Inn of the Wandering Dragon

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a performance of Cirque's new show: AmaLuna. I have written about other Cirque du Soleil performances that I have seen, along with Cavalia (which shares a similar flare). I have gushed in the past about how beautiful the shows are, with the fantastic costumes, music and acrobatics. AmaLuna is no exception and this show contains some truly beautiful and memorable performances - but that is not what I am writing about tonight.

You see, I attended the show with a good friend and her kids. We both agree that this is an experience to be enjoyed and remembered.  Thinking back to attending theatrical productions with my parents as a kid - such as Cats, and a gorgeous puppet production of the Hobbit -  I remember how entranced and amazed I was by it all. The live music, the costumes, the stage elements... I fell in love with all of it - because to me all of it was real.

I am not talking about just a child's vivid imagination here, with which a good production becomes a means of escape into fantastic worlds (although that is pretty amazing in it's own way). As illustrated by the child sitting next to me "Wow! He is really strong to do that" (refering to an acrobat climbing a pole with only his hands - and every single back, chest and core muscle the human body contains). This is not the CGI or animation you see in TV shows and movies. This is real people performing and showing us what kind of amazing and incredible things the human body can do. This is real costumes created, sewn and used to convey characters in colour and flow of movement.  This is live music being played right in front of you with the sheer joy of the musicians who are creating it as you feel the vibrations move through you. Someone - many someones - made all of this!

Just to be clear I am not knocking the film and tv industry here. It takes a lot of people a huge amount of time and work to make what we see on the screen and I think they are a collection of amazing artists. What I am saying is that what they create is still removed from us. It is a projection on the screen.

In comparison live theater is a truly viceral escape into another world - a very real, very magical physical world of which we are all a part. You feel it. You smell it. It is in our face, a  reminder that we can step away from the computer screens and the tvs and that we can create and experience something incredible.

It seems we just blink our eyes and wow! We are already 6 (OK 7) weeks into the new year. A lot has been going on lately and I am glad for that. I found that getting sidelined physically, via the broken ankle, sent me sideways in other areas as well. My creativity was stagnant; my motivation to do anything was low; I felt I had to completely rebuild my credibility with my co-workers; and I basically felt I was just scrambling to catch up on everything for the rest of the year. Not to mention I get to start all over to get myself back to where I was physically before I fell down the stairs. Joy.

This year is going to be better. It will be, simply because I have decided it will be so. And when we truly decide to make something better we then have the means to act on it.

I took an art class in the fall - Introduction to Abstraction. The above image is an abstract figure study in acrylic which I then ran through a fun little app on my phone called Percolator. We worked with drawing and painting, from small little studies to a couple of pieces as large as 3' x 5'. In reality the content of the course was nothing new to me but it was a great place to wake up some of those creative muscles and remember the joy of playing with materials. My studio space has now been reclaimed from clutter and storage and is ready for just about anything.

In the new year I started up belly dance again. I am finding the current choreography with the numerous spins, twirls and hops to be a real challenge with my ankle not yet up to full strength but I am enjoying the class. It has also revealed how limited I had (for a time) allowed myself to become and what I need to do now. Healthy movement is what I need. My instructor has been keeping a sharp eye on me to make sure I don't overdo it and hurt myself as well so that is all to the good.

There are no travel plans this year (aside from the annual trip to BC) - as I have taken the plunge and purchased a condo! They are just starting to build and so in the last quarter of the year I shall be making the move to a place of my own that I can truly make my own. For this year my focus (and my funds) will be on preparing for that transition. I plan on spending a great deal of time sorting through stuff and getting rid of what I do not want to take with me. This new place is going to have a similar square footage to what I am renting now so it is a great excuse to deal with clutter.

I think it is safe to say I am feeling better about life all around. :)

I thought I would post this as a follow up to a previous blog post. I had started a sketch of a henna style dragon and I wasn't sure where to go with it. As it turns out, I left the paper and went to a wrap around design on a flameless candle instead. I am quite pleased with how it turned out overall, although I think I may try using henna on further candles instead of paint simply for ease of laying down the lines.

I am getting better at gently tossing stuff to where I need it. Balance and coordination are being worked in new ways although I won't be dancing or running a race anytime soon. Wednesday will mark the third week since I slipped on the stairs at home and landed with a very audible crack as my ankle was broken in three places. I know I had talked about needing a break - but this is so very far from what I had in mind!

Some of my friends have remarked that on the one hand this is good because now I will have so much time to paint! Of course, painting or any creative endeavor requires energy and a certain degree of physical comfort which lately has not been in good supply.  Inspiration has lain quiet as my body focuses on healing and I am only now getting to the point where I feel like I might be able to scribble something - so long as no one calls upon me to make a masterpiece. ;) I just hope that I will heal well enough to still attend the BC Renaissance Festival this summer in Langley. Other henna artists have told me how they worked festivals in a cast so it is do-able so long as I give my body what it needs.

My friends and family have been wonderful with generous offers of help and company and I truly appreciate every bit of it! Even my cat has been quite courteous (for the most part) and patient as I hobble around. I say for the most part because he still seems to think I need to go around him instead of him needing to move out of my way. (Why do cats always park themselves in the absolute middle of whatever path you need to take??) A gentle nudge with the crutch to the tail has so far worked well.

Tomorrow I go into the cast clinic, presumably for x-rays and checking of the cast. The doctors were fairly vague about what to expect, and I was doped up on painkillers at the time so thinking of intelligent questions was shoved somewhere to the back of the brain. My aim is to get the information flowing more freely this time around.

Today is a sick day, I am curled up at home waiting for my tea to steep (a lovely blend of violet and vervain which will hopefully help loosen whatever is stuck in my windpipe). And since one can only spend so long in a horizontal plane I figured this is as good a time as any to check in.

I admit I hit something of an emotional roadblock this past winter. Between work stress, monetary stress and my previously noted feelings of being overwhelmed with what I saw piling up - I found myself retreating. I had lost motivation & drive. I had lost some resiliency and all I wanted to do was hibernate. Instead I pared things back. I have been trying to focus on finishing off certain projects, as opposed to starting new ones. My stuff-to-do list is slowly shrinking as a result, slower than I would like but at least progress is being made and that feels good. Sadly my dance classes were one of the things that had to be cut for the time being. Actually physical activity in general pretty much fell by the wayside and I am feeling the effects of that as well.

But things have been getting better lately in that I am feeling better about how things are and how I am dealing with them. Maybe it has a bit to do with the season and the lengthening days, who knows? I have started doing henna again and I find my interest in the art form returning. I am already planning to return to dance in September and in the meantime I am getting back to other physical activity (which will go better once I shake this bug). I am starting to look for a new place to live and that will be a welcome change.

Maybe I just needed a break of sorts.

Henna'ed dragons, oriental dragons, stylized dragons etc. They are all fair game! And when I am feeling down and having a hard time getting those creative juices flowing, starting with something like this is just what I need to help me up. It's not about trying to force creativity to come up with something I've never done before. When I'm in that kind of mood it just doesn't work and that just makes me more frustrated and upset. It is about taking a familiar idea and traveling with it down a slightly different path... And yes, I plan on continuing the henna dragon. Right now it is being a bit of a brain teaser as I try to work out how best to make the elements and designs flow the way I want.

It's hard to say exactly, how I am feeling today. My day has been quiet for certain. Tired yet not tired, a little blue yet I have some contentment in the small things today. A cold seems perched on the edge of my lungs. Perhaps with enough sleep and a break from the stresses it can be convinced to leave. Perhaps I need a good cry.

I start a new round of classes this week, actually I have already gone through one six week session with this particular instructor and this week I jump in for another six week session. The classes are being taught by the Bedouin Dance Company and the style of dance I am learning is tribal fusion - still belly dance but with elements of other dance forms thrown into the mix. You can find find elements from all sorts like folk dances to hip hop. I have seen it performed before and been intrigued by it. I am happy to find it is as much fun to do as I thought it looks!

It has been years since I have been out to Calaway Park! I think I was still in junior high to be honest, maybe grade 10? By that age it's losing it's charm as a fun or cool place to hang out. And I have to admit that as a kid I was pretty upset when the park sold off the original carousel, it was a beautiful work of art but at that time carousel animals had become a hot collectors item so I guess it was only a matter of time.

I recently had the chance to check out the new show at the Glenbow Museum

Yes I have been re-entering the dating scene after being out of it for some years. Mainly I have been perusing the online dating sites because it seems somewhat convenient with a broad base of people to draw from.

Yes I was feeling a little artsy at the time, but the reflections on the skin of the plane were just too much fun to resist!

The Hercules was open for the public to enter and check out the cockpit, after some time spent in the slow moving line the kids opted to go look at other things but it was a nice break in the shade.

I believe these shots are of Team Rocket although I did not clearly hear all the announcer had to say on the matter so I could be wrong. Nevertheless, they put on a fun performance!

I came across a fun set of short videos by one Rick Mereki, you can find them here. He has put together these little montages of shots from around the world focusing on 3 different themes: Move, Eat and Learn. I am still smiling from watching them and it's no wonder why. They show not only a diverse array of cultures and places, but they also show the joy that comes from taking part in these activities. We move, exploring new places near and far. We learn, trying out new activities and ideas. We eat, and enjoy the community connecting over mealtime traditions. They are simple concepts yet if explored they enrich us as individuals.

Due to the weather, our flying demonstration was held indoors with a Harris Hawk sent to fly from one end to the other with some raw meat as it's reward / dinner. I have tried in the past to catch photos of birds in flight and it's really hard to catch a good shot on film (with my camera and skill anyway). The Harris Hawk is not native to Alberta. It was brought here from a center in the US that had run out of room.

Mr. Boggle, as he is known, was orphaned at a very young age when the tree containing his nest was felled. He was the only baby owl to survive and he has been kept by the center as one of their "spokes-birds". He is sometimes taken to schools for educational programs and has even made a few television appearances over the years. The Great Horned Owl is actually Alberta's official provincial bird, as chosen by school children back in 1977.