Art making

Sorry that I haven't been writing.  I have had so many things that I've wanted to share with you but my time at the computer has been pared very thin.  I guess that's the way I like it.

Instead, I've been drawing and painting and sculpting and learning spanish.  I edited a translation into English for my spanish teacher's web site and every time I do something like that, I have a blast.  Who knew?  I've been working on a triptych oil painting that I started twelve years ago and I'm almost finished.  You don't get to see it until it's done!  It's been bringing me so many ideas that I might become an oil painter for a while.  I'm excited to be working and having ideas, and waking up energetically thinking about the next art piece.  And I'm still working on a body of bodies in paper mache.  Some day I'll be able to have that solo show because I'll have work for the floors and the walls.  A sculptor's dream.  And here in Mexico, the thing for artists is to be pretty diverse in the work that we produce.  I feel a lot more freedom to create all the different work that I love, and have it taken seriously.

I offered to teach a class at the IUBA, in the Visual Art School!  "How to live as an artist after art school". They're still building up the Visual Art Department since the entire Belles Artes School building fell down in the earthquake of 2003.  The class that started in 2002 is just graduating now (it's a five year program).  In August, they start with the first new group since 2002.  My drawing teacher told me that they're looking for someone to teach such a class, that they would like an English speaking person, and that I can teach it with the help of a Spanish speaking person.  Too cool.  So maybe in a couple of years...wish me luck.

More than anything, I'm grateful for this time.  Time to make art and think.  To let the ideas come as they will, which does happen when there's time and space and vitality.

Teotihuacan

Drawing, sculpting and learning the language

I'm happy to say that after more than a year living here, I'm really enjoying myself.  I'm getting out enough, I'm making art, and I've learned adequate spanish to do all the basics and if I work at it, I can have an in-depth conversation.  The one-on-one tutoring which I'm doing with Vanesa is fantastic.  I recommend this type of class for learning a language.  And we have fun together because we're both into art and like to read.

The drawing class that I'm taking at the IUBA is helping me.  I'm re-learning perspective techniques, which I don't think I really learned twenty years ago in school.  And I look forward to many interesting things from this teacher who loves to paint and has a knowledge of sculpture techniques.  On Monday, we ripped up paper for the paper making part of the class which is today.  We spent that whole class talking politics and looking at sculpture books.

Occasionally, I get a glimps of how people make paper mache art, or cartonaria as they call it here.  I saw a short documentary on TV about an artist who makes creatures with wire and newspapers.  I learned some helpful technique.  His works come out very strong and not looking like paper mache.  In Tonala, we visited a paper mache factory that makes beautiful, smooth, and brightly colored animals and other pieces.  They had a small display on the wall about how they do it.  So I'm learning, and I'm going about it my own way.  It's always exciting to learn something new.  I love it when I'm thinking about it first thing in the morning when I wake up.

We're going on a bus tour to Puebla tonight.  We'll drive all night, go to the ruins of Teotehuacan, and get to Puebla sometime tomorrow.  It's supposed to be a nice town, heavily influenced by Arab culture, and also with 300 churches!  On the way back, we'll visit Léon, Guanajuato.  I haven't been to any of these places and I'm looking forward to it.

Great Book

I just finished a great book by John McPhee, called "The Control of Nature". I couldn't put it down. Although, at times his language is a bit hard to understand, this book is a page turner about various places in the world where people are in conflict with nature, rivers, volcanos, and mountains. It's the story of how people fight with nature to continue to live in areas where nature can easily, and does, put an end to their lives, and how people build dams, cool lava flows, build levees, and other things to keep nature at bay. I loved it, recommend it, and he has a Wikipedia page (without this book in it) but with many other interesting books and articles listed.

The Secret of Life

is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is--it must be something you cannot possibly do.

Henry Moore--Sculptor

Long Time

Sorry it's been so long. We had lots of visitas, as they say here. My dad, his wife and their two friends. Then Rogelio's friends from Guadalajara, then my mom and brother...then...the son of a friend of mine from the Bay Area!!! Whew. It was fun. I learned a lot about everything. New places, how to get around Colima, seeing things through others' eyes, very cool. My dad said it was the best vacation of his life. He was really relaxed and I laughed a lot with him and his friends.

A few days after everyone left, one of the neighbor children was hit by a car. For a couple of days, we thought he might die because a blood clot formed in his brain. Everyone was walking around in a haze. The miracle is, he was out of the hospital in five or six days and he looks fine aside from a bunch of stitches. He does have a metal plate in his jaw.

I haven't wanted to talk too much about art or show too much of it. I'm going through a bumpy, how do I do this, phase, and an attempt to change my art life. Recycled, ecological, non-toxic art is what I'm learning about. I tried not to buy anything extra and started some paper maché figures then destroyed them after they ripped and wouldn't stand up because newspaper is so delicate. Then I started over with a metal armature. Now I'm getting somewhere. I have ideas in my head that don't leave so I have to figure out how to make them.

One thing that's been great is that I'm back in classes at the IUBA. One of the teachers told me that I can join his class when he does paper maché. They're all so sweet over there. Too bad they are not as well attended as they could be. My drawing teacher hosts a series of excellent and free movies on Tuesday nights in the patio. We went to see Pulp Fiction last Tuesday. Really fun. If you've ever seen Cinema Paraiso, that's kind of what it's like. Some kind of Art Week starts on Monday night. Should be fun, too.

Rogelio's projects are going really well. He's very happy doing what he's doing, which makes me happy. And his clients are getting with the program now that they can see that he's not lying about what he can do. I guess there's a lot of lying around here, so clients need to be convinced, which is OK. Ultimately it'll all be good for him because he's so much better at what he does than most builders we've seen here. And we see the slooooow progress in his business!

And, no land yet. Not even looking yet. I guess we'll start again eventually.

Otherwise, all is great. Hope to do some translating to spanish of my portfolio and get more online.

Lent and the Gay Parade

On Thursday night, we went to the gay parade, otherwise called the "Gasolina". It happens to be lent early this year, and I didn't practise catholicism very much when I was growing up, but I think you're supposed to be quiet, pensive and give up something very important to you, so it was particularly spectacular watching the men of Colima. Some of them were so well dressed, I couldn't tell that they were men. But most were wickedly sleazy in their makeup, synthetic wigs, short, short mini-skirts, and tube tops with lop-sided balloons. I loved the guys with giant bellies rolling out under a tiny shirt and over the top of some sibling's, too tight jean skirt. Everybody rides together in this parade. Seemingly heterosexual men, women, and dressed up gay men all together in the backs of flat bed trucks. There are the bands of clarinets, trumpets, tubas, and drums, with huge, too loud speakers. Flat bed trucks carrying elegant dinner parties. The standard advertising for construction materials, night clubs, computer equipment, heavy machinery... And these guys running around like lunatics, grabbing straight men for a dance, or ganging up on somebody and feeling him up, giving out surplus kisses. Once in a while there's someone who gets mad and just can't put up with it, but most seem to take it fine, laughing and dancing.

Just by accident, My dad and his friends were eating dinner at the Hotel Ceballos, in what's known as "los portales", before the parade started. And I showed up to hang out with them for dinner. My dad was sitting behind the metal planters, right by a lamp pole with a little shelf about two feet off the ground. Two groups of men ganged up on him, jumping over the planters and lovingly giving kisses and hugs. Then one tall, lanky guy, all in black with balloon breasts showed up and did a sexy pole dance and gave my dad a kiss. We laughed so hard we almost peed our pants. And my dad is never going to forget it, because we won't let him. He says that he waited there for three more nights, but his boyfriend didn't come back.

I saw some palm fronds in a church, and some people with ashes on their faces. But I haven't seen any other signs of lent, although it's one of the most imortant holy times in this Catholic country. It's early. Ash Wednesday was on the 6th. So, there's still time to think about what to give up and maybe it's possible to let go of homophobia for lent, and maybe forever. The "Gasolina" gives me some hope.

My Dad is visiting...

and we've been having a great time. He's here with his wife Barbara and two friends. Rogelio and I took the bus directly from Colima to the Guadalajara airport to meet them. We got a taxi-van to go to the town of Tlaquepaque, and stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Posada de la Media Luna. It's very modest, inexpensive (at around $40/night) and very nice with good owners. It's several rooms around a small courtyard and we spent a lot of time sitting there enjoying the mild Guadalajara weather, right in the heart of town. One day we took the Tequila Express train to tour a distillery. They gave us the works in terms of entertainment. I'll have to write more about that later, but it was spectacular, and not just for the drinkers out there.

Right now, we're getting ready to go to the Villa de Alverez fair. And I'll give you the whole scoop later on. They're leaving on Wednesday the 20th, so more after that.

life in the slow lane

When I wake up in the morning, I often hear someone outside sweeping and throwing water on the ground. I'm not sure that it works, but people do it to keep the dust down. Then I hear the guy who rides his bike selling bolillo, the 8" long, french-like, white bread that's the norm here. During the day, other vendors come selling everything. One day I saw a guy with metal frame chairs strapped to his back. They sell avocados, tamales, cold drinks, ice cream, pitallas (cactus fruit), brooms, ironing boards, and I can't think what else, but you name it. Someone walks by asking for help about once a week. The tortilla guy drives by, really fast, on his motorcycle. I don't know how he sells any. And, at 6 or 6:30 PM, the sweet bread comes. They drive into the cul-de-sac and honk. I think there are other cars and honks during the day, someone selling bleach and cleaning products, someone selling pork, someone selling shrimp, someone selling popsicles. I've stopped paying attention to all of them. Then, at the end of the day, like right now, the bolillo guy again. He's riding his bike, smoking a cigarette, and chatting with Chiquita, the dog on the roof that barks at him. Oh, Chiquita hates the ice cream guy (even though he's really sweet), because he has one of those three wheel bicycles with a canvas roof and she can't see him.

Once a month or two, the health service comes with something for the mosquitos. Some kind of salt that they put in the pila (water tank/utility sink), and in all the saucers of plants. They also come periodically and ask women if they are being abused and if they want birth control. They tell us where we can go to get free condoms or the pill. We get our share of evangelists who want us to join their church.

Our house is concrete over clay brick. Right now it's perfect for the weather. But as it gets hotter, the concrete roof collects the heat and doesn't let it go all night long. It's like a giant fortress, one house right up against the next and all with wrought iron gates or concrete walls in front. My wall is built up against the neighbors so we have a foot of concrete and brick in between us, which also helps to keep things cool. We don't hear much through it. The house is pretty much the same as the footprint. We have a small covered terrace and a small service patio. No dirt. This is pretty standard. We live in an Andador, andar means "to walk". We're one house off the street in one direction and two in the other. We're so happy that we don't hear too many car noises.

Here among a family with kids, a single mom, a grandma who takes care of two young boys, an older couple who have adult kids with their own kids who come to visit a lot, a group of four 20 year old boys, a few retirees, and an old plumber with a short leg who ties his ladder to his bike and rides off that way, it can be a little noisy, as it is right now. I like the noise when the boys are all out in the Andador, riding plastic wheeled bicycles, and hiding, and shooting each other with their toy guns. (sorry it's not PC). They have a lot of fun. The youngest boy of three or so is Daniel and he's so shy and adorable I want to eat him like candy.

Someone around here gives music classes and somewhere there's a piano and other instruments. But mostly, during the day, there are the sounds of TV and stereo music. Almost everybody has plants. They are well loved and taken care of although usually in plastic pots. And of course, they're the tiny little plants that we use to try to grow inside in Oregon, only HUGE.

I just walked out to the kitchen and was remeinded of two other things, the giant crickets which are buzzing so much of the time that I forget they're there right outside my window, and the besuconas (kissing lizards), the small and almost transparent lizards that live in my house. An import from Asia or India, they come out at night from behind my pictures to eat all kinds of insects. They only live in this part of the tropical world where it's hot and humid. And they're called that because they make kissing noises. Oh, and the bats that fly down the andador as it starts to get dark. We have at least two kinds right here. Lots of insects bring these interesting animals.

We have a Tiangis, a farmer's market with clothing about two blocks away. Every Tuesday morning, almost without fail, they come and install their booths with the shabby canvas cloths hung up over each one to keep the sun out. And we buy cheese, seafood (which came that morning directly from the ocean), fruits and vegetables, tacos, agua de coco, pork, beef, eggs, whole wheat bread, tortillas, tostadas, honey, clothing and some tools. It's also the neighborhood hang-out.

When I used to think of Mexico, I thought in colors. It turns out that most everything is worn and faded with so much sun and rain. There are brightly colored buildings, but only because they're freshly painted, and there are many more that need to be. It's like a crumbling pastel town which looks beautiful with the lights, the movement and the cool weather of the evening.

Car Registration-Second Installment

We went back to register my car on Friday. Went over there in the middle of the night to put our names on the list and we were number 5!!! So we lazily got up on Friday morning and got there at 7:50, right before they open. There was a long line of people where the board usually is, so we went and asked what was going on. Well, somebody had put the board away after it had 70 names on it, and somebody else, unable to find the board, started a new board. So they decided, early in the morning that this day, we will have a line, instead of a list. We became number 40 in the line. It didn't take quite as long as I thought it would, but we're not done yet. We got the car looked at. They check everything to make sure that no part of the car is stolen, even though my car has already been legalized in Mexico. Then they send you with the paperwork to pay your $3,000 pesos. We stood in line for maybe 45 minutes before they told us they had too much work to see all of us that day. It was 11:30AM. We go back on Monday to pay, turn in our old plates, and pick up new ones. I could say something snide like, "I hope they don't have to stamp them out right there", but I'm so greatful to be doing sculpture every day and not bookkeeping, that I better keep my nasty remarks to myself. Besides, for me it was a new and interesting experience.

While I was there, I talked to a woman who said that she's been trying to go to the U. S. and can't. She has a passport, which she went to Guadalajara and paid a lot of money to get, but the U. S. won't let her go. I know what you're thinking, is she a criminal, has she done something wrong? The woman was about 65, born here in Colima, has siblings in Santa Rosa, and I doubt that she has a record. I'm a pretty good judge of character, even if I don't understand the language.

I thought, once again, about the amount of access I have to all sorts of things. I have the access of travelling the world, even if people in the rest of the world don't like me because I'm a United Stateser. Here in Mexico, I have access, too. Partly because of Rogelio's family and friends. I get to know and stay in (and live in if I want) an old, stately, if worn out, Mexican house. I own a house, which I live in. It's in a good state of repair and not leaking on my head. Because of who we know, we could have gone to the car registry office and been out in three hours with everything completed. We decided not to do that.

M-M-MOVING TO MEXICO!!

For, as Jennifer Kelly said to me, "those of us who harbor occasional fleeing Bay Area fantasies."

I know that there are soon to be one million, count 'em, one million gringos living in Mexico. Many of those people are "big" as they say here, older than 55. As a youngster, a semi-big of fourty-four, with a Mexican husband, a Mexican family, and a Spanish tutor from Mexico City (a smart and wise woman who I've come to depend upon), I don't know how these big people get here, live here, handle the life here, and figure out all the nuances of how to go about daily life. Especially if they don't speak much spanish! It's so easy to get highly confused, or confundidisimo, as the locals say. There's so much that's different. Now, if you move in next door to a bunch of gringos (which is not my situation), voula, you've got it made. But then, why come?

I went to sign up for a drawing class, (which I've been trying to figure out how to do for several months). I went to the Univ. office three times over the last year, during morning hours. Each time, the women clerks told me to come back in six months or so for the next sign-ups (and looked at me as if I were crazy). I had to ask two people with university experience to help me, and between the two of them they figured out that I could go to the Univ. office only between 4 and 9 PM, where I was given a small ticket with the University's bank and a bank account number on it. I then went to the bank, paid my fee, brought the receipt to the U (between 4 & 9 PM), finished signing up for the class, and I will go on Monday at 4 PM to find out when the class will meet. They have no information about what the class will cover aside from, it's a drawing class.

There's nothing wrong with any of this (aside from the fact that I couldn't figure it out on my own). In fact, it created a lot of good human contact, instead of what we've got in the U. S. which is, sign up and pay over the internet, (and maybe take the online class). All very efficient. And if people aren't online transferring money all over the place(which isn't happening here), and commiting fraud, you can give out your bank account number freely. I'm getting to know the people at the bank.

My confusion is sometimes the Spanish cultural influence or the inevitable backlash against Spanish colonialism. We gringos have so much more influence from England. Here in Mexico, there's a giant indiginous population that doesn't exist in the U. S. Most of those people who would fight back against the U. S. system are gone (or in jail), so we gringos don't have quite the same experience. What looks to me like indifference and inefficiency might be part of the backlash. Or, in Colima, it could be the heat. But the indiginous population is definately fighting for rights. You hear about it in the news occasionally.

I think, now that I'm an expert who's been here for a whole year...that the transition is worth the trouble. It's worth everything to learn another language and try to figure out why people do what they do and what they know that I don't know. It's worth it to be in a culture that's so rich and variable. Mexico, they say is the king of contrast and dichotomy and that makes sense. But, it's not easy. There are the glares. But when I show up at the same place twice, people are generally quite friendly. There is a pattern of politeness here, and if I'm very polite, I usually get it back. It's kind of nice when people are polite, because otherwise, I get stared at a lot.

The government says that you have to prove (and bring) an income of $1,000 a month per person from outside of the country if you want to live here. They won't let you get an FM3 Visa without it. For me, that's the minimum requirement, by which I mean, if you're really adventurous, you don't know anyone here, and you have $1,000 a month, OK, it's hard enough. To me, it's better that you know somebody here, hopefully more than one somebody, and that you speak the language, and that you own a house. I have lots of somebodys and I often still feel isolated and unsure. I regularly pay the "gringo tax", a little bit more than others. I can't imagine getting much done without Rogelio. He's been away from here for a while, so it's even a little tough for him at times, but he was able to buy and fix our house, partly with recommendations from his family. Everything about it was done, fast, well, and right.

Next to the Bay Area, it's cheap, but compared to many other places in the U.S., it's not like it used to be, so if you expect cheap, forget about it. If you want a Bay Area lifestyle, you'll have to pay pretty near Bay Area prices for it. Houses in favorite ex-pat areas run into the hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars. If you want to live near a nice downtown, expect to pay for it. Otherwise, you'll be an isolated gringo in an unknown barrio (which you may want). You'll have to make friends. Gas is soon to be priced the same as in the U. S. It's PEMEX, owned by the Mexican government. Call them anything, but don't call them stupid. It's not so easy to import your car. You have to register it and pay for it every year with your FM3 (my FM3 is $250 every year) and cars are expensive in every way. Anything that's imported is high. Computers, stereos, washing machines, even the refrigerators made here, bicycles, books (although not always imported), and carpentry and other tools.

I guess what I have to say is, I'm glad we made the move. I'm happy to be learning something new and big and delicious. I'm happy for Rogelio because he's different here, he's not treated badly on a daily basis, and that we're close to his family. But it's not like "fallin' off a log". It's big. It's a huge change for both of us. It's harder than I thought it would be. And I'm not ready to go back.

70 People (Daily?)

We went to license my car the other morning. The licensing starts at 8AM. But before that, you have to put your name on a list, on a clipboard outside. Lots of things happen outside. Lots of things that, being an Oregonian, and growing up in the rain belt, I'm used to going inside for. So we parked in a dusty parking lot, put our name on the list, and waited in one of the little restaurant, pop-up booths for an, ever present, helper to come around and answer more questions. (We had already been once before to see if I, as a foreigner could have this car in my name.) Apparently, people show up starting at midnight the night before to put their names on the list. We showed up at 7AM and we were number 78, and people kept coming. You have to give them your license plates and they give you a new set. But, they only take 70 people per day, so we were sent away.

The law says that you can import and legalize a car that's ten years old, so there's a regular market of ten year old cars coming to Mexico from the United States. Now, Colima isn't that big (plus or minus 500,000 in the whole state), and I don't know if this is the only car licensing office in the entire state (maybe). But that's a lot of cars. I'm sure they're not all imports or new, some are just changing hands inside the country.

When I started coming here in 1994, there were hardly any cars. There were many bicycles and whacky, home-made gas or human powered vehicles. And Mexico was making it's own big vehicles, buses and big trucks. Now, since the Gat, and because Colima is relatively rich, there's almost one car per capita, and growing. And cars are expensive. Add at least $2-3,000 to any ten year old used car in the US, and that'll be the price you pay here. Licensing is expensive, too. It's going to cost us $300 for the licensing of a 12 year old car. As far as I can tell, nobody has insurance. I guess if you buy a new car on credit, you have to, but that's not the norm. It shows that there's more money here than there used to be and I'm really glad that people are richer, but I hope the fantastic public transit system of today isn't a thing of the past. It's true that the bus ridership is dwindling. It's also obvious that we, with our american style, two car, two person family, are a part of the problem and not the solution.

So, we're going over there tonight at 12:30 to put our names on the list and then we'll go back again at 8AM, and hope that we have all our papers in order.

Colima Dogs at the De Young Museum

In the background of the bottom photo, you can see some of the other Colima figures. A man holding a big basket...

Separate Blog-Portfolio

I've separated my portfolio into a new blog. Now you can find my resume, statement, history and a small selection of my artwork since 1987 at http://vZport.blogspot.com. There's also a link on the right side of this page on Dog Days.

The portfolio blog is in progress, under construction, etc. But I want you to be able to see it. Just know that I'll be updating that one regularly and adding older and newer photographs and writing throughout the length of the blog.

Tlaquepaque

We'll be staying in Tlaquepaque (tla-ke-pa-ke), a town that's relatively near the airpost and that's been swallowed up by Guadalajara. It's famous for it's artesans who create blown glass. I've noticed lately that there aren't so many glassblowers anymore and there's more stuff for interiors of houses and more artwork. There are three or four streets with shops on either side. And one main street with no cars. Some shops have their talleres ([ta-yer-es, studios/workshops)] in the back. It's fun and it's easy and we'll eat at the restaurant "El Patio" which is really clean and has good food. http://www.explore-guadalajara.com/Tlaquepaque.html

We can also visit Tonala, another town that's been swallowed by Guadalajara and the artesans there do ceramics. I haven't been in a long time, so I don't know what's happening there. http://www.explore-guadalajara.com/tonalajalisco.html

Doing these things first will give you an easy introduction to Mexico. You'll see some of the culture, eat some good food, and talk to some interesting people. And, you'll be staying in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, so you'll get a feeling of what that's about. http://www.explore-guadalajara.com/ If there's something that you find you'd like to do, let us know.

Kristy and me

This is from the Day of the Dead celebration at Kristy's school. All the kids were dressed up with glow-in-the-dark colors.



This is all from our latest trip to El Borbollon.

Guadalajara Airport

Guadalajara airport is pretty small and you can't get lost when you come in from the US. You'll fly in to Guadalajara, you'll get off the plane on the tarmack and you'll walk to a bus that'll take you to immigration and customs. There are several lines and you'll have to figure out which one to get into for people with US passports. People speak English and are usually friendly, so ask someone where to go. It'll take only a few minutes and then you'll walk into the room with baggage claim. There are four or five carousels, and they'll probably be unmarked. Try to find some of the people who were on the plane with you and follow them around until you find the carousel with your luggage. Or ask more questions. This is where you might have to wait a bit.

After you get your luggage, you'll need to give the paperwork to the person at customs. Then you'll press the button on the traffic light, if it's green you go on ahead and if it turns red, they'll look through your bags. As soon as you come out the doors, you'll see a mob of people awaiting your arrival. You're so lucky! You made it!

El Borbollon

I got home so dusty. Dust in every crack and crevice including my eyelashes and my throat. Took a shower which felt so good, and fell asleep almost immediately, waking up, not quite able to crack my eyes open.

We got up at 6:30 yesterday morning and taking all of our clothes for cold weather, headed out with some friends to a place in between El Volcan del Fuego de Colima and El Volcan Nevado. It's called El Borbollon (bor-bo-yon) because it sounds like a spring and there's at least one spring up there. Arnoldo Cruz Schulte who's my husband's friend and business partner, has family that owns some 2000 hectarias there. They grow Coffee, Peaches, Apricots and other stuff.

In the morning light, the grasses (weeds) were pink. We drove up on a winding paved road to San Antonio and took a right onto a dirt road through idyllic looking farm country. The flora went back and forth from the deep, mostly dark jungle of Tarzan, to the grassy plains of California with it's green puffs of oak trees off in the distance and grazing cows. Just off the paved road, there was a tiny house in a flat plain surrounded by just planted, light green sugar cane and small hills covered with green scrub and the golden brown of corn ready to be harvested. On another hill there was young agave.

***





As we went in further, it was back to the jungle with ropes to swing on hanging down from giant trees. That particular jungle has an amazing variety of trees. I saw tall (I think White) Oak trees, and wide craggy Live Oak, and different kinds of Pine trees, along with so many trees that I don't recognize.



We had to go through the gates of all the farmers who own the land, probably ten gates. Until we got to the last ten kilometers. The Schulte family employ a ranchero who lives there at the entrance with his family in two, small houses. The old one is made of wood from the area, boards and tree limbs looking to be thrown together in a mish mash. The new one is concrete and brick, and both are perfectly lined up with their fronts to the dusty road and red flowers growing in pots over the wood fence. We went through the gate, greated by dogs, ducks and chickens. These farmers take care of the orchards and cows, and make sure that no one tresspasses. They grow some corn for themselves and probably have a few cows.

We said hi to everyone, collected a key and drove on. Each of the next ten kilometers is marked with a small white sign. We travelled about three kilometers and the road was pretty bad, so we decided to walk a while. After a couple kilometers, we knew that we had driven the worst of the road and went back for the car to finish driving to the end. Part of the difficulty of the road right now is that it's so dry and in places it's covered with fine grey powder two or three inches deep. When it rained it washed away the powder so there are deep trenches. It was the first major trial for our new, old Jeep Cherokee and that car is amazing.



The road was also covered with dry Oak leaves in many places. I was surprised by that and reminded of the dry smell of Central Oregon where there are Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pine. I think we were seeing mostly Lodgepole. Our tree book says that it's the only New World Pine that's native all the way from Alaska to Mexico.

To be honest, I've been kind of freaked out by the idea of hiking and camping in this area. Rogelio's done a lot of it, but for me, the bugs and beasts and burning plants are scary. Here, in the parts of Colima nearer to the coast, we have a variety of mosquitos, biting ants, scorpions, and snakes (and I'm sure there are other wonderful creatures that I haven't yet learned about). A little higher, there are barilitos, barrel shaped mosquito-like things that don't suck, but actually take a little bite out of you. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that up there, by the volcanos, there are no mosquitos of any kind, and no scorpions. And I quickly figured out which plant to stay away from.





After riding and walking and taking photos for about 2 1/2 hours, we got up to a flat plateau with two little structures and a bathroom with an actual procelain toilet! We had a view of the whole Colima Valley, part of the Sierra Manantlan and the tip of El Fuego. We were surprised that the temperature was pretty warm.



And again, there were the desert flowers. Lupin, and Snapdragons, little white puffy things, and small yellow Daisys. All in the middle of a tropical jungle.

Arnoldo appears to me that he can't take care of himself. He's a little unkempt. He doesn't think of bringing drinking water, a jacket, or other neccesities, but he's like a mountain goat in his thin, simple leather, lace-up shoes. He doesn't fall. He doesn't get sick. He doesn't stop. He's got unflagging energy.

Arnoldo's daughter, Kristy, is about five. She was dressed in a hot-pink Barbie sweat suit with her hair twisted up in a pink frilly, fru-fru thing. Her tennis shoes have those little red lights that strobe when she walks. We were carrying her on our backs during the walk, and then making her walk a little. She's about the toughest little girl I've ever seen, despite the clothes. She got out of the car and, laughing, said that this was the worst trip ever! We wandered around a bit, ate our picnic lunch and then went off for another walk. The road continues on except that it's overgrown so it looks like one path.



We were ducking down under branches and breaking some so we could get through. After about half an hour, we came to an arroyo which had washed the road away and was pretty deep. Arnoldo went back to try to find a way around it and found a grove of Pine trees about a year old. He helped get Kristy down into the river bed and the rest of us went around and down. The arroyo was the only place up there where I saw those black volcanic rocks that you see everywhere down here. And the rocks were washed with the forms of water running down.

On the way back, Arnoldo kept Kristy going and she was singing and talking while being half-dragged, half carried over stumps and under bushes and back out to the car. It wasn't until the very end that she got upset with the whole manuever. What a champ! Her pink suit and her face were completely covered with dust and she slept most of the three hour drive back.

Temeperatures Water & Sugar Cane

It's 8:37AM and based on my super cheapy deepy thermometer that I got when I was in Atlanta, it's 68F, 20C. I know not to buy cheap stuff, but I did it anyway. I think it's pretty close. It's just that I never do believe it when it says it's 90F in my patio and it's January. After being here for a year, what it looks like to me is that the daytime high temperatures don't change much. Only the nighttime temperatures get cooler during the winter and the humidity rises steadily through the summer when it starts to rain in May. I don't understand how that works, but in the summer, it gets hot and stays hot during the nights.

This is the most incredably beautiful time of the year. At night it's good sleeping weather and during the day it's good weather for being outdoors (which is hard during six months of the year). It's dry, there's a lot of dust, and the plants are getting dryer because it's been three months since it rained, but there are a lot of green trees, and still a lot of flowers.

Our friend Carlos works for the government in water preservation. Carlos says the weather's getting more extreme. (We've all heard that before.) He knows all about the environment and the watershed (quenca) that comes from the high plains (altiplano) of Jalisco. We get our water as runoff from Jalisco (lots of dirty water) and from natural mountain springs here in Colima. Nature is amazing, because, the water that runs into our homes is untreated and they say that Colima has the cleanest water in Mexico. Last night, he was talking about our new water treatment plants. Colima is building it's own. And, I don't understand completely, but I think there are a few projected in Jalisco. They're also prejecting two dams. I didn't understand that competely, but maybe one on the Colima river and one on the Armeria River. I definitely have mixed feelings about that.

But back to the weather and the cane. This is sugar cane [(caña) can-ya] country. Colima/Jalisco/Michoacahn, but mostly Colima is one of the best places in the world to grow sugar cane because this land and climate produce the highest sugar to fiber ratio. Sugar cane gets planted in May when it starts to rain. You either plant your own cane and harvest it and send it off to the sugar mill [(ingenio) een-hen-eeo] for processing or the ingenio plants the sugar, harvests it, mills it and gives you back a percentage of the profit. It's a great deal if you'r lazy, old, or are too busy and have any amount of land. Sugar cane has leaves like knives. You can't harvest without getting rid of the leaves. The situation is that from November through May, they burn the cane, get rid of the leaves, and cut it by hand with machetes. Rogelio says it's the lazy way, but it's true, it's the easy way. And we all like that. But last night at 3:30AM, I woke up hacking. And I was thinking about all the big people [in spanish they use the word "big" (grande) to mean old] and the little ones who live with this for six months out of every year and end up hurt or killed by it.

I grew up in a farming community in Oregon and when I was young, the farmers burned the grain fields after the harvest in August. It's good for the ground, it kills bacteria, and other pests, and it's easy. At some point, it was banned. Over the next three years, I hear that cane burning is supposed to be banned. It's a Federal act. I can't wait to see what really happens. There are a lot of good intentions and good ideas here and the enforcement is sometimes lacking.

Land Woes

Well, once again, we thought we were buying land, and once again it fell through.

The thing is that most of the land around here is owned in a kind of federal farming trust (called
an Ejido, [e-hee-do]) by groups of poor farmers. It's a way to protect them. In order to sell to
someone outside of the Ejido, they have to privatize the land, and in order to privatize the land, they
have to get a 51% majority of these farmers to agree to let a parcel be privatized. Many of these
farmers are in the US or just don't show up for the meetings. There's a lineup of people trying to
privatize and unable to do it.

On top of this, there are different Ejidos (some in conflict, some not) and different ways that farmers are
involved in the Ejido. You can have a private "title" or you can have a common "title". Juan, the
person we're working with has a common "title" which means he owns the property within the Ejido
but within that also with another group. --- Martín didn't have a common "title", so we didn't know
about this until now. We went to an Ejidal lawyer and he told us to try to convert the property or we'd
just be buying problems.

Rogelio just came back from talking to the head of this particular Ejido, and we're pretty sure it's not
going to happen. The man told him that this property is in a particularly conflicted area, and he
would help us, but he thinks it's going to be extra hard to do.

We're learning a lot. We're going to take a little break from looking. It takes a lot of time, money
and emotional energy. Maybe something will fall in our laps in the mean time!

Remembering a cold day at Mono Lake

Let's be controversial

Rogelio and I were sitting, talking as we often do for our mid-afternoon meal, or on the weekends at breakfast. I was telling him that I'm starting to get a bit of a picture of the cultural, mental, emotional lives of people here in Colima. It may seem all over the place, but I'm going to share some of it with you.

The process of looking for land has been enlightening, partly because I've realized that I have a really good take on people even though I don't understand the language very well. Many times I've known what people were going to do and decide long before they've done it. I know when to believe people and when the talk is just talk. I grew up in the country and I think country people are similar, here there and everywhere. We get a kick out of riding on top of the turnip truck, or the sugar cane truck, or the bean truck, or the cranberry truck, or the...

We were wanting to buy that beautiful 12 acres of land in El Naranjal. As a result, we spent a bit of time with Martín who was very attached to the land. I liked him. I knew he was stubborn and I had the feeling all the way through the process that, even though he wanted to sell it, he wasn't going to sell it to us. He showed us a map of the land and a 20 year old plan that he had made to build cabins. He was very attached to it and had big dreams that he couldn't make happen. I don't know why, because he's a man with some resource. Juan, who we're working with right now on buying this other new piece of land, really doesn't have many resources. He doesn't like the land. He doesn't have help. He lives far from his land. His family has a very ramshackle house and they cook outside over a wood fire.

The reason that Magical Realism exists in Mexico is because when life is so difficult and you can't make your dreams come true, you have to have an internal dream life. That's one way people have been able to deal with the extreme poverty and difficulty of life here. There are a lot of people dreaming really big dreams. Another way to cope is to leave. Maybe those people don't have such a strong dream life, or maybe they have a stronger dream life. But most of them don't want to leave home, they do it out of a feeling of neccesity. Every person I meet and talk to here was, has family members, and/or knows someone who is or was in the U. S. So many people have been and come back. So many people want to speak English and talk to me about their life in the U. S. Despite how hard the life is here, the life can be harder for Mexicans there. I can't explain to you how strong the family tie is in Mexico. People say that it's not good like it once was, but from my gringa perspective, it's boulder strong. Leaving that is harder than anything I can imagine doing. We're missing that in the U. S. One thing that Bush has done with his wall is to keep the immigrant Latin workers in the U. S. It's become so hard to leave and get back in that they decide to stay INSIDE rather than making the trip home and deciding how nice it is to be home. This year, thousands more Mexicans got their U. S. Passports and went to visit their family members up north instead of the other way round. Sometimes the effect that you're expecting turns out just the opposite. Whatever you believe should happen, the irony is that there are more immigrant workers staying in the U. S. because of recent policies.

We don't really get it how easy it is to get by in the U.S. You can work hard, you can be smart, you can luck into it, you can be lazy but still furnish entire apartments and houses from other peoples trash (which ain't so trashy by comparison, believe me), and there's always food somewhere. The problem that I see in getting by is the medical care, but that's a whole other wad of gum on my shoe.

Whenever I talk to Gringos about what they like about Mexico, I hear, "It's the people." I've met a lot of good people. When I was living in the Barrio in Berkeley, I found that young immigrant Latin men as a whole, were about the sweetest, shyest, most polite and adorable group that I'd ever met. I also have to say that living here, I get treated very poorly at times. I've been coming here with Rogelio since 1994. And I've been getting the evil eye from women since the very beginning. Maybe I'm not dressed right, or I'm stealing a good man. These days, in Colima, I get the evil eye a lot. People have an idea about me before they see me. I think that this is partly thanks to my government's policies. But I don't know for sure. Maybe I don't dress right. What I do know is that we fought a pre-emptive war against Mexico resulting in an enormous land grab by the USA. I'm guessing that our war against Irak might remind Colimotes of that.

Rogelio can relate to me about being pre-judged. He says that he found many gringos to be shocked when they saw that he was smart. And I was protecting him by telling people how smart he is, how much education he has, all the amazing things that he's done. The irony here is that I passed through school without knowing my history, and a lot of other things. He tells me that where he went to school, he wouldn't have passed with the small amount of knowledge that I have. By the way, I passed with a high grade point average. He had a very hard time making friends in California. I notice that he seems so much freer here. His path ahead seems so much clearer.

That's what we talked about today, whew!

New Year's Day in El Real

One New Year's Day tradition is to go to the palapa restaurants at the beach in Tecoman, Cuyutlan, or Manzanillo. We went again this year arriving in Tecoman at 11AM, early enough to get a good spot and to enjoy the day before it got too crazy busy. It's one of my favorite things to do. We had fun relaxing and enjoying the break with some of Rogelio's family. This year, we went to a Restaurant called La Costa Dorada which wasn't very good. We chose it because it has a small swimming pool and water slides for the kids. Maybe that was our first mistake. These places are expensive, and we do this once or twice a year on holidays, so they should be good, but my food was overly salty and Rogelio said his wasn't any good either. The guacamole apetizer was just baaad. By mid-day, the women's bathroom was filled to brimming over with toilet paper on the ground and piled almost as tall as me. The owner was nowhere in sight.

We've been to El Paraiso and Pascuales which have both been great and we'll be going to one of them the next time.

Travelling in Mexico and Money

Thanks for the question about money. I forgot to include it in the travelling tips. Almost nobody takes travelers's checks anymore. It's easy to change dollars, so you might want to bring some to start out. Don't change them in the US in the airport, because it's super expensive. You can use all your charge cards (although unless places are touristy or large, they won't take credit) and your atm card. Call your bank and find out how much they charge you to use the credit cards here. Use the ones that charge the least. Also, call your bank about using your atm cards. That's what we do. We have a great bank, so it doesn't cost very much, but you want them all to know that you're here, so they don't suddenly lock up your cards cuz they think something shady is going on.

New Year's Eve at La Casa de Piedra

The new Casa de Piedra (House of Stone) on the third ring (La Tercer Anillo) in Colima openned two weeks ago, and my friend Belén is the manager. They specialize in meat, and have served steaks better than anything I've had in my life. And I grew up on good steaks! We went for the first time for the New Year's Eve dinner and party. It's big and impressive, built with stone, palm and concrete. A kind of modern Mariachi band was entertaining and they were good. At midnight, we ate our twelve grapes (with seeds), as fast as possible and made our twelve wishes, kissed and hugged and wished everybody a "Feliz Año Nuevo." We haven't seen our buddies in a while because Belén has been working so hard to get the new restaurant open, so it was a lot of fun even though she was working.

Sculpting Roli

Roli is a Chihuahua/Toy Dachsund who lives with my sister in law. He's adorable at less than 12" tall. I saw him again at a pre-christmas party along with another dog which is about fifty times his size and I knew they were the dogs for me to sculpt. He knows me from past visits but he's very nervous. On Monday I went to hang out with him and see if he would let me get close. Even though he knows me, and I was carrying food, he ran away. Lili put him on a leash and attached him to a pole in the back yard so that I could be near him. I sat down on the ground next to him and started to pet him. In a very short time he was in my lap. But every time he got down, he made such sad noises. He could hear his human pack in the house, talking and laughing. I've never heard such sounds come out of a dog. He sounded like a bird, chirping away his sadness. Then Lili's daughter, Paulina, came out and he became perfectly content. I spent about two hours earning more trust and starting a sculpture. I look forward to spending a lot more time with him.

A Rockin' Christmas Eve

Last night we drove the five minutes to the family house of Rogelio. It's the first time that we've been here for Christmas and not stayed in the family house so we got to see the sights on the way. Here, we celebrate Christmas at midnight on the 24th. Everybody was partying! Christmas lights were on and the music going. A great combination of Mexican music, and gringo Christmas music. What fun. The music and festivities continued well into the night with eating, dancing, drinking, fireworks and church bells in all directions.

Colima Visitor's Info

We're so excited that you're coming this winter, and I wanted to give you some background information and help for when you're here:

Colima is the second smallest of 23 states in Mexico (Tlascala is the smallest) in land area and has a population of around 500,000. Just south of the Tropic of Cancer, we have two seasons, the wet and the dry: wet from May through October, dry from November through April. The cities of Colima and La Villa de Alverez (right next to each other), together have around 300,000 people, are directly West of Mexico City and almost directly East of Hawaii, on the 20th parallel. I hear that the terraine and flora are similar to Hawaii.

CLIMATE AND TERRAINE: The beach has unrelenting hot weather, and in the mountains around the volcanoes, it's very cool all year long. The city is just about half way between. The ground varies from sandy soil, clay soil, rich volcanic soil, rocky volcanic soil and rock without much soil at all. Some places in Mexico, the volcanic rock is light yellow and pink, whereas here in Colima, it's black, grey and red. Cantera is a crusty brick looking volcanic rock that is used for buildings all over Mexico. In Colima Centro, that and adobe were used in all of the old buildings. The folliage here varies from desert cactus to lush jungle. North of Colima, we have a fog forest which keeps the plants and ground wet through many days of the dry season.

All kinds of tropical fruit are found here. Pineapple, banana, guava, papaya, mamay, guanabana, tamarind, mango, star fruit, guayavia, nance, orange, mandarine, pomelo, coconut, vanilla, grapefruit, lima, lime, bread fruit, chico, chico sapote, sapote blanco, tuna, pitaya. coffee...and the list goes on! Up on the mountain, there are cherrys, apples, plums, blackberries, and more cold weather fruit. And a few kinds of Pine trees grow there. The largest cash crops are Sugar Cane, Coconut (oil), and Lime.

Manzanillo, Colima is the largest Pacific port of Mexico. Forgive me, but the town itself is incredibly dusty and ugly and hot! But it has beautiful beaches, a lot of foreign traffic, and many expats from all over the world.

In the Northwestern part of the state, the Sierra Manantlan extents into the state of Jalisco. Two thirds of all the birds in Mexico come to the Sierra Manantlan and the Cerro Grande (Big Hill) of Colima is known for it's huge population of birds. Thousands of Snow Geese can be seen along the highway to Guadalajara (Laguna Sayula) if you show up at the right moment in the winter. I'm not sure, but I think it's between December and February.

The most prominent feature of Colima are the two Volcanos, the inactive Nevado (Snow) de Colima and the active Fuego (Fire) de Colima. They're actually just across the border in Jalisco. The Fuego is burping steam and gas almost daily and when you come, they'll both probably have snow.

BEING TROPICAL: We have several types of mosquitos. Luckily, they've advanced and know that hands kill, and most kinds stay near the ground and feed at the ankles and lower leg. Which means that the best thing to do is wear long cotton pants and tennis shoes with socks. Bring Deet if you need mosquito repellant. We have eight types of Denge, so if you get a fever with bone aches, head aches, or eye aches, don't take aspirin and go to a doctor for anti-biotics. We have screens on our doors and windows, but most places don't and the mosquitos seem to like new people better (I think it just takes a while for the body to get adjusted because they don't bother me much now). If you get bitten, don't scratch and the sting will go away in fifteen to twenty minutes.

BEING TROPICAL: Small hurts can turn quickly into large hurts. Take care of cuts with anti-biotic ointment and take care of your feet by drying them well after showering and use foot powder and lamisil cream.

WATER: Everybody filters or buys clean water. Don't drink out of the tap. Don't brush your teeth with tap water. If you drink beer or sodas sold out of an ice bath, wipe off the top with a napkin.

FOOD: The situation is so much cleaner than in previous years. Follow the people and make sure restaurants are clean. Restaurants can't survive by making people sick and Mexicans get sick just like gringos. They only call it Moctezuma's revenge when gringos get it! If you're really worried, only eat steaming hot food and eat lots of lime. The acid kills almost everything. If your stomach feels a little tilty, take Citri-San drops morning and night. (If you can't find them, I have them.) I carry immodium, because I'm prone to stomach upsets in the US and here.

CLOTHING: A sweater or light coat and a light, long sleaved shirt. All cotton clothing. Light tank style shirts and long light cotton pants. Tennis shoes, comfortable sandals. I like berkenstocks, but make sure they're broken in first. A hat. Sunglasses. Sunscreen. You won't need or want a hair dryer. It's too hot, and you may not be able to use it with the lack of good wiring and outlets. You might want to carry a cloth hankerchief.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: We have buses which take you anywhere. They range from the most comfortable and luxurious, to the most ancient school buses with leather seats. There's a very comfortable bus that runs from the main bus station to the Guadalajara airport at 3AM and 10AM. It takes 2 1/2 hours. We also have taxis which are very reasonable.

BATHROOMS: Here in Colima, you can usually go without paying, but in many states (and in bus stations), you have to pay two pesos for which you get a small piece of toilet paper. I like to carry my own toilet paper or kleenex. The toilets often don't have seats. And many bathrooms don't have water to wash your hands. If we're driving, we carry that.

Ask questions by using the comments just below this post.

Project Amigo

I went back to Manzanillo to file the paperwork to get my VISA renewed, and I met a man who's been here for 24 years working to get the poor children of Colima educated. He lives just north of me, in Suchitlan. You can find him at www.projectamigo.org. His name is Ted Rose. With a mailing address in Sebastopol, CA, they make it very easy to donate. Or, you can bring things for the kids when you come to visit me. Check out the site to see the wish list. Make sure that you type .org or you'll end up somewhere you may not want to be!

The search for land is back on

We're back to looking for land again. The owner of the land near El Naranjal didn't want a specific contract. I hear that many people sell with a handshake, but I also hear that many people are having land battles, in and out of court.

Rogelio's put out the call to all the realtors he's met over these last few months, and he's been out to see a few things. We also put an ad in the paper saying what we're looking for. He's getting the paper every morning and making calls. It's a big job, and he's ready to be done with it.

Tree limbs

El Naranjal, Colima, Mexico

Here are some pictures from our trip to El Naranjal on Friday. Me sitting on a very warm, very big, rock. And two of the many types of flowers that are blooming out there right now.

Buying Land-El Naranjal

Sorry for the lack of artwork lately. We've been practicing the art of business. Specifically, negotiating the purchase of 12 acres 30 minutes North of Colima, very close to a town called El Naranjal, (The Orange Grove). About five miles north-west of Queseria (Cheese Town or Place), which is the big town at 30,000.

BELOW: You can see the hill and some grassland around it. Hopefully that will be ours soon. It has a view of the volcano, "El Fuego de Colima", (The Fire of Colima), and a view of the Colima Valley and the town of Colima. On the south side of the hill, there are some very big trees. On the north side (the cool side!), the trees are shorter. These photos were taken about a month ago. Yesterday it was full of yellow flowers, lantana and trees with big white flowers. The daisys grow like shrubs. And walking brings up clouds of butterflies.

A hill with some trees on it

View from Naranjal

Excercise

We've been going to the University of Colima Deportivo to walk, swim, and play Fron Ton in the evenings for the last two weeks. It's a lot of fun and busy. People come out to play futbol, basketball, tennis, baseball, lift weights, high dive, and more. Students from some of the high schools do track and field practice around the 400 meter rubberized track. A bigger walking track goes outside the 400 meter track and the fron ton courts. There's a giant mix of all ages, including really young ones wobbling around the track. The weather's still pretty warm, but completely manageable. And we go around 5:30PM and have been enjoying some great Fragonard clouds and sunsets.

Today we left the house at 5:30PM with overcast skies and a little rumbling of thunder in the distance. We got out of the truck and started to walk in when it began to rain. After half an hour and had to run away when it started pouring and the lightning was cracking about every five minutes. Both of us got into the truck, soaked to the skin. It continued to pour for another two hours after we got home. It's very unusual to get this kind of a storm in December. But we welcome the rain because Mexico's been suffering a drought for about ten years now.

Portfolio

BELOW: Here's another oldish sculpture from 2001. You can tell I'm getting oldish because it's been six years and I think this sculpture isn't old! It's ceramic and I made it during my first trip to Watershed, a residency in Maine. It's small at 14" high and was sold in California. I don't know who owns it!

Family

Family

Family

Portfolio

BELOW: I had a lot of fun being goofy. The first two self portraits are newer, 2001 or so. The last one is from 1989.

Self Portrait-More Me than Me

OK, while I'm at it...

Self Portrait-Sculptor

Self Portrait-Sculptor

Portfolio

BELOW: This "Self Portrait" is another, very old, not a dog, sculpture! Also one of my favorites. I like the naive, folk arty quality of it. And that it feels like me, even though it doesn't look like me. A first experiment with over-firing in a gas kiln, and of enlivening the clay with fire.

Self Portrait

Street Dog

Street Dog

Me in my studio

Pointer

Our House Today

Studio

Inspiration

BELOW: Folk art is one of my favorite forms. No big deal. Hire an alvañil (stone mason) and ask him to make an animal. These sculptures are in the medians of the big streets all around Colima.

Folk Art

A little more of Sebastian

BELOW: Since I haven't gotten it together to put my own work on the screen-here's some more of what's influencing me now. I don't usually like abstracted forms, but I love Sebastian! And I love how huge he makes the sculptures. These are large maquettes (studies) for sculptures that will be several stories high.

More Sebastian

I Love Sculpture Materials!

Almost as much as I love form.

WAX: Wax is soft and transparent and fleshy. There are a thousand different kinds of wax to choose from. Jeweler's wax that will break like glass if it's pushed too hard, and soft wax that can easily be brushed, like oil paint. My own special blend is perfect for the way I work. I love how I can soften it with heat, just to the right temperature so that it's not sticky in my fingers. Or, it can be used warmer, with a tool, like frosting a cake. I quickly put the material up on an armature where it cools and can be shaped more, by cutting with a knife, scratching with a metal tool, or melting with a torch. Once it's together on an armature, it'll last forever as long as it's not put in heat or direct sunlight. There are examples of hand-made wax objects in museums that are thousands of years old. Pigment can be added, and the surface can be painted with many different types of paint. Or, it can simply be used as an intermediate material with which to make a mold, and melted down again for the next sculpture. How sad!

For more on wax: "Wax as Art Form" Newman, Thelma R. & Newman, Jay Hartley, -Out of print, but it is available on the internet. Also: "Figure Sculpture in Wax and Plaster" Richard McDermott Miller -Great book which is in print now.

Portfolio

BELOW: This is a sculpture that I made at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. I had less than two weeks to work with clay, and decided to do something experimental and a bit unusual for me. I made this abstract figure of a young, pregnant, girl very quickly in order to experiment with form and wax as a finished material, added to clay after the sculpture is fired. Part of the experiment was over-firing the clay so that it almost looks like the high-iron metal that it has in it.

This is a high talc, red clay painted with manganese oxide for the black, and rutile for the light yellow-orange, and filled with a blend of victory brown microchrystaline and parafin wax.

Guadalajara & Lake Sayula

We've spent the last few days in Guadalajara at the US consulate and visiting family and friends. It's beautiful this time of year. Still green from the rains and perfect weather. With a few less cars, it would be paradise.

The road to Guadalajara starts with deep jagged canyons. Lots of bridges. On the way back it was raining a bit and the sun was shining through dark grey clouds. After the canyons is the dry lake Sayula. Miles of completely flat lands that have some water now, but will be completely dry in a couple of months. And in the background are the rugged mountains of the Sierra Manantlan. Right now the corn is drying and a golden brown color. Some is stacked in piles waiting to become animal feed. And there are fields of sorgum with reddish brown heads. Of course the agave fields are always seen somewhere in this area with their dusty blue green color. Every once in a while we see, usually a man, riding a bicycle on the side of the highway. And always, a dog running along. It's all very impressive and I'm sorry that my description in words doesn't begin to come up to what it really looks like.

This week I hope to get you some shots of my finished sculpture and more work in progress.

Palm Tree by Sebastian

Rooster by Sebastian

My Studio

BELOW: This is a picture of our house right after it was fixed up and right before we moved in. I now have my studio in the terrace that you see in front.

After

Before

Portfolio

BELOW: Here are a couple more of my favorite older sculptures.

Laurie IV

Laurie IV

Yoshio

Colima/Manzanillo/Minatitlan

We went to Manzanillo this morning to renew my FM3 Visa. As with many regulations in Mexico, it's hard to figure out exactly what has to be done and when. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to drive to Manzanillo on the toll road. For all of you San Franciscans who think that the Golden Gate Bridge toll is high, it costs $91 pesos, about nine dollars, in both directions. The office wasn't busy and the clerk was friendly.

We drove back on the Manzanillo-Minatitlan road (Mexico 98) through the, still lush, Sierra Manantlan Reserva de la Biosfera. And behind the Cerro Grande, which means big hill. The elevation increases fast out of Manzanillo, and it got cool fast. There's a tall grassy plant that grows along the roads. In some places into the roads. There's a short grass with red heads kind of like cat tails, that I've never seen before, and in wet places, cat tails. The green will last the next few weeks, and it will turn a golden brown until the rains start in May. I recognize Azalia, Parota, Cahoba (Mohogany) and Oak trees. And mountains of Coreopsis among many other wildflowers.

We're home. It's 2PM. And it's 95 degrees in the shade of our patio. Comfortable. Not too humid. Since mid October, when the rains stopped, the nights have been cool enough to sleep without a fan. The dogs are asleep. They're smart.

The Dog Days are more doggy here.

"but when the hot days come, I think they might remember that those are the dog days, and leave a little water outside in a trough, like they do for the horses." "The Bar Sinister" by Richard Harding Davis.

Street Dog

Portfolio

BELOW: It's not a dog, but it's one of my favorites. I sculpted this calf from a darling newborn. She was born in the dairy next door to the Watershed residency that I went to in Maine. I loved working with her directly. She was very shy. After a few hours she warmed up a bit. It reminded me of my youth. My dad grew up on a dairy west of Portland, Oregon. When I was a girl, I used to play on the farm, run through the chicken coups, and try to ride the young cows. I usually ended up sitting in a pile of dung. I never had to do the work, so I can wax romantic about the whole thing. But I did have the feeling of the calf in my fingers and in my heart before I started this sculpture. What a lot of fun.

Three Week Old

Portfolio

BELOW: Here are a couple of my favorite sculptures that I've done over the years. And an update on the new. Enjoy!

In the Soup

Capital Man Detail

Capital Man

Work in Progress

BELOW: This is a sculpture in wax (you can see the styrafoam underneith) of a Bull Terrier. Partly inspired by a dog that runs around outside my house. I've got about three hours into it at the point of this photo. Today, it's got ears! More photos to come.

Bull Terrier

Xoloitzcuintli

Chiquita

So ferocious barking at people from up there on the roof. One day she was hanging out outside and I picked her up. She's the size of a small cat.

Chiquita

Xoloitzcuintli

Redogulous

There are so many dogs here. I thought that I would carry some doggy biscuits around in my pocket and get them to pose for me. Not so. I'm sculpting from photographs. Not my favorite method. We've gone out and taken photos of the dogs I want to sculpt. Some are beautiful, but many are in bad shape. There's a thousand year old tradition of reverence, admiration, abuse, and revulsion for dogs. Tepezcuintlis and Xoloitzcuintles were bred and raised as food. Not many people eat them any more.

People were producing the sculptures of dogs in red clay starting around 300AD. From "The Ancient Art of Colima, Mexico" by Richard D. Reynolds. My favorite is that they were sculpting fat and happy dancing dogs while other cultures were sculpting warriors.

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