Monday, January 24, 2022

Experimental Paintings with Glass and Rocks: The Unending Possibilities of Art Expression

The Unending Possibilities of Art Expression
Experimental Paintings with Glass and Rocks:

Dr Abe V Rotor

The Unwilling Waterfall

Make the waterfall fluid, yet unwilling,
like Dali's Melting Clock;
then down escapes cascading and free,
for today's life is like that. 

Pebbles - Unending Treasure 

 Survivors of eons of grinding and polishing 
 into gems along the stream onto the shore,
I pick these pebbles for my indigenous art;
for orator Demosthenes, his voice culture;
 craftsmen an unending source of treasure.

  
Reversed Painting

Cage the sinking sun, the fish in their home,
preserve these sceneries before their doom; 
paint them on the nether side of a glass frame;
call it reverse art, yet deceivingly the same. 

Glass and silk painting

 Silk has indeed a fine quality, a natural
 fabric to create a beautiful scenery;
so I mounted it backdrop of an aquarium,
and lo! it's a make-believe story.

http://
Rhodophyta - Red Alga

Long have I tried to capture your freshness and color,
until an herbarium technique by serendipity
   from latex spill on glass immiscible to the background
formed, they call it providential discovery!

Pangea - the Protocontinent

The earth is a planet that contains living things; I am a planet that contains living dreams! The earth revolves around the sun; I revolve around my passion! - Author: Israelmore Ayivor~

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Father and Son: Marlo and Laurence

Father and Son: Marlo and Laurence

A boy’s first hero is his dad.

             

Icons in the home and house of worship, and community:
Father and Son, Mother and Child, Holy Trinity in the family;
All the world to witness a child’s most wonderful journey
In life, his dreams come true though the road be rough yet free.

Friday, January 21, 2022

The Moon in the Garden

The Moon in the Garden
San Vicente Botanical Garden
Dr Abe V Rotor


  
The Moon in the Garden.  Photographed by the 
author on January 19, 2020 at the San Vicente 
Botanical Garden with a palm size camera, Sony 
Cybershot 20.1 megapixel, telephoto mode.

Don't sleep, not yet, 'til you have watched the moon
in the garden - a mirror of its beauty in the day,
the echo of the bees and breeze distilled in silence,
in awe and peace - indeed a lovely way to pray. ~

*The moon symbolizes immortality, eternity, enlightenment -
and the dark side of Nature, redeemed in its perpetual cycle.

Take heed of your biological clock

Take heed of your biological clock
"Living organisms take heed of their biological clock - except humans,
 in many cases." avr

Dr Abe V. Rotor


Author (left) and his students in the UST Graduate School take time out. 
 after a field lecture at the botanical garden, UST Manila 2010

“There is a time for all things.”
- William Shakespeare

Each one of us is governed by a built-in clock within us. Everything we do is “timed;” it has a schedule. And this living clock controls our actions and behaviors. It is the key to survival; a tool in evolution so that it is ingrained in our genes. If that is so, are our biological clocks
then synchronized?

Generally, yes. And that is why we all respond to common rules that society has set for us. We respond to the seasons of the year, each characterized by events we celebrate. We have standard working hours, and curfew. Weekends are set aside for rest and leisure. Summer means vacation. We observe three meals a day, coffee breaks, siestas, and the like.

Menstrual cycle, estrus periods, stages in growth and development – all these are controlled by inner rhythms dictated by that biological clock. So patterned are our laws and rules that we know well the best season to plant or to hunt, to plan weddings and inaugurations, to travel, to go to school, to have a date, to meditate, to be merry.

There is a saying,
“There’s time for everything.”

To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to
mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to
gather stones together; a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep,
and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep
silence, and time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war,
and a time of peace.
- Ecclesiastes

Yes, we are governed by inner rhythms which are classified into the following:

Ultradian - Less than a heartbeat
Fluctuation of energy
Attention span
Brain waves

Circadian (daily) day
Blood pressure level
Sleep wake cycle
Cell division

Circaseptan (weekly ) about a week
Rejection of kidney, heart, and pancreas transplants

Circatrigintan (monthly) about a month
Menstrual Cycle

Circannual (annual) about a year
Seasonal depression
Susceptibility to some diseases

Living organisms take heed of their biological clock - except humans, in many cases. ~

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Black and White Photographs are classy, formal and timeless

Black and White Photographs are classy,
formal and timeless

From Color to Black & White Pictures - a magical transformation. They have an aesthetic, artistic look that is hard to produce in color.

                                            Dr Abe V Rotor
There is something magical in B and W photographs, in spite of today's color digital photography.

 

San Juan Bell, La Union church bell. B&W is Ideal for print publication.

Try comparing B&W with color photos using the computer, say Adobe Photoshop. Choose not only which one favors your taste, but choose from a range of graduated brightness, hues, contrast and the like. You will come to a point of not fully convinced color photos are incomparable to B&W photos.

Often, colors are distracting. They make the photo look complicated, whereas, B&W leads you to a better focus.
Sometimes you find color photos "messy," and you wish to get rid of colors or views you deem unnecessary.

B&W photos last longer. Take it from a 100-year old life-size B&W photo of my parents' wedding framed in wood and glass. Timelessness is of the essence in memorabilia.
Colors fade, specially dyes. Pigments, although waterproof, may last only for sometime. Take a look at your school photos taken only some years ago.

B&W photos are more convincing. They retain certain details which color photos cannot. This is important for posterity's sake.

B&E keeps you focused on the actual composition and texture of your subject, so with shapes, light and shadows, lines and perspective.

B&W photos appear classy, formal, and exude an exquisite feeling about them. In any kind of photography however, the key to the quality of photographs is principally dependent on the person behind the lens. 

Always remember, photography is an art, The criteria of good art - fine art, for that matter - must be applied. Just like in painting, music, literature. The keyword is COMPOSITION. Photography is composition. It's never trial-and-error. Or swerte (luck, serendipity).

Today photography is in the hands of virtually anyone with a cellphone camera capturing events and scenes here and there. And this is a growing trend worldwide, with both young and old getting involved.

There is a saying, It's really difficult to separate the grain from the chaff, what with a deluge of photographs? But this gives more challenge to the art of photography. ~

 


Leo Carlo and his work in animation. B&W breaks the monotony of the color photo.
 


Bacarra, Ilocos Norte belfry. B&W may not capture the color
of the brick material but it lends formality and spirituality


 

Camping: Capture the beautiful, pure feeling with B&W

 
Busted pipe: instant swimming pool - now a document

 

Two kids at play. B&W will outlast the color photo as memorabilia.

NOTE: The invention of photography in the early 19th century by Louis Daguerre opened a new way of seeing the world, first in B&W until color photography was introduced in the 20th century, digital photography with the development of the computer. The conventional process of B&W photographs, as well as color prints are no longer in the corner. Virtually anyone has access to photography today. ~                   

Saturday, January 15, 2022

Use Wit and Humor to be an Effective Speaker

 Use Wit and Humor to be an Effective Speaker 

Start and intersperse your speech with appropriate wit and humor. First, break the ice, keep the attention of your audience to the end, motivate them and impart a lasting lesson.  

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature - School on Blog 

Break the ice. Examples  ”It’s a good thing love is blind; otherwise it would see too much.” Advice to doctors: “When treating cases of amnesia, collect the fee in advance.”

Types of Humor

Anecdote (funny short story you have personal knowledge of.) Lincoln is a master anecdote teller.

The happy genius, Albert Einstein

Antonymism (contrasting words or phrases) “The girl with a future avoids a man with a past.” “A woman begins by resisting a man’s advances and ends by blocking his retreat.” – Oscar Wilde

Banter (among close friends) “Here he comes, hide his shorts you stole from him.” Of course this is not true. "Here comes the biggest carabao in the Philippines." the late Senator Aquino to then Senator Erap Estrada the sponsor of the Carabao Bill 

Biogram (witticism about a famous person)
“Adam was the happiest man in the world because he had no mother-in-law.”
”Venus is a woman whose statue shows us the danger of biting our finger nails.”

Blendword (coinage of new words): “smog for smoke and fog.” “scurry for scatter and hurry.” “eat and run.”

Blunder (wit, a person who makes mistakes, makes look foolish)
“Dr Cruz returned from the US yesterday and will take up his cuties (duties) at the hospital.”
“Is it kistomary to cus the bride?” over eager newly wed to the officiating minister.

Bonehead (headline boner) “Population of RP broken down by sex and age.” “Girl disappears in bathing suit.” “Three men held in cigarette case.”

Boner (slip, short and pointed mistakes with amusing effect.) “The future of to give is to take.” The king wore a robe trimmed with vermin.”

Bull (absurd contradiction) “May you live all the days of your life.” – Jonathan Swift.  “The happiest man on earth is one who has never been born.” “Miriam Santiago was the best Philippine president we never had.”  Eulogy for (of) the late senator.

Burlesque (satire) Story of the Frog and a Princess. The princess related the story to her mother. … the next morning when the princess awoke, she noticed alongside her a handsome Prince.  And would you believe it? To this day her mother doesn’t believe a word of this story.

Abe Lincoln, the Storyteller

Caricature (exaggeration in ludicrous distortion)  “He is so tall he has to stand on a chair to brush his teeth.”

Catch Tale (funny story, with a catch at the end.  “She laid still white form beside those that had gone before.  No groan, no sob forced its way from her heart.  Then suddenly she let forth a cry that pierced the stillness of the place, making the air vibrate with a thousand echoes.  It seemed to come from her very soul.  Twice the cry repeated, then all was quiet again.  She would lay another egg tomorrow.”

Confucian Sayings (Ironic, yet with aphorisms; witticism ) Confucius says “Ostrich that keep head in sand too long during hot part of day burned in the end.” “Easy for girl to live on love if he rich.” “Man who make love to girl on hillside, not on level.”

Conundrum (riddle, word puzzle quite impossible to solve) “Why does a cow wear a bell? Its horns don’t work.”  “What is worse than seeing a worm in an apple? Seeing only half of the worm.”

Cumulative humor (chain-story pattern) From an old English classic: “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.  For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.  For want of a horse, the rider was lost.  For want of a rider the battle was lost.  For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost  And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”

Double Blunder (mistake and another in an attempt to correct the first) A man in a party turns to another and asks, “Who is that awful-looking lady in the corner?’ “Why she is my wife.” Says the second man.  “Oh, I don’t mean her,” the quick evasion.  “I mean the lady next to her.” “That,” cries the man indignantly, “is my daughter.”

Epigram (prose witticism, satire, evils and follies of mankind)”The world should make peace first and then make it last.”  “Always do your best, but not your best friend.” “We don’t get ulcers from what we eat, but what is eating us.” “When you are right, no one remembers, when you are wrong no one forgets.” 

Exagerism (overstatement, features, focuses on defects, peculiarities) “She is so industrious, when she has nothing to do she sits and knits her brows.” Story of a very strong typhoon by three humbugs: First, “.. so strong the wind blows you down the street.”  Second: “In our place it’s so strong, when a carabao smiles it surely loses its hide.” Third: “Both your typhoons are nothing; in my place the flashlight can keep its light straight through the wind.”  “A tree once grew rapidly that it actually pulled itself up by its roots. (early 1800 jokes called Yankeeism, Jonathonism)

Extended proverb (twisted proverb) “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Becomes an onion s day keeps everyone away.” “There’s no fool like an old fool – because he had more experience. “He who hesitates is probably torn between vice and versa.”   

Fool’s Query (foolish question) Guide explaining to tourists: “And these rock formations were piled up by the glaciers,” he said.  “but where are glaciers?” asked an elderly woman.  “They’ve gone back Madam, to get some more rocks.” Was the reply.

Freudian slip (humorous accidental statement) After a party a couple attended, the wife said warmly with a handshake, “It was so nice for us to come.” (Freud discovered accidental slips are subsurface thought processes that remove neurotic symptom.

Gag (clever remark funny trick) “Did you get up with a grouch today?” “No, she got up before me.”

Mixed words (after Goldwynism, moviemaker) “Answer me a question.” (from Lost Horizon).  Hapasible (hampass is to blow) “Shinong lashing?”  Drunk

Hecklerism (heckling, noisy drunk interrupting emcee) “Hey, you are a day late!” “Why don’t you tell that to the marines!”

Irony (expressing opposite of what is really meant)  When Lincoln was once  told that a northerner politician had expressed a strong dislike for him, he stroked his chin in perplexity. “That’s odd,” he said. “I cant understand why he dislikes me.  I never did.”

Response of a lottery winner to a friend who asked, “Are you excited?” “Me excited? I’m as calm as a man with his pants on fire.”

There was a young man who left town, went to a big city and made quite a name for himself.  After five years absence he arrived at a train station in his old home town.  Despite his expectations there was no one at the platform he knew.  Discouraged he sought out the station master, his friend since childhood.  To him at least he would be welcome, and he was about to extend a hearty greeting, when the other spoke first.  “Hello George,” he said. “Going away?”

Malapropism (French mal-a-propos, inappropriate, out of place) “Please, ladies, feel in the family way.” (feel at home) “I approve the permanent appointment of all prostitute teachers.”  (substitute teachers) 

Marshallism (satiric, twist-witticism, attributed to US V Thomas Marshall) What this country needs is a man who can be right and President at the same time.” “What our country needs is more of good citizens and less of law.”

Mistaken Identity (comic confusion of one person or thing with another) portrays ignorant person or simpleton. “Hi, George, Happy birthday.” “ I’m Johnny, he is George,” pointing at the celebrant. 

Nonsensism ((mock logic, fallacies without reason, epigram, wisecrack) “She has money more than she can afford.”  “My father and mother are cousins – that’s why I look so much alike.”

Parody (satire, wordplay) “Don’t worry if your job is small.  And your rewards are few,  Remember that the mighty oak was once a nut like you.”

Personifier (celebrity’s most typical trait, related to caricaturism and biogram) , “Samson was so strong, he could lift himself by his hair three feet off the ground.”

Practical Joke (joke put to action). Gadget prank, rough. Discomforting. “Here’s your fruit juice. Toast.” It turn out to be liquor, and the poor fellow coughs.  Laughter. 

Recovery (blunder and wit combined)An employee was found asleep by his foreman.  “Good heavens!” he cried upon being awakened. “Can a man close his eyes for a few minutes of prayer?”

The Relapse (opposite of Recovery) A man bought a railroad ticket, picked up the change, and walked off.  After a few minutes he returned and said to the agent. “You gave me the wrong change”  “Sorry, sir” replied the man behind the window. “You should have called my attention to it at the time.”  “Okay.” Acquiesced the passenger, “You gave me fiver dollars too much.” 

To Dr Kinsey, the sexiologist, a lady asked at the end of his lecture in the Q & A; A period, “Tell me Dr Kinsey, what is really the vital difference between a man and a woman?” “Madam, I can not conceive.” 

Reference: All about Humor
The art of Using Humor in Public Speaking
By Anthony L Audrieth

Friday, January 14, 2022

Where have all the Gardens Gone?

Where have all the Gardens Gone?

Dr Abe V Rotor

 
Death of a Garden. Acrylic paintings by the author, 2015

Where have all the gardens gone,
the butterflies and honeybees,
dancing and riding on the breeze,
dewdrops sparkling in the sun?

Where have all the children gone,
reminiscent of old Pied Piper,
lured to a new land somewhere,
and never again to be found?

Where have all the ladies gone,
in "loves-me-loves-me-not" game,
though lose or gain it's the same,
flower and love knitted as one?

Where have all the good life gone,
Nature's gift to the living world
bound by a collective accord.
Lo! to man the lost prodigal son. ~

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

HERITAGE TREES of San Vicente Botanical Garden

HERITAGE TREES 
of San Vicente Botanical Garden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Close-up of trunk of Caimito or Star Apple (Chrysophyllum cainito L)

My grandfather, father and me,
my children and grandchildren,
that's already five generations,
and it seems it will never end.  

"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffett

Intertwining limbs and branches of caimito trees

Unity in nature is a living treaty.
   
"If what I say resonates with you, it is merely because we are both branches on the same tree." - W. B. Yeats

  
Living towers: Bitaog or palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum) and anahaw (Saribus rotundifolius), national leaf of the Philippines.

"Take the backseat Khalifa and Eiffel,
make way to living towers reach heaven."

If I thought I was going to die tomorrow, I should nevertheless plant a tree today. - Stephen Girard

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. - Chinese proverb



Dogs, two worlds apart

 Dogs, two worlds apart

Dr Abe V Rotor

  
Author and  children with family dog; caged pet. 

The genes of the wolf come alive
where the ultimate game is to survive;
the species born in the wild
must in anywhere thrive.
Pity these dogs if they're man's best friend,
Else man is dogs' worst fiend.


Dogs for food - conflict of law and custom.  

Helpful pet gone too far.

Test the rational side of man
the way he puts a stand
on behalf of his best friend
all the way to the end.


Pets long for friend and company.

Who is sad, who is happy?
To be or not to be;
the drama of life to unfold
between man and dog.











In their range of size and appearance, 
dogs are one of the most diverse species 
on the planet,  largely due to selective 
breeding by humans. We just don't know
how many dog breeds there are. 

If we can't identify the breed of a dog, 
we simply call it with an unkind name - 
Askal (Aso sa Kalye) - which literally 
means, "dog on the street."





Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Tulip in the Sky

Tulip in the Sky 
(African Tulip Tree -  Spathodea campanulata)

“I set out to find my peace in the skies and the tulips, in the howling 
of the winds, in the rain under the shed and it was right there residing within me.” ― Suyasha Subedi

Dr Abe V Rotor
 
 
African Tulip tree growing at Angels' Hills on Tagaytay, Batangas

Cloudless sky on a sultry day in summer,
     the parched earth awaits shower;
rises above me a simple and humble tree
     whose flowers are Nature's confetti.

African Tulip tree. Spathodea is a monotypic genus in the flowering plant family Bignoniaceae. The single species it contains, Spathodea campanulata, is commonly known as the African tulip tree, fountain tree, pichkari or Nandi flame. The tree grows between 7–25 m tall and is native to tropical dry forests of Africa. Wikipedia

African tulip trees are extremely harmful to native stingless bees, and a public safety hazard (when these trees are planted along footpaths, their dropped flowers can create a slippery walking surface).


NOTE: The African Tulip Tree is not related to the ground tulip Tulipa of the Family Liliaceae to which lilies and the onion are member species. Tulipa is a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes. The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly colored, generally red, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colored blotch at the base of the petals, internally. Wikipedia                     
 A field of tulip in Netherlands 

The word tulip is derived from a Persian word called delband, which means turban. sciencekids.co.nz ~

Tabon Cave - Home of early Homo sapiens

 Tabon Cave - Home of early Homo sapiens
"Window to the world unknown ...
'til man searched its ends." avr

Dr Abe V Rotor
Colorful Tabon Cave, Palawan in acrylic by AVR

I painted Tabon Cave,
home of early Homo sapiens
who tamed the fire
against cold and darkness.

its walls and ceiling,
first art and chronicler,
its floor the resting place
of the dead and living.

perched on a mountain high
observatory of land and sea,
yellow at sunrise, red at sunset,
green its cloak and curtain.

window to the world unknown
eons of time living in peace,
arched by the rainbow
'til man searched its ends.~

Saturday, January 8, 2022

The Unknown Nanny in the Garden

Living with Nature Center 
The Unknown Nanny in the Garden
A Tribute to Ignacia Repulleza (1900-1984) et al

Dr Abe V Rotor 


   

Concrete icon of The Unknown Nanny, counterpart of The Unknown Soldier in honor of the unknown hero in the battlefield. For all we know, the role of the nanny carries a great responsibility of taking care of children, particularly those orphaned or abandoned for whatever circumstances, for which nannies are regarded guardians to these unfortunate children. 

This icon stands in the San Vicente Botanical Garden, a tribute to Basang Asiang (Ignacia Repulleza), nanny of the author, then an infant when his mother died at the outbreak of the Second World War.  Basang Asiang also served as nanny to two siblings of the author, and stayed as member of the household until she died at the age of 84. 

The word Basang (Ilk) is a respectable title befitting a new kind of hero or martyr in our troubled society today.  The icon is an interpretation by the late Francisco "Boy" Peralta a local sculptor of San Vicente Ilocos Sur. His other works are the bust of our national hero, Jose Rizal, life-size Apo Baket (an old woman regarded as keeper of time-honored tradition), and The Apparition of the Blessed  Mother before the child Bernadette at Lourdes.  The three masterpieces of the local artist grace the garden, a tourist attraction and landmark of the historical town.  

Basang (seated) at the old colonial home where she raised children of two generations as nanny or yaya. (1941- 84)
Basang poses with the author and sister, whom she took care as yaya.  At the left is a family friend.  Circa 1971 ~