Fran Meneley

Field Trip Friday

 

 Ok, so this wasn't my field trip...it was my daughter's...but the photos she brought home are beautiful and I wanted to share them.

 

She just returned from several weeks in Southeast Asia doing community service work and traveling with Rustic Pathways, an organization that sponsors teens in service projects all over the world. She spent two weeks at the Kampong Cham Orphanage in Cambodia, a week at an elephant conservation project and another week traveling through Thailand, Burma and Loas. She's turned out to be quite a photographer. Have a look...

 

A cultural dance at the Kampong Cham Orphanage...

...a golden Buddha at a temple in Laos...

 

...a monk's blessing at a temple near the orphanage...

 

...an elder blessing bracelet ceremony... 

 

....a morning elephant bath...

 

...the lovely hands of a burmese woman...

 

...an ancient Buddha at one of the temples at Angkor Wat. Love watching her watch the world!

Field Trip Friday - Got Journal?

 

This week I have a story to share about going to an onsen bath in Japan. But first...I want to give myself a shameless plug for a Travel Journal Class I'll be teaching next weekend in Boulder at Common Threads. If you are in the area, or traveling here, come join me. Read on to find out more about the class or skip the next part and read with hilarity one of the most humbling traveling experiences I've ever had.

     

Visual Travel Journaling with Local Artist Fran Meneley!

Join journal artist Fran Meneley to explore ideas and applications for capturing your next adventure in a journal format. Students make a simple 16-32 page journal and have time to collage covers and start on the basis for other pages. Ideas and instructions for filling journal with colored pages, borders, pockets, maps, found paper ephemera and simple drawings will be shown and discussed. If you have a trip planned or if you've just been curious about visual journaling, join us to learn about this uniquely expressive way of recording your journey. All materials will be supplied, but students wishing to make a journal for a specific trip are encouraged to bring images and collage items for the cover. See more of Fran's work and journals at: www.franmeneley.typepad.com or come by the store and see samples.  Don’t miss this one! $50

Sunday, May 16^th, 1-4pm - Call 303-449-2707 to register! Visit us online at www.commonthreadsboulder.com

 

"On two occasions I had the opportunity to do an "onsen" bath, a traditional japanese bathing experience. Fortunately, my baths were smaller with only a few people, not the bathing party you see in this postcard. It's very prescriptive (like a lot of things in Japan), there is a right way and a wrong way. I stumbled my way through, pissing off only one cranky old lady. While being completely naked. Ah, the adventure of travel. While we were in Hakone, which is a Japanese resort area fed by natural hot springs, I bathed in our hotel's onsen. You walk in and take off your street shoes and they go in a shoe bin by the door. You then put on slippers to go into the dressing area. Once there you disrobe, neatly fold your clothes and put them in a basket. You take one of the large white towels to cover up your basket - do street clothes offend? Not sure, but all baskets were covered so I followed suit. Then, stark naked you grab a very small towel to (try) to cover your privates and pull open the sliding door to the bathing area. Once inside you will see a large "L" shaped tub with about 2 1/2 feet of very clear, hot water. The walls of this area are surrounded by low hand held shower wands with little stools and buckets at each faucet. There were about 8 in this room. You sit on the stool (stark naked) with other women nearby. Once seated you try to figure out how the shower thingy works and spray yourself in the face. Lather up, and I mean really lather, and DO NOT miss one square inch of your whole body. Rinse off. Wash the entire area in which ANY part of your body touched. And now you are ready to enter the hot bath. Once there, it feels marvelous. Since there is no where to put your privacy towel, you put it on your head. I wrapped my hair in mine, like I do after my shower. I'm sure I offended someone. After about 15 minutes I kind of reversed the whole procedure minus the sitting shower. I have to say it was an interesting experience. You really can't be modest or offended by naked middle aged women's bodies. It was a great relief to be surrounded by other women bathing in such an open and natural way. And I slept very well that night."

Field Trip Friday

"July 13, 2004 - 10:15 p.m. Chatham Straight, SE Alaska. Wow! Dark is descending and the boat is surrounded by humpback whales. We counted 22 at least. A calm sea, twilight hovering, gentle flukes gracefully arcing through the water. 

 

The sound of the exhale so clear and extraordinary. Five or six in quick succession. It was hard to hear the inhale, people were talking. I wished for a more silent experience, but it was so exciting it was hard not to talk. 

 

I went out just in my night gown with my fleece jacket and my legs are still cold as I write this. I'll never forget the feeling of being surrounded by the whales, the sounds of their exhale and the cold, Alaskan wind on my bare legs at twilight."

Field Trip Friday

In 2005 I had the amazing opportunity to travel to South Africa. We spent time in Cape Town, Johannesburg and at the Mala Mala game reserve bordering Kruger National Park. The trip was a whirlwind and I had virtually no time to sketch or jourmal ( a good reason to go back). So much to see and do. But I did manage to capture some impressions of Mala Mala that I thought I'd share. It's rainy and cold today, a perfect day for leafing through my travel journal with a hot cup of tea, dreaming of past and future travels. Read on for some arm chair travel...

 

April 4, 2005 - Mala Mala - 'How can I even begin to describe the experience of being in the bush? It's an overwhelmingly sensual experience. All my senses are heightened. Sight - Wide open vistas - dense bush concealing all sorts of wildlife never seen by my eyes before. The lions, brushing up against our land rover. The length of a giraffe so close - the eye of the rhino - the iridescence of the blue/black starlings - the golden glow of the lionesses at their watering hole at night against the inky darkness - the tonage of a bull elephant - the spots of a leopard - orange and black in the tall green grass. Just simply amazing. Sound - the brush as a lioness walks through it - the insects as the sun sets, a cacophony, an orchestra of sounds and pitches, chrips and "tweeps" - the deep baritone of John our tracker speaking his ancient, rich language as he signals the lion's tracks, the bark of the udu at an approaching leopard, the panting and deep, throaty growl the 2 male lions marking their territory. Smell - diesel from the Landrover, hunting down some amazing animal - the bush at sunset - sweet hay and dust - dinner after a long game drive - Taste - passion fruit - tangy and crunchy - impala, udu, cold corn soup, nut bread, a sip of cold white wine at sunset on the plains, in the bush - Touch - the feel of a hot shower washing off the dust and diesel of the bush - the feel of the pillows as my jet lagged head hit them, the tiny claws of the flap-necked chameleon climbing on my hand. My spirit filled with the wildness of Mala Mala." 

Field Trip Friday - Spring Break

I know I've been gone for a while. Spring Break had us piling in the sedan and heading south to Santa Fe. No planes or airport hassels, just the long, beautiful drive down the road to the New Mexico desert. The drive fills me with wonder at the open spaces and makes me believe in the promise of America. Oh beautiful for spacious skies...We met up with some friends that used to live there so were treated to a number of very cool, off the beaten path places. The Shidoni sculpture park and foundry, Charlie Mine's glass studio and The Black Hole - one of the coolest, weirdest places I have ever been. The Black Hole is every tinkerer's, mad scientist's, assemblage artist's, science fair geek's heaven. Really. Located in weird central, Los Alamos, geek capital of the world, it has heaps of old scientific, industrial, obsolescent junk. It was wonderful.

 

We hiked to some amazing Native American ruins, which in the 1400's was home to the Ancestral Tewa Pueblo people, whose descendents now live in San Ildefonso Pueblo. An ancient place, open to the sky on a mesa, it was uncrowded, tranquil and dusty. Just my kind of place. A glimpse into an ancient culture and way of life. Times change and I was saddened to learn that one of my favorite mexcian food joints in tiny San Luis Colorado was closed. Forever. The family gave it up. It's been a cherished stop for green chile enchiladas on the long drive to Taos and Santa Fe for years. We tried a new place, but it didn't hold a candle to Emmas. But they did have a great mural painted on the side of one of the buildings across the street, reminding me of the bounty of the land. I did make a pilgrimage to my favorite chocolate shop in the whole world, Todos Santos, and it didn't disappoint. Their entry decked out in chinese lanterns and a very hilarious bathing beauty Easter bunny graced the front window. Not too mention a bag of beautiful chocolates.

The long and winding road and the companionship of good friends sharing numerous wonderful meals really nourished us all. Things are greening up here, just budding out and it gives me such hope after a long, dreary winter. Hope your spring breaks soon as well.

 

Field Trip Friday

It's hard to believe our trip to the land down under was already four years ago. When I pulled this out, it all came flooding back, just like I hope it will in 24 years when I dust it off and flip it open. The power of travel journals. And since I have trouble remembering what I did last week, I hope these journals will be the pneumonic device for my life!

 

One of my favorite places to mine travel journal fodder is from the seat pocket in front of me. As well as the chit-chat that I hear and engage in on the flight to my destination. The airline magazine had an ad for the "Australian Government Department of Health and Aging". I loved that! A socially progressive government, with a vision for it's constituency. What a concept! And vegemite...an acquired taste...the flight attendant convinced me to try a little on a piece of toast...yup! Anchovies and dirt! But I believe in trying the food of a place, so I gave it a go.

 

A simple page of snippets of ephemera that bring all the memories flooding back. The Pier was a restaurant that we took a water taxi to one night. Across the bay, at night, great seafood, wine and friends. And it all comes flooding back with that one little paper reminder. 

Field Trip Friday - er.. Wednesday

This week's Field Trip was actually on Wednesday. Parker had the day off for parent teacher conferences and we had time to slip down to Denver for a little art action. I love that he still wants to do this with me. It was the first warm day (55) that we've had in a very, very long time. I ditched the heavy jeans for a pair of linen pants and slip on shoes, sans socks. Woo Hoo! Giving thanks for the small joys of warmer air and melting snow.

Our destination was the Denver Art Museum with it's very mod angles and controversial interior. Many, many people and organizations in Denver worked very hard to make the Daniel Libeskind addition become a reality in October 2006. From the outside it's "prow" crosses 13th street to connect to the plaza between the old DAM building and the Michael Graves designed Denver Public Library. And while I find the exterior of this amazing modern wonder truly beautiful and innovative, I find the interior spaces disorienting, cold and cavernous. So I was intrigued at the latest exhibit, "Embrace!", organized by the museum to allow 17 artists to have their way with the huge, cavernous spaces that make up the disorienting interior. I was really inspired by how they used the space and what they created.

Twighlights Compendium by artist Shenique Smith  is a huge embrace of the corner walls and hanging space. It explodes with blue motion and energy. Shenique used her own body and clothes to create this piece giving it a heart and liveliness that I found intriguing. 

 

This gigantic installation by Jessica Stockholder took me a while to warm up to. The caverness space still dwarfed this large installation. 

 

But upon closer inspection, Eyes Wide Smeared Here My Dear, got my attention with it's plastic object color wave. Of this collection Jessica said, "I'm not using things and thinking about what they mean. I care about the relationship between the thing that I make and how it intersects with things that I didn't make, the things that are already in the world. Each one of these things that I buy is designed by somebody, but the kind of making that goes into those things is very distinct from the kind of making I'm involved in. There's a kind of uselessness in the kind of making that I'm involved in. I'm not trying to make a chair or a bowl. I'm really interested in the plastic surface. And there's something about how those surfaces feel. How they are both cheap and extremely gorgeous. The colors of all that cheap plastic is just so seductive and beautiful but none of us value it and none of us plan on having those objects for very long. They make their way to the dump pretty quickly." Interesting how Jessica singles them out, objectifies them, makes us look at and appreciate them in a new way.

This amazing, huge "fabric" wall hanging, upon closer inspection in the African Art gallery, is not fabric at all but a sculptural piece made from liquor bottle caps. 

 

Ghana artist El Anatsui created this in his studio and shipped it in an amazingly small crate. It folds up! It's all I could do to keep my hands off of it, it's tactile/fiber nature just called out for caressing. He says, "Art grows out of each particular situation, and I believe that artists are better off working with whatever their environment throws up." In this case a bag of bottle caps in the road that he picked up one day on a whim, turned into this magnificent piece, Rain Has No Father? 

 

This piece Mirage, by Chinese artist Zhong Biao took my breath away. Enormous, it fills an entire gallery. There is a mirror on the far right hand side which echoes the large paintings that run the full wall, so you begin to see the repeating and mirroring of the paintings as a continuation. 

"I don't want to force my own understanding or interpretation of my paintings on the audience. The mixture of images within each of my paintings is like a combination of elements in life. We don't have to understand everything we see in each painting. Like life, we cannot understand everything that we have seen or experienced. In my paintings, Eastern and Western, historical and modern opposites coexist, reflecting the reality of today's lifestyle."

If you are in the Denver area, I highly recommend a stop at the Denver Art Museum to see these 17 contemporary installations that truly embrace the museum spaces. 

Field Trip Friday

Marathon Key, Florida - A few years ago we left the day after school was out for summer to explore the Floriday Keys. Home to many a pirate hideout, it was a fun getaway with some family friends. Twisted mangrove swamps and little inlets and outlets. Not so many beaches, but relaxing and warm. I can imagine being marooned there, like the postcard above I glued into my journal.

  

I usually try to give you a few highlights with "Field Trip Fridays", but believe me, there are low lights as well. When traveling with kids, there's a surprise around every corner. Read the page for a synopsis. Laugh if you must - we were a rolling sick bay. 

  

But after the first couple of days everyone was well and a good time was had by all. Loved the little shells and nuts from the coconut trees. Day dreaming of sun on my skin and the feel of warm sand under my feet. Happy Friday!

Beach Gestures

 

A different kind of field trip this Friday morning. Some photos from a morning walk on my favorite beach in Port Townsend. Small gestures, little poems of random placments of beach debris, the perfection of a curve...

  

...so lovely and perfect...

 

...little paintings in the sand...

...that could all be translated onto a canvas or a page...

 

...but rather enjoyed as a moment...soon to be washed away and replaced by more beauty than the heart can hold.

  I love this little stretch of beach which I only ever visit in the winter - a completely different scenario than the bright days of summer. I love it's mystery and quiet, gray, subdued joy. It's moments, it's gestures.

Field Trip Friday

In 2006 the kids and I tagged along on a business trip with my husband to Florence and Venice. I know, right? I have always loved the Italian Renaissance and being in Florence was a dream come true. 

 

While in Florence we took a family cooking class with Judy Witts Francini of Divina Cucina. It was a great way to dig into everyday Florentine living, learn some Italian, wander the great Central Market with someone in the know and then cook, and finally EAT, a slow, beautiful lunch. We learned how to make Tuscan chicken under a "brick", cheese ravioli with tomato sauce (for my then 8 year old son), gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce, fried squash blossoms with ricotto, fried artichoke hearts and chocolate "salami". All washed down with a "table" wine that tasted of the Tuscan hills we could see from her kitchen window. The recipes now reside in my journal and every time I get it out to cook one of the dishes I'm magically transported back to that slow, molto bene afternoon. 

 

On another page I made a little pocket for my Venice walking map out of a piece of handmade paper from a little, tiny shop close to Peggy Guggenheim's former home, now a museum. If I could go back to any place and any time to be an artist, I think it would be Renaissance Italy and I'd have to flip a coin for Florence or Venice. Maybe Rock, Paper, Scissors. Anyway I can, or could, go back, I would. I will.