Monday, February 24, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
STAR STUFF: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos
It has been well over two years since I started work on this picture book biography of Carl Sagan- the first picture book biography about him. I am proud to announce that it will be published in November of tho year- in time for Carl Sagan Day!
I first heard of Carl Sagan from my dad. He gave me a book he was reading at the time- Broca's Brain by Carl Sagan. The Cosmos television series followed soon after- my world was changed forever. I was 12.
This book is about finding our place in the Cosmos- about the great vastness of space, about looking up at the stars in wonder...about the BIG questions and about a young boy named Carl living in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York looking up at the night sky and becoming enchanted by the stars...
I'm super proud of this book. A labor of love.
Work Arounds
This morning my French class met at a local cafe instead of at Tristam's school because there is yet another school break. The ladies in the class may not know this, but just knowing that there are other expats going through the ups and down of adjusting to life here is a great comfort. Our French teacher was not at this gathering, so all of us guiltily admitted to not having done our homework and just chatted. It was nice.
You would think that a place of which Mark Twain said in 1896 (quoting and islander)"Mauritius was made first and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius" - would be easy to adjust to. I have friends who are expats in places like Bangladesh and my experience here is nothing like theirs. I have all of the convinces here- internet, electricity (although that can be spotty) , internet (although the bandwidth is low), there are grocery stores with products from all over the world and there is a definite western footprint here. But, I do miss home. Especially Bikram (hot) yoga, my friends, my garden, the smell of the Pacific Ocean, sushi (!!!!) organic produce and privacy- and mobility (freedom).
Gosh- this really seems like I'm bitching about things- there are so many great things here. First, the opportunity to reinvent and to see the world through a different lens. Challenging old habits and routines, assumptions... see another part of the world- and it is gorgeous. See a very different culture- the Indian-Mauritians- I am constantly confused and surprised by interpretations of events and daily things as seen through this culture. I am making lots of new friends here- all very different from so many places on the globe. Mostly Franco-Mauritians, but many expats who have adopted the world as their home and have a nomadic life style.
At the moment California is still very much home, but I'll be back there to visit soon enough and often enough. Life is good.
You would think that a place of which Mark Twain said in 1896 (quoting and islander)"Mauritius was made first and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius" - would be easy to adjust to. I have friends who are expats in places like Bangladesh and my experience here is nothing like theirs. I have all of the convinces here- internet, electricity (although that can be spotty) , internet (although the bandwidth is low), there are grocery stores with products from all over the world and there is a definite western footprint here. But, I do miss home. Especially Bikram (hot) yoga, my friends, my garden, the smell of the Pacific Ocean, sushi (!!!!) organic produce and privacy- and mobility (freedom).
Purple carrots from our garden at home.
Privacy and Peace.
High speed dependable internet and electricity in my very functional, dialed in studio.
SUSHI!! Here at Goshi's SLO- after doing Bikram Yoga class.
Gosh- this really seems like I'm bitching about things- there are so many great things here. First, the opportunity to reinvent and to see the world through a different lens. Challenging old habits and routines, assumptions... see another part of the world- and it is gorgeous. See a very different culture- the Indian-Mauritians- I am constantly confused and surprised by interpretations of events and daily things as seen through this culture. I am making lots of new friends here- all very different from so many places on the globe. Mostly Franco-Mauritians, but many expats who have adopted the world as their home and have a nomadic life style.
At the moment California is still very much home, but I'll be back there to visit soon enough and often enough. Life is good.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Learning to Find a New Rhythm
We have been here for about 2 months.
Before leaving to come here I read Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things- or more accurately, listened to it while I worked. I had no idea what it was about before beginning it. I knew it had something to do with a woman who was botanist in the 18th century and little else. Spoiler alert in case you plan to read it- she winds up in Tahiti with a pile of possessions including the equipment she needed to do her studies and some books, papers and other odds and ends. She is plunked into an entirely unfamiliar place with unfamiliar customs and values- in the last 3 months, I have thought of this book often.
When Fred and I came here we brought what we could in suitcases. My illustration equipment well packed, no books, except the bare minimum I need for reference for the next 3 books I'm working on- well and I did photograph my favorite picture books for reference and have them digitally- some paints, a stack of moleskine journals, pencils and then just some clothing and odds and ends. That's it. There are very general parallels with the book- we certainly don't live in a hut, and we have all of the stuff of modern life- like computers and the internet, but there are a lot of parts of the book that I do relate to.
Before leaving to come here I read Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things- or more accurately, listened to it while I worked. I had no idea what it was about before beginning it. I knew it had something to do with a woman who was botanist in the 18th century and little else. Spoiler alert in case you plan to read it- she winds up in Tahiti with a pile of possessions including the equipment she needed to do her studies and some books, papers and other odds and ends. She is plunked into an entirely unfamiliar place with unfamiliar customs and values- in the last 3 months, I have thought of this book often.
When Fred and I came here we brought what we could in suitcases. My illustration equipment well packed, no books, except the bare minimum I need for reference for the next 3 books I'm working on- well and I did photograph my favorite picture books for reference and have them digitally- some paints, a stack of moleskine journals, pencils and then just some clothing and odds and ends. That's it. There are very general parallels with the book- we certainly don't live in a hut, and we have all of the stuff of modern life- like computers and the internet, but there are a lot of parts of the book that I do relate to.
Banana trees in the from yard.
A full moon in the southern hemisphere- the familiar stars, not so familiar.
Sunset over the sugarcane fields with the ever moving,ever changing, ever present cloudscapes.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Please Help Support this Amazing Woman
Up until last week, I didn't know this about a woman that has been in Fred's and my life for the last couple of years. We first met in San Diego in 2011 and she never let on that anything like this was going on in her e life. Pleas click this link and if you have even the tiniest bit to give, it would mean the world. Big thanks in advance.
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