Spring with Kasajizou Story

It has been raining all morning and it is dark. But I like it this way when I have a lot of work to do. Today, I am getting ready for my son's second ballroom dance competition. I hope he does well because this time it will be more challenging with all the new steps and turns. I am not going to lie that I am not nervous for my baby. However, I know he will do well. Somehow this boy doesn't get nervous or shaky. He doesn't like to practice before. He just goes on the floor and does it! My fingers are crossed for him and the one and lovely Victoria, his dance partner. Together they will dazzle the judges I am sure!

I am making salmon, cream cheese and dill sandwiches on pumpernickel, tuna-mayo salad on Italian mini-buns,  ham, cheese and coleslaw whole-wheat wrap. To fill up I packed some cherry tomatoes, grapes, steamed broccoli that Victoria likes, and my pina colada upside down cake that I baked last night. I hope it all goes well...dancing and the food I mean! 

These Ojizou (じぞうさま) statues are everywhere in Japan. Mostly in temples, but you can find them on the side of the road, in the forests and mountains as well. 

There is a beautiful, old story in Japan that people tell their children in order to teach them how to be good and giving. Kasajizou. An old man who one cold winter night noticed a sting of statues like the ones in the picture. All of them had no hats but piles of cold snow on their heads. The man stopped to pray and decided to comfort them.  Since he was a hat merchant, he had many conical hats with him that he coundn;t sell at the market. The man took pity on them and put one hat on each head. All but one got their heads covered. The man ran out of hats. So he made a quick decision to give away his own hat that covered and protected him so well from the snow. He was happy to give it away because he knew that it would bring comfort to this poor statue, even though it was just a piece of stone. 

The poor old man wasn't doing so well as his hat making business wasn't making any money. Him and his wife had very little resources and lived a simple life in order to survive. They worried a lot because they food was ending and winter didn't seem to be coming to an end anytime soon! The old man couldn't sell any hats and his wife would always argue with him that he gave them away to the statues. But! But one cold evening, when there was no more food to eat and no more wood to heat the house, they couple heard a lot of noise out side their humble house. They opened the sliding door to see... a sting of statues walking towards them! Each carried food, firewood and everything that was needed to survive!

What a beautiful story! Give even if you think there is nothing you can get in return! Kindness is always rewarded!

Spring leaves are coming out with all this rain today helping them to grow! I can hear them breaking through that delicate skin of  tree bark. The birds are going absolutely crazy! I saw some yesterday fighting over twigs for building nests! Also, there is a cardinal that lives here. He started his song already! Yup! The spring is definitely here! 

Have a great weekend my friends! I know I will! The leaves are coming out, the birds are singing, the hope is here! What else can we ask for!

Thursday with Cubist Me

Kashiwara was a very interesting period in our lives. My husband and I were so together like never before. We were stranded on a deserted island. No other foreigners, no other friends. We needed only each other to survive. Just us and the people of Kashiwara. Some of the students would invite us to dinner to their homes, restaurants, festivals. Although, it was our third year in Japan, it seemed as if it was the first one. We were sightseeing more and travelling within Japan. I don't remember how but we befriended this wonderful lady, I think her name was Fumiko. Her and her daughters would spend all the festivals together with us. She would prepare everything for us to enjoy them. She would roll our a blanket, take out bentos filled with new to us dishes. One of them was a bitter vegetable called goya, like the famous painter. It's origins come from Okinawa, Japanese tropical paradise island occupied by the American Army. Fumiko was showing us the whole new Japan. She was adding a new perspective to what we knew about Japan. She was showing us Kanto spirit. Thank you!

My little dancer with a halo... After two years of partying and clubbing in Tokushima, Kanto quiet time seemed like a vacation, a honeymoon! Also, it was the time when only I worked full time so the resources were limited. And it was also the time when I was rigorously paying off my student loan. Simple things became our luxury, like weekly trips to Tsutaya to rent a movie or once in a while we would go to a little takoyaki shop by Kashiwara station. A nice shopkeeper had 12 takoyaki for $200! Can you believe it! Or we would just go to my school owner's wine shop and get a nice bottle of wine from Kashiwara vineyard. My employer at the time owned half of Kashiwara mainly because of the family owned win and sake business.

This quiet time when we couldn't spend a lot of money also became a very perceptive time of our stay in Japan. We felt the culture more, we observed the people better. I painted and drew almost everyday. We cycled all the time, which meant we saw Japan in slow motion. We could breath the air, smell the aromas around the homes, look at people and hear them more personally. And when we wanted privacy we would just get a bottle of wine or Campari, take our chairs outside of the house and enjoy the privacy. Where we lived nobody came during the weekend. We were left to our own comfort! 

When the contract with Kashiwara came to an end I didn't extend. I decided that there was something better written in my book. That is when Kamikawa contract found me. I got my bottle of Kashiwara wine as a going away present and I was on my way with my husband and two cats in a rented van going across Mie-ken, Nagano-ken, Yamanashi-ken to get to a small village in Saitama-ken called Kamikawa. 

Wednesday - Pizza day

Sorry, today is pizza day! My son never lets me forget that they have it at school for lunch because he loves pizza. Also, it is civvies day dress code and I always forget to prepare his colourful clothes. If you have anything to do with a TCSB you know that on this day you can wear whatever you desire as long as it is decent and clean.  I had to make a reference to that since it keeps ringing in my ear every Wednesday!

"Fireworks in Kashiwara"

In 2001 we moved from Tokushima to Kashiwara. I worked at a small private school from 13:00 til 9:00 most of the days. The life was very slow there. We had no car and we cycled everywhere. It usually took us about 1 hour from our town to get to downtown Osaka. We would go through little towns full of old industrial houses where factory workers lived. It was a sad and dark group of neighbourhoods. So when we got to Osaka we would see the difference of the architecture, the way people dressed, more colour and just over all healthier looking place!

Osaka is a very industrial city. But it also has an incredible art and architecture scene. Some of the sky scrapers look like spaceships or footballs or bullets! I loved living in our old house. Anything outside of it lacked colour and happiness. Maybe I was tired then. Maybe working evening hours clouded my perception. I hope I get to see Osaka again someday. I keep watching Anthony Bourdain's programs about Japan and he makes a lot of references to Osaka. They have the best takoyaki and BBQ awful for sure!

"Sketching whatever is on the coffee table..."

Kashiwara was also close to Nara, the ancient capitol city of Japan. We cycled there too. Usually it took us about 3-4 hours through some heavy mountains so we would get up at 4 a.m. and leave when it was still nighttime. I would pedal on my bicycle thinking how scary it would be to be crossed by a group of monkeys at night. But i was wrong. We shouldn't have been afraid of monkeys! They sleep at night. One time we left very early at night to see the sunrise at one of the temples there. At some point my husband noticed a dog. He got of his bike and started walking but soon we noticed there was a whole group, a pack of stray mountain dogs. We both jumped on our bikes started yelling and screaming to make as much noise as possible and pedalled with the top possible speed our knees could to get away. And we did.

Okruchy (Crumbs)

I do apologise for not having a translation but if any of my friends who speak Polish and English would like to translate I will be more than happy to welcome the interpretation!

Okruchy

Zagarniam okruchy mojego zycia

Mam juz dwie rowne gorki

Duze choc troche wygladaja jak chleb

Te male sa jak karma dla ptakow

Co z nimi zrobic

Czy mam sie nimi nasycic?

Czy jak babka piaskowa napelnia apetyt

Poszczacego zebraka?

Mozyby je rozrzucic po katach mojej wiary?

I z palcami splecionymi jak dziecko

Czekac pokornie i w ciszy

Czekac tego co bedzie dalej.

Oj przybedzie znowu okruchow

I sprzatac mi sie juz nie chce.

Gdzie je zamiesc, gdzie schowac?

Czy bezwsydnie zostawic na stole?

Przyjda inni co wiedza, ze to moje

I powiedza doklanie co bylo.

Ewa Zdanowicz

Toronto, March 7th, 2017

I drew this one with pastels on paper. My husband was in Europe for an extended period of time last year. While he was trekking around Sarajevo, Lviv and Lublin and ate the best cuisine of Eastern Europe,  I missed having him home. When he came back to Canada and saw it, he was impressed with how I see him. We had a good laugh about the size of his arms. Well, he needs big arms to hold me and our son, right?

 These are three trees that used to grow in Chichibu, Japan. You  can see  (Mt.) Buko-san looking over our shoulders in the gentle light of a crescent moon. We were happy trees there. And as they say you don't replant old tree is somewhat true to us. Somehow we haven't just found our hearts in Canada yet!

This piece was part of Aleksander's Dream Box exhibition in Chichibu.

Dale's Book 3

 I am feeling very dazed and confused. Just a few days ago I got a very tragic news from Japan that my friend Dale was finally found. Unfortunately, he was right in his post on FB, that when we get the news he would no longer be here. My world is in pieces and I cannot possibly imagine how his family in England must feel at this point. This is a big shock to all that new him because we all loved him. We still do!

The world without Dale, Japan without Dale...I just cannot comprehend.

There are so many pieces of art that I have done thanks to his kind and giving heart! Dale you will live forever in hearts. Sleep tight my friend!

One memory of his kindness comes to mind on this gloomy Monday afternoon. Dale knew how hard it was for us to be there in Japan without family support. We never talked about it but he knew. So one year, a week before Christmas he called and said that he was in town and that he would be more than happy to take my son to the park if we had some errands to run. Wow! We took his offer in a jiffy. The next thing we know, Dale was at our door ready to help. While we went present hunting for our son and grocery shopping for the big meatless feast, Polish-style, Dale took our son to Kizupark, a popular playground in the area. A small gesture like that illustrates how incredibly giving and thoughtful he was. He was always good to us. I can even say he spoiled us with attention! Made us feel special. My son loved to goof around with him at Stellar parties.

Thursday with Dale's Book 2

"Sunrise in Japan" 2009

I still have hope.. Do you? If you can look at the sunset and smile,
then you still have hope.

If you can find beauty in the colors of a small
flower, then you still have hope.

If you can find pleasure in the movement of
a butterfly, then you still have hope.

If the smile of a child can still warm your heart,
then you still have hope.

If you can see the good in other people,
then you still have hope.

If the rain breaking on a roof top can still lull
you to sleep, then you still have hope.

If the sight of a rainbow still makes you stop
and stare in wonder, then you still have hope.

If the soft fur of a favored pet still feels pleasant
under your fingertips, then you still have hope.

If you meet new people with a trace of excitement
and optimism, then you still have hope.

If you give people the benefit of a doubt,
then you still have hope.

If you still offer your hand in friendship to others
that have touched your life, then you still have hope.

If receiving an unexpected card or letter still brings
a pleasant surprise, then you still have hope.

If the suffering of others still fills you with pain and frustration, then you still have hope.

If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept that
it must end, then you still have hope.

If you look forward to a time or place of quiet and
reflection, then you still have hope.

If you still buy the ornaments, put up the Christmas
tree or cook the turkey, then you still have hope.

If you still watch love stories or want the endings
to be happy, then you still have hope.

If you can look to the past and smile,
then you still have hope.

If, when faced with the bad, when told everything
is futile, you can still look up and end the conversation
with the phrase...."yeah....BUT.." then you still have hope.

Hope is such a marvelous thing. It bends, it twists, it sometimes hides, but rarely does it break. It sustains us when nothing else can. It gives us reason to continue and courage to move ahead, when we tell ourselves we'd rather give in.

Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart cannot
manage.

Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes cannot
see it.

Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused
of the direction.

Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be cherished
and nurtured, and something that will refresh us in return.
And it can be found in each of us, and it can bring light
into the darkest of places. Never lose hope

Dale, FB January 4th, 2017

Where are you my friend? The whole world is looking for you!

Wednesday - Dale's Book 1

When my son was 6 months old, my husband and I decided to move back to Japan and teach English again. This was all doing of the manager at our old company that hired all the teachers in the Honjo-Chichibu area. He had kept sending emails for us to return. So when we finally agreed to go back I was very happy and anxious. This time we were coming back with a baby. How on Earth we where thinking to raise this boy without our family? Boy was I wrong! Family is where the heart is. Even if it isn't blood lines, you can find people that will adopt you and take care of you. And so did we.

It was a cold March night. We arrived in Chichibu in an old, empty and uninviting apartment. We had absolutely nothing but a futon and two pillows, a cover, and two suitcases standing in the small kitchen. It was depressing and scary. But the next day, our friend and a manager at the company came to see how we were and brought a big sketchbook. The cover was signed in big messy hand writing: Dale's Book." What a guy! He remembered that I was an artist and he brought supplies to a starving artist! This is one of the drawings from "Dale's Book." I owe you, Dale!

"Panda Ride in Fujioka"

Soon after we arrived, we had a very small amount of money for entertainment. Often we made trips to the old places that we knew and remembered from our first stay in Kamikawa. A lot of them had playgrounds like this one. Slides, turning wheels, panda and dinosaur rides, swings, etc. Between Onishi and Fujioka there is a nice cherry viewing place with a great playground on top of a hill and a soccer and baseball field at the bottom of it. It was always populated by people playing sports, having picnics or visiting their kids' school tournaments. My son loved it there because he would always make friends and go on slides with his new buddies. Good old times!

Tuesday with Spring Hatchlings

Spring is in the air! I can feel it! All this thinking about spring makes me think about eggs and Easter. It is coming in April. I like that time of year because i enjoy the Easter egg hunt. I enjoys how my son gets excited about finding all the eggs. I hope that this year we can invite his friends over to look for the chocolate eggs together!

This is a drawing of my little hatchling. I remember I had this picture on the display in the kitchen in Japan. My son used to love to look at himself being the subject of my art. The same with this one. Every once in a while we were sitting at the dinner table I would ask my son, "Who is this little elf?" and he would say "it is Olo!" And I would say, "you are my little elf!" He would giggle with glee. I am not sure why I chose to have him break out of an egg. I can't explain these things. On the contrary, my son didn't want to come out!  Three weeks before he was due he turned head up! He wanted to stay with mama. But the doctor decided to pull him right out one morning in May. My little elf forever!

 This is long before my son was even planned so this is a different type of hatchling. This is an idea, a theory that is coming to the world.  I drew this one when we lived in Kamikawa. I had a lot of time and ideas. I had a very artistically productive life. At that time I worked at a small junior high school in Misato, Saitama-ken. They celebrated my artistic spirit and enjoyed me being real, creative me! Life was good and I felt as if I caught God by His legs. I felt that the sun shone for me and the moon lit my way at night. It is easy to be a genius in that environment and hatch eggs of brave thoughts!

Cherry Blossoms - Sakura

Happy Monday! Welcome to the first day of spring! Maybe it doesn't look like it just yet, but there is hope! Around this time, however, in Japan people are starting to celebrate hanami (cherry blossom flower watching parties) Every year people put down their tarps in parks to have flower viewing parties with their friend or co-workers. There is tones of good food, beer and fun! There is something freeing in having drinking parties outdoors. Something we can't have in Canada because it is simply illegal. Somehow the government doesn't trust us, the grown ups, to use our judgements when we drink! In Japan, you can walk around with a drink in your hand at any time, festivals, parties, picnics and enjoy the freedom. No one ever gets hurt, rarely there are any fights. On the contrary, people are relaxed and friendly.

Cherry blossom is like life of a samurai, they say in Japan. It is short but intense! It is true. When they just start booming they add so much colour to the black bark of cherry trees. When they are in full bloom they take your breath away with the intensity of colour and magnitude of flowers. But when they die there is something out of this world. The wind blows and the flakes look like snow in spring. You have to see it for yourself. No word can express the real beauty of Sakura! No wonder every year Japanese people celebrate its beauty by having mass tours to see it and to take pictures. And even though they have it every year it never gets boring. Every year they go out to view flowers as if for the first time. I couldn't resist and  tried to capture its beauty. This is what we saw from the car March/April, when we drove shopping from Chichibu to Yorii.

This is a famous sight in Chichibu. Temple Number 28 by Urayama Dam. This old tree offers a spectacular view with its hanging Sakura. Not far from it there was an onsen owned by the sweetest lady I know! She was so good to us. We would come to her ryokan to enjoy  hot water baths in a nice rocky setting. She would close up one of the bath just for us. There are separate baths for women and men because you go there naked as the Japanese tradition dictates. But she would make it possible for our family to go in together! One awesome lady! After the baths she would treat us to some hot tea in winter and she would always have some candy or toys for my son. As an additional attraction she had a lot of cats that would sit around the lobby and the parking lot of her ryokan. My son loved to play with them.

Urayama is a small village that merged with Chichibu a few years back. Although it is well hidden in the mountains it offers a great fun and an interesting trip. There is Urayama Dam where we would drive in the summers to escape the heat of the city  and to see Japanese macaque monkeys in the wild. There is a community centre right by the dam with a little display of art and history of Urayama and the region of Arakawa River. If you drive a bit further on the third Sunday of October you can witness an ancient Shishimai Dance. It is mesmerising and intriguing! What is it? Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSTO8oGyk8w

Friday with Spain

Agave is a cacti with origins in Southern United States and Mexico. But you can see it in Africa and Spain. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought it to Europe in the 19th century. Agave likes it hot so it found a perfect new home in Spain. It is called the "century plant" because that is how long it takes for it to flower! People make sugar and syrup out of it. .The panorama of Spain is filled with them all over the coast. I couldn't resist painting them. They looked especially out of this world in the moonlight by the Mediterranean see. I saw one in bloom once when I was small. My mom took me to The Potocki Palace in Lancut. I felt special that I had been given to see it bloom!

This painting has been sold to a buyer in Toronto, Ontario

Spain took the longest time to conquer during our cycling tour of the Mediterranean trip. It was very difficult because of the hills and mountains and the climate. Not a drop of rain throughout the entire stay! Each morning we would wake up and say "Damn! Sunny again!" Even when we decided to stay by the sea, the roads where steep. Like Cabo de Gata. I would spend all day sometimes cursing at flies that ruthlessly wouldn't go away. At times we would be challenged by unpaved and dangerous roads. In some regions we couldn't locate public bathrooms or they would be closed. But the experience was balanced with the good and the bad. The views where out of this world! We crossed paths with incredibly good and friendly people like Samuel that we met in front of Malaga's Picasso Museum. Samuel was a fellow cyclist from Germany. He would have most likely join us but he was going the opposite direction. He was about to see what we had witnessed. We exchanged info about interesting things to see, working showers, potential tent places and most importantly availability of toilets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80cQa1Ap1vo

You can imagine when after a very bad climb, you get to the top and see a blue see and the Sun bathing in it! Those moments were worth a million dollars each! They offered motivation and added courage to go on even if it was hard and hot! Everyday, at the end of that there was a white sand beach and a swim in the sea. Sometimes at night we would be awaken by the sound of cars, music, laughter of people having fun on the beach. Some of them would even come into our tent in the middle of the night and offer drinks!

And yes, you did see a penis looking cactus in the video. It looked even more interesting in real life:) We just had to stop and take a picture of it!!

Thursday with My Family - My Inspiration

As you already know my family is everything to me. I get the most inspiration from them. Today I would like to share a few drawings I made all through the years.

This is a drawing of my little boy when he was about 1 years old. We had decided to take him of a trip to Mitsumine-guchi, the last stop on the Chichibu line. This picturesque station has a lot to offer because it is in the heart of the Oku-Chichibu Park. You can meet a group of monkeys there, have some tofu ice cream, and see an amazing outdoor museum of trains. This train ride was special because we took a steam locomotive that ran once a day. It was my son's first ever ride as well. I will never forget his little eyes full of surprise and fear when the world outside the window began to move! You can see it in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUI0tf5fPhc

This drawing of my husband is back from the times when we live at "Melrose Place" in Kamikawa, Saitama-ken. Artistically speaking it was a very productive period of my live. I had many notebooks with my poetry, sketchbooks and paintings. We also had a lot of time to drive around Japan just for me to stop and sketch or paint. 

This was a sketch for a painting which is still somewhere in a distant future. After finishing this drawing i looked at us and realised how we have changed, grew older. Our faces look so mature and serious even though we smile. Time is a very ruthless and non-negotiable thing. We should have the most respect for it, right beside love, water and fire!

Wednesday with "A Broken Heart"

Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a great March break if you are in Canada!! It is ugly outside but we have to make the best of it and get those skates out, don't we!!

I can't believe I found this "Broken Heart". The other day I dug out all my sketch books and notebooks and on the bottom of the drawer this was smiling at me. We haven't seen each other for at least two years! It is hard to believe that it survived so many years on the wall in Poland, immigration to Canada, then storage (when we were in Japan), and finally my art supply drawer! I am glad it did.

I painted this in Poland in grade 5. I made do with whatever i had. Just like my first canvas, i got some of my mom's fabric, my dad's oil pants, we are talking the ones that you paint walls with! It was a left over paint from the time my dad and my brother had painted the hallway a la wood imitation. This painting doesn't even have a proper frame. I made it with a piece of cardboard! That is how much I needed to paint! Nothing was going to stop me! Not even the lack of materials!

Why did I paint it? Grade 5, there was a boy a few years older than me. His name was Jack. I am sure some of my friends from Tomaszow Lubelski have known him and about him. All we had was one day at my friend's birthday party and a few phone conversations after that. He was the most genuine, the kindest and the most gentle boy I had known. He was just good. He didn't really break my heart but he did leave me very sad for a long time. He had no control over the place and the time of his departure...

Tuesday with Portugal

Portugal was the first stop when travelling on our bikes across Europe. Hence, it has a very special spot in my heart. I cannot forget the kindness of people in Porto and Aveiro. Two families took us in as their first couch surfers and entrusted us with their homes. In Porto we made friends forever and in Aveiro we left our Portuguese mother! We slept right by the sea or in fishermen front yards, the beach showers always worked well and little stores always had some great cheese and buns for supper after a full day of pedalling. Sunsets were inspiring us go to further and every sip of port wine was like the first one! That spells something, doesn't it! I am saying thank you, Portugal! You are tatooed in my heart!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtX3n8HdNHU&t=54s

Once we turned inland towards Lourdes, Tomar and Evora it was a bit harder because of the hills, private cork plantations and lack of showers so we were forced to sleep at small hotels and pensions. I will never forget one night when we were caught by the night and had to sleep in ruins of a castle in Monsaraz. It was a small town with pre-historic past built right on top of a mountain. Once we got up that picturesque mountain we new there was no way we would find any spot to pitch our tent before complete darkness took over. Although I was very hesitant to sleep with all those ghosts, we made a quick decision to sleep in the warmth and safety of this medieval castle. I hear you have to buy tickets to enter the castle these days;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=calwlx2Z4Jw

I have to say I had no nightmares, no ghosts sightings. I slept like a baby maybe even better, and woke up to the most beautiful morning with a view one could ever wish for! I hope I get to do it just one more time before I go to the Maker! I take my hat off to my adventurous husband here who was somehow able to convince me to go with this plan! Luv ya!

Monday with Sault Ste.Marie

Remember the last long weekend? Here is a result of it.

 Every time we go to our cabin in Sault Ste. Marie, precisely speaking Echo Bay, we leave on Friday and drive to Sudbury. Then, we spend there the first night. It makes the drive with a nine year old easier if we break it down. The last time we woke up in Sudbury there was an incredibly thick fog. It looked absolutely amazing. All you could see was red twigs and outlines of birches. Nature's miracle.

I love our family trips. We get to escape the city and get drunk on fresh air and lack of plan. But there are some rules and routines that we have developed over the years. The first thing we do as soon as we hit the highway is open a bag of junk food. We don't eat that stuff very often at home because we are aware how damaging it is to eat all the processed food and sugar. But there are no limitations when we get in that car and start driving.  Delicje, gingerbread cookies in chocolate with plum jam, Doritos, pop corn, Polish jelly in sugar, paluszki, party mix chips, etc, etc, and etc. Of course i try to sneak in some fruit and veggies but junk is what we want at that time!! And Tim Horton's tea and coffee is a big must! I honestly think the car would not start without it!!

Moroccan Women

Yes! Happy Friday!!

"Moroccan Women"
Memories are such fragile and gentle beings. If you don't take care of them they die or go away. I wish I remembered where this scene took place. I want to say this is in Tangier in the Medina. But it could have been Meknes. In both cities we stayed in hotels located in the Medina. This is clearly a scene from the inside of their walls where life was highly traditional. It was as if only there the time stopped. But just outside there was a modern Morocco with her modern king Mohammed VI.

During our cycling tour of the Mediterranean Europe we included Morocco because it was something that I personally needed to see. I had been brainwashed and infected with love for it by my favourite Anthropology professor. This man was a real educator. He made you think and question in order to understand. I didn't have amazing grades in his class but he always took the time to get to know his students to know their real knowledge and capacity. The same with me. Once, I was called to his office to have a conversation about my paper. He told me that he was giving me a B although the paper was very badly written. However, he said, "I see that you have a great knowledge about the topic. And I want to talk to you about it. Explain your thesis and your paper." So very casually in plain language I explained my point of view and he graded me upon my knowledge. This is the type of a professor that he was. His expertise was Morocco and Berber culture. I could listen to him talk for hours in his British accent. He was a tall, slim man with straight dark hair. He wore sandals all year round like a true Anthropologist. In winter he would just add thick wool socks. I wish for my son to have educators of his caliber!! Then, I wouldn't be worried about my son's intellectual development!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxwB39Zi_kE

We visited Morocco briefly leaving our bikes in Spain. Our couchsurfung friend's parents offered to keep them safe in Algaziras. So we boarded a ferry and after short two hours at sea, my university dream came true. I was standing on a Moroccan soil warding off all the taxi drivers that so readily waited for tourists at the ferry pier.  We chose to walk to Medina. Ah Tangier! City of poets, writers and fashion designers. It is traditional, architecturally mesmerising, breath-taking, busy, colourful. If this is your first point of reference to a Moroccan culture you will fall in love irreversibly! Once, we wondered the streets in search of the famous mint tea. We saw a "bar" with mostly men sitting and watching TV, soccer of course! So we sat down and ordered our tea with fresh mint and two cubes of sugar on the side. It was awesome to rub elbows with the locals. And although we didn't understand each other's languages ,we felt united because we did understand soccer. It was a really singular, incredible moment.

Morocco slipped into my life very briefly but it gave me so much. A short rendezvous, a moment, but stole my heart forever. We peeked into people lives, work, kitchens. In return, they embraced us with our imperfections of being ignorant travellers. Morocco for me was an invite for a sleep over on the living-room floor, making Moroccan sweets with condensed milk in the kitchen, camel meat balls grilled to the perfection, ladies in djellabas at the market selling mounts of flat breads, mosaic makers, friendly kids endlessly asking "how are you!", Imam's calling in the middle of the night. colourful water fountains and cats drinking from them, groups of women walking with kids, groups of men in black and white djellabas with their hands in their mysterious pockets. pointy shoes, spectacular jewellery, narrow streets, old walls, hotels with windows with views of the hallways, men praying on little carpet, tajines with amazing food. And so much more. And there is always someone watching you and smiling at you...  

Istanbul

Let me tell you, I am not done with Turkey! This country deserves your attention! Especially such a breathtaking city like Istanbul. And breathtaking is an understatement! One look at my painting and you will fall in love too!

As soon as we arrived here I was love-struck by the local kindness and sincerity. The city has some passages under the bigger streets to make it easy for pedestrians cross to the other side easier. You can imagine how hard it was for us to carry our bikes with all the panniers, up and down the stairs. My bicycle with all the luggage weighed almost 30 kg.  At one of the passages an older gentlemen carrying shopping bags in each hand offered to carry my bike for me. He didn't take no for an answer, just picked up my bike and carried it up the stairs for me. I couldn't believe the kindness!

In Istanbul, we stayed on a small island at our friend's (or rather our Portuguese mother's) friend's summer place. Again, you have to admire the trust and kindness. Everything was arranged for us all the way back in Portugal where our adventure with Coach Surfing and cycling across Europe began. This wonderful lady gave us the keys to her place without asking any questions or taking any money. All in the name of friendship!

What you can see here is Hagia Sophia adorned by the setting sun. This architectural wonder is a heaven for art lovers but at the same time can be an incredible religious experience, Muslim and Christian.  This 6th century basilica has features that can be associated with both religions. Further, not long ago people discovered that this mosque has hidden treasures under it's plaster, Christian mosaics!! Some I believe are still there to be discovered by the archaeologists. So this religious place was adjusted a few times in the history of Turkey to fit the ruling religion.


Once again, here is a video of Ankara and Istanbul with a split second of the real picture of which I copied on canvas.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6glbA7W674


The only city that I found equally amazing was Rome. No matter where you go, where you get lost, you will find nice people, beautiful architecture, and I kid you not, AMAZING food! In Sultanahmet District, the historical part of the city you walk up a very steep street where you can buy pastry and breads with meat and vegetables to suit any taste bud on the planet!!

Every day we took a ferry on The Sea of Marmara from our little island to the mainland, Kadikoy. I think our island had more cats than people residing! It was quiet and cozy and you could always count on a company of a cute furry friend to stay with you while you sipped your tea at the local tea shop. In the evening, there were some fishermen enjoying each others company, but in the morning, the island and the shore seemed deserted.

One evening after an entire day of walking I decided to go back home and rest while my husband who never gets tired wanted to stay a bit longer to take pictures of the setting sun. So we kissed 'see you in a bit' and parted. Hours passed by, it became dark, but my B. wasn't coming back. I got really concerned and decided to check the shore and the ferry schedule. I completely lost it when I saw that the ferry that had just docked was the second last one for the night. I panicked. Of course, the ferry operator came up to me immediately when he saw my distress. I don't remember now in what language I explained my problem but the gentlemen at the ferry terminal immediately called the other shore at Kadikoy Station to check if there was a foreigner boarding the last ferry. They were so incredibly warm, comforting and helpful. Soon enough the last ferry arrived. Of course B was on it. He really likes to keep it interesting for me doesn't he!

Istanbul was the last stop of our bike tour. It was a perfect ending to the adventure of our lives. It was like a honeymoon but 6 months long!!

Ankara

There is nothing better than a company of honest and genuine people. In my life so far I have been lucky to meet people like that all over the world. You live in Portugal, Canada, Bangladesh, India, Turkey, Japan, China, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Albania, Greece, Vietnam. Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Poland, Holland, Denmark, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, England, France, and many other countries that I have been lucky to find you. You know who you are. You have brought so much light into my life. You have restored my faith in human kind. You made me believe again that people are good. Thank you for inspiring me to be a better person. Thank you for showing me what is the most important thing in life. I hope that in each post, in each painting you will recognise yourself and your influence on me. You made me. Thank you.

This is Ankara, The capital city of Turkey. It's not a big city. But like many other capital cities is it charming and offers a lot of history. Ankara was the second last stop of our Mediterranean bike ride. From beginning to finish this country and Ankara did stop to amaze me how incredible the people were. Good-hearted, honest, fun-loving and extremely giving. The first moment we arrived at the bus station in Ankara, we were greeted by three guys, devilishly handsome inside and out. They were standing there, all smiles with a sign in their hands. I can't remember now but I think it said something humorous like "Cyclists Wanted".  And that is how our adventure with them started. They were so good and inviting to us that we ended up staying with them for almost two weeks. They had nothing but good intentions and lots of strength to party and show us the Turkish hospitality. Their apartment was always filled with friends, guitar music, singing, smell of tea and good conversations. There was a lot of passion to show us the Turkish culture. It is here that I learned the only phrase in Turkish I know. Strangely, it is not "thank you" or "I am sorry" or "hello", which in good taste should have been! "CHAI HAZYRRRRR", "the tea is ready". After this phase we would all flock to the table like hungry chickens! Tea meant that it was time to socialise and share moments together in friendship. It was also here I learned that "kaloryfer" is not only a Polish word for a radiator/heater!

They were students and they didn't have much. But whatever they had they shared with us. How do you I even say thank you for such kindness. I have no pictures at hand of those glorious days but there is a small video. Turkey rocks!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6glbA7W674

Above you see a painting of some young women sitting on the old walls of the Ankara Kelesi (Castle). Nobody knows when it was build but who is counting years or centuries! It is still standing and it is still good-looking. It caught my eye how nicely these women arranged themselves in colour. It is as if there were two teams. Team Blue and team Brown. But even more mesmerising to me was the shadows they created.

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal. I immediately recognise it's shape and colour. Whenever there is a picture of any image related, my 9 year old son quickly points and calls out, "look mama, Taj Mahal in India!" Yes. I get excited about it too. Because why not! It is an amazing place in India that emanates light, love and glory. This big marble has a history that we all know because it is romantic and full of kingly weakness towards feelings that we all want and crave in our lives. Shah Jahan, this powerful Mughal emperor was so much in love with his second wife, the beautiful Mumtaz Mahal from Persia. She was 19 when they married. And the story goes that he loved and trusted her so much that he allowed her to be his adviser and his confidant in all decisions. So no wonder that when she died at childbirth with their 14th child, a daughter, Gauhara Begum, he crumbled with grief and promised to lay her in peace in one of the most majestic, the most beautiful resting place in the wold. Hence, today we can visit Taj Mahal (1653) in Agra. It has been protected under the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Every year there are 8 million people coming to visit Mumtaz. There is a nice bench right by her grave where you can sit and contemplate your relationships and your love. How far would you go in the name of your feelings...But you have to be really good at blocking out crowds of people and their voices if you want to fall into a deep meditation. Outside in the garden there are hundreds of people, talking, posing or taking pictures. Then, there are monkeys that can chase you majestically at any moment, there are incredibly colourful parrots sitting in the trees.

So there is a lot to see and experience. But if you look outside of the box you see this. Just outside of  Taj Mahal India happens. A normal, everyday life happens all around it with no fuss, no cameras. A lot of tourists don't get to see this since their buses pull over just at the entrance to the Taj, so they don't even see the ticket booth!

I have to say we accidentally stumbled onto this place just across the Yamuna river. There are a lot of people there who come not to view the monument  or to take pictures, although there are some romantics there as well, but local people who go about their regular daily chores. In this painting there are two women who were part of a bigger group of people who came here to feed their goats. We even passed a girl maybe 9-10 years old who was holding a little baby goat. Her mom or grand-mom walked in front of her carrying big metal jar on her head. I am thinking, she just finished washing dishes in the river.

In my painting, there should be one more women with them but for the purposes of an arrangement I omitted her. She carried a big pile of sticks to make fire in the kitchen. I admit now that I look at the painting and I think it would be nice to have her there, too. Please notice, there is a gate to the river but not much of a fence left. I liked that paradox.  If you don't have eyes to see you will try to open the gate as opposed to just go around it freely!

I almost didn't get to see Taj Mahal. I seriously got sick. This was a beginning of something much bigger that we all suspected. I got e-coli and it wasn't detected until I came back to Canada three weeks after. But going back to Taj, thanks to some very sincere and kind people in Agra who brought me medication and some home made cure, i was able to experience and see this amazing city. I remember one man saw me sitting at a table in a restaurant. He came up to me because he was concerned I didn't look happy and healthy. So he brought some home remedies from the restaurant's kitchen for me to take. I got little breaks in between hotel stays so I was able to see the one and only, Taj Mahal. In conclusion it all ended well;) And here is my painting to prove it!

Bangladeshi Women

Travelling is one of my greatest passions. But ever since we came back to Canada I haven't been able to do that very often. There is always something more important to do or spend money on. In Japan everyone travels frequently even if it is within the prefecture. Even if it is a small trip to an onsen or Tokyo shopping...

"Bangladeshi Women"
This was a scene in Dhaka, the Old Town. We wondered into little streets full of vendors, rikshas and tuk-tuks. The heat was insulting everyone and made street dust and pollution stick to people's necks and faces. It is hard to believe that this is a parallel world that still goes on while we , here, enjoy our supersonic cars, electric can openers and nose-hair shavers. It seems that time had stopped there. Women wear saris and everything is made by hand. I imagine these two women to be a mother (in law??) and a daughter. They just bought these new pitchers and a new broom. Now their home will be a better place. All around them you see a lot of fruit, especially watermelons. How sweet and delicious! Not far from where these women are walking there is a dock on the river Buriganga. And by this dock there is a huge watermelon market, with many varieties of watermelons. It is a place crowded with men bringing fruit by boats, and selling them. I have never seen such enormous piles, mountains of watermelons.

Bangladesh street scene is a place of very pleasant yet curious people. So it is not a surprise that while my husband was taking pictures, men would gather all around me and my son. Some would just stand there and stare, some would pinch my son's cheeks and smile at us. But most often there would be questions about how many children I had and if I wanted more, and if my husband was working hard, and if he was making a lot of money, and if he was making me a happy woman. They were very honest, genuine and asked close to their lives questions. These men were compering our lives and measuring them. The conversations would usually end with a lot of laughter as the punch-line crowned the exchange of ideas.

There would be similar conversations with children who would come in groups out of nowhere at the market places. They would smile and use hand gestures to ask questions. But one time, we just finished walking around the shell market, two women approached us and gestures us to come with them. They were smiling and had honest faces. We followed them. The women led us through a labyrinth of narrow streets. We ended up at this amazing, brightly painted gate. We walked in and there was a group of young women, maybe teenagers, who spoke some English. One of them shook hands with me and told me she was Jasmine. Then, we were taken inside of a house. It was a nice break from the heat of the streets. The inside of the house was dark, simple but very clean. We were led into the kitchen. We were gestured to sit down on the bed by the window.  So we did. But as soon as we touched it we felt there was someone sleeping on it!!! A young man jumped up as he saw us. I could feel his embarrassment. By this time there was a crowd of women in front of us. They all burst out laughing. We sat there for a brief moment in an awkward silence. I decided to start a conversation about who is who's mother or neighbour. A few moments later we kindly thanked for the hospitality and left. In commemoration, we took a few pictures just outside of the home. And what a memory!

We both added something out of this world, something incredible to our lives that we will be talking about for the rest of our lives. I want to say thank you to all these women who gave me a moment of their time and let me and my family into their home. I feel especially honoured because a kitchen is a sacred place. Ladies, I am sending " The Warmest Thank yous."

Twisted Silence

Happy Friday Friends!

This is "Twisted Silence". I was talking to my friend yesterday about the importance of having something of your own. Some secrets that nobody needs to know. And that is great. I guess it adds a little glamour and fun to life knowing that you have something of your own or something that you share with a small group of people. It is sort of like a good marriage. You feel whole and worthwhile. When you take a secret vacation with your loved ones. The next day at work you greet everyone there with a smirk of smugness. That feeling makes your marriage or relationship special!

But there is another side to silence and secrecy. A very hurtful one. The twisted, premeditated and vain silence. It is like a wall that you are building between you and others. At first it is fun because you feel in control and you have the power over the information. But then, it becomes damaging. We start ignoring and silencing people with a calm and viciously meditative composure that defines us. We usually feel comfortable and confident the most when we are doing that to the people we love. Comfortable because we think that we know everything about them and that we don't need anything from them anymore. Confident because we think that because they love us they will never leave and stop asking question. And that wall becomes so high that the loved ones do stop asking questions even though they don't leave.  The Love gets broken. The Trust gets damaged. In the end, we learn that it is ok to be numb and indifferent a little bit more each time it happens.

Love one another. Share and listen. Don't be twisted, my friends! Only with love and trust we can rebuild Atlantis! Only genuine and truthfulness can build healthy relationships with your mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, sister, friend, neighbour. Love is the word for this weekend! Also, that is my meditation and resolution for this Advent.
Have a great weekend filled with trust and love!

Mushroom Rain

Life is full of high flights and falls. That's why is it so addictive! Yesterday I wrote about Love and today I want to write about saying goodbye. The weather is on the same page with me. The sky is crying with us.

Today is a very personal post that i would like you to help me with. Today. my family is saying goodbye to someone very dear. We try to think of the last time we saw her. Was it in her home, was it at dinner time, did she wear blue or beige? Did we have cake or jello. Was she happy? Did we make her happy? These are the thoughts, the guilt, the mourning, the meditations. It is the same for all of us. No matter where we come from.

We think about the empty space she is leaving in our physical world without realising that the emotional and spiritual space will never really vanish. Her smile and her hair, the way she graciously with her love from up above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obvizJRnezA

"A kiedy przyjdzie także po mnie                         

 And when the purple watchman of the world comes for me

Zegarmistrz światła purpurowy                        
By mi zabełtać błękit w głowie                          

  To brainwash me with blues
To będę jasny i gotowy

I will be ready and pure

Spłyną przeze mnie dni na przestrzał               

Days will flow right through me

Zgasną podłogi i powietrza 

The air and the floor will dim

Na wszystko jeszcze raz popatrzę                     

I will turn back once more to look at everything

I pójdę nie wiem gdzie - na zawsze                  

And i will go who knows where - forever"

I am giving you something that spells rain and something heavenly. because as we say goodbye to our loved ones we imagine them going to heaven and turn into starts that forever look down upon our lives.

"Mushroom Rain"

I imagined that it rains only where you want it to rain. I believe that children, as opposed to adults, love rain. They actually wish for it! Because they can play with it, they can get all muddy and wet. It shows that children are so pure and can satisfy their hearts with such simple fun. Yet, we spoil it with game boys, DSs, video games and TV. Somehow we don't believe that whatever made us happy when we were small can work for them.

This picture was sold in Japan after Aleksander's Dream Box exhibition.

" Stars in my Pitcher"

This vision is about Alek releasing stars at night so that all the people in the world can enjoy them. I am just calmly supervising while he is so competently doing a such great job. I love this picture very much because of it's colours. The idea of having Aleksander's Dream Box came to be with this painting. It is in a  care of a great mother and an amazing friend of mine residing in Japan.