Thursday Thoughts – Ama la Vida!

Ecuador Ama la Vida – and they do. And they make us, all visitors, do. And we love them, the Ecuadorians and their astonishing country and nature.

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I came back a couple of days ago, but in my heart I am still there – and I will never leave. On my first day in Sweden I immediately caught a severe cold, but still had to go to work. Yesterday was my last working day before Christmas.

So, where to begin, trying to explain that my childhood dream has come true? That this journey was the greatest adventure of my life? But we all have different dreams…

As a 7-year-old girl I first borrowed a book about the remote Galapagos Islands, and learned there was a place on earth where animals and humans lived in peace with each other. The animals were not afraid of humans, and you could sit right next to them and  we could talk to each other as true friends. The little girl marvelled and nourrished a dream in her heart, that someday and somehow she would travel to these enchanted islands…

After this day she devoured everything about the Galapagos Islands…and later, on TV, she listened to David Attenborough and …her heart and mind was set. About then, she also decided to one day walk in the jungle, listening to all the sounds in the dark night, in the REAL jungle, the Amazonas. I do not think she realized the possibility of these two dreams once coming true within the same country, within the same year and the same month.

To a little girl who loved animals more than people, and who, in fact, in many ways still prefers animals to people – such a journey was the ultimate dream.

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On this fantastic journey, I met some astonishing people as well…people I never will forget. They enriched my life and will hopefully continue to do so. The artist Jane Tomlinson and her photographing husband Moth Clark are two extraordinary gifted people. Their deep feelings for, and knowledge of, the natural world are genuine and vibrant. Moth’s photos are outstanding and Jane’s paintings as vibrant as life itself.

I received the permission from Jane herself to use one of her paintings in this post. I love starlings, so this was a natural choice. Now I am looking forward to seeing more of Moth’s photos from the Galapagos Islands and some lovely paintings by Jane. Ama la Vida – easily done when you see Jane’s artwork! The art of Jane Tomlinson.

Thank you so much for visiting, and waiting – I will be posting more when I am recovered!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ann-Christine

CFFC: Windows

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Windows

Windows for Cee – gigantic formats from Madrid’s old railwaystation and Bilbao’s Guggenheim museum.

 

WPC: Tiny

Cheri at WordPress urges us to walk into tiny worlds this week. Personally I love tiny worlds – I believe many of us do! In the header a tiny beech leaf, fallen and resting on the forest floor among blueberry twigs to be. And, below are the tiniest ants I have ever met.

WPC: Chaos

This week Ben Huberman wants us to embrace chaos…so let us embrace the creatively  positive side of it. Here is an installation at Louisiana, Denmark, by Yayoi Kusama – the ” Polka Dot Lady ”.

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WPC: Transmogrify

WPC this Friday – Transmogrify.

 

Transmogrify into something distorted and ugly or into a work of art? This house in Bilbao reflects and mirrors a bridge where a red car is passing.

WPC: H2O

H2O – well, that is what is coming this autumn, and even more during winter.

Water, it is called. For WPC I have chosen three favourites, one of its thickest forms and two of its thinnest. In the header, the frozen, majestic waterfall Tännforsen in Jämtland, Sweden.

From Barcelona, a hidden castle in the water cascades and from New Zealand, hot springs’ vapour.

Ant Invasion and a Teenage Party

At least once a year we visit Wanås, the park and the new installations. A must!

Rafael Gómezbarro’s installation ”Casa tomada” wants to portray the stream of refugees in the world, where the climbing ants are symbols for the hard working migrant. The installation comes from Bogota´and the house of parliament there.

Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg are the artists behind the installation ”In dreams”. You can hear the sound coming through the forest before you find it. Want to party?

Want to know a bit more about Wanås and the exhibition? Click here.

Thursday Thoughts: Cool Indoors – Guggenheim, Bilbao

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos of the exhibitions – except the Andy Warhol one. The permanent collection ”A Matter of Time” by Richard Serra, I took photos there before realizing this – but I will have to keep them to myself on my computer…

This morning promised the same kind of heat as the day before, but we went early to catch some more photos from the surroundings as well.

A clash of new and old  but very much of the new.

Almost 20 years ago this museum for modern and contemporary art was inaugurated, and I have wanted to visit ever since I read about it many years ago. Arkitect: Frank Gehry

The entrance hall is impressive. The exhibitions are just as many as you manage without getting exhausted. Not many great museums can boast that…Le Louvre or Prado or Reina Sofia for example, are not easy to visit properly in one single day.

When you walk out of the elevator and look down, you are even more impressed.

A totally unprecedented visit. If possible, just go there and enjoy!

Santiago de Compostela – The Goal for Every Pilgrim

What gave me most joy about Santiago de Compostela, was to see all the pilgrims arriving at  Praza do Obradoiro in front of the impressive baroque facade of the Cathedral.

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So much joy!

Then every pilgrim must attend the Pilgrim’s Mass. So, let us join the them and enter into the magnificent Cathedral,  built for S:t Jakob in 1000-1200 .

The ritual with the Botafumeiro has an interesting history…

So, this is the end of the pilgrim adventure for now – But maybe some day…

Thursday Thoughts – (To me…) Unknown Artists

There are times…when you come across things you never had expected, things magical…like the artwork of Petras Repšys.

Repšys is a graphic artist and monumentalist, born in Šiauliai, Lithuania, in 1940. In 1960 – 1967 he studied graphics at the Lithuanian State Institute of Art, and since 1967 he has participated in various exhibitions at home as well as abroad. His works embrace engravings, book and applied graphics, book-plates, easel painting, frescos, sculptures, and medals.

The University of Vilnius displays his fresco ”The Seasons of the Year” (painted in 1976-1984) with motifs from Baltic mythology at the Centre of Lithuanian Studies. This is the absolute highlight of the University visit – and maybe of the whole trip to Vilnius.

Please notice all the little figures trapped in the ”frames”themselves – or in between. Climbing, holding things together, connecting …or just watching.  Fascinating.