JoAnne Tucker shares her experiences in dance from directly a modern dance company to leading movement activities for women in prison and domestic violence survivors.
I was shopping one day in PriceSmart in Costa Rica (like a Sam’s Club or BJ’s), when I passed an aisle of workout equipment. I had passed such displays before but I had never seen a recumbent bike available. I had sold mine before we moved, and I missed it. My hips don’t do well on a regular bike. A recumbent bike actually helps my hips. I feel less pain and best of all I get a workout!! Needless to say I bought it and was lucky to have someone put it together for me. That was in late May and I have now enjoyed riding it almostevery day, having logged in 71 rides.
“Five, four, three, two, one…. Now take the speed up higher and the resistance too! Ride at a higher cadence with higher resistance for a minute! Five, four, three, two, one… OK back to a slower pace with less resistance for a minute before we go again.” These are typical instructions from the IFit trainer. The bike is designed to go with programs produced by IFit. I had a 14-day free trial and after that I didn’t hesitate to sign up to continue on a monthly basis. A fun side benefit is that not only is the coaching excellent but the rides are filmed in locations all around the world. I have done rides in Fiji, Hawaii, National US Parks, Costa Rica, Italy and Turkey!
Now why am I writing about this? Recently, a writer was in residence at my home as part of the Artist in Residence program I offer. At the end of her residency she led a writer’s workshop and gave us the prompt of writing about transitions. First she asked us to list seven transitions that we had experienced in our lives and then to select one to write about. No problem, I certainly had lots of major life transitions to write about, several of which were very recent, like moving to Costa Rica and losing my life partner of fifty-six years. But what fascinated me at that moment was the little transitions I make each day related to aging, and I found the transition from slow to fast on the bike, and then back again to slow, a good metaphor.
In the last blog I wrote about finding a model of someone who has done new things in their 80’s. That is very important for me and equally important is how to do them. What I am taking away from the writing prompt, and using the bike experience to write about, is a way to pace myself. I want to be able to enjoy new and challenging things in a safe way. The bike exercise is a strong reminder that a push, whether it is physical or mental, needs to be balanced with a time of lower energy and relaxing!
In the biking workout it has been an equal balance of pushing heavily for either a half minute or a minute and then pedaling easier for the same amount of time. I do not know quite how I will carry this over into my life but I do know it is important and something I will keep in mind!
As I get nearer my eightieth birthday, questions on how to make this a quality time of life are often on my mind. I wonder what other readers might want to share about this, whether it is turning eighty or experiences they have had at a younger age. I welcome your feedback and thoughts in the comments!
Photo taken by Manrique, who helped to put the bike together!
About a month ago I saw a sponsored post on Facebook that Beyond Van Gogh would be here in Costa Rica, and I immediately made plans to attend. I was delighted for several reasons. First of all, since moving to Costa Rica at the beginning of 2020 I had not been to a cultural event here, in large part due to COVID. Now things were opening up. I also have always been a fan of Van Gogh and the period in which he painted. And third, I had seen some favorable posts of friends of mine in the US who had gone to the exhibit. Here it was in Costa Rica, and I definitely wanted to go. It was scheduled to be held in a large convention center that was about 45 minutes away so it was definitely doable. Tickets were already selling and some weekend dates were already sold out. I made arrangements to go during a weekday with two friends.
Tickets were spaced 15 minutes apart and we got there a little early and had fun taking some pictures outside.
Outside Beyond Van Gogh. Photo taken by my friend.
Soon it was time for us to enter, and I loved the experience from the moment we officially entered. Slowly we walked through a path filled with quotes exchanged between Van Gogh and his brother Theo, giving us information about Van Gogh’s life. We zigzagged along the quotes separated by empty picture frames and it definitely was setting a mood.
Photo I took of one of the panels. I love that the quotes were in both Spanish and English, as it gives me a good opportunity to practice my Spanish. I took lots of pictures so I would have lots of quotes to practice.
I knew some things about Van Gogh’s life from reading Irving Stone’s book Lust for Life, published in 1934 and based on the letters between the two brothers. And I also was aware of how many people have been fascinated with Van Gogh’s life. The movie Lust for Life starring Kirk Douglas, based on Stone’s book, was released in 1957. It won Douglas a Golden Globe for Best Actor as well as an Oscar nomination for his role as Van Gogh. Anthony Quinn, who played his friend Paul Gauguin, received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. That is not the only movie about Van Gogh. In a blog posted by Molli in Discover Walks Blog, she shares four other worthwhile films about Van Gogh: Vincent and Theo (1990); The Eyes of Vincent (2005) about his time in a mental asylum; Loving Vincent (2017), an Oscar nominated film which features a lot of animation and raised the idea that his death was an accident and not suicide; and At Eternity’s Gate (2018) which looks at the final years of his life. Here’s the link where you can learn more and see some trailers of the films.
Clearly Vincent Van Gogh’s life and work have fascinated and served as inspiration for many other people in their artistic expression, including the creators of Beyond Van Gogh.
Now back to our experience at the exhibit. Following the space filled with quotes, we wandered into a dark space with a bit of animation and two black boxes which turned out to be the entrance into the main room. It was a bit disorienting until we realized the black boxes were actually the entrance. We must have stood there for several minutes with quite a few other people until someone walked through the boxes and then of course we all followed and were treated to a very spacious room filled with animation on the walls, floors and panels that were placed in central areas. Animation inspired by Starry Night paintings filled the space and then shifted into a number of Van Gogh’s self-portraits. For the next 35 minutes we were dazzled with over 300 hundred of his paintings appropriately grouped. As a choreographer I was fascinated by the movement and energy that was created, as well as the unique way one set of images transitioned into another. Sometimes the walls faded and new images appeared… other times it was like a large wave swept through the room.
Some people sat on the floor, others stood in place or wandered around, and some of us were able to sit on the few benches or beanbag-like chairs. I was pleased to see how many young people attended. Lots of Ticos in their twenties, thirties and forties. We found two beanbag chairs to sit on and our third person sat on the floor. We stayed there totally fascinated and in wonderment at the way Van Gogh’s images were being presented until the program began to repeat. Then as we stood and began walking we realized that the experience was a bit different in each place and so we stayed for nearly the full next set moving about the large room!
Photo I took shortly after entering the large room.
It was indeed an immersion into a world creatively inspired by Van Gogh’s painting and as the title suggested,beyond just the images. It was very different than going to an exhibition of his actual paintings in a museum, which itself is an outstanding experience. For me it was a different kind of creative adventure inspired by his work — animation (inspired by an artist) with its unique timing, spacing and invitation to step into a new dimension. I knew that as soon as I got home I wanted to learn about the people who created it!
A quick Google search led me to all the information I wanted to know. Beyond Van Gogh was created by Mathieu St-Arnaud and his team at the Normal Studio. St-Arnaud and a partner founded Normal Studio in 2009, and a trip to the website provided lots more information. The home page describes their mission to “transform urban spaces into full-on immersive experiences…. 360 projection and architectural mapping, we spark wonder into people’s everyday lives.” They are a multi-disciplinary team of 30 professionals combining creativity and tech.
They describe their aim in creating Beyond Van Gogh:
Expanding Vincent’s universe to a sharable and lively 360 projection environment requires a different way of thinking, like Vincent himself. While certain paintings are presented in all their simplicity, others have been enhanced, expanded, enlarged and juxtaposed in order to fill the space with life, texture and colour. (https://normal.studio/en/)
Other projects include: another artist-inspired project – Beyond Monet; a corporate creation for a Toyota Dealer Meeting; the set for La Traviata for the Icelandic Opera; and a stage production of Diary of Anne Frank created by Lorraine Pintal for a theatre in Montreal.
Of course it is still very meaningful for me to have the “classic” experience of seeing the original paintings in the museum setting, but I also adore and am inspired by the blending of the classical with the latest technology. Thank you, Normal Studio, for creating a wonderful experience, and I joyfully celebrate being able to see it here in Costa Rica with two delightful friends!!
The Labyrinth was completed on a Saturday afternoon and of course I was excited to take my first walk that very afternoon. As I walked it this first time, I saw the garden and the surrounding property in a new way. For the next few mornings, I followed a pattern of walking the labyrinth first thing in the morning. Again, I was surprised at how I saw things differently. A new flower that had opened or a bird sitting on a nearby tree stump delighted me. When our garden crew came on Monday, the “head” of the team walked it himself and shared that it wasn’t so easy. Yes, it was filled with turns and curves. I found it challenging and helpful in working on my balance.
A flower that just opened and only lasts for a day. Picture taken on one of my morning walks!
My thoughts soon turned to what kind of ceremony to have to honor the designer, Ronald Esquivel, and Jan Hurwitch, who had selected crystals to be buried in the labyrinth. My good friend and very talented musician Newman Taylor Baker was coming with his daughter to spend some time, and I thought, “How perfect. Let’s do the ceremony when he is here and maybe he will be willing to play his washboard.” While Newman has toured around the world as a jazz percussionist, he now has been working on solo programs and small ensembles with the washboard. He mentioned he would be bringing it.
A date was set, and then it was frustrating that I wanted to invite lots of people but knew with COVID and the limited parking at the house it was important to keep it to a very small number. In the end we did two celebrations, one that was in English and included eight of my ex-pat friends in the community… that ended up being fourteen people in all when you counted Ronald, Jan, myself, Newman and his daughter, and Manrique the house manager. The second one was for Manrique’s family who speaks very limited English.
When Ronald and Jan arrived, we discussed how to proceed. I thought that Newman would play while we walked the labyrinth for the first time, but Ronald said no, we should just focus on walking first and then later Newman could play. Our focus would not be divided, and Newman would have the option of walking with us! Before we walked, Jan led us in a beautiful ceremony of planting each of the crystals. As you remember from an earlier blog, she had selected five different crystals.
I must admit that I was a bit nervous about this part. While I liked the idea of planting the crystals, I didn’t want this part to get too touchy-feely. Jan led it perfectly. She guided us starting with the black onyx which was planted at the point where we “show up.” We haven’t entered the actual labyrinth yet, and the onyx is symbolic of releasing negative energy. Its purpose is both to help the walker let go of any negative energy, and to protect the labyrinth from negative energy. When Jan asked for a volunteer to plant it, Katy quickly responded, and we handed her the large spoon to use. The black onyx was planted with the purpose of repelling negativity.
Newman volunteered to plant the next crystal, the aquamarine, which represents courage. It was planted at the most private place, giving an individual the opportunity to go inward and think about what they might want to create or to just be still for a few minutes with their personal thoughts! The next crystal was planted at the opposite end. It’s a point where one can look outward beyond the property. The orange agate was planted here by Raquel for the purpose of reducing stress!
Next the whole group moved to the entrance of the labyrinth. Paul planted the crystal quartz, which promotes healing and spirituality. We didn’t follow the actual path at this point but rather just went to the places where the crystals would be planted.
Jan asked me to plant the last agate, the rose quartz, in the center of the labyrinth to represent love and compassion. She reminded us that love and compassion must always start with oneself!
JoAnne finishing planting the rose quartz. After each crystal was planted, the person who planted it blessed the ground. Other individuals joined in by placing their hands on the person’s back to be part of the blessing. Photo by Stefani Baker
Now that all the crystals were planted, we regathered at the “showing up” place. A few people had taken off their shoes to walk barefoot which is the most beneficial way. Some places were ready for us to walk barefoot with lush grass. Others lacked grass and had stones, so I did mention that and some of us kept our shoes on.
Ronald led us and we followed the path into the center. Ronald gave us the option of following the path back out, which is the traditional way and how I do it as much as possible. A few took that option.
Ronald guiding us as we walked the labyrinth as a group for the first time. Photo by Stefani Baker.We made a circle in the center when we completed the walk in. Photo by Stefani Baker.
We celebrated with some refreshments and then enjoyed a wonderful intimate concert with Newman playing the washboard. Everyone was totally mesmerized by his playing and the variety of sound that he could made from just one instrument.
Newman playing. Photo by Stefani Baker Link to a short excerpt from Newman’s playing. https://vimeo.com/712620130
Our smaller celebration with Manrique’s family challenged Newman’s daughter Stefani and I to describe the labyrinth in Spanish. We both worked with our teacher Raquel to be able to do this. It was another wonderful experience that ended with each of the four women spending a minute or two playing the washboard.
I am amazed at how each day my walk on Camino del Artista is different. Sometimes I am filled with a new idea and at other times I am seeing new things in the garden or far off landscape. If I am off balance I know it and as I slowly follow the path, I regain my balance. A deep bow of gratitude to Ronald Esquivel for creating this special labyrinth and to Jan for selecting the crystals. I look forward to sharing it with others.
Thank you, Stefani, for documenting the event, and I had to close with this fun selfie you took with your “Daddy” in the background!
With the design created for the Labyrinth, it was now time to focus on the building process. The first step was to trace the pattern on the ground. We had already decided that the path would be outlined with red bricks, so the same day that the tracing happened, the red bricks were delivered! A team of three men came to help with the tracing and moving of the bricks. Ronald Esquivel, the designer,was here for the tracing and supervised work for the next two days. The rest of the week the men were here on their own working a full day to place each brick where it needed to be and to regularly check the measurements. Slowly I could see the path developing. I regularly took pictures of the process.
Ronald begins the tracing process.Tracing is now complete!Building beginsOne section is close to done.Making progress in another section.One of the corners is now completePart of the completed Labyrinth as it winds its way through the garden.
In the next blog I’ll share the opening celebration and thoughts on regularly walking the labyrinth.
Knowing I wanted a labyrinth in my garden, I Googled “Costa Rica Labyrinths” to see if I might get some help in creating one at my home in Atenas, Costa Rica. I was surprised when the search generated a lot of information. The very first link was totally fascinating. “Costa Rica is home to the World’s Largest Labyrinth.” It’s called La Senda and it is located about a four- to five-hour drive from where I live. There is a website all about it and several articles online about how it was created. (https://lasendacostarica.com/en/). If you are interested in knowing more about it, please check out the website, and do a Google search for additional articles. Among the names associated with this labyrinth is Ronald Esquivel, who was contacted to design the labyrinth related to two energy vortexes. Ronald is a Costa Rican architect who specializes in sacred geometry and labyrinth design.
So, of course, my next Google search was “Ronald Esquivel” and again I was rewarded with lots of information both about him and about the different labyrinths that he has designed. Instead of the usual circular ones that I was familiar with, his designs were totally different, and each one unique. He has built labyrinths for public parks, universities, a prison, a children’s hospital, a yoga center and private homes. There was also a lot of information on YouTube where his channel has over 69 videos, many of them examples of the different labyrinths he has created. I was totally fascinated. He was a keynote speaker at the 2009 Labyrinth Society Gathering in Portland, Oregon as well as a speaker for the Society again in 2020 when he was interviewed in a program called “Creating Balance in Unbalanced Times.” I listened to the interview and read his kindle book Labyrinth Design and The Energy of its Geometry. When I found an email address for him online, I decided to send him an email and see if he helped private homeowners like myself create labyrinths for their gardens.
I was delighted when I got a response the next day, and a few emails followed. We set up a time for him to come and visit the garden and to make some suggestions. After reading his book, and in particular an article that he and Jan Hurwitch wrote in 2013, I knew that he creates different designs unique to the environment he is working in. For example, at the time of this article he had created 14 labyrinths including a Wisdom Labyrinth, a Growth Labyrinth, and a 4 Element Series. For more information I suggest reading the article. http://gaiacr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Labyrinths-of-Costa-Rica.pdf
In my mind I was beginning to think about a labyrinth here as part of the Artist Retreats I was thinking of offering on my property in Costa Rica! When Ronald arrived, I felt an immediate connection to him as we walked the garden. He asked questions and I shared how I envisioned using the labyrinth for both myself and for guests at the Artist Retreats. Soon we were talking about the creative process and how the labyrinth might represent different stages of the creative journey. I also talked about how important the diagonal line was to me as a choreographer and in my paintings! Over the next few weeks, we continued emailing and discussing the different stages of creating something, whether it is a dance, a painting or a musical composition.
Another visit followed, during which Ronald took careful measurements of the garden, and I finalized my decision that he would design the labyrinth and we would use his team to chalk it and create it! We also determined that the borders of the path would be red brick, and when the work would begin.
The next step involved Ronald submitting the design for my approval and asking if I wanted any changes. I loved it and we had fun following the design and envisioning how it would be on the property.
Design of the Labyrinth: “Camino del Artista” by Ronald Esquivel
Ronald also showed me where each of the physical places of the creative journey we had agreed on would be located.
The stages we had determined were:
First you must show up!! – that’s the beginning point, from which the two diagonal lines go out, and where you walk to enter the labyrinth.
Then one tends to go inward to see what it is one wants to create. That’s a place in a corner which is very private and somewhat hidden.
Next step is gathering all the tools and research one needs to make the vision happen. That is represented by the curves and twists in the labyrinth as one moves from one side of the garden to the other.
There is a point where one looks outward… and begins to share, and this is represented by a corner where one can view the mountains in the distance.
And of course, there is the center which the path reaches. I view that as the first draft!
The return journey is all the editing that one does to complete a project.
Ronald’s friend and co-author of the 2013 article, Jan Hurwitch, joined him as we reviewed the draft and she brought with her 5 crystals that would be buried on the path, representing different relevant emotions. They are:
A black Onyx to repel negativity
Aquamarine for courage
An Orange Agate to reduce stress
Crystal Quartz for healing and spirituality
Rose Quartz for love and compassion, particularly starting with oneself.
The crystals will be buried once the labyrinth is completed, at the inaugural ceremony.
Coming next will be Part 3 – Building the Labyrinth!!
One morning following my meditation I looked out at the garden and thought, “What this property needs is a labyrinth,” or laberinto in Spanish. Hum…I wondered if there were many in Costa Rica and how I might go about having one here. So of course I Googled “labyrinth, Costa Rica” and yes a lot of links came up. It would be possible. First let me back up a bit and share how my interest in labyrinths began.
While I knew about the difference between a labyrinth and a maze I can’t remember if I had ever walked one before 2012. Just a reminder, a maze, often made with hedges or walls, is a convoluted path that the walker needs to solve, leading to a goal. In contrast, a labyrinth doesn’t have a hedge or wall but rather a defined path on the ground that twists and turns and eventually leads the walker into the center. The following description is from the Labyrinth Society:
A labyrinth is a meandering path, often unicursal, with a singular path leading to a center. Labyrinths are an ancient archetype dating back 4,000 years or more, used symbolically, as a walking meditation, choreographed dance, or site of rituals and ceremony, among other things. Labyrinths are tools for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation. (https://labyrinthsociety.org/about-labyrinths)
My real interest in how the labyrinth could be a tool for meditation and growth didn’t happen until I was volunteering in a meditation and movement program with Aine McCarthy in the Santa Fe County Women’s Detention Center beginning in 2012. Aine was in the chaplaincy program at Upaya Zen Center and we had met at a retreat. During a breakfast at the end of the retreat we learned that two dancers had stayed at her house when the Avodah Dance Ensemble had spent a week in residence at York Correctional Institution. (See blog https://wp.me/p9Mj5D-gM) Aine was then a teenager… now over 10 years later here we were sitting across from each other at a breakfast table at Upaya. When Aine shared that she was in the chaplaincy program I asked what she wanted to do as a chaplain, and she said she wanted to work possibly as a chaplain in the correction field and was planning to do a project in the Santa Fe County Jail. She then asked, much to my surprise, if I might be interested in joining her and suggested we could develop a movement and meditation program for the women in the jail. I thought, “Why not!” And so we began working together.
We did the training program to become volunteers in the jail and developed a curriculum for guiding the women in an hour-and-a-half session once a week. Working in a jail is very different than the previous work I had done in a prison. First of all there is a much greater level of anxiety, as the women don’t know how long they will be there. Maybe they will soon be out on bail. When will they get a court date? What kind of sentence will they get? They may also be dealing with coming down from drugs or regular alcohol use. So the tension and stress level is very high.
We designed sessions integrating movement, meditation and writing. Soon we were leading sessions and each one was totally different and unique. Sometimes we just had 2 people and other times a crowded room of 7 or 8. Our space was small and so we began by moving the tables to the side and started with movement activities. Worksheets with quotes related to the session’s themes were shared and a writing or discussion prompt followed. Each session ended with the women meditating and then tracing by pencil a paper labyrinth. Here’s a link to where you can download and print out several to trace with a pencil. https://www.relax4life.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/papersimplechartres-.pdf
The Santa Fe County Detention Center has a yard where the women can spend some time outside each day. Aine and I thought it would be quite wonderful if we could paint a labyrinth on the floor so the women might have an actual experience of walking it. Again there were lots of hoops to jump through but finally we were able to do that. Several women who had been regular participants were able to join us and it was an excellent event with Aine guiding us inmeasuring and then painting the lines.
Aine measuring the distance between lines for the labyrinth.
When Aine and I began working with women in a domestic violence center we again used ideas from the curriculum we had developed for the jail program. And then when I made a film called Through the Door: Movement, Meditation and Healing, we filmed a session of the women from the Esperanza Shelter walking the labyrinth at Upaya Zen Center. Aine had spearheaded the project to get that labyrinth built.
Screen shot from Through the Door: Movement, Meditation and Healing
In the next blog I’ll share what I found out when I Googled “labyrinth in Costa Rica.”
On the top of my husband Murray’s wish list when he retired from his job as an economist was to spend time in a Spanish-speaking country, living with a host family and studying Spanish in a school. At that time I had no interest in learning Spanish, as I am not good at learning languages and had had some Spanish in college. In fact, it was one of my languages for my Ph.D. All that meant was that we read a book in our field and took it into a professor and he opened it to a page and we translated. That wasn’t hard, as those of us in the theatre department passed around a book on theater history in Latin America. Anyway, I liked the idea for a different reason. While Murray was in school I could spend the time working in pastels.
After much research we selected two schools for what was to be the first of five winters spent in different Spanish-speaking countries. For our first month of our first year, 2005, we selected a school in Costa Rica in the Monteverdi rainforest area. Then for the second month we would travel to Antigua, Guatemala.
I carefully researched the best way to travel with pastels and purchased a box to carry them in that fit in my backpack. I also cut paper the size that would fit in my medium-size suitcase along with enough glassine paper to protect my paintings and bring them home.
Our departure to San Jose did not go smoothly. Leaving from Tucson, Arizona we were supposed to make a connection in Los Angeles. The plane was late but the United ticket agent thought we would still have a chance to make it. We had to transfer from one terminal to another for the international flight. I remember a crazy mad dash with a porter across the airport and by the time we got to the counter the airplane doors were closed. They decided the best option was to fly us to Chicago where we could then get a flight early the next morning to San Jose. While it was a long trip going north to then go south it ended up being relaxing from that point on.
I remember a very bumpy ride from San Jose to our host family in the town of Santa Elena. Our host was a teacher in the school and we would be provided with breakfast and dinner each day. The school was a short car ride away or about a 20-minute walk. It was a very comfortable house and a lovely family. Our room with its own bath was small with a typical Costa Rican matrimonial bed (a double bed), which was a bit of a surprise for us as we were used to sleeping in a king-size bed. Our motivation was high to enjoy this experience so we made up our minds to make it work… which we did. While many of the family members knew English, the goal was to speak only Spanish around us. That was a big challenge for Murray and me but somehow we managed to communicate what we needed. While they pushed Murray to use correct grammar they were very forgiving with me, and if I came up with the right infinitive of a verb it was accepted.
Each morning we rode with the teacher to school. Murray would go off to class for the next several hours and I would have a wonderful time painting in the school’s garden. They also arranged a place for me to leave my easel, pastels and paper so I didn’t have to carry them with me each day. At lunchtime when Murray was finished, we would walk to a place to have lunch. There were quite a few choices along what was then a dirt road into town. There were also some fun places to sightsee nearby and one of our favorites was the Monteverdi Butterfly Garden. Murray took some wonderful pictures and when I got home I did a painting from one of his pictures which is still one of my favorites.
Pastel Painting from a photograph that Murray took at the Butterfly Garden.
One weekend day we hired a guide to take us through the famous Monteverdi Cloud Forest Biological Preserve. Of course the highlight was getting to see the Quetzals. Our guide knew where there was a nest and sure enough we saw both the female and the amazing resplendent male! What a treat. While pictures didn’t come out too well as they were high up in a tree, my memory is very clear of seeing them. Following our time with the guide we wandered on some paths and were awed by the abundance of trees and flowers, including a huge number of orchids. While waiting for our taxi back, we sat in an outdoor patio area where there were many hummingbird feeders and the most hummingbirds I have ever seen in one place, with a unique jewel-like appearance.
Photo taken by Murray Tucker while waiting for a taxi and admiring the hummingbirds!
Another weekend we left on a Friday afternoon and went with a small group to the hot springs and Arenal Volcano area where we spent two nights. Although it was fun, the ride was much too long and we were happy to just keep exploring locally after that!
View of Arenal Volcano. Picture taken by Murray Tucker
By the end of the month our love for the country of Costa Rica had grown. We had visited once before in the 90’s spending a week at Rara Avis, one of the first eco tourism lodges, and loved it. At that small resort with individual cottages and communal dining we had met mostly tourists from Europe. The long tractor ride up a muddy trail and back down was particularly challenging to Murray although we were both glad to have had the experience. I remember so well the beautiful blue butterflies at a waterfall!! We also had our first experience with learning about how clever ants are, as we watched various parades of ants carrying leaves to the queen ant! Following the week at Rara Avis we traveled south to the Osa Peninsula and stayed in a resort with a beautiful view of the ocean, where we enjoyed hiking down to the beach below and being amused by the various antics of the monkeys. From a very positive impression of the country during that first trip and then again during the month in Monteverdi it is no wonder that when we decided to move from Santa Fe in 2019 and strongly considered moving out of the United States, Costa Rica was at the top of our list. And move we did, at the end of January 2020, to Atenas in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. And that is where I now call home.
Moving to Costa Rica, I brought a few watercolor supplies with me and thought that I might like to experiment with this medium. When I saw that Eric Rhoads had put together an event called Watercolor Live. I decided to check it out so that I might learn some basic skills! The first day was for beginners and then there were three days that followed, pitched to all levels of watercolor painters. I definitely was a beginner so I knew that I would sign up for the first day, and then I thought why not just sign up for the full event? I am so glad that I did.
First of all, I was familiar with the quality of events that Eric Rhoads puts together, having attended a Plein Air 4-day event in Santa Fe held at Buffalo Thunder a few years before. I had learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it. The artists that he put together for the event were first rate and I was familiar with several of them prior to attending. In December I spent some time at the website for Watercolor Live where I could see the excellent quality of artists who would be demonstrating during the 4 days of the virtual event[.
There were so many pluses for signing up. First of all there was no way that I could attend any kind of live art event, even here in Costa Rica, because of COVID!! Second, I was getting frustrated with my limited knowledge, and so far my watercoloring was limited to making very simple Christmas cards for friends and workers here in Costa Rica. Third, I was hungry for some stimulation. My husband, Murray, had passed away in the fall and so much time was being spent on handling business things that needed to be done, that a change of pace was definitely important.
So I signed up and wow what an excellent experience. I loved spending four days from 10 AM to 10 PM just thinking about ART. It was non-stop and only occasionally did I pause to take a quick swim in the pool or to walk around the house a bit. I was mesmerized by the variety of different demonstrations. There are three options for buying the event. I had selected the middle option where I can go back and replay segments for 60 days. I am satisfied with that choice as there are quite a few sections that (although interesting) I have little desire to replay, but there are quite a few that I look forward to going back to and watching maybe several times. Beside the formal demonstrations there were other elements that stood out for me.
Suppliers of watercolor brushes, paper and paint presented segments too. And they weren’t just commercials. Instead, they often had an artist explain a technique or show how a product could be used. The first day began with basics about Understanding Materials. It was a perfect way to begin and even more important, it introduced me to Birgit O’Connor, whose floral watercolor paintings are breathtaking. She offers online courses that I might consider taking, down the road. The next session, by Kim Minichelle, related to color mixing and working with a limited palate, and was also very on target. Shuang Li’s demonstration on basic washes was one of the few demonstrations where I decided to paint along with her as she demonstrated. I did of course spend time later working on some of her techniques and have used them in the beginning paintings I have done. Another highlight from the first day was a critique session led by Antonio Masi. As he commented on some watercolor paintings that participants had submitted I realized what had been bothering me about an oil painting that I had almost completed but which I knew had problems!! That evening I figured out what I needed to do to improve the composition of an oil painting inspired by several orchids and while I didn’t get to it until after the four-day workshop was over, the key to solving the problem was learned in Masi’s critiquing session.
Oil painting inspired by several orchids Completed February 2021 after hearing Masi’s critique session.
In fact, one of the best things about the workshop was that it wasn’t only about watercolor paintings; it was about art in general. I was constantly reminded how important it is to continue to work on my sketching skills and to regularly evaluate the composition of my paintings. Also stressed was the importance of spending two hours a day painting even when not inspired.
One of the things that doesn’t work for me and which even now I have no desire to do, is to paint along or copy someone’s painting. I am sure that one can learn techniques in doing this but it is an uncomfortable exercise for me. My preference is to watch and see what I can take away and maybe explore as one aspect or new technique of the painting and then to apply it to my own compositions. I will continue to do that over the next few weeks as I replay. I am also thrilled to have so many good painters’ websites to explore.
Each day there were breakout groups of about 8 people, where for about 25 minutes we could meet other participants from around the world. We could learn about what kind of work they were doing and sometimes see examples of their art work. Most of the break sessions were good but occasionally someone dominated and that took away from a real sharing. We were regularly warned about not doing that. On the whole most people were respectful and I felt it was valuable to participate. I attended almost all of the 8 breakout groups that took place, spread out during the 4 days.
Another very nice element of the event was that all of the demonstration had been pre-recorded and the artist participated in a chat so that students could ask questions during the demonstration, similar to what happens if one is attending a live event!
During the three days of the regular event there was a great variety of presentations, from portrait painting, landscape both plein air and from photographs, cityscapes and a final seascape from well known Australian painter Joseph Zbukvic, truly a master! It was exciting to see so many different techniques and so many fine painters.
Just as I know from my dance days how important it is to be totally immersed in dance, so I felt that same energy being engaged in art even though it was virtual. I came away refreshed and inspired and already I can see a big difference in how I am working in the medium of watercolor.
I highly recommend participating in the events that Eric Rhoads puts together. He just recently had to cancel this year’s Plein Air event scheduled to meet in Denver, for the second year in a row. He had already put together a virtual plein air event (https://pleinairlive.com/2021-register) that was going to be held anyway based on the enthusiasm of last year’s participants. That is the next main event he has planned. In addition to planning this virtual event he has held daily events for artists through the pandemic called Live With Eric Rhoads. Participating when they are happening can be done via Facebook and there are replays available at YouTube at Streamline Art Video Channel.
Eric is a real gift to artists as he has really figured out ways to reach artists during COVID and as a result is getting a worldwide following. He is himself a studio and plein air painter who has made his living as publisher of PleinAir magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur magazine as well as publishing a series of videos, putting on conferences, and writing his own book related to art marketing. At the end of each day he held a “virtual cocktail party” via Zoom where he talked to different participants. A setup was also available so that one could paint at this time as well! I enjoyed doing that the first day and had fun when he called on me to share what I was painting and where I was from. It was fun to share I was in Costa Rica and learn of his enthusiasm for possibly bringing a group to paint in Costa Rica. Right now he has a tour planned for Russia.
To conclude I share two recent watercolor paintings I have done, inspired by views here on the property. A big leap from the little Xmas cards I had been doing. I look forward to seeing where my skills go as I study the sessions and learn more techniques I can incorporate into my landscape paintings inspired by the beautiful property I am very grateful to live on.
View 1 from the Property Completed February 2021
View 2 from the Property Completed February 2, 2021
As I write this blog it is with a lighter heart and a sense of joy, filled with so many poignant memories of Wednesday’s inauguration. With COVID and security concerns the day was beautifully choreographed and the inaugural committee is to be commended. As a United States citizen now living abroad in Costa Rica, my connection to the democratic ideals of the United States remains deep, as do my concerns and hope that healing of long-time wounds will be addressed. I am also very interested in how other countries react to what is happening in the United States.
On Thursday morning I read with delight an article in the Tico Times which I want to share with you, as it gives insight into how Costa Rica views the U.S. inauguration. The headline itself says a lot: “‘Multilateralism is back!’ How Costa Rica’s leaders celebrated U.S. inauguration.” The article mentions that in a Tweet President Carlos Alvarado thanked President Biden for rejoining the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement, and that he also assured cooperation with the U.S. in “pursuit of ‘shared principles.’”
What was most meaningful in the Tico Times article was what I learned about the Vice President of Costa Rica. Her name is Epsy Campbell and she was elected in 2018. An article by Brendan O’Boyle in Americas Quarterly (Oct. 19, 2020) notes:
Epsy Campbell Barr became the first Black woman in Latin America to be elected vice president – despite the fact that Afro-descendant women comprise up to 17% of the region’s populations. . . . [She] began her career as a human rights and environmental activist and an economist researching women’s inclusion. As vice president, she has led a working group to try to close the gender pay gap, and also launched a program offering credit to rural women working in conservation.
The Tico Times article reported that Campbell “shared a letter she had sent to Vice President Kamala Harris”:
In the communication, Campbell referenced her Afro-descendant grandmother, who “did not live to see her dream made reality,” but who worked to ensure “her daughters and her granddaughters could enjoy the rights she always wanted but never had.”
“As Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica, and as a Black woman, I have joined the celebration of Afro-descendent towns and communities across the world that appropriate this accomplishment as an example to advance on the path to equality,” Vice President Campbell wrote.
Photo by Stefano Martin of Epsy Campbell from the Americas Quarterly
Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry is also quoted as saying:
Costa Rica celebrates the solid ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which have cemented its 170 years of diplomatic relations. In this sense, we will work actively and constructively together with the Government of President Biden and Vice President Harris and their teams, to strengthen the recovery process in the face of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and energize the bilateral, regional and multilateral agendas, promoting political dialogue, cooperative actions, and the promotion of commerce and attraction of investments.
So today I not only celebrate the inauguration but I have learned more about the country I am living in and its relationship with the U.S. Murray and I were always aware of the good relationship that existed between the two countries when we decided to move here although we knew that Trump was damaging and isolating the U.S. relationships with many places. So it is with delight I read the Tico Times article and learned about Vice President Epsy Campbell.
For as long as I can remember I have always been interested in traveling both in the United States and internationallybecause not only is it about sightseeing but it is about what we learn about ourselves and our relationship to others. Sometimes I’ve traveled alone, sometimes with the dance company and sometimes with Murray. In our international travel we were both fascinated with how citizens of other countries viewed the United States both positively and negatively. I remember seeing negative things written on walls on a trip to a university town in Germany back in 1987. Traveling during the George Bush administration between 2005-2008 we heard and saw negative things. (Now, of course, the Bush administration is looking amazingly good, after what we have just experienced with Trump.) Living now for nearly a year in Costa Rica I was well aware of the negative attitude toward Trump and the disappointment that Ticos felt for what was happening in the U.S.
I was particularly made aware of that on January 7th when the young man from a restaurant/bakery that I regularly order from made a delivery to the house. The young man asked me how I was doing. I told him that I felt very sad and upset about what had happened at the Capitol in the U.S. the day before. He shared that he was upset too and that it was very troubling what had been happening in the U.S. since Trump had been elected, as he and most Costa Ricans looked to the U.S. as a model and since Trump that wasn’t possible. He hoped it would be possible again. Luckily the young man spoke English very well because while I am progressing in learning Spanish a detailed conversation like this would not have been possible.
I was glad I watched the inauguration with my Costa Rican friend and helper. First of all, I missed sharing this with Murray as he would have been thrilled to witness Biden and Harris sworn in and so I was glad not to be alone. And second it was wonderful to know how a Tico was experiencing the transfer of power. We both had tears in our eyes when Vice President Harris was sworn in, as I did later during the beautiful poem written and read elegantly by 22-year-old American Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.
I loved the images of both Biden and Harris immediately going to work. Maybe eliminating Inauguration Balls is even a good option for the future.
While I was in the midst of writing a blog related to dance company touring, I had my iPad tuned to news programs mainly to hear about the results of the Georgia runoff elections for the Senate. I was feeling pretty excited hearing that Ossoff was pulling ahead in the GA race and Vice President Mike Pence had made an opening statement indicating that he would be following his appropriate role in receiving and registering the electoral votes. Then the mob breached the Capitol and my energy changed. I could no longer concentrate on writing the dance company blog. The rest of the day and into the late evening I was focused on the news, mainly listening to MSNBC. I found myself deeply sad and at times tearful.
My interests and background are in the arts and I am not usually a news junky. That was what my life partner/husband Murray did and he passed away just over two months ago. Perhaps because I knew I couldn’t turn to ask him for an update, I needed to watch for myself. I did that and now I am left with a strange and uncomfortable feeling of how to react and what to do. I paint, I write and I used to direct a dance company, and so when I find myself having strong emotional reactions I know that I am also looking for a way to express them. So here I am writing.
Among the many senators’ speeches, one of them used two phrases which I could relate to. 9/11 was a time when the action came from outside the country while today the action was from within the country. Outside and inside forces. And the inside force came from the strong encouragement of the President. Images of the people inside the building, especially one person sitting at a desk in the House Speaker’s office had almost a clown feeling to it. Almost someone doing mischief. Efforts were to be disruptive and that they were. It could have been a lot worse. What it did show was how fragile the country is, how poor security was at the Capitol and how democracy is something we cannot take for granted!!
It felt good to see the proceeding resume after the building was secure, and while there were four deaths it could have been many more. By the time I got up this morning, Biden and Harris were formally elected and there was a message from the President there would be an orderly transfer of power. Yet I still have this uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, and while my unrest is not at the level I felt after 9/11, it is here. On 9/11, living in Jersey City, I saw the second tower collapse, with my own eyes, walking the few blocks from our house to the river. I was with a neighbor and I knew that all of my family was already safe. Yet that day changed me. It took a few months before the direction was clear to me, and how I ran my dance company and what I decided to choreograph evolved in a different direction. I have written about that before and so I will just summarize by saying that the Forgiveness Project happened shortly after that, and my focus on work shifted from emphasis on Jewish themes and performances in synagogues to work relevant for working with women in prison.
So I know I have a need to be patient with myself, not discount my feelings and give myself time to see what evolves. My circumstances are different as I now am far from DC where the action happened. I live alone in Costa Rica in a beautiful setting. Yet I am hearing a voice inside me saying that this threat to democracy in the United States is very real and not over and that it does affect me and those close to me. This fight of the white men to keep control is not over. Racism is a key part of it. And I can’t be silent about it!
In 2003, the teacher I had for life drawing at the Art Students League in New York City (I am embarrassed not to remember her name) talked about how important it is to use your art for political statements, particularly related to feminism. So maybe thinking about how to bring these feelings into my art will be important to me.
We have so many outstanding examples of visual artists, musicians, and performing artists responding to the politics and challenges of their time. I ask myself and I ask you how are we going to respond to what we saw yesterday and the reminder of how fragile our democracy is, and how racism, anti-Semitism and feminism fit into this picture! For a brief moment yesterday we got to celebrate two new senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff elected from a Southern state. Ossoff is only 33 and Jewish. Reverend Warnock is African American. The fact that the Southern state of Georgia elected them and is giving the Senate back to the Democrats is a major tribute to Stacey Abrams who, along with other women of color, dedicated herself to changing the state. That gives me hope.
I am privileged to live in a beautiful home in Costa Rica. Part of the reason Murray and I moved here was because of our fear of how the election of 2016 pointed toward increased anti-Semitism, racism, and loss of democracy. Yesterday was a major test. Even though I don’t live in the United States right now I am still a citizen and care. So I am asking myself, “What can I do as an artist from right where I am????”
Today I decided I want to do original sketches of women I really admire for my wall of Sheroes. This is a very rough sketch of a portrait that I will be working on for the next several days.
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