Tuesday, July 14, 2026

EcoArt: Ecology - Art and Science (Article in Progress)

EcoArt 
Ecology: Art and Science
Artworks as Teaching Aids

Dr Abe V Rotor

After a flood scene

 
Juvenile brain coral geometry

 
Paper wasp hexagon cells

Limestone, sedimentary rock model

Mud dauber wasp nest

Silkworms, composite relief painting

Mounted moths- wall decor and specimens

Crown of thorns from Wild Cherry

Calabash piggy bank

Bird's nest, a simulated model

 
 
Children's art workshop under the trees
Driftwood art and fossils

Pomposity of Colors in Plants: Nature's tool for beauty and survival

Pomposity of Colors in Plants
Nature's tool for beauty and survival

Dr Abe V Rotor


Butterfly plant, what a coincidence
     in form and structure, and color;
I'd rather say, a case of mimicry,
     mutual advantage and favor.


Angel's trumpet, flimsy sinister, heralding
     not of victory but defeat;
Narcotics its essence, abuse its courtship,
     to the unwary on a dark street.


Balibago - white in the morning pink later -
     your secret of a short lived;
you must court the sun and bee without delay,
     in the act of make believe.


Mickey mouse the male, Minnie mouse the female,
     both flowers born on one plant;
If ever Disney got the idea from this plant, he's right,
     mystery is what people want.


Begonia, frail and dainty, and easy to wilt
     must shout its color to the butterfly and bee,
else its flowers like spinsters just fade away
     sad and lonely though colorful and free.


Caladium - but you are not a flower and far from one;
     yet you are an apple to the eye of the beholder;
whatever perceptions you create to your pollinators,
     count me as one, your ardent gardener. 


Caballero, title of a noble horseman, 
     wakes with the sun, retires at sundown,
season after season blooms the color of gold;
      tell me where your treasure is found. 


Puff lilies, forerunner of summer in the garden,
suddenly transforming it into a piece of Eden.


Tabernamontana pandakaki - what a name!
whatever that is, bears flowers a gyre of stars
in pure white shining in some forgotten corner
of a garden where other plants are scarce ~

Monday, July 13, 2026

EcoArt: Greening Our Home

Evolution of Art
EcoArt: Greening Our Home  

Dr Abe V Rotor

Aesthetics and function in greening our home lifts the soul;
    green the most restful color, soothing, easy to the eye;
buffer against noise, dust and wind, cleanliness our main goal;
    a world we call home sweet home, in song and smile.

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” – Pedro Calderón de la Barca 

 
Potted plants by the window grill merged into an integral scene of trees and lianas, to connect house and garden

“Live simply so others can simply live.” – Mahatma Gandhi 

 
Left: Potted cactus with "man-heaven- earth" motif.  Right, wind chime hangs on a mural. Together, they welcome guests at the doorway.

Bring nature to your home,
for the elders and children,
through the magic of art
and warmth of a friend
 
 
 
The art in the garden is expressed simply and naturally like the shape and formation of leaves and flowers, type of growth, plant arrangement, singly or in combination.

Indigenous these plants are, their care simple, if needed at all.
lies the secret of green thumb in the Garden before the Fall.    

“Green living is not perfection; it is persistent intention.” – Davina Cole 

 
Trees are clothed with lianas and epiphytes.  On the ground are fern and seasonal plants, Between big trees are shrubs and hedges. Make a group of trees an arboretum or a miniature forest, which also serves as a botanical collection. 

Forest in our garden, around our home,
abode of creatures, tame and wild;
could art enhance this union and harmony,
for man to appreciate and provide?  

“The smallest seed of care can grow forests of renewal.” – Jonah Sylver 

 
Garden pond of Pistia and hornwort

Invigorating emerald green 
carpet of calm and serene;
beneath, fish seldom seen,
completes our world on screen.

"We are not above nature, we are a part of nature." — Jennifer Nini

Now and then there is need to prune the trees.  This allows other plants to grow,
and induce old ones to form new crown.  Cut dead branches for safety reason. 

“Being green and clean is not just an aspiration but an action.” – Christine Pelosi  

  
 Symmetry - radial and bilateral - is key to nature's art.  The garden is also a living laboratory. Study Fibonacci's principle, Linnaeus systematic nomenclature, Darwin's theory, among other studies.

The garden: workshop and laboratory,
art and science, hobby and study;
rules and theory, history and posterity,
knowledge, quest, and mystery.

“A cleaner world starts at home: choose, refuse, repair, repeat.” – Marco Reyes 

Space for a plaza, for picnic, strolling, outdoor game and gathering. 

Reminiscent of Thoreau's Walden*
 a forest clearing gives freedom,
space to reach out to heaven;
from disobedience and boredom.

Walden or Life in the Woods by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. The book is about simple living in a natural surrounding. Before settling for a year in the woods, Thoreau wrote a controversial essay, Of Civil Disobedience. ~

Sunday, July 12, 2026

How balanced are you today? Key to Peace of Mind

How balanced are you today? 
Key to Peace of Mind

Yes, you can earn and enjoy the most elusive state of happiness - Peace of Mind.

  Dr Abe V Rotor

When you wake up in the morning, go to the mirror so to speak, and look at yourself. Imagine you are at the center of a square. In a perfect square setting you find Peace of Mind. POM has four attributes, which are associated with positive feelings, such as happiness, feeling of good health, mental alertness, calmness, resoluteness, and the like.  A hearty laugh

At one time science tried to devise a biorhythm clock to indicate the ups and down of each of the four attributes. The premise is that every person has his own biological clock greatly influenced by body physiology. A woman's menstrual cycle, for example influences physical condition and temperament. Transition in life stages is a major factor such as the age of puberty, and mid-life crisis which is beautifully expressed, "Life begins at forty." And how about reaching the golden years and the sunset of life?

The coming and passing of seasons dictates the shape of our "square." Winter is generally the loneliest, thanks to Christmas. Spring brings pep and hope, when buds peep from the bare trees, when the birds herald its coming. Summer is vacation, it is a time for loafing and respite. Autumn is sad, but it is a beautiful season.

Then there are circumstances beyond human control such as tragedy in the family, sudden loss of health, broken relationships, and frustration over failures in personal goals.
Whatever conditions you are in today, go to the mirror and see for yourself who you are today.

The Magic Square
1. Intellectually, are you sharp or dull? Have you been forgetful lately? Maybe you have to postpone making a major decision if you are not mentally prepared. On the other hand, make full use of sudden mental alertness. Deliver a paper in a conference, call a staff meeting. Finish a chapter of the book you are writing. It's a new idea, it comes as a spark of genius. Capture it! Just don't submit to your intellectual mood - create one that would bring you the best mind for the day.

2. Psychologically what's eating you? Hold your horse away from anger or aggression. You'll only regret if you submitted yourself to unguarded moments, spurts of emotion which when uncontrolled will lead you to trouble. On the other hand, get out of bed, go to nature, there is a calming effect when you are close to her. Don't deny your genuine feelings though, for good reason. People will love you for being kind, for being compassionate. Remember. "Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone." (The Way of the World, Ella Wheeler Wilcox).

3. Physically, are you fit for the day? Assess the rigors you have to face. If you have been exercising regularly, keeping away from smoking and drugs, and taking the right food, your fitness is not only for a day. True fitness is a long term reward of strict regimen of good health. And remember to keep a positive disposition, just like the Greek philosophy, "A healthy mind in a healthy body."

4. The spirit - the Little Prince in every person (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery) - is key to attaining an ideal square of your life. Feeling of emptiness is traced to a spiritual vacuum - when the inner person is neglected. When the "why" in life gets more and more difficult to answer, when life's true meaning comes to a crossroad - or even to a dead end. When spirituality can be neglected even in the midst of religious fervor, and therefore will not grow. When winning is not a win-win equation, when the pedestal is out of reach, the spirit fades away. Take heed, don't wait for the day you get lost in the Sahara desert, so to speak.

Balance yourself today, the best way you can. Continue doing so day after day, until it becomes a discipline - self-discipline. Only then can you earn and enjoy the most elusive state of happiness - Peace of Mind. ~
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Past lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday.
Lesson on TATAKalikasan, Ateneo de Manila University 87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, e
very Thursday, 11 to 12 a.m. March 16, 2023; 
Lesson, Ilocos Sur Community College Education-Extension Program, December 11, 2023