The Mauser Foundation: Artist of the Month for November 2021
On October 15th, myself and two other artists were driven from San Jose to the Mauser Eco House in Parrita, Costa Rica on a very rainy evening. Kayla, my host, showed me to my deluxe suite of a bedroom, bathroom, private art studio and private garden. Having my own space is very important to my creativity in my art projects. My intention was to create work with the theme of "Art in Harmony with Nature" while also incorporating Diwali, The Festival of Lights.
The next morning, we were served a traditional Costa Rican breakfast. Kayla drove us to the supermarket, fruit stand and bakery to pick up food for our lunch and weekend meals. On our way back was our first encounter of living in a rural neighborhood. It had been raining very heavily and a tree fell down blocking the road. Most residents have a machete or chainsaw in their car trunks because this is a frequent occurrence. We were amazed at how many women were capable of taking care of this, just like a breeze! When we returned, the rain was subsiding and I started sketching my "Diwali Rangoli Mural", which took exactly six days to complete on the entrance wall.
The best part of my time spent there was to sit on a sofa on the verandah to eat my breakfast and lunch listening to the birds and watching the monkeys jumping from one tree to another. There were butterflies, iguanas and the brown and white neighbor's horses grazing on the fields next door.
On the next day several of us headed to Mirador Donde Andres Bar Restaurante Chicharronera for Sunday lunch of arroz con pollo with agua dulce. There we met Sophia, the baby goat who warms the hearts of their customers. If she is not there, diners ask that she be called in! I bought goat milk, goat yogurt and goat cheese for the week.
At the end of my six-day labor of love work on the mural, two dancers came for a weekend presentation from San Jose. They were Adrian Arriaga and Iseer Torijano. I was about to hang my marigold garlands with miniature rangoli paintings and invited them to practice their dance steps in front of both my marigold and miniature clothesline exhibition and my Diwali Rangoli Mural. I made a fruit platter on a banana leaf and a breadfruit leaf decorated with flowers. I also got an incredible folded palm leaf for a multicolored rangoli and chanted while spreading the colors. All my art was filmed and I was interviewed by a visiting photographer/ videographer.
On the following day another artist and I made a potato/pea/onion samosa filling and wrapped them in tortillas on a banana leaf to share with everyone for dinner.
One morning I paid ten dollars for a ride to Playa Esterillos to work on sand designs on the beach and videotape them with the ocean sounds. Unfortunately, this beach is filled with a large number of stray and domestic dogs. I do not doubt that some of them were not vaccinated. They would dig up every stroke I made so I decided to wrap some marigold garlands around the words "Happy Diwali" and "Peace & Love." These were not destroyed; however, all the video sounds were only barking dogs. I left to collect rocks and shells for another project that I was planning, I was so fed up with these dogs following my every move that I decided to quit. There is a hotel on Playa Esterillos under construction. I met the owner and asked him if I could spend the next hour lying on a lounge chair in a cabana - an hour of my time wasted until my ride was ready for the return trip. The private homes have gates but the owners never bother to close them. They let their dogs loose without leashes because it is supposed to be a rural neighborhood and there are probably no leash laws.
Monday evenings at the lodge are an absolute delight when the fruit van pulls up at the entrance. It is a pick-up truck filled up with supplies of bananas, mangoes, papayas, oranges, passion fruit and tomatoes at moderate prices. It was an absolute joy to have so much fresh fruit every day.
We went one day to Manuel Antonio's Park. There was an accident and the traffic was backed up so we turned around and had a traditional Costa Rican lunch at an outdoor restaurant in Quepos. Then we proceeded to the park. It was an absolutely delightful afternoon with clean hiking trails and an inviting beach and absolutely no dogs. It is a pity that we did not have enough time so I could do some "sand art." We had to get going because the park was about to close. We treated ourselves to refreshing coconut water with scooped up jelly that was sold to us as we exited.
I loved picking up the pink flowers from the ground and decorating everywhere. I made a polka dotted rock and shells design as well as one I called "Homage to a Sand Dollar." I also tried pressing some local flowers but they lost too much of their colors before I was ready to use them.
I loved picking up the pink flowers from the ground and decorating everywhere. I made a polka dotted rock and shells design as well as one I called "Homage to a Sand Dollar." I also tried pressing some local flowers but they lost too much of their colors before I was ready to use them.
An afternoon trip to Jaco was delightful. There was art on display at "The Green Room" and the tacos and margaritas were enjoyable.
We took a trip to Divina Vida for a chocolate tour. We felt comfortable with Lisa Morris and Flory Garcia so we signed up for a cacao ceremony for the following week. That was an incredible experience. During the ceremony, I had the experience of meeting with my one of my beloved ancestors in a vision.
The other artists and I also attended a tortilla making class in the lodge’s kitchen. Then there was the evening of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. This holiday is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists. I made Rangoli patterns on my studio floor corner of different colors then set up an altar on the verandah and invited everyone to participate in the ceremony. This was followed by a delicious vegetarian dinner. It was a very memorable evening for all with dynamite photography.
My most memorable experience was the "Sunrise Breakfast with Sofia." A traditional Costa Rican breakfast is served at 5 AM at the Donde Andres restaurant, where everyone dines on the patio watching the sunrise. Since Sophia, the beloved goat, had not yet arrived, Andres would whistle to her and her beautiful white clumps would hop, skip and jump down the garden into the restaurant. I could not help but paint that beautiful memory and gave the painting to Andres and Jania as a gift. They will also copy it to make postcards for their restaurant. My paintings were placed on the Expat Facebook Page - Care Esterillos - for local expats to enjoy. Andres and Jania gave me a gourd which I painted with colorful dots for a dining room centerpiece. Jania then gave a tamale making class. I stayed for a short while as I was quite tired but came back later that afternoon to enjoy some tamales and agua dulce for dinner
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I left my “HeART” in Costa Rica because I could not travel to the USA with most of the art. Also, I wanted to leave something to the people there as a token for their love and caring, which above all else gave me such a memorable experience!