Stars in the Trees - "How lovely are the portals of the night..."

 Stars in the Trees

Artwork by Dr Abe V Rotor

"How lovely are the portals of the night, when stars come out to watch the daylight die." — Unknown

 

 Mounted branch of Kalios or Aludig (Streblus asper) on a painting of nature. This artwork also serves as a science specimen and teaching aid in biology and ecology. 

Artwork by the author 2026

Stars come down to earth and settle on trees;

in Spring wake up the buds on twigs in glee;

in Summer become bright leaves and flowers;

in Autumn into yellow, orange, and red confetti;

in Winter glow thru the trees in magic showers.

"If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently." — Bill Watterson 

Details of Stars in the Trees

 

  Stars come down to earth in merriment and laughter,

   in joyous celebrations, add  honor and glory;

in times of war and trials, buoy the spirit with hope,

 in the darkest hour of pain, fear and anxiety;

in our divided world today, restore unity and peace; 

   indeed stars are the greatest gift to humanity.

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." — Stephanie Meyer

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June 1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village.  Wikipedia

"I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. "Go out and paint the stars."- Vincent van Gogh

Stars on Trees detail  AVR 2026

Don't hang your paint brush. Don't.

Don't hang your paint brush. Don't. 

When you think the world has been changing so fast you have been overtaken by change itself, waylaid along the path, hold on, for just a single piece - finished or not - could make the difference.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Spent palette board and worn out paint brushes. 

Painting tools of the author  2020

When you think you are done with art, and here you are surrounded by beautiful scenes of nature - migrating birds in the blue sky, a school of fish in a crystal clear lake, trees towering in the distance and above your head swaying with the breeze, flowering plants at your finger touch, don't hang your paint brush, don't; 

When you think you have no more time for a break, much more to go on with your artistic hobby and leisure, because you are preoccupied with more serious matters pertaining to work and obligation to family and community, and feeling that these are of utmost priority in your life - no,  don't hang your paint brush, don't; 

When you think your conventional style is outdated, and not accepting current movements such as surrealism, fauvism and avant-garde, you feel these as affront to classicism, romanticism, impressionism, and realism which have guided the evolution of art to its period of glory -  even then, don't hang your paint brush, don't;

When you think you have grown too old to explore new subjects, to experiment, to participate in exhibitions and competition, relegating to the younger generations such events, and believing you are no longer on the front line of radical change but would rather be a spectator - no, don't hang your paint brush, don't; 

When you think you have failed as an artist, unable to make a fortune out of your artworks, and blaming yourself for sacrificing the welfare of your family - and yourself - financially, and regretting you have wasted the best of your years in life,  and missed out better opportunities - no, don't hang your paint brush, don't; 

When you think you have failed to gain honor and fame from your work, comparing yourself with your colleagues in other fields of endeavor, their achievements well known and respected, while yours are but renditions of your own beliefs and values,  remember Luna, Picasso, Van Gogh et al - no, don't hang your paint brush, don't; 

When you think the world has been changing so fast you have been overtaken by change itself, waylaid along the path, hold on, for just a single piece - finished or not - could make the difference, perhaps to stand as epitome of not only your  lifetime achievement, but your immortality, so, don't hang your paint brush, don't. ~

The Backyard as Laboratory and Workshop: Homemade Fruit Wines

 The Backyard as Laboratory and Workshop 

 Homemade Fruit Wines     

Homemade Fruit Wines from Mango, Dragon Fruit, Banana, Nangka, Caimito, Chico, Pineapple, Rambutan, Mangosteen, Guava, Duhat, Bignay, Pakwan, others 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

Checking growth of yeast innoculum from natural sources - 

bark of kamachili (Pithecolobium dulce) and leaves of samat 

(binunga Tag), Macaranga tenarius 

Experimental lot of five tropical fruits on first week of 

fermentation using PET 5-liter bottles. 

Filtrate after separating the sediments, after fermentation is done (one to two months). In commercial production, earthen jars are used, each with a capacity of 50 long neck bottles (175 ml) on the average. Aging in plastic container is not advisable. The use of PET bottle is for experimentation only. Once the formula for a particular fruit is established the same is translated into large scale production using earthen jars.

 

Commercial production in glazed earthen jars (burnay). Sugar content of the filtrate is determined by hydrometer and refractometer. Ideally it takes two years of aging. Specially made wine is aged five to seven years. Note clay cap over the jar, hermetically sealed from air, contaminants and and pests like termite.

 

Final product ready for the market after one to two year of aging in earthen jar (burnay).  Specially made fruit wine for tourists shops (and export) from chico (Achras sapota) pineapple, dragon fruit and mango (three-fruit blend).  Note special presentation for for wedding, and personalized designs. At the right is Ilocos vinegar from sugar cane. 

    

Duhat (Zyzygium cumini) and caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) make excellent fruit wine.   Mangosteen is high in tannin and red pigment, but during aging the pigment eventually fades out giving way to crystalline transparency, with the exception of duhat and bignay which remain opaque dark in the bottle.

Fermentation is closely monitored as to color, bubble and gas evolution,

 sediments, odor, etc. Fruits have different fermenting characteristics. The must (fermenting material) eventually settles at the bottom giving way to the formation of filtrate that soon becomes clear, occuppying the upper half of the bottle.

 

University researchers take pride in displaying the products of wine fermentation on the backyard. 

                   

  

Homemade fruit wines successfully passed the international standards set by the Food Development Center of the National Food Authority, and the FDA as well as US and European standards for Port and Sherry.   Top, homemade fruit wines join the prestigious fruit wines of other countries. Former NFA Administrator Jesus T Tanchanco, and Mrs Tanchanco grace the occasion when our local wines were chosen recipient of BIDA (Business Incentive Development Award). ~

Communication and Human Behavior: Motives and Needs

Communication and Human Behavior: 

Motives and Needs

Dr Abe V Rotor

“It is harder to understand the behavior of human beings than to understand that of the atoms.”- - Albert Einstein

When a person acts in order to achieve some purpose, we say that his behavior is goal- oriented, or that he is motivated. But human motivation is a complicated matter. People are not always aware of the motives for their own behavior - let alone that of others.

Survival Needs
The most basic level, physiological needs, namely all those things which a human body needs to survive as a living organism - food, drink, shelter, sleep, air to breathe, etc. As long as any of these needs remains unsatisfied, a person will not worry about other needs. Once the survival needs have been relatively well met, the next level of needs emerges and becomes felt. They are the safety or security needs.

Security Needs
When we have sufficient food, drink and the other necessities of life, our primary concern becomes self- protection. Normally, a person will avoid situations and places where he is likely to get hurt. He will frequently also take steps to secure his future from a possible lack of the basic necessities. We build houses, store food, buy insurance policies - in short, we respond to a need for physical security. That is how this group of needs is expressed in our daily life. Only when the more basic needs for survival are not satisfied do we willingly take risks or endanger ourselves to supply them

We build houses, store food, buy insurance policies - in short, we respond to a need for physical security. That is how this group of needs is expressed in our daily life. Only when the more basic needs for survival are not satisfied do we willingly take risks or endanger ourselves to supply them.

Affiliation Needs
Once the needs for survival and security are sufficiently met, we become aware of affiliation and belongings needs (security needs), but in the sense of emotional rather than physical security. We need to feel accepted by the people around us for our emotional stability. To be rejected, isolated or ignored by society is commonly felt as a form of deprivation.

We therefore act in ways that make other people like us and accept us. Unlike the first groups of needs, which are of a biological nature, affiliation needs are clearly social. No one can satisfy these needs by himself: he needs a social group to which he can belong and which accepts him.

If we are appreciated and admired we feel self-confident and capable. On the other hand, if others look down upon us, not only do we tend to feel hurt and insulted, but we also begin to think of ourselves as inferior, weak and incompetent. If others look down upon us, not only do we tend to feel hurt and insulted, but we also begin to think of ourselves as inferior, weak and incompetent.

Self-Actualization Needs
“What a man can be, he must be.” It is common to see this need expressed among artists and other creative people, but it is in fact universal. Even a child who has mastered a new skill will feel this need for self-actualization. It is the same with most of us: we need to do what we think we can do well.

Unfortunately, for many people in the world, survival needs and security needs are only barely satisfied, hunger and physical danger being only just around the corner. In such circumstances no normal person will worry about self-actualization, or about esteem and affiliation, for that matter. But give the people enough to eat, shelter and physical security, and the higher levels of needs are bound to appear.

Conclusion
In communication at the grassroots, an understanding of people’s motivation can help us in at least two kinds of situation:
when we want to help people, and when we want them to change their behavior. To help people overcome some of their problems, we must first understand why they are behaving the way they do at present. Their action may appear entirely irrational or even foolish to us, but they can turn out to be wise and prudent once they are understood in light of their felt needs. ~

* Based on Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Internet

1 comment:
Anonymous said...

It is true that there is a classification system for human needs. There are so many things that men need, even those that are not part of the eco-system tends to become a need nowadays.

It is a well known fact that technological development and progress lies at a very fast pace. Every day, there's a new gadget being developed and sold to the masses. With the increasing number of technological trends, they have become part of man's needs. People have become heavily dependent on technology today. If I may, I would like to call it Material Needs.

Material needs are those that man come to believe as something that they need so bad and that they can't live without. An example of this is the cellphone. It became an extension of the body and something people can no longer live without.

Needs are defined as things that are necessary for us to have in order to survive in the world that we are in. It is true that with the invention of so many gadgets, man's life has become easier. Although life has become more productive, man has also become lazy. There is no longer a personal touch to everything we do. We just leave it up to machines.

Even though technology is made to make life easier, it has also in another way made it more complicated. Instead of living a simple life, man has developed a hunger for technology, always craving for the latest hardware and software releases. Yes, these inventions may have made our lives more comfortable; but it has also severed our ties with nature. ~

EcoArt; Artworks as Teaching Aids

EcoArt

Ecology: Art and Science

Artworks as Teaching Aids

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

Naturalism-The Eighth Sense

15th year 2816 posts/lessons

Albert Einstein: "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

 

 

Children's art workshop under the trees.  Living with Nature garden

On-site and hands-on learning 

make our young children 

 wise and humble, with training 

 to call each other brethren. 

 

Juvenile brain coral.  Limestone, sedimentary rock

Remains of the living when dead, 

buoy our living world, is well said

 

Hexagon cells of paper wasp nest.  Mud dauber wasp nest

Cut each specimen into two,

study their profiles and show

symmetry and asymmetry;

learn about nature's geometry.

 

Petrified or fossilized wood. Chalky fossil of elephant's task.

Skeleton turned into rock in mythology;

true after all in today's scientific study.

 

Crown of thorns from Wild Cherry.  Calabash piggy bank.

Skeletons of plants made useful

in every day life, decor and tool.

 

Mounted moths as wall decor and specimen.  

Bird's nest, a simulated model

Wall and table decors, and lab specimens, too;

lessons for school, and house guests to show;

 
Piggy bank instills value of thrift and use of waste. 

Bank with armor to protect master and treasure;

school project that instills character and future.   

  
Mounted discarded beads crafted into Christmas tree.

Save the trees on Christ's birth is a sacred gift, 

more so, to millions who shall reap its benefit. 

 

Silkworms, composite relief painting

To the lowly insects, don't belie:

the purest cloth is silk.

the sweetest sugar honey,

brightest light from the firefly.

Teachers pose with artworks made of driftwood and fossils

at the Living with Nature Center

School-without-walls in town - welcome!

experiential, recreational, wholesome.

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.”- Leo Tolstoy ~