Ecological Art Evolution
Dr Abe V Rotor
2. A Little Corner of Eden
3. A Search for Meaning in Nature
4. Rocks for Study, Art and Hobby
5. Bioethics and Environment
6. Metamorphosis Expressed through Paintings
7. Art to Craft
The topic of What constitute a happy home was discussed on the school-on-air program - Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid. It was one of the liveliest lessons in the last five years of the program (Phase 2). Here are definitions which came from our radio audience here and abroad.
1. Home is a roof for everyone - residents and guests.
2. Home is a wall with large windows that let the sun and the breeze in.
3. Home is where fish in the aquarium sparkle in the morning’s sun.
4. Home is a baby smiling, of children playing.
5. Home is husband and wife loving and loyal to each other.
16. Home is a cup of coffee, a sip of wine, a newspaper.
17. Home is a warm bath, a cold shower, a bath tub.
18. Home is National Geographic, Time Magazine, Discovery channel.
19. Home is ripe tomato, succulent radish, dangling string beans.
20. Home is a brooding mother hen in her nest.
21. Home is fresh eggs everyday.
22. Home is the singing of birds and fiddling of crickets.
23. Home is the sweet smell of flowers, falling leaves, swaying branches in the wind.
24. Home is the sweet smell of the earth after the first rain in May.
25. Home is a singing cicada in the tree.
26. Home is a swarming of gamugamo in the evening.
27. Home is a sala too small for so many friends.
28. Home is a cabinet of books, a study table, a computer.
29. Home is Beethoven, Mozart, Abelardo, Santiago.
30. Home is Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Sharon Cuneta.
31. Home is Juan Luna, Amorsolo. Picasso, Van Gogh.
32. Home is potpourri of appetizing recipes, of the proverbial grandmother apple pie.
33. Home is pinakbet, lechon, karekare, suman, bibingka.
34. Home is a garden of roses, a grass lawn, a pergola of orchids.
35. Home is a collection of plants, a living gene bank.
36. Home is home for biodiversity, a living museum.
37. Home is doing repairs that virtually has no end.
38. Home is disposing old newspapers, bottles, metal scraps, and used clothes.
39. Home is a midnight candle before an exam.
40. Home is a shoulder, a pillow, to cry on.
41. Home is Noche Buena.
42. Home is fireworks on New Year.
43. Home is general cleaning on weekends.
44. Home is a soft bed that soothes tired nerves and muscles.
45. Home is a fire place, a hearth, which takes the cold out of the body and spirit.
46. Home is a Prodigal Son returning, The Good Samaritan.
47. Home is a round table where thanksgiving prayer is said.
48. Home is laughter and music, prose and poetry.
49. Home is forgiving, rejoicing, celebrating.
50. Home is Angelus and rosary hour.
Many of the definitions are romantic; they are recollections of happy moments. They are a picturesque of a dream home. They are full of optimism and imagery as well. Apparently the callers must be enjoying the comforts of their home. Many are young and idealistic, and look at the sunny side of life. I suppose everybody, would like to combine a number of these definitions, and synergistically come up with a Utopian Home.
On the other side of these scenarios are realities of life that we face today. Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid did some research on current social issues, herein presented in a capsule. *
• There are 32 Million poor Filipinos (39.4 percent of the population); 5.1M poor families (19.9 percent in urban areas and 46.9 in rural areas); and 2.5M families are living on subsistence level. (NSO 2002)
• Only 80 percent have access to safe water; and 86.1 percent to sanitary toilets
• Only 72 percent live in strong houses; and only 67 percent own house and lot; 3.4M are squatters (ADB, 2002).
.Our population experience hunger; 20 to 34 percent are undernourished, among them 15M children.
• About 100M children in the world are living on the street as of 1994. There are 1.5 million street children in the Philippines alone.
• There are 2.8M illiterate Filipinos, while 7.4M others are functionally illiterate. Functional illiteracy refers to the inability of a person to use his skills in reading, writing and counting to improve his life. This is the target audience of Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid.
Together let us make the Planet Earth our Home, Sweet Home. ~
A Little Corner of Eden in acrylic, painted by Dr Abe V. Rotor (30" x 40") for the (Philippine College of Physicians) PCP Foundation Inc, founder and guardian of Dr. Arturo B. Rotor Memorial Awards for Literature.
* Article and painting are lovingly dedicated to the PCP Foundation, founder and guardian of the Dr Arturo B Rotor Memorial Awards for Literature. Philippine College of Physicians Foundation is the social service arm of Philippine College of Physicians. Founded in 2008, PCP Foundation values social service and envisions a healthier Filipino nation through partnerships to co-create health-centric innovative solutions. 0917 654 8710 secretariat@pcpfoundation.com
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe,
“I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” –Anne Frank
1. Man has emboldened the causative agents of human diseases – both old and new - into epidemic and pandemic proportions, which include HIV-AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Avian flu (caused by a new virus H5N1, a hybrid of the human flu virus and the bird flu virus), obesity (caused by Ad36 virus) - and the most recent MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus), now tagged as Novel 2019 Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19)
2. Through biological specialization or mutation – natural and man-induced – causative agents have crossed natural barriers of transmission across species, such as bird to man (bird flu), civet cat to man (SARS), and primate to man (HIV-AIDS, and Ebola), wild animals like bat to man (COVID-19). Man has built bridges between the non-living to the living as well. We have paved the way for the Prion, an infectious protein, the causative agent of Mad Cow Disease or BSE (Bovine Spongiosform Encephalopathy) to cross from cattle to man and cause a similar disease affecting humans, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Viruses have acquired new ability to infect and spread not only among humans but also in animals and plants. Viral diseases of plants have been responsible for the decrease in agricultural production in many parts of the world.
3. In the midst of enjoying the good life in a postmodern world more and more people are victims of accidents, heart attacks and strokes, anxiety and depression – and various forms of psychosomatic disorder - that often lead to ruined lives and suicides. Cancer, diabetes, and the deleterious consequences of vices (tobacco and alcohol), are on the rise among other modern diseases. Surprisingly, the number of years a person is healthy in proportion to his life span is not significantly longer than that of his predecessors, and that a person’s life span has not significantly increased at all. It is the average longevity of a population that has increased, not the individual’s. The fact is that modern medicine has increased survival of infants and young people, most of them are now in their past fifties, thus gross longevity appears to have increased, up to 78 years in some countries. On the contrary, more and more young people are getting sick and dying.
4. Modern society and science and technology no longer fit into the Darwinian theory of natural selection. There is a growing burden placed on the shoulders of the able and fit in our society who, without choice, is responsible in taking care of the growing number of dependents – many are the infirmed and the aged.
All these lead us to re-examine our values. It challenges us to look deeper into a paradigm of salvation through our concern for the environment. The prolificacy of the human species sans war and pestilence, plus growing affluence of our society has led to a population explosion which had doubled in less than fifty years. We are now more than 7.5 billion. Under this paradigm, there is no master and subject. All must join hands to prevent the exploitation of the earth’s finite resources. Today’s economists must also be good housekeepers of Nature, so with those in the other professions. While man’s aim is directed at the Good Life, he has unwittingly reduced the very foundation of that good life – the productivity and beauty of Mother Earth.
There are few frontiers of production left today. We have virtually pushed back the sea and leveled off the mountain. Prime lands have all been taken, swamps have been drained, and even deserts are being reclaimed. But as we continue to explore the marginal edges of these frontiers the more we are confronted with high cost of production that is levied on the consumer, and more importantly, the danger of destroying the fragile environment. AVR
The environment and the economy need not be viewed as opposites. It is possible to have a healthy environment and a healthy economy at the same time. More and more businesses have begun adopting this concept as a business philosophy. People behind business organizations are becoming more aware of the ethical decisions they face, and their responsibility for their consequences.
Industrialization and urbanization are akin to each other. Industrial growth spurred the building of cities all over the world. Today there are as many people living in cities as those living the rural places. A mega-city like Tokyo has a population of 15 million people. We are 10 million in Metro Manila. Cities are fragile environments. Cities are more prone to epidemics such as the bubonic plague that killed one-third of the population of Europe in the 13th century. Now we are confronted with HIV-AID, SARs, Meningo cochcimia, Avian flu, and now the dreaded CORID-15 which is gripping the world today as the worst human pandemic disease in recent history. AVR
There are organizations that have set some rules of governance of the environment, among them, GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), CERES (Coalition of Environmental Responsible Economies), and UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program). In line with these a multi- national corporation came up with the following thrusts:
Nature defiled by genetic engineering, painting by the author
"The artist sees what others only catch a glimpse of.” - Leonardo da Vinci. ~
1. Home, Sweet Home with Nature
The best home is one where we live in a friendly relationship with Nature. Why don't you share with us your version of Home, Sweet Home?
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Idyllic life on the farm, painting in acrylic by AVRotor
In the movie, The King and I, Anna, an English teacher, sang, Home Sweet Home. It was a popular song in her time when Europeans left their home in the later part of the 18th century in search of a new one on the other side of the globe, the New World, which was to become the United States of America. Others found the Orient. Teacher Anna served as tutor to the children of the King of Siam (Thailand)
To many Filipinos, the song stirs the heart as well. Thousands leave their native land, their homes and families in search for opportunities as Overseas Filipino Workers, and emigrants.
To the returnees or balikbayan, home is a retirement in the place of their birth, most of them on the countryside where they spent their happy childhood that tempered their homing instinct.
Many city dwellers are seeking liberation from the “concrete jungle.” Home is more than walls, high rise apartments, canned entertainment, neon lights and fast lanes.
And all over the world, there is a general trend to get closer to the concept of “at home” by going natural – the way people dress, the food they eat, the medicine they take, and the many articles they use everyday.
Brick house on the farm, painting by the author
More and more homes do not allow smoking, other vices notwithstanding, following the footsteps of school campuses, government offices and commercial centers. People are going back to cooking at home, shunning away from artificial food like coffeeless coffee (decaf), sugarless sugar (Aspartame et al), fatless fat (Olestra). And the so-called “Frankenfood” made from genetically modified organisms (GMO).
Like many schools and establishments, a home that advocates going natural, has started banning carbonated drinks, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) or Vetsin, “magic sugar,” and even multivitamins in capsules, being mostly artificial.
The simplicity of homes today goes with the trend of “simple living,” relying less and less on cosmetics and fancy designs. People prefer leather, paper and cotton over synthetics, fresh food rather than processed, baon over fast food. Homestead over condominium. The original bungalow home is back. It is simple and practical designed in such as way that one step leads into the House, and the other to the Garden.
We can imagine with awe and appreciation the homes of people whose lifestyle is friendly to the environment, homes that provide a healthy ambiance to the residents, the neighborhood, and ultimately the whole community. This is a new movement that is gaining worldwide attention – home revolution.
I found a musical piece arranged for the violin and piano in an old wooden chest (baol) containing the personal belongings of my mother who died during WWII. I was told by my father that it was her favorite piano piece. I can only surmise the reason. Many homes were destroyed and families separated during the war. Dad managed to rebuild our old home and farm. This is the place where my sister, brother and I spent our childhood and adolescence. It is the same home we found retirement after a long absence.
Home, Sweet Home, is our family’s favorite musical composition today. My daughter Anna would accompany me on the piano as I play the violin, and my son Marlo on the flute. There are occasions we play together in local programs, carrying the message that there is no place like home. We also play related compositions like The Last Rose of Summer, Life Let’s Cherish, and Home on the Range. My wife Cecille and our youngest, Leo Carlo, assist in drawing and painting workshops for children every summer with Nature mainly as the theme.
Here are the original lyrics of the musical piece.
To many Filipinos, the song stirs the heart as well. Thousands leave their native land, their homes and families in search for opportunities as Overseas Filipino Workers, and emigrants.
To the returnees or balikbayan, home is a retirement in the place of their birth, most of them on the countryside where they spent their happy childhood that tempered their homing instinct.
Many city dwellers are seeking liberation from the “concrete jungle.” Home is more than walls, high rise apartments, canned entertainment, neon lights and fast lanes.
And all over the world, there is a general trend to get closer to the concept of “at home” by going natural – the way people dress, the food they eat, the medicine they take, and the many articles they use everyday.Brick house on the farm, painting by the author
More and more homes do not allow smoking, other vices notwithstanding, following the footsteps of school campuses, government offices and commercial centers. People are going back to cooking at home, shunning away from artificial food like coffeeless coffee (decaf), sugarless sugar (Aspartame et al), fatless fat (Olestra). And the so-called “Frankenfood” made from genetically modified organisms (GMO).
Like many schools and establishments, a home that advocates going natural, has started banning carbonated drinks, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) or Vetsin, “magic sugar,” and even multivitamins in capsules, being mostly artificial.
The simplicity of homes today goes with the trend of “simple living,” relying less and less on cosmetics and fancy designs. People prefer leather, paper and cotton over synthetics, fresh food rather than processed, baon over fast food. Homestead over condominium. The original bungalow home is back. It is simple and practical designed in such as way that one step leads into the House, and the other to the Garden.
We can imagine with awe and appreciation the homes of people whose lifestyle is friendly to the environment, homes that provide a healthy ambiance to the residents, the neighborhood, and ultimately the whole community. This is a new movement that is gaining worldwide attention – home revolution.
I found a musical piece arranged for the violin and piano in an old wooden chest (baol) containing the personal belongings of my mother who died during WWII. I was told by my father that it was her favorite piano piece. I can only surmise the reason. Many homes were destroyed and families separated during the war. Dad managed to rebuild our old home and farm. This is the place where my sister, brother and I spent our childhood and adolescence. It is the same home we found retirement after a long absence.
Home, Sweet Home, is our family’s favorite musical composition today. My daughter Anna would accompany me on the piano as I play the violin, and my son Marlo on the flute. There are occasions we play together in local programs, carrying the message that there is no place like home. We also play related compositions like The Last Rose of Summer, Life Let’s Cherish, and Home on the Range. My wife Cecille and our youngest, Leo Carlo, assist in drawing and painting workshops for children every summer with Nature mainly as the theme.
Here are the original lyrics of the musical piece.
Home Sweet HomeBy John Howard PayneMusic by Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855)(Arranged for the violin and piano by Henry Farmer)‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,Which seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.Home, Home, sweet, sweet Home!
An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!The birds singingly gaily, that came to my call –Give me them – and the peace of mind, dearer than all.Home, Home sweet, sweet Home.There’s no place like Home!There’s no place like Home!
Homes with a romantic setting; neo-colonial design
1. Home is a roof for everyone - residents and guests.
2. Home is a wall with large windows that let the sun and the breeze in.
3. Home is where fish in the aquarium sparkle in the morning’s sun.
4. Home is a baby smiling, of children playing.
6. Home is a “place for everything and everything in its place.”
7. Home is dad and mom waiting for the children from school.
8. Home is a workshop for hobbies, inventions and discoveries.
9. Home is a dog lying on the doormat and waiting for its master.
10. Home is a litter of puppies and kittens.
11. Home is a rooster crowing, nature’s alarm clock.
12. Home is a house lizard’s crispy announcement of a guest coming.
13. Home is a frog croaking in the rain.
14. Home is a safari of wildlife – from insects to migratory birds.
15. Home is a warm embrace of a cat. (avr photo)
7. Home is dad and mom waiting for the children from school.
8. Home is a workshop for hobbies, inventions and discoveries.
9. Home is a dog lying on the doormat and waiting for its master.
10. Home is a litter of puppies and kittens.
11. Home is a rooster crowing, nature’s alarm clock.
12. Home is a house lizard’s crispy announcement of a guest coming.
13. Home is a frog croaking in the rain.
14. Home is a safari of wildlife – from insects to migratory birds.
15. Home is a warm embrace of a cat. (avr photo)
17. Home is a warm bath, a cold shower, a bath tub.
18. Home is National Geographic, Time Magazine, Discovery channel.
19. Home is ripe tomato, succulent radish, dangling string beans.
20. Home is a brooding mother hen in her nest.
21. Home is fresh eggs everyday.
22. Home is the singing of birds and fiddling of crickets.
23. Home is the sweet smell of flowers, falling leaves, swaying branches in the wind.
24. Home is the sweet smell of the earth after the first rain in May.
25. Home is a singing cicada in the tree.
26. Home is a swarming of gamugamo in the evening.
27. Home is a sala too small for so many friends.
28. Home is a cabinet of books, a study table, a computer.
29. Home is Beethoven, Mozart, Abelardo, Santiago.
30. Home is Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Sharon Cuneta.
31. Home is Juan Luna, Amorsolo. Picasso, Van Gogh.
32. Home is potpourri of appetizing recipes, of the proverbial grandmother apple pie.
34. Home is a garden of roses, a grass lawn, a pergola of orchids.
35. Home is a collection of plants, a living gene bank.
36. Home is home for biodiversity, a living museum.
37. Home is doing repairs that virtually has no end.
38. Home is disposing old newspapers, bottles, metal scraps, and used clothes.
39. Home is a midnight candle before an exam.
40. Home is a shoulder, a pillow, to cry on.
41. Home is Noche Buena.
43. Home is general cleaning on weekends.
44. Home is a soft bed that soothes tired nerves and muscles.
45. Home is a fire place, a hearth, which takes the cold out of the body and spirit.
46. Home is a Prodigal Son returning, The Good Samaritan.
47. Home is a round table where thanksgiving prayer is said.
48. Home is laughter and music, prose and poetry.
49. Home is forgiving, rejoicing, celebrating.
50. Home is Angelus and rosary hour.
Many of the definitions are romantic; they are recollections of happy moments. They are a picturesque of a dream home. They are full of optimism and imagery as well. Apparently the callers must be enjoying the comforts of their home. Many are young and idealistic, and look at the sunny side of life. I suppose everybody, would like to combine a number of these definitions, and synergistically come up with a Utopian Home.
On the other side of these scenarios are realities of life that we face today. Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid did some research on current social issues, herein presented in a capsule. *
• There are 32 Million poor Filipinos (39.4 percent of the population); 5.1M poor families (19.9 percent in urban areas and 46.9 in rural areas); and 2.5M families are living on subsistence level. (NSO 2002)
• Only 80 percent have access to safe water; and 86.1 percent to sanitary toilets
• Only 72 percent live in strong houses; and only 67 percent own house and lot; 3.4M are squatters (ADB, 2002).
.Our population experience hunger; 20 to 34 percent are undernourished, among them 15M children.
• About 100M children in the world are living on the street as of 1994. There are 1.5 million street children in the Philippines alone.
• There are 2.8M illiterate Filipinos, while 7.4M others are functionally illiterate. Functional illiteracy refers to the inability of a person to use his skills in reading, writing and counting to improve his life. This is the target audience of Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid.
* National Statistics Office, 2002
This lesson aims at offering an alternative to solving current social and economic and problems. We believe that living close to Nature, by respecting her laws and rules, appreciating her beauty and bounty, and helping in her “housekeeping” to make a healthy, clean and comfortable environment will certainly ease the burden of living; in fact it strengthens our will and spirit to live and to enjoy the best life could give. In our resolve to keep the family bond close and firm, build a strong and comfortable dwelling, keep our surroundings clean and green, and above all, elevate our level of consciousness toward goodness and beauty - we are recreating a patch of Eden we call Home, Sweet Home.
Together let us make the Planet Earth our Home, Sweet Home. ~
-------
Acknowledgement with gratitude: Internet photos as indicated
2. A Little Corner of Eden
Dedicated to the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) Foundation *
" A Little Corner of Eden resembles a tropical rainforest." - avr
Dr Abe V Rotor
"Nature represents the idea of the entire universe in a state of perfection. Nature is one; it unites heaven and earth, connecting human beings with the stars and bringing them all together into a single family. Nature is beautiful; it is ordered. A divine law determines its arrangement - the subordination of the means to the end, and the parts to the whole.
"No one tires with the rhythm of nature – the tides, waves, flowing rivulets, gusts of wind, bird songs, the fiddling of crickets, and the shrill of cicada. In the recesses of a happy mind, one could hear the earth waking up in spring, laughing in summer, yawning in autumn and snoring in winter – and waking up again the next year, and so on, ad infinitum." - AV Rotor, Listen to the Music of Nature!
The Forest - Living World in Microcosm
It is estimated that more than half the species of plants, animals and protists live in the tropical rainforests. Imagine a single tree as natural abode of ferns, orchids, insects, fungi, lichens, transient organisms - birds, monkeys, frogs, reptiles, insects and a multitude more that escape detection by our senses.
Orchids, Family Orchidaceae, is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with about 28,000 species, and with more constantly discovered. Orchids make up 6 to 11 percent of all species of seed plants, and are the most advanced in the Plant Kingdom, occupying the top position in the phylogeny and evolution of plants.
"I chose the tropical rainforest scenery since it is the richest of all ecosystems in the world. The Philippines, being one of the countries endowed with this natural wealth is indeed an ecological haven. For this reason, I believe that, the tropical rainforest closely resembles the description of the biblical paradise. It is not only a living bank of diversity; it is the most important sanctuary of living matters on earth." - AV Rotor, The Living with Nature Handbook
"Birds sing not only for their own kind,but to the world that shares their joy,in melodies notes may not capture,but the heart and spirit they buoy." -avr
“To see a world in a grain of sand,And heaven in a wild flower;Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,And Eternity in an hour.”- William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
"This verse captures the essence of the title, The Forest - Living World in Microcosm. It condenses the universe into its elemental symbols from which we take a full view of the world we live in. It reduces the complexities and vastness of both non- living and the living world into a microcosm that is complete in itself- a plantilla of creation all contained in the hand and experienced within a lifetime." - AV Rotor, Living World in Microcosm
Cryptobiology and Augury
"Call cryptobiology a pseudoscience, but it is gaining acceptance and support from scholars and people in general, with the discovery of strange creatures like the Coelacanth and Kraken. The ancient Roman religion interpreted omens from the observed behavior of birds. A white dove means “peace”. A black dove means “war”. It could also pertain to matters of the heart, relationships, luck, misfortune, death, Remember the emissary bird in the biblical Noah's Ark? With the breakthrough in cybercommunication, it is evident that soon we will be communicating with Nature more directly, over and above fantasy and imagination, which leads us to the idea of conscientization, in the pursuit of values, truth and the ideal in protecting Nature from the hands of man himself." - AV Rotor, Cryptobiology and Conscientization 
A pair of lovely parrots perched up high,
higher than the flight of butterfly;aimlessly below many a passerbyjust let the world go with a sigh.
Orchids:white, delicate, immaculate, pure;red, flaming, romantic, demure;Orchids:flowing, silky, translucent, queenly;fiery, ascendant, stout, kingly.
Orchids:
endearing, fancy, coy, culpable;
ephemeral, magical, lovable.
* Verse and drawing in pastel by Anna Christina, author's daughter, an enthusiast in the arts, assisted in conducting summer art workshops for children during her student days. Cattleya, Dendrobium and Vanda are native orchids in the Philippines. These are representative images of Vanda and its variants, including Vanda merrillii var. rotorii, named after Dr Arturo B Rotor in his honor as an orchid hobbyist.
"Today, rather than defending himself against nature,
man realized, he needed to defend nature against himself."
- AV Rotor, Light from the Old Arch
Forest: Man's First home, Genesis' Final View
Richest in flora and fauna of all biomes,Big and small, in a common union,Arranged in niches, divided by storeys,In competition and cooperation.Heritage trees rise through the canopy,Living towers of the forest;Divine columns of Nature's Parthenon,Cradle of harmony and rest.Stories about the forest, queer but true,Seat of evolution, of biodiversity,Ultimate of adventure, science laboratory,Man's first home, Genesis' final view.
Message of the Painting, A Little Corner of Eden
"Quite often, images of nature enrapture us. These are reminiscences of childhood, a re-creation of a favorite spot we may have visited or seen, or products of the imagination greatly influenced by society we live in.
But the painting reflects a deep-seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. The scenery represents a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind.
But the scenery does not only tell us of what we are missing. Rather, it reminds us of what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature's signal towards a fast declining ecosystem. If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world. " - AV Rotor
But the painting reflects a deep-seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. The scenery represents a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind.
But the scenery does not only tell us of what we are missing. Rather, it reminds us of what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature's signal towards a fast declining ecosystem. If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world. " - AV Rotor
A Little Corner of Eden
If I were to return after the FallTo where my forebears once lived;If I were to trace back their footstepsTo their world of make believe.What would I tell to my dear CreatorWhose open arms have waited so longFor man to return, to repent for his Sin -And I, having also failed all along?I would tell Him there is also a place,A little green corner of grass and trees,Of bees and flowers, rainbow and butterflies,Where birds come and sing with the breeze.An emerald river gently flowing,Meandering between hills and on the plain,Palms and trees bowing at its levees,Its waters soothing the day's pain.I would tell Him of this place also forgotten,Abandoned by a bandwagon,By those who nurture the Utopian dream,Now orphaned and virtually alone.Is forgetfulness also Your tool of creationWhere man shall be gone from here on?Paradise is redeemed and once more born?No wonder Nature triumphs when left alone.~
3. A Search for Meaning in Nature
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
–Vincent van Gogh
Art lives forever, indeed.
Cracked, broken, abandoned;
be it a vase, urn, pot or jar.
Don't discard it, artists forbid!
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” –Frank Lloyd Wright
“Nature is loved by what is best in us.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Relics of a tree is as sacred as that
of any living thing the Creator made.
“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” –Alice Walker
You can lift nature in painting,
go find her in her real setting.
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength
that will endure as long as life lasts." –Rachel Carson
White doves hovering sans fear,
their message falling on deaf ear.
“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” –Langston Hughes
Specimens and art are compatible
in the laboratory and on the wall.
“Sunsets are proof that endings can often be beautiful, too.” –Beau Taplin
How we have disturbed Nature to the core -
DNA's integrity no more - man's gravest sin.
"I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want." –Andy Warhol
I painted this on a clear day on August 6, 2025
- Hiroshima atomic bombing. eighty years after.
"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
Apparition - enshrined faith in a simple artwork.
to match your nature with Nature." –Joseph Campbell
Art is everywhere if we perceive it with our eighth sense
of awe and wonder, valuing and remembering.
"The earth has its music for all who will listen." - Reginald Holmes
After comfort, we throw away the leftover;
treasure it as a souvenir to remember.
Everywhere there's work of the great Creator
who made the rocks, and the Earth as a whole.
“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” –Albert Einstein
From fossil to limestone to marble - to art;
all along images of the great Maker appear..
"If you wish to know the divine, feel the wind on your face and the warm
sun on your hand.” –Buddha
Cradle the small, the weak, the helpless,
the secret of evolution's success.
There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” –Henri Matisse
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." –John Muir
4. Biology and Humanities
- Unity and Harmony in Diversity
"It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for - the whole thing - rather than just one or two stars." David Attenborough
Dr Abe V Rotor
Coral Reef Forest in acrylic by the author 2024
Coral reefs are often called "the rain forests of the "oceans" because they are among the richest marine ecosystems in species, productivity, biomass, and distribution.
How unknowingly blind we are to know that on the fringes of land and sea lies a forest
similar in many ways with the ones we know on land - the tropical rainforest, the so-called jungle of Africa, and the coniferous temperate forest called taiga.
And sadly do we know too, that the coral reef, the foundation of the richest marine ecosystem both in vastness and biodiversity, is also dying due to deforestation in like manner our forests are destroyed by exploitation and pollution.
Coelenterates in acrylic by the author 2024
Arboreal Niche in acrylic by the author 2022
Forest Litter in acrylic by the author 2023Forest litter comprises of the accumulated layers of organic debris on the forest floor that consists of dead plant material, such as leaves, twigs, bark, flowers, and fruits. It is rich in organic matter and minerals.
Juvenile Volvox in acrylic by the author, 2000Volvox species can be monoecious or dioecious. Male colonies release numerous sperm packets, while in female colonies single cells enlarge to become oogametes, or eggs.
similar in many ways with the ones we know on land - the tropical rainforest, the so-called jungle of Africa, and the coniferous temperate forest called taiga.
And sadly do we know too, that the coral reef, the foundation of the richest marine ecosystem both in vastness and biodiversity, is also dying due to deforestation in like manner our forests are destroyed by exploitation and pollution.
...
Coelenterates are aquatic invertebrate animals of a phylum that includes jellyfishes, corals,
and sea anemones, in association with fish, seaweeds and other marine organisms.
On the intertidal zone where low and high tides take place at interval everyday lies a world unique to most of us because of its unfamiliarity, and often, its invisible features to the naked eyes, and many of its inhabitants are heretofore unknown to us, more so to our young children.
As I painted this piece I imagined myself with snorkel swimming among seaweeds, corals, hydra, jellyfish, sea cucumber, anemone, seahorse, and the like, which appear in camouflage and mimicry. It is as if I were in a fairyland - a scenario I painted in abstract style as it appears in this painting.
Antibiosis in acrylic by the author 2022
Antibiosis is a biological interaction between two or more organisms where one is negatively affected. It inhibits the growth or activity of other organisms in the system with the production of antimicrobial, fungistatic compounds and enzymes.
When I was painting this microscopic scene, I imagined Alexander Fleming, the serendipitous discoverer of the miracle life-saving antibiotic fungus, Penicililum notatum. Truly, in life something happens or is found by chance or luck. Now, how can you interpret this in art?
This is where impressionism and abstract art come in. It leaves to the viewers things in their own interpretation - even those that do not exist in reality. Can you decipher the disease-causing bacterium being devoured by the Penicillium? Imagine in this painting the presence of other microscopic organisms belonging to the realms of Mycophyta and Protista.
Deadwood mushrooms specimen against a mural of nature by the author 2020
A colony of mushrooms growing like shelves around a dead branch in association with other saprophytes. Saprophytes are nature's scavengers as they feed on dead or decaying matter, thus keeping the environment orderly and clean.
It is adventure on the field, under the trees, along river banks, and other natural features of the landscape where we communicate with the Creator. In this particular case, with organisms in the final stage of their lives, some in advance state whereby their organic compounds are reverted into inorganic forms.
Here compounds are broken into elements. It's Nature at work with little or no intervention of man at all. True to the nature of a cycle, its beginning and end, are closely linked, setting the conditions of subsequent cycles. Bacteria, protists, mycophyta (fungi) are Nature's agents of this phenomenon, earning their status as beneficial organisms.
A niche defines the role and position a species plays in its environment. It describes
how a species responds to and alters the distribution of resources and competitors.
Trees talk, sing, whisper, groan, sigh, and the like, which are unique in their own ways. But if you love nature you are truly a part of their world. Birds build nests and sing lullaby. Crickets play violin, frogs are Caruso; prop roots gongs, passing breeze love notes, fireflies eyes in the night
These make life beautiful, happy, meaningful. Pick up a brush and paint. Arrange some notes into a melody and play it with the flute. Follow the rhyme and rhythm of the river reaching out to the sea.
How do you define waste? In pre-industrial era, waste is mainly the by-product of Nature, meaning, materials left behind by a main product. Rice hull or Ipa for example is a by-product of milling, in the same way peelings are leftover in the kitchen.
In nature dead leaves are residues of photosynthesis, so with hay and stovers.. Under the trees waste pile up layer after layer into a litter of leaves, branches, earthworm castings, wildlife droppings. These become compost, and compost is fertilizer the trees use again as they grow, produce fruits, wood, oil, resin and other materials
This is an interesting subject of art in situ, thus on-the-spot painting would be the best approach to capture this scenery. The artist in us may expand through imagination the process over and above science and technology. The artist reaches out into the mystery of Creation. Here art becomes an expression of reverence and thanksgiving, a prayer in itself.
Mycelia in acrylic by the author 2022
Mycelium (pl, mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates.What you can't see is hard to believe, they say. Yet we believe in many invisible things.
The lens unveils the world of the minutiae, living and non-living, and their mysterious connections, often the subject of magic and superstition. Wonder how thunder and lightning produce mushrooms as old folk would tell us.
Scientists trace the mushroom as the visible stage of a mass of microscopic mycelia, the vegetative stage of the organism. Artists bring forth on canvas and screen their versions of this microscopic world, real and imaginary. They connect reality and fantasy, unless they are instructed to adhere to scientific facts. Otherwise art is an expression of freedom, a kind of theory out of the artist's interpretation.
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Multicolored Volvox? In nature Volvox is monochromatic, green, sparkling in bright light, its spiked cover making it appear alien by our standards of a living organism. Thus, Volvox is a good subject of art and microphotography. And to the fertile mind, a seventh wonder of the world in microcosm.
I like the oneness and unity of a Volvox colony, a biological design for survival in number and sharing of space and resources, a evolutionary tool of cooperation, though ultimately ending up in rigid competition, illustrating Darwin's "survival of the fittest" in a colony. Would you like to peep into the microscope and paint the Volvox in fantasia? ~
4. Rocks for Study, Art and Hobby
"Geologists have a saying - rocks remember. - Neil Armstrong
Left: Mt Pinatubo's pyroclastic rock mounted for the museum.
The rock formed while still very hot, forming a porous texture.
Right: Floral arrangement of stones gathered from Bacnotan,
La Union beach.
Left: Petrified or fossilized wood. Carbon dating process traces
the origin, age, and habitat of the specimen. Resin, exudate of
Pine tree undergoing metamorphism into amber
Left: Rock collection of a student attracted by the diversity of the specimens.
Right: This is not a fossil, but broken glazed jar often used to store sacred
objects and remains, like an urn in earlier times.
Brain coral in its early stage of fossilization. Operculum of a large seashell undergoing erosion by the elements. Note the counterclockwise spiral, a unique find.
Left: Limestone undergoing metamorphism into marble which
may take a very long time under favorable conditions. Right:
Shades of opal and glitter often make this petrified wood look
valuable when cut and polished, and made into fancy jewelry.
Left: Aggregate rocks in various compositions and structures.
Right: Unidentified layered rock, indicating geologic history.
A nearly perfect round stone shaped naturally by running stream
used as cannon ball in the days of Panday Pira (c. 1488–1576)
a Filipino blacksmith and maker of an early type of cannon.
Fossilized bone fragment of a large animal in the Cretaceous era.
*The Cretaceous is defined as the period between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago, the last
period of the Mesozoic Era, following the Jurassic and ending with the extinction of the dinosaurs
Probable tusk of an elephant (?) reportedly found in Cagayan Valley,
a subject of study on animal migration and land bridges in ancient past.
Left: A collection of rock samples at author's home.
Right: Early stone age tools, crude and unpolished,
but they served the purpose of primitive hunting.
Rock undergoing weathering; coral remains with imbedded shells
undergoing fossilization
Relief paintings using rocks, clay, wood, and various decors for background.
"The purpose of modern museums is to collect, preserve, interpret,
and display objects of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance
for the study and education of the public." ~
5. Bioethics and Environment
Ethics is the foundation of aesthetics; it is something very difficult to explain that makes beautiful more beautiful, rising to the highest level of philosophy where man finds hope, inspiration, and peace. It is a beacon. While ethics sets the direction of moral life, aesthetics is its beautiful goal.
Concept of Nature as the whole universe, painting by the author
2. Through biological specialization or mutation – natural and man-induced – causative agents have crossed natural barriers of transmission across species, such as bird to man (bird flu), civet cat to man (SARS), and primate to man (HIV-AIDS, and Ebola), wild animals like bat to man (COVID-19). Man has built bridges between the non-living to the living as well. We have paved the way for the Prion, an infectious protein, the causative agent of Mad Cow Disease or BSE (Bovine Spongiosform Encephalopathy) to cross from cattle to man and cause a similar disease affecting humans, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Viruses have acquired new ability to infect and spread not only among humans but also in animals and plants. Viral diseases of plants have been responsible for the decrease in agricultural production in many parts of the world.
The aesthetics of Nature, source of legends, songs and festivities, painting by the author
3. In the midst of enjoying the good life in a postmodern world more and more people are victims of accidents, heart attacks and strokes, anxiety and depression – and various forms of psychosomatic disorder - that often lead to ruined lives and suicides. Cancer, diabetes, and the deleterious consequences of vices (tobacco and alcohol), are on the rise among other modern diseases. Surprisingly, the number of years a person is healthy in proportion to his life span is not significantly longer than that of his predecessors, and that a person’s life span has not significantly increased at all. It is the average longevity of a population that has increased, not the individual’s. The fact is that modern medicine has increased survival of infants and young people, most of them are now in their past fifties, thus gross longevity appears to have increased, up to 78 years in some countries. On the contrary, more and more young people are getting sick and dying.
4. Modern society and science and technology no longer fit into the Darwinian theory of natural selection. There is a growing burden placed on the shoulders of the able and fit in our society who, without choice, is responsible in taking care of the growing number of dependents – many are the infirmed and the aged.
All these lead us to re-examine our values. It challenges us to look deeper into a paradigm of salvation through our concern for the environment. The prolificacy of the human species sans war and pestilence, plus growing affluence of our society has led to a population explosion which had doubled in less than fifty years. We are now more than 7.5 billion. Under this paradigm, there is no master and subject. All must join hands to prevent the exploitation of the earth’s finite resources. Today’s economists must also be good housekeepers of Nature, so with those in the other professions. While man’s aim is directed at the Good Life, he has unwittingly reduced the very foundation of that good life – the productivity and beauty of Mother Earth.
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There are few frontiers of production left today. We have virtually pushed back the sea and leveled off the mountain. Prime lands have all been taken, swamps have been drained, and even deserts are being reclaimed. But as we continue to explore the marginal edges of these frontiers the more we are confronted with high cost of production that is levied on the consumer, and more importantly, the danger of destroying the fragile environment. AVR-----------------------------------------------------------Nature as socio-economic base in agrarian society, painting by the author
Ecological paradigm endorses an ecocentric approach where all forms of life and non-life are important to human life. Spirituality points out to a unitive force: the sacredness of everything. God’s divinity flows in everything. There is integration in the universe. And we are part of that integration, exceedingly small as we are, notwithstanding. Under ecological paradigm of salvation, the one responsible in the destruction of the environment leading to loss of lives and properties should be held accountable for it to God, nature and fellowmen.
The environment and the economy need not be viewed as opposites. It is possible to have a healthy environment and a healthy economy at the same time. More and more businesses have begun adopting this concept as a business philosophy. People behind business organizations are becoming more aware of the ethical decisions they face, and their responsibility for their consequences.
Industrialization and urbanization are akin to each other. Industrial growth spurred the building of cities all over the world. Today there are as many people living in cities as those living the rural places. A mega-city like Tokyo has a population of 15 million people. We are 10 million in Metro Manila. Cities are fragile environments. Cities are more prone to epidemics such as the bubonic plague that killed one-third of the population of Europe in the 13th century. Now we are confronted with HIV-AID, SARs, Meningo cochcimia, Avian flu, and now the dreaded CORID-15 which is gripping the world today as the worst human pandemic disease in recent history. AVR
There are organizations that have set some rules of governance of the environment, among them, GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), CERES (Coalition of Environmental Responsible Economies), and UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program). In line with these a multi- national corporation came up with the following thrusts:Nature defiled by genetic engineering, painting by the author
• Restore and preserve the environment
This approach is gaining respect and more and more businesses are looking at this model with great interest and favor.
The Question of Governance
One of the resource speakers of the 2010 International Congress on Bioethics,
Dr. Tai cited three themes in order that man can live in harmony with nature. Man is part of the ecosystem, Man is steward of the earth, and Man is finite. Dr. Tai cited models with which man can change his views about the environment and change his style of living. We have also models in the business world, in the church, and in the government, in fact all sectors of society. There are models everywhere in this or that part of the world, whether developed or underdeveloped. There are as many models in less developed countries as in highly industrialized countries. It could be that the less developed are closer to tradition, and still have strong ethnic roots, like the old civilizations mentioned in the paper – the native cultures of America and Africa.
But the world has never been one. It has become more diverse in views and interests though in many respects share the same aspirations towards progress and development. And this is the problem. Man is always in a race. In that race awaits at the end not a prize mankind is proud of and honorable. It is tragedy, which Garett Hardin calls, the tragedy of the commons. It is a greedy competition for a finite resource, each his own, until it is gone. The forests are disappearing today, the lake are dying, the fields are getting marginal, the pastures are overgrazed, the air is loaded with destructive gases, the sea is over fished. All these point out to the syndrome - tragedy of the commons. And because time is of the essence, many believe that the world needs a new revolution now? Is revolution the only way to solve global problems of the environment today?
Definitely, while we need to reform to save our environment, any means that is contrary to peace and unity, is definitely unacceptable. And we would not adhere to the rule of force or violence just to be able to succeed. It is said, that revolution starts in a small corner. It starts in this congress.
In closing I would like to thank Dr. Tai, for his scholarly and incisive paper from which I was not only able to prepare myself as a member of the panel of reactors, but found an opportunity to review and expand my current research works in ecology as well.
Lastly, I would like to recite this short prayer I made for this International Congress on Bioethics, and dedicate it through the little child who visited the two workshops in the village and exclaimed. “But there are no neighbors! But there are no trees, birds, fields and mountains!”
• Reduce waste and pollution
• Education of the public on environmental conservation
• Work with government for sound and responsible environmental program
• Assess impact of business on the environment and communities.
This approach is gaining respect and more and more businesses are looking at this model with great interest and favor.
The Question of Governance
One of the resource speakers of the 2010 International Congress on Bioethics,
Dr. Tai cited three themes in order that man can live in harmony with nature. Man is part of the ecosystem, Man is steward of the earth, and Man is finite. Dr. Tai cited models with which man can change his views about the environment and change his style of living. We have also models in the business world, in the church, and in the government, in fact all sectors of society. There are models everywhere in this or that part of the world, whether developed or underdeveloped. There are as many models in less developed countries as in highly industrialized countries. It could be that the less developed are closer to tradition, and still have strong ethnic roots, like the old civilizations mentioned in the paper – the native cultures of America and Africa.
But the world has never been one. It has become more diverse in views and interests though in many respects share the same aspirations towards progress and development. And this is the problem. Man is always in a race. In that race awaits at the end not a prize mankind is proud of and honorable. It is tragedy, which Garett Hardin calls, the tragedy of the commons. It is a greedy competition for a finite resource, each his own, until it is gone. The forests are disappearing today, the lake are dying, the fields are getting marginal, the pastures are overgrazed, the air is loaded with destructive gases, the sea is over fished. All these point out to the syndrome - tragedy of the commons. And because time is of the essence, many believe that the world needs a new revolution now? Is revolution the only way to solve global problems of the environment today?
Definitely, while we need to reform to save our environment, any means that is contrary to peace and unity, is definitely unacceptable. And we would not adhere to the rule of force or violence just to be able to succeed. It is said, that revolution starts in a small corner. It starts in this congress.
Ethics is the foundation of aesthetics; it is something very difficult to explain that makes beautiful more beautiful, rising to the highest level of philosophy where man find hope, inspiration, and peace. It is a beacon. While ethics sets the direction, aesthetics is its beautiful goal.
In closing I would like to thank Dr. Tai, for his scholarly and incisive paper from which I was not only able to prepare myself as a member of the panel of reactors, but found an opportunity to review and expand my current research works in ecology as well.
Lastly, I would like to recite this short prayer I made for this International Congress on Bioethics, and dedicate it through the little child who visited the two workshops in the village and exclaimed. “But there are no neighbors! But there are no trees, birds, fields and mountains!”
Ecology Prayer
By Dr Abe V Rotor
When my days are over,
Let me lie down to sleep
on sweet breeze and earth,
in the shade of trees
I planted in my youth;
since I had not done enough,
make, make my kind live
to carry on the torch,
while my dusts fall
to where new life begins –
even only an atom I shall be,
let me be with you,
dear Mother Earth.
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There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings…Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change …Mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens, the cattle and chicken sickened and died …There was a strange stillness… The Few birds seen anywhere were moribund, they trembled violently and could not fly. It is a spring without voices.
- Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
6. Metamorphosis Expressed through Paintings
“Nothing ever really goes away - it just changes into something else. Something beautiful.” - Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer
Pre-metamorphosis in acrylic by the author, circa 1998
It's a biological phenomenon in a variety of ways,caterpillar into butterfly, dragonfly from naiad,frog from tadpole - life cycles before our eyes;to humans, a transformation outside and inside,body and soul as one, the essence of rationality,magnificent is Creation's grand design and guide.
Post-metamorphosis in acrylic by the author, circa 1998
Biodiversity means much more in the living world,in a game of competition and cooperation,in the phylogeny of organisms in five sub-kingdoms;metamorphosis, Nature's tool of evolution.
* Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo complete metamorphosis (holometabola), incomplete metamorphosis (hemi-metabola), or no metamorphosis at all (ametabola). Wikipedia
7. Art to Craft
Art and craft are creative activities that involve making
something with one's hands and imagination.
Calabash Lantern
Miracle Fruit (Crescentia cujete), Family Bignoniaceae
Calabash globes: lantern, savings bank, crystal ball. Crafted by the author 2025
Dichotomous is art today,in schools and movements,aesthetics and utility,indigenous and foreign,fantasy and reality,conventional and abstract.Art and craft, if I may say.
Calabash shell is the hard rind of Miracle Fruit (Crescentia cujete), Family Bignoniaceae. Although botanically distinct, the Calabash fruit has common features and uses with Bottle Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, Family Cucurbitaceae, an annual climbing plant known as upo in Pilipino and tabungaw in Ilocano.
As old as in biblical times, or earlier,crafts made from this fruit were sacred,grains vessel, jug for wine and water,link of man's faith with his Creator.
The biblical meaning of the calabash encompasses its symbolism as a vessel, metaphorical representation of growth and flexibility, expression of abundance and blessings, and its significance in rituals and offerings. (The Biblical Significance of the Calabash: Unveiling Its Spiritual Symbolism, (Home and Nature, Internet)
Two Faces of our Planet Earth Chandelier
The Pristine Face of our Planet Earth in acrylic
on wood scrap by the author 2020
Imagine this scene before the Fall,nature in unity and harmony;Or is it an aftermath of man's exile,redeeming the Lost Eden's beauty?
The Defiled Face of our Planet Earth in acrylic
on wood scrap by the author 2020
Light in the air, swaying with the wind;heavy in the air dull, still;Pristine, natural in the absence of man,defiled, dead, can't humans feel?
Nature's Trophy
"The object of art is to give life a shape.” - Aristotle
Driftwood, foothold of shells, against a mural background,
crafted by AV Rotor 2024
Hail! But Nature's trophy is not victory,
not grandstanding and glory.
For Nature's distress call is a sad story,
to stop man's greed and folly.
Driftwood, foothold of shells in two views, AVR
Closeup of shells attached to the driftwood;
glass replica of pearls in oysters AVR
Pearl! How beautiful a pearl could be!but its kind today in the laboratoryholds no longer the secret of the sea.
Driftwood into Flower Vase
Main face of the driftwood vase
I am a remnant of a felled tree in a forest long ago,drifting down the river to the sea;braving the elements and patient with time, too;free but knowing not my destiny.For how long I drifted far and wide I do not know,my world was aimless and carefreeamong creatures I met, that would come and go.but to whom can I tell this long story?Until the tides took me one day into another view,to where trees stood happy once like me,where people brought back old memories anew;but I am now but a waste of the sea.Until a curious lass took me for something new,something for the arts, not for money;but some kind of beauty in my ugliness to showNature's hidden artistic quality. ~
Views of the driftwood vase in perspective variations.
"The artist sees what others only catch a glimpse of.” - Leonardo da Vinci. ~
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