I'm back in Chicago right now and will be returning to Olympia in a few days. The past couple weeks have been go go go. Now it's time to reflect on my experience and rest for a couple of days. I'll see you all back in Washington, and I hope you all had safe travels.
A few days ago I went horse back riding to the gold mine ruins. It's very difficult to get to any of the natural sites unless you go horse back riding or have a car. The experience to the ruins was great. We went through the desert and rough side of the island and the guide gave us the history of the ruins. I'm going to give you a brief history. Alonzo de Ojeda discovered Aruba for the spanish crown in 1499, he never attempted to colonize the island and it's Arawak natives because of it's desert and barren appearance. It was considered an "isla inutil" or a useless island. Aruba was left alone until the dutch, in 1634, claimed it after an 80 year war with Spain. Aruba was merely one of the islands taken over by the Dutch as they ruled the whole Netherland Antilles. Taking a deeper interest in Aruba, the Spanish discovered gold on the island in 1824. Several million pounds were mined under a fortress made of stone. When the mine was no longer profitable, by 1913, the structure was left to be battered by the winds and associated erosion. When I walked through the ruins, I felt lonliness of neglect and rejection, but marvelled at the strength of a fortress like structure that will probably still be discernable long after I am gone. I am trying to paint my minds image of this thought.
Two days ago I moved into my second apartment, where I will spend the remainder of my time in Aruba. My new abode is located in the same housing complex as my studio. Originally it was a single family home subdivided several years ago to include the main house, attached a one bed room apartment, two studios and a very small cottage not much larger than a shed. This type of housing complex seems to be a popular way for Arubian home owners to generate income while providing short term housing for students who cannot afford beach front rentals. Each unit has a "semi private" gravel yard with planters filled with cactuses, flowers, and palm trees. Never the less, I love my new place and consider it home. I am enjoying living alone in this tropical paradise and wonder how I will feel when I return to roomates. The subdivision my place is in is called Bakval Garden. It cconsists of many ranch style homes interspersed with brand new million dollar homes as well as buildings that have been abandoned. Most of the homes have five foot concrete walls surrrounding them, as mine does, for the purpose of providing private court yards and out door living space. Many dining rooms, for example, start inside and extend outside with no exterior wall. I have not seen many lawns in Aruba since it is a desert island and watering grass is probably very expensive. In lieu of lawns, people pave the area between the street and their concrete fences to park their cars. With narrow two lane roads, no one is allowed to park in the street. My location is very convenient for a residential area. I have a five minute walk over a dried up water shed that takes me to the bus stop. Other then the bus and walking I have also gone horse back riding to some of the natural sites as that is the only way to get there besides by car. I will talk about that at a later date. That's all for now.
The heat is intensifying as the sun is directly over head. The distraction of a man clinking his amstel beer can on a chair to the beat in his head phones. Now he's playing his air guitar. Boat after boat passing in the horizon. The water looks translucent and the most beautiful blue. Aloe, Aloe, there's a man passing by with fresh bottled aloe. As Aruba is a desert island aloe vera plants are abundant on the island. According to a native I spoke with Aruba is the land of the cactus. Aruba actually became the worlds largest producer and exporter of aloe at the beginning of the 20th century. Supposedly aloe wa imported to Aruba about 150 yrs. ago. Here in Aruba aloe is still harvested by hand with a sharp knife, and after several processes a pure gel is extracted. The leaves were originally used to shine floors and the flower stems wee use in a cement for stone walls. Although aloe isn't used for the same purposes in the present day, it is now used for burns, skin irritations, and to treat bites. Some also ingest the aloe to treat colds, ulcers, arthritis, and indigestion. That's all for now but I will continue blogging through out the week.
I am back in Oranjestad now after several days absorbing the local culture in San Nicholas; a small town on the other side of Aruba. The atmosphere in Orajestad was becoming entirely too touristy, and I was overwhelmed by the urge to experience another aspect of Aruba's culture. San Nicholas is much less developed than Oranjestad, and gaining access to the internet proved nearly impossible. I made trips to several natural sites during my trip, hoping that they would provide some further inspiration for my art work. The first place I visited was the Natural Bridge. Thew entire time I was there, I kept thinking about how the monument represented Aruban culture so well. For example, Papimento is a mixture of Spanish, English, Portugese, dutch and Arawak Indian. I was thinking that Aruba, like the Natural Bridge, has formed a distinct bridge between many different cultures. That's what makes an island so interesting; people come from all over the world to visit, and then leave a part of their own culture behind. I hope that my paintings will reflect the diversity of cultures that is Aruba's essence.
One of the most abundant trees in Aruba is the Divi Divi tree, Aruba's national tree. I have started a painting that I hope will represent how the presence of this gorgeous tree on the island has affected my art. My mentor, Raymond (a local artist), was trying to convey to me the symbolism of the Divi Divi tree on the island.
On a more technical note, I have realized that using oil paints while traveling is extremely difficult. I have decided to do some oil paintings and some acrylic paintings to minimize the hassle of working exclusively with oils.
I am excited to explore more of the island and learn more painting techniques from Raymond.
Chao!
Krystel
Right now I'm sitting here in the internet cafe, watching the night life begin. It's been a pretty chaotic week. Meeting new people, getting used to a different culture, and finding my way around. I had the opportunity to experience the last few days of carnival which was very interesting. There were thousands of people in the streets of Oranjestad, the capital of aruba celebrating and having a good time. Most of the people were dressed in beautiful intriquet costumes, and the music and sound systems were amazing. It was a very energizing experience. I also met a local artist who is going to help me this next week with learning oil painting techniques, and the basics. That's something I'm really looking forward to. That's all for now
I'm here! this is where the journey begins, an end to the anticipation, awaiting...? just letting the experience run through me. I hope you all had or will have safe travels. Take it easy, Krystel
Hello crew, blogging in, hope all is well.
This is a test of Krystel's emergency broadcast system. This is only a test