Evolving Art (ad infinitum)

                     Evolving Art

                          (ad infinitum)

Art works, verses and lines by Dr Abe V Rotor 

   

Splash Painting

Who needs brush and canvas?

Only colors, if you must.

On the floor, just splash, splash,

to create stained glass! 

Noah's Black Dove 

I found a fossil entombed,

   of a story in driftwood. 

  

Duck Head  Figurine

 

Once hunted on water and in air,

now figurine, a grim reminder.   

 

Broken Jar  Alive

A lease for life indeed

through art we bid;

talent put to the test

at its very best.

 

Driftwood trophy

Why gold or silver a trophy:

why not remnant of a tree,

 shells forgotten and empty,

to wake us up to reality?

 

 

Driftwood Table Decor

Wasteland in the hall,

  a dreaded scene,

   aftermath of the Fall, 

of man's first Sin. ~

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE Letters for Venus and the Falling Star*

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Letters for Venus and the Falling Star*

By Odette P Apodaca

Dear Venus,

"I wonder if you and the earth can merge so your beauty and my planet's warmth can join forces to create life of beauty and warmth.  Then everything will be all right." 

I have learned from a science book that you are the most beautiful planet in the whole universe.  But I have forgotten why you are beautiful due to many things.  I have read about the universe, the planets.  Oh, no, I can't even recall those many things!

Is it because of your bluish color that makes you beautiful? Or is it something else?  Gee, forgive me for not remembering. How I wish i can go to you and look at your beauty the whole day! I wonder what it feels to be living with you and coming out like you beautiful and admired by the other planets.

Is there life inside you?  Are there tall trees and colorful flowers that grow in you?  Are there buses, jeepneys tall buildings, and houses in you? How do people live in you?  Are they like us earth people who have to eat three times a day and take a nap in order to be healthy and fit? What do your people look like?  Do they have eyes, ears, nose and lips?  Do they smile often like us?  Do they cry sometimes?

I have so many questions to ask you but I am not sure If I will have a chance to do that in person.  I have to be an astronaut and pass those rigid tests first before I can be with you.  Life is hard sometimes, especially to a kid like me.

Well, I have just heard from my teacher that life does not grow in you.  You are cold despite your beauty.  I am sad to know that amidst your beauty no life exists.  How sad for a planet as beautiful as you are to be that way on a physical level only.  How sad, really.

I wonder if you and the earth can merge so your beauty and my planet's warmth can join forces to create life of beauty and warmth.  Then everything will be all right.

Hoping to see you,
Kimmy

Dear Falling Star

"I wish to be like you so I may grant the wishes of children like me.  Yet, unlike you, I'll come often to grant every wish I hear.  Again, unlike you, I'll move a little bit more slowly so I may fully hear their wishes."

Every night I look out of my window to wait for your return.  My older brother keeps telling me stories about you and how you grant wishes of people who ask you something, including his.

I didn't believe him at first.  He's kind of braggart, that's why I don't often take him seriously.  But testimonials of other people who, for me, are credible have made me change my mind.

Now, I'm one of the countless children who look out of the window every night to wait for you. Like them, I have rehearsed over and over what I'd like to wish for.  The elders say we have to say our wish fast, just before you disappear, so it will be granted.

I'm kind of having a stiff neck because I look out of the window so much.  I'm getting a little bit restless but I know I have to be patient.  I know that we, children, don't easily get our wishes like getting good grades.  We have to work hard for them, I know.

You have to appear soon or I might grow old with this waiting.  Do you know what I'm going to wish for?

I wish to be like you so I may grant the wishes of children like me.  Yet, unlike you, I'll come often to grant every wish I hear.  Again, unlike you, I'll move a little bit more slowly so I may fully hear their wishes.

Now, wouldn't that be grand?

Please come soon,

Kimmy

*From Miss Odette P Apodaca's second book, The Wrath of Indaragata and Other Stories published by Giraffe's Books in 2000.  The book contains eighth short stories, which "tackles a wide range of subjects for children: cleanliness and hygiene, concern for the environment xxx the importance of reading books." (Introduction by Nick B Melgar). 

Dr Abe V Rotor's Note: Odette's stories for children convey a very important message in the midst of our digital and postmodernism living "to slow down, and reflect," so to speak. Her stories are for children's reflection and meditation, more so for us parents and grown ups. Odette and I taught at St Paul University QC, a most memorable association and experience with scholarly and creative professors exemplified by Odette herself.   Acknowledgement with gratitude to all concerned - avr

----------------------------
Children's literature is a genre of written works and illustrations created to entertain or educate young people. It includes: 

- Books, stories, poems, magazines, songs, recordings, TV shows, and films
- Picture books, easy-to-read stories, fairy tales, lullabies, fables, and folk songs
- Works that are classified by the age of the intended reader or their reading level. 

(Reference: Internet)

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: Spatial Art and Literature

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

1. Mackie and the Owl

    Until I captured the scary creature

     with paint brush on the wall,

where kids could talk to and touch; 

                                   now the owl is a friend to all.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Mackie poses before a wall mural painted by the 

author at her home in Lagro QC 2015

Mackie used to be afraid of the owl,

     imagined or on the screen.

and would fling into embrace blind

     until it is no longer seen.

The creature would appear in the dark,

     in her favorite cartoon;

by its hooting in the hollow of a tree,

     she would freeze like stone.

Until I captured the scary creature

     with paint brush on the wall,

where kids could talk to and touch; 

     now the owl is a friend to all. ~

2. The World in his Paint Brush

Markus 2 author's grandson paints a mural 2015, QC

"Freedom in imagination, young as he is, while grownups yearn for expression outside the confines of art; who is the master then? Yet, the path that he takes is rough and uncertain, sans model and determination he'll miss his aim." - A V Rotor

"Nothing, indeed, is more dangerous to the young artist than any conception of ideal beauty: he is constantly led by it either into weak prettiness or lifeless abstraction: whereas to touch the ideal at all, you must not strip it of vitality." - Oscar Wilde

"It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color - not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression." - Henri Matisse

3. "Nature is a world of reality and fantasy."- avr

Details of Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter." - Rachel Carson

Wish the animals are alive and tame.

 

They never saw the animals in the wild;

no, not in the concrete jungle of the city;

save a visit to the zoo, images on TV,

it's a world of reality and fantasy.

"I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." 

- Anne Frank

White Doves Meet the Sun - a Forest Scene.

Morning comes late in the forest,

and evening comes early;

So with creatures at play or rest

 in their leisure and play. 

"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature."

 - Claude Monet

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: The Rainbow in 5 Perspective in Painting and Poetry

                     CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN PAINTING AND POETRY

          I love the rainbow in 5 perspectives

“When there is love in the heart, there are rainbows in the eyes, which cover every black cloud with gorgeous hues.” — Henry Ward Beecher

                                                           Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Rainbow at the Waterfalls

2. "Yellow Spot into Sun"

3. Rainbow Across a River

4. Yes, you can bring down the rainbow - and touch it, too.

5. Rainbow on a Wall Mural

ANNEX - Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways

                                    1. Rainbow at the Waterfalls

“I can see my rainbow calling me through the misty

 breeze of my waterfall." - Unknown

Rainbow at the Waterfalls, by Leo Carlo R Rotor, 13

"I am told when we knock at heaven's gate

St. Peter will ask, Pray, tell me, 

what price have you paid to enter heaven?

I will then have to recall and reflect...

on all the good deeds I have done from birth to death

as well as my sins of omission and commission."

2. "Yellow Spot into Sun"

"Picasso once said that a real artist has a unique talent to transform a yellow spot into sun... a sun shining into the heart, giving warmth and comfort that go with enlightenment, wisdom, faith and hope - for the young generation." -  avr

Rainbow on a Tree by Mishane Chura, 9

"I used to be of the dark

I still am...

But I have come to terms with this fear.

I now leave the light off when I sleep

For I have come to terms with darkness

And my fear of it... "

3. Rainbow Across a River

"Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms." - Alyssa Knight

Rainbow across the Bamban River, Tarlac

I love the rainbow

because it holds a pot of gold

that glitters in kaleidoscope,

and prism on its huge crown,

where lovely deities play I'm told;

it's reborn when worn and old

into a cathedral in the sky

cherubim sweetly sing in praise, 

humbling the proud and bold;

it guides the lost from the fold

and those searching for heaven -

a rainbow suddenly appears

whenever faith grows cold. ~

4. Yes, you can bring down the rainbow - and touch it, too.  

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” — E.Y. Young

 

Children in the neighborhood delight in making a rainbow through an aquarium as prism.

 You can make one, too, in your home. 

Rainbow - a kaleidoscope of colors in a pattern of seven - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - that guide man's art in endless combinations.

Rainbow - it builds slowly before our eyes; it comes as twin, or breaks out suddenly  perking up life in its low ebb, and taking out the boredom of living. 

Rainbow - gauge of  weather, reference for travel and trade, source of inspiration of lovers,  bards and writers, subject of the arts, icon of faith and devotion. 

Rainbow - the make-believe subject in children's stories of fairies and spirits; the most sought treasure of grownups -  the proverbial pot of gold. 

Rainbow - ephemeral for which its beauty in heightened, like a rose in the morning, 
first rain in May, the passing of day and night, and the march of seasons.  

Rainbow - likened to the cycle of life - its birth and death, glory and fall, its simplicity grandeur, its independence and attachment to all things, visible and invisible.

Rainbow - now you see it, now you don't, a puzzle to the old and young in all walks of life, yet seeing it best with a clear mind, pure heart and spirit.

Rainbow - it conquers gloom, sows hope, builds the biggest, the most beautiful and magnificent arch of the world that bestows honor to everyone. 

Rainbow - the cathedral in the sky that brings the faithful of all beliefs together in awe and respect to the Creator, the unifying grace of all mankind.  

Rainbow - too high, too far, too abstract, yet to the children it is near, it is real and true; rainbow the symbol of beauty and hope, it comes when the sky is gloomy and dark. ~

5. Rainbow on a Wall Mural 

"Today's teardrops are tomorrow's rainbows." - Ricky Nelson 

. Rainbow on a Wall Mural by the author, Lagro QC

I painted a wall and brought a rainbow down;
it fell on the grass, over my head its crown;
what my painting lacked, it gloriously filled,
and I, the artist humbled, my pride stilled.

Now I understand how a masterpiece is made,
the Sistine chapel, Berlin wall, Roman pallisade,
these classical works, their secrets long sought -
it's the Creator's expression in man's thought. ~

ANNEX - Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways

Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways - in flowers in spring, leaves in autumn, mountains at sunrise, reflection of lakes, spray of running streams, mirage in deserts, feathers of fowls, and the like.  The rainbow is commonly imitated in man-made structures and designs, and many items of trade and commerce.

Living things like this rainbow fish have captured through evolution the colors and pattern of the rainbow, assuring them of their place in the living world. Internet photo  

CHILDREN's LITERATURE: A Child's Parable of The Black Puppy

        A Child's Parable of The Black Puppy

Anna Christina R Rotor, 12*

School Project on CLIVE, 

Year 2 Malvar, Teacher Remy

October 20, 1997

Unedited

                                      Pastel drawing by Anna Christina, 12 (1997)  
It was late in the evening when three children searched for their pet, wondering what had happened to it. Their dog was crying in pain and they didn't know where to find. Suddenly, at a corner of their garage, they saw the missing, white dog. The dog gave birth to three little puppies. The children were so delighted to see a very beautiful, white puppy with a cute, pink nose. But they became disappointed upon seeing two black, ugly puppies, which they didn't even had the color of their mother. So the children poured all their love to the white puppy. They even had the plan to make this dog an intelligent one. After a few days, they noticed that the other black puppy was very weak. Not for long, it died, which they didn't mind too much.

One morning, the children were shocked to see their favorite puppy lying helplessly and trying to catch its breath. They did everything they could do to save the puppy but it was too late and died. They children felt very, very sad and tried not to cry. But then they realized that there is still a black puppy left whom they could love like their love for their favorite pet.

They learned to love the black puppy and took good care of it. They taught him different dog tricks and trained him to be a smart dog.

Many years passed, the children were very proud to see the black, ugly puppy grew into a very beautiful, talented and intelligent dog.

Author's Comment: Based on my experiences related in this parable, there is one experience that I will never forget. It is an experience of disappointment and contentment. At age 10, my favorite cousin died at an early age. I always let the time pass longing for him. Just then, I realized that I could do nothing to bring him back. I finally knew that I could go on with my life without my sorrows. I began to enjoy my life again and learned to love my other cousins, who sometimes I hated most. I learned to be more considerate to them and we grew up in a better relationship.

With my unforgettable experience, there is one important lesson that I learned: The one you love least may sometimes be the one you'll love most. ~

* Anna is daughter of Dr, and Mrs. Abe V Rotor.  Presently, she and her family live in Brisbane, Australia. 

IMPRESSIONISM: Fish Incognito

                                                         IMPRESSIONISM

Fish Incognito

Dr Abe V Rotor

A School of Grouper Fish  in acrylic (38" x 26"), AVRotor.

Fish, tell me where you live, your home;

The ocean is so huge to be your own;

Fish answers: I am a fugitive in pursuit,

Hunted or hunter whichever may suit.

Fish, tell me of your kin and your shoal;

How you live together as a school;

Fish answers: I live by the rules of the sea,

By number and luck, and by being free.

Fish, tell me if I am friend to you, or a foe;

I gave you a name, regard you with awe;

Fish answers: Neither, I'd rather be unseen,

Far from the dreadful fate in your cuisine. ~

ECOLOGY VERSES: Nymphaea - Beauty in the Morning

Ecology Verses 

Nymphaea*

Beauty in the Morning

 *Nymphaea alba or ‎Nymphaea lotus, Family Nymphaeaceae. In ancient times, the Egyptian lotus was worshipped as a symbol of creation, while in Ancient Greece, it was a symbol of innocence and modesty.  

Dr Abe V Rotor

Nymphaea flower in full bloom (Photo by Jaimee Alberto and Frances Africa)

A Snail on a Flower

Obscure in the deep you've been,

Now perched on a petal to be seen,

To share the beauty of your host,

And beauty itself the cost.

 

SPUQC (Formerly St Paul College QC) Grotto

(Photo by Roselle Carlos and Imee Mateo)

Prayer

Take me from this world a moment

To be with you in this holy event.

From your seat down below I see

My friends, my enemies and me.

Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus)

(Photo by Catherine Jane Dee)

Bird's Nest Fern

Clothe your host with gown,  

Huddle her in comfort and love

With rosette of frond her crown

To catch the cloud above.

Silhouette of Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

(Photo by Karla Mendoza and Camille Constantino)

Silhouette

Now you have nothing to boast about,

Rise from your burden and cry out,

Open your arms and bare your heart,

Grow the buds for new life to start.

 

Light on Damascus Road by AV Rotor, SPCQ Museum

Photo by Jennifer Tan)

Paulinian

Side by side, I stand with Saul, 

This man on the road to Damascus

Saw the light of redemption

Of those who followed his cause.

Lotus flower.  (Photo by AV Rotor)

Lotus

I greeted you one morning,

As I saw your face smiling.

Let me kiss your fragrance,

That I can go into a trance

Of contented forgetfulness 

From ephemeral greatness. 

SPCQ Garden Pond (Photo by Humanities class under the author)

By the Pond 

Tell me your throes, 

Worries and Woes,

And to the fishes 

Your wistful wishes.

SPCQ Garden Pond II (Photo by Grace Cabalatugan)

Morning at the Pond

I, too, shall kiss you

After the mist and sun,

Before I say, "Adieu,"

And purity gone.

Former SPCQ Museum (Photo by Jennifer Tan)

Picture

Picture, picture,

on the wall, 

Tell her of the Garden

before the Fall.

White Flower (Photo by Humanities Class 1996)

White Flower

When the day is done,

And the last ray gone,

The night is dark, 

Save a spark.

Higad or Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Photo by Humanities class under the author)

Tussock Caterpillars

You are Medusa in the garden, 

A serpent in garb all golden, 

Sowing destruction on your way

Until Perseus put you away. ~

These verses with corresponding B&W photographs (converted from green print, as shown in the book cover) were selected and posted in this blog avrotor.blogspot.com in response to a growing number of literature enthusiasts. The book source of 80 pages was published nearly three decades ago by Giraffe Books in cooperation with then St Paul College Quezon City, now St Paul University, QC.  In all indications, literature, true to its time-honored importance remains relevant in upholding faith and hope of humanity, a kind of neo-renaissance in our time  we call Postmodernism, a term to mean "living tomorrow today." a clear indication of unprecedented and radical change our society is currently undergoing. Other articles in this book will be likewise posted in a series in this Blog. (Acknowledgement with thanks, AVRotor)  

(Foreword by Sister Lilia Tolentino SPC, College President; book cover text by Sister Sarah Manapol, SPC, Head, Instructional Media Center SPCQ)