Dragonfly Symbiosis

Dragonfly Symbiosis

A Story for Gretchen

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved to go out in the woods and meditate. One of her favorite places to sit in ZaZen was Lycopodium Knoll, a small rise in the sandy woods above Blue Heron Lagoon. The knoll was covered with lycopodia, and the girl would sit with her back to a red maple and her middle finger touching her thumb and resting on her knees. And sit.

One day, however, her serenity was disturbed by deerfly. The deerflies buzzed nosily around and kept landing on the girl’s arms and shoulders. They were trying to bite her.

Suddenly, there was a much larger, louder buzzing and a huge insect landed on her knee. In its mandibles was a deer fly. The dragonfly noisily chomped down the deerfly and a moment later, zipped out and snagged another. When it had eaten that one, it snagged a third, and continued until it had eaten the entire platoon

Then the dragonfly sat calmly on the girl’s knee waiting. Each time another deerfly or mosquito homed in on the girl, the dragonfly captured it and ate it. The girl acted as a food magnet for the dragonfly and the dragonfly protected the girl from insect bites. And this is a true story. Mary Stebbins Taitt The art is a collaboration with Gretchen Owen.

Yellow Lady's Slipper

done in gouache by Mary Stebbins Taitt

Awakening

Awaken the courage, insight, and creative abilities, and use them to communicate to others.

Tulips at the Village Market III, a present for Jacob

Tulips at the Village Market III, a present for Jacob, by Mary
Stebbins Taitt. I painted this picture for Jacob for his birthday
with acrylics on paper (that is, not Photoshop) from a photo I posted
earlier. I may also attempt one in water colors. We'll see.

those eyes...

Tribal Art Sea Turtle

Well my Tribal Art looks more Aborigine than Senufo. It's oil pastels on a scrap piece of matboard. It tells a story about an experience of mine in Acapulco last year.

I woke up one morning about 5am, and couldn't go back to sleep. I decided to go for a walk on the beach to watch the sun come up. My sister rolled over half asleep and wispered, "take my camera." My camera was being repaired, so I didn't have it this trip.

After walking a little ways, the first rays of color started to show on the horizon. I had paused to try to figure out how to work her camera, when I saw something dark crawl by my feet. I thought it might be a crab, but to my amazement it was a baby sea turtle scampering his way through the sand towards the ocean. I tried to get several shots of him, but I was unfamiliar with her camera, and then the batteries died. So, I just stood there and watched him struggle. When he made it to the water's edge, he would be washed ashore by the first wave that hit him. I watched him tumble in the surf, and then crawl back for more, three times before he finally made it out to sea. I wanted to help him, but I knew better.

I was so excited that I started to search the beach for more. I knew he wouldn't be the only one. It was still dark, so it was difficult to see. Then I saw a ferral dog running towards me. I thought, "oh no, he's looking for food." I was too late. He had one of the babies in his mouth. It was so sad to see this scrawny dog, who's hips and ribs stood out, carrying one of these precious creatures away for what would probably be his only meal for days. Unfortunately, Acapulco is full of these poor neglected strays. That beach is a well know breeding ground for sea turtles. It made me wonder how many we lose each year because of the dogs.


I did have my underwater camera with me, and took these photos below while snorkling. The visibility wasn't that great, so I tried to touch them up in Photoshop.

Senufo at the DIA

If there were tribes people living at Silk Creek, what would their art be like? They would be native Americans of the Iroquois Nation, probably, or they would be us, camping out there and making art--what would it look like. Post your Silk Creek "Tribal" art, if you would like to.

We went to the DIA today. It was very cold and windy and the sidewalks were icy and there was blowing snow, so we walked at the DIA and then looked around. I participated in a workshop on Senufo, an African artform. I joined near the end, so didn't have as much time as the others to either learn about it or do a good job, but I had fun anyway.

Slow work through tall weeds

Takes a long time for me to paint a picture. Still working on this one. Mary