are tables in the house, but I am so used to working in my own space with no one around me, listening to an audio book, that I have been working in the spacious guestroom, right, which has no table.
The picture didn't quite work out the way I wanted it, and you can see Fleur's fingers, but that adds charm, I think. Perfectionism is not something I strive after. Rather, I prefer spontaneity and we had a good time making the pictures. The drawing I like, a little bit of reality and a little bit of fantasy. They do exist, leafy seahorses.

I used Faber Castell crayons from the children's drawing section, marked 'for children 3 years and over'. I think I fit the category, besides I never nibble on my pencils.

Little Helper.

A painting by Fleur.

Fleur

I have a little helper who held up some artwork for me to photograph because during the monsoon here, everything is wet and light is scarce because the house has a canopy of tall tropical trees that keep out a lot of light. When you sit on the veranda leaves and flowers drop down, and now and then a coconut.

Dutch Embroidery Sampler from 1786.

Yesterday I googled my name, which I do from time to time to see what comes up. I noticed a picture of a sampler there and my first name. I had posted something a while back on a sampler my mother had made many years ago but it was not the one in the picture. I went from one link to another and met another Elza, and a group of embroidery enthusiasts, that were looking for a particular sampler which they had seen in a coffee commercial. After a long search they had already found the pattern which was made at the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen in the '70's but that is no longer being offered for sale, I believe. I took the opportunity to tell them that my mother had worked there during that period and had made patterns from very old samplers, counting them out stitch by stitch, finding the correct colors and embroidering them to check for mistakes. She also embroidered some for herself, which have been given to my brothers and me.
This morning I read the posts a little more carefully, and sure enough there was my mother's name, which was on a paper along with the pattern they had found. What fun to see that. To me it's an acknowledgement of her work.
Then another surprise. I found my brother's sampler in a drawer in the guestroom here at the house in Bangkok and to my surprise it is the first sampler made by my mother from the reconstructed pattern. It's the exact same sampler the Embroidery group was looking for.
It's monsoon here, so it was out of the question photographing it outside, because everything is wet and now and then there is another shower. I think the pictures are clear enough though for those who are interested to see the finished result.
Now I am going to write my mother a letter telling her all about it. I am sure she will enjoy hearing it.

Blog Comments.

I like to think that I am a patient woman. Far more patient than I used to be, at least. I am patient with people. That's easy, but when it gets to waiting, not so. However, what has got me going is Google. I like to leave comments on blogs, and I hardly ever leave short notes. I enjoy receiving comments and feedback too. Lately, I have been writing, and when I choose my Google profile and preview the comments.....it's all gone. Not once or twice but practically every time. Sometimes I don't remember to copy my text and then it's totally gone and it's never the same when I write it again.

Mangosteen.

Mangosteen is delicious, no doubt about it. You cut along the circumference of the fruit with a sharp knife, twist it so that the halves come apart and then lift out the sweet, white flesh.
I am still on my quest in finding supplies, but I did find this sketch book with very thin paper and a 16 color box of oil pastels. All in the children's drawing department of Carrefour. Although the drawing doesn't quite merit being posted, I did enjoy using the oil pastels (first time) and they blended really nicely when working from dark to light colors. They will work better on a slightly more toothy paper.

The Jim Thompson House.

I had never heard of him before, but Jim Thompson seems to have been an interesting man. An American, he stayed on in Asia after WWII, and built a home with 6 traditional teak Thai houses. Most of these houses that were dismantled and brought to the capital were at least two centuries old. Thompson was also implemental in reviving the silk weaving craft and started exporting Thai silk abroad.

A mysterious man, who went out for a walk one day in Malaysia and never returned. Nothing was ever heard of him again.

The interior of the house is filled with his collection of Asian antiques.

There is an excellent restaurant and gift shop and it's a good place to meet other tourists for a chat and a moment of quiet in this busy city.

Where is the Thai Dick Blick?

Heliconia magnificus

This morning it was as if a giant's stomach was rumbling; low, ongoing thunder, which ended in a heavy rain shower.
 For someone who lives in the desert a tropical rain shower is a thing of delight. I sat outside for a while, on my veranda, and enjoyed the clattering of the rain. I was going to go out today but with the cosy darkness of a rainy day, I think I will get out the few things I have been able to buy to draw and paint.


On my way to The Jim Thompson house, I saw someone who was clearly a Thai artist and fortunately he spoke some English, because I wanted to know where he got his art supplies. He said MBK, but I am told that that is like a big dollar store. Mind you, I have sometimes found interesting things to use in my artwork at a dollar store.


I have already been able to purchase water color paper, watercolor pencils and colored pencils. My sister in law, who lives here bought me some smooth paper which should work well with the colored pencils.

Today I will use what I have, but I have already read that there is an art supply store in the Old Siam Plaza and a Chinese art supply store in Chinatown (even more interesting). I really like seeing what is available in other countries. Reading quite a few art blogs from over the world, it's amazing what people have available to them locally. In a city like Bangkok, which appears to have everything one might possibly wish for, it seems that art supplies are tucked in the remotest corners. 

I like not taking anything with me, and then seeing what I can find, and what I can make with that.

Floating Market

In spite of being interesting, the floating market is a huge tourist trap. It's all so doubles There are many tourists and people need to make a living but yet we don't buy at these tourist traps. Algodones just over the border from Yuma has become something similar. Since the recession, the vendors have become a nuisance, and the result is that I simply don't buy anything. They are not a nice nuisance, because I know the difference between disrespect and desperation. The last trinket I bought in Algodones was from a newcomer. I had seen something interesting some time before and had to make quite an effort to find the small man from the south of Mexico, as he had moved his location on the side-walk from the popular main drag to a side street. I am assuming that they pay someone for their couple of square yards. When the purchase was made, I was about to walk off, but suddenly turned around to ask something, and saw the man was crossing himself and thanking god for the sale. I walked back to the border thinking how hard it must be to make a living with things no one really needs.

Be prepared at the floating markets in Thailand that the skiff you rent will take you to almost every vendor along the market, and that you have to put on your kind face and say 'no, thank you' many, many times. It was only when Jack said in Thai: 'We live here', that we were spared this. So glad Jack has gotten to lesson 6 already. You aren't out of the heat of it yet though, because there are so many boats milling around, that you have to remember to keep your fingers and anything else that may hang slightly overboard, inside the boat because if nott it will surely get crushed. The old lady handling the boat yells loudly at other handlers, but just as loudly at her human cargo and I tell you, Thai is a musical language, but not when it is shouted and yelled.

I am not known for my elegance when getting in and out of small boats. Getting in went well enough, although I eyed the green slush that was supposed to be water, with some trepidation. I then folded my legs into the lotus position because there wasn't more room for legs and the seat was perhaps 5 inches high. Come to that, I took a local bus in Holland in which I couldn't sit straight either and I am not all that tall in the land of giants, which Holland is.

Lotus position didn't last long as my legs started to sleep. With pins and needles, I moved my legs into other more intricate positions. If I could have put them in my neck, I would have, but I can't.

When we reached the jetty, I knew I may have to make a spectacle of myself and I was helped by two men, who each grabbed an arm and started pulling. The helpers were tiny, and I think I could have carried each under an arm and not be any the worse. It was a spectacular spectacle, mind you. Although,I may just give up using small vessels for a while.

Athena's painting.

For those who remember, Yevgenia Watts is painting Athena. I can hardly wait to see the outcome.

Ma-Lee, little Jasmine.

Now that I am sitting here I might as well post this picture I took of a little Thai girl. I am in Thailand now, but I will probably be posting some things on Holland and France in between my adventures in Thailand. I also have some drawings that I made that I shall post soon.
Outside there is a thunderstorm and tropical rain comes clashing down. A perfect day to catch up on correspondence and blogging.

Warm Welcome

The regular readers of my blog will have noticed that I have not posted in quite a while. I am traveling and although I think of my blog regularly and have lots of ideas, I simply haven't found the time, the peace of mind and the quiet I seem to need to write, draw or work on my blog.
I was given a warm welcome in Holland, land of my birth, in more ways than one. The weather was lovely and warm for the time I was there and is highly unsual in April. Living in a desert, as beautiful as that may be, doesn't provide much in the way of color certainly not like in Holland. There was color everywhere, but especially the tulip fields were head turners.

I think we skipped spring this year, and went right on into summer, but I don't want to talk about the weather, because that's a subject for when there is nothing left to say.....and when do I have nothing to talk about?

The Insatiable Tourist.

Old postcard from Egypt.

I must have been 8 or 9 the first time I went to Egypt. I have memories of staying at the Winter Palace in Luxor, where there was always a man sitting outside your door, who would run errands or get fresh drinking water. That made an impression on me, as much as did, riding in a calesh to see the sights.

I am really not as old as Methuselah but the other day I saw the City of Petra on a travel channel and my mouth fell open when I saw the many tourists there. I am beginning to realize that because my traveling started early in life that I visited many placed in the Middle East and Africa, before they were big tourist destinations.

I was in Petra, when the Bedouins still lived there, and all you could buy was a hot Coke and bottled sandscapes.

When I read old travel books, I sometimes wish I could have visited a place all by myself and wander around without a group and guide to be seen. But it is, as it must be, and I am happy that many people can travel and see the wonders of the world because it a wonderful thing to be able to do.

Nevertheless, it is really special if you travel to a destination and find it relatively undiscovered by tourism. To, for example, see the early morning sun rising over Palmyra, from your tent, camping on the grounds of the dilapidated and run down Hotel Zenobia, which is, I see on the web, quite smart now. When I was there it looked more like a deserted train station.

All in all I have whetted my appetite for some travel now, although that generally takes very little, but I am somewhat out of practice besides flying these days, is not a very inviting way to transport yourself, and transport is the right word, in this case. It is no longer is exciting. It used to give me a little thrill to know that I would be flying somewhere, but now I seriously wish that ocean liners still existed. That was a way to travel. Unfortunately though, only for the rich, so if I travelled 70 or 80 years ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to, because I don't think I would have been rich enough. Better be satisfied with what I can do!

Blog anniversary: 3 years!

Feather Maiden Shopping

Last night I went shopping again and this is the result.

I started out with this rather botched photo.

 I am still not entirely sure about all this. I suppose this is why I use my pictures that normally would have been sent to the trash.

In this case, I used the actual photo as the background with brushstrokes and made a collage with a detail of another pow wow picture, on the right.

Pow Wow photography

Cropped, not shopped. I mainly used a 55-200mm lens at the pow wow, which eliminates the background nicely. I like using this lens when doing portraits too.

Strong Hearts Pow Wow

I have been going to Pow Wows in the years that I have lived in the SouthWest and find it endlessly fascinating. A few years ago, I was there with a 7 year-old friend. The lady sitting next to me said that she was Havapai, and asked what my young companion was. Without thinking, I said, "He's a cutie-pie". She looked me in the eyes for a moment, and then we both started laughing.

Pow Wow Shopping

Often in photography, a background can make or break an otherwise good picture. It is the same when collaging or painting. Recently, backgrounds have been my focus, whether making them on paper, Yupo or in Photoshop. This photo didn't have a very distracting background, but I worked on it  a little anyway with 'brushes' and then 'smudged' the subject, which brought out the light on his profile.

Pow Wow photography

Children always make good subjects. They can be totally oblivious of their surroundings when playing. 

Shopping again

Dishes not done. Nothing for lunch. Appointment at 2 and it's 12:48. But I am happier with my Photoshop efforts. My own photo made at the Sedona Pow Wow, a neutral background in beige/tan, and brushes. Getting a little closer to where I want to be. 

I have always liked this photo, but the wall was distracting, although not as distracting as a pole growing out of someone's head in a otherwise good shot.
Photoshop is a nice way of using photos that didn't make the mark for whatever reason - my mark, that is. 

Dragonfly on Ice

It all seems to take place at the same time here in the desert. The days are warmer, warm enough for shorts again, the local pow wow takes place, hundreds of vintage cars roll in (nothing to do with the pow wow), and the migratory bird shoot is on (nothing to do with guns). I am going to make the most of it.


The above is a black and white picture I took, with a macro lens, of a very dead dragonfly, which I had put on ice for a background. In Photoshop, I added a frame and a part of the poem 'Fragility' by Kale Beaudry. 

Blogging

I see a lot of blogs. I love reading them. Whether it's about art, craft, techniques, photography, dogs, cooking, you name it, I love it. Then at times, you start wondering why you visit certain ones more often than others. I am speaking solely for myself when I say 'people'. It's the person behind the blog that captures you, not the knitted mittens, but what they say about those mittens.

If you blog about one particular subject, then you are going to attract the demographic that is interested in that topic. This doesn't make it easier on bloggers, like me, who like so many things and I always go back to why I started to blog in the first place when I wonder why I do it at all.

I live far away from my family and many of my friends. In a way I thought they would enjoy seeing what I was up to. You know, the way you show a visiting friend your latest sketch or mittens, for that matter. Some visit regularly but some have never seen it. I forget that there are people who haven't been pounding away at a computer for years, the way I have. They are perfectly happy that they are able to email and have no further interest, and that is fine.

So, in short, I write the blog for myself, and if I can share with someone, then that is an extra perk. (It's like keeping a photo album, that you only show to visitors).

My brother once said to me, when I indicated that I wasn't interested in computers all too much, that I would be smart if I did a couple of courses, because computers were not going to go away.

They didn't, and they guided me to the BLOG, and to the pleasure of blogging.

These are the things (I think) I have learned along the way:

1. Blogging is a lonely business, therefore comments and reactions are fun and you make new friends by commenting.

2. Be yourself in your blog and post your own work, or link back if it is by someone else.

3. There is a blog etiquette. People appreciate your comments; they often email you, and if you become a follower of their blog, they often follow yours. 

4. Blog frequently but not too frequently. Three blogs a week is what I go for, besides you need time to think and come up with something original.

5. Make it clear in a post what it's about. Don't upload a mixed bag of things. The reader soon moves on if it gets confusing. Rambling doesn't work well either. Don't make your blogs too long (like this one is sure to be).

6. Join a group of like-minded souls. Place a button on your blog, so others can find it. My hits went up from around 50 to around 100 a day in the last months since I joined two groups.

7. Never be afraid to comment. I have received lovely chatty emails from some of my Blog-Idols, making it even more fun to follow their blog.

8. A no-brainer is to always be polite on a blog, not to discuss anyone else, unless it's in glowing colors and do not whine.

9. I get the most hits on my blog from Google Images, 'Paper cuts', so I just head paper cut posts headers as 'Paper Cut'. 30% of my hits come from Paper Cuts Images. I don't know where people find my stories but 'Poppies, Poppies will put them to sleep', has a little reader base all of its own as do some of my other little essays, which lately, I having been keeping as short as I can - less is more, sort of thing.

10. The more active you are as a blogger, blog reader and commenter the more your reader-base will grow. 

....and know when to stop.

The above image was made with a black and white photo I made at a Pow Wow and using 'brushes' in Photoshop. I am on a learning curve.

Listening to: "Belgrave Square" by Anne Perry.  

 

The 12th mystery in the beloved Inspector and Charlotte Pitt Victorian mystery series. When a moneylender named William Weems is murdered, there is discreet rejoicing among those whose meager earnings he devoured. But the plot thickens when Inspector Pitt finds a list of London's distinguished gentlemen in Weems' office.

Not quite into it.

The Okavango

The Okavango Delta is a place of beauty. Tucked away in the heart of Botswana, it is a sanctuary for birds and wildlife. We traveled to the island, where we would set up camp, in mokoros; hollowed out tree trunks which are punted through the shallow waters of the delta, keeping a leery eye out for hippopotamus. If we were thirsty we would dip a cup over the side of the canoe, and drank deeply, having been told that the water was pure.

Cape buffalo looked up as we passed by, water dripping from their mouths and elephants cautiously watched us, sniffing the air with their trunks.  It was exciting as well as very idyllic.

After we had set up camp under a Sausage tree that would occasionally drop an enormous torpedo-like pod to the ground, the men in the group went down to the water to fill the jerrycans, while we, women, watched.

A fisherman stood thigh-deep in the shallows, while he fanned out his hand-made net and threw it into the darkening waters. All was well with the world. But wait, what is that I see? What do the weights of his net resemble? Batteries, large flashlight batteries! I waded out to take a closer look and saw that the batteries had holes drilled right through to attach them to the net. In my mind's eye I could see the cadmium oozing out into the pure waters of the Okavango, that I had drunk so deeply and without a care.

That night, as I made my last stop behind a bush, I watched closely to see if my pee didn't glow in the dark, but was distracted by another enormous sausage whizzing past my ear to drop to the ground with a thud and hastily made my way back to my tent by the light beaming from my eyes.

I am cleaning out memorabilia, and found some wonderful old postcards that my family had sent each other while they lived in Africa. I used a card by C. Barry to draw this wonderful wise woman. I drew with pen and nib and Indian Ink without setting up a sketch first. Wanted to see if I could sketch without an eraser.

Odosketch

My early morning Sunday ritual is going through my favorite blogs with tea or hot cocoa (or Diet Coke, depending on the weather) and if at all possible, a pain au chocolat or something similar. How About Orange mentioned Odosketch and I went to look. I just drew something really quickly, but for the true sketchers of this world, this might be quite enjoyable. Your sketch will come out better than mine, because I uploaded mine, as I couldn't find where it was embedded.

This well-preserved woman sat at a table in the restaurant where I had dinner last night, eating almost nothing.