Ramadan in Dhaka

The curtains are up so that no one can tell what is going on at the tea stand during this month of fasting.





The proprietor of this tea cart just down the road approaches Ramadan a bit differently.

Bali: Still Life on a Black Sand Beach

Nothing like water on stones . . .





This little beauty of driftwood is dramatically framed by black sand and black rocks. It now sits in my living room on top of a picture book of India.





Here is the leaf image that I promised to post. It kind of reminds me of when I used to take electronics apart and there was this mysterious green board with solder pimples all over it and a road map of silver lines.




Being a potter I think one of my most beautiful finds was these tile pieces that the ocean has had her way with. Look at those rounded edges and the soft white underglaze lines. I want to spend a month at that beach and then make a big mosaic with all of my tile finds.





Blue coral washed up on black sand.





These little net weights were another beautiful piece of ceramic that aged quite well in the sea. I couldn't figure out what it was when one washed up but then when I looked at all the fishing boats I discovered this. The blues add a perfect complement of color.





And here is the catch . . . Sardines?

Bali: Green

The last blog entry was all about colors. Many flashy vibrant colors! I am now going to go more or less monochromatic on you all. The color is 'green' and a little bit of stuff that used to be green. "Green" has become a catchword among people and has gained much political and economic mileage. Green first fascinated me with it's magical appearance when mixing yellow and blue paint. As a young boy reading the most exciting book of the Bible I saw the phrase, "our bed is verdant" and after a quick visit to the dictionary discovered that "verdant" meant "green". Then of course there are all the green veggies and even eggs and possibly the ham. Of course as a son of the United States I had to know what the "Green Stuff" was if not how to spend it. Then as I grew older and the times changed and people realized that the earth could one day not be as green as it now is, it became a personal passion for many and eventually a political issue. Now the word packs a political punch and it permeates advertising and defines a "new" lifestyle. All that being said, while we were in Bali the "greens" were amazing. The "greens" of Bali are definitely worth saving. While the colors of the flowers were sanguine and in our face, the greens held back content to be in the background or rather to "be" the background, adding texture and stability to the canvas.






Palm tree trunk





Palm tree trunk gradient . . . okay, I've given you some yellow.





Pointy, prickly, poky against the fluffy fleeting.





Oh, yeah, this is what I'm talkin' 'bout. The greens of dreams!





These little green alien beggars blew me away with their persistent hilarity.





Aha, transparency . . . look at how brilliant these undersides are backlit by the sun. Look at the difference in color between leaves from the same bush. Look at the top of the leaf versus the bottom of the leaf on the right. Could you give me a box of forty-eight different colors of green crayons please?





Merry Christmas! Move over holly and poinsettias, we have a contender. I could hardly believe my eyes. Someone had to have painted them . . . oh yeah . . . someone did.





I love these green vines busy living in spite of the history of past vines behind them telling a disheartening tale.





Bordering on yellow again.





Considering the lily . . . pad. Visually the edge is what makes it what it is, kind of like a pancake (I like it buttery and crispy). Unlike a pancake this lily pad reveals a hint of the life within it with all of the veins spiderwebbing out from it's belly button (its an inny).





Okay, it used to be green and there is still a hint on the left. Speaking of veins, the sun has highlighted them quite nicely on this leaf. I would almost call this an exoskeletal leaf. I just remembered an image I should have posted with these. It is a leaf that almost all that is left of it is veins, the rest having been consumed by hungry salt water. Sorry to leave you hanging, but it will come.





Monochromatic fireworks in slow motion.

Bali: The Beauty of Color (for Shannon)

One of the most fantastic things about Bali is it's natural color, especially as displayed in the flowers all over the island. This little collection is a sampling after sorting through 100's. I am remembering Shannon Wenger as I type this post. Her death has given me pause and I recall all of the color that she added to my life. She truly was a beautiful and rare flower whose life seemed so short and yet she lived it to it's fullest...without pretense. Right now she is enjoying a beauty I can only imagine, but will continue to look for in the people around me and in the good things that God has created.






This reminded me of when I would visit Science Museums and the mad scientist would ask for a volunteer to stick their hand on the electric ball. It also reminds me of fireworks. The frizzled and "burnt out" blossoms are an interesting contrast to the carefree lightness of the "one" in full bloom.







A spectacular colorful mushroom forest on the inside of a flower.







spinning teacups







Outrageous colors bundled together in an outrageous form.







This blossom doesn't actually grow in the water but look just fine there. The colors are so subtle that it looks like they were Photoshopped to get a muted restrained effect. You know it's bad when you look at nature and wonder if it's been Photoshopped! I guess it just proves the point that God can make whatever makes him happy. . . and has!







Consider the lily. It looks like a whole bunch of white-headed yellow worms are at a green table sharing ten cups of golden tea enshrouded by curtains of dreamlike pinks.







Soaking up the sun! The petal-less stems look like microphones at a press conference which I guess would make the flowers little satellite dishes.







She loves me!







One of those uncanny colors that are rare in nature and look best if they stay there in my opinion.







I love it when awkward-looking, knobby-kneed, sparsely-leaved trees burst into unlikely exuberant bloom.