Children's Art: "The greatest masterpiece and the greatest story ever told."

Children's Art: 

"The greatest masterpiece and the greatest story ever told."

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up” – Pablo Picasso

Dr Abe V Rotor

LIVING with NATURE CENTER

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Let the wind blow, the grass grow, the mist settle down;

guide a child, brush and colors in her hand, reign

over a beautiful realm we grownups have given up long ago,

never to return, yet yearning, to be children again;

We pass this way but once - and again through our genes,

in tender hands and heart, we've lived not in vain.

“There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.” – Pablo Picasso

“Why do you try to understand art? Do you try to understand the song of a bird?” – Pablo Picasso

I watched a child paint the floor of our house.

I gave her all the things she needed,

then left to attend the chores of the day.

What had she done in my absence?

I almost forgot all about the whole thing.

That always happens to a busy person.

I returned, apologetic. She didn't say a word.

She was still busy painting without respite.

I studied her paintings on the floor.

Suddenly I felt I was talking to myself.

Me, an artist of many movements:

realism, romanticism, to postmodern.

And she, the artist of peace and harmony,

naturalness and simplicity.

Here's the greatest masterpiece of the world.

and the greatest story ever told. ~

“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist” – Oscar Wilde

Pierian Spring: "Youth lives forever in the mind, and heart that throbs with humanity."

 Pierian Spring

The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul. - Carl Jung

Mural and Poem by Abe V Rotor

The Hills are Alive - Mural by A V Rotor, 2009. Courtesy of University 

of Santo Tomas, Office of the Vice Rector and Secretary General

Pierian Spring, the fountain of youth -

could it be just down the bend,

or on mythical Mt Olympus?

How many souls have long sought

in their lifetime and lost at the end!

It could it be the Shangrila, the Atlantis;

it could it be the biblical Paradise,

the heaven of the good in God's promise,

in the afterlife that rewards the pure

in spirit - who shall again rise.

Little do we know, nil can we afford,

in our searching, for time and space

are but a tick in the clock of the world;

a dot in the infinite universe,

a step in its ever increasing race.

Pierian Spring is the triumph of good

over evil, the trophy of victory;

peace in War and Peace as Tolstoy told,

in the finer things of life and living,

in a beautiful tapestry.

For youth lives forever in the mind

and heart that throbs with humanity -

seeking, believing, loving and kind,

keeping the Pierian Spring flowing

to touch every being in a bind.~

"Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval [tropical] forests, ... temples filled with the varied productions of the God of Nature. No one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body." - Charles Darwin

 

Home Aquarium - Microcosm of Freshwater Ecosystem

Home Aquarium 

- Microcosm of Freshwater Ecosystem 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Part 1 - Natural Aquarium - 

Keyhole View to Magnificent Creation  

                                               

Aquarium pet of my youngest son, Leo Carlo.  Pterophyllum scalare, most commonly referred to as angelfish or freshwater angelfish, is the most common species of Pterophyllum kept in captivity. Photo by the author, 2022.

There was no electricity then, and therefore there were no motorized air pumps and filters, aquarium lights, oxygen generators, and the like, which we use in aquariums today. Yet the aquarium in those days was beautiful in its own natural way, and it was simple and easy to maintain.

 

Red Poecilia in a glass aquarium at home. 

When I was a kid I used to visit my cousin who later joined a religious order (Sister Francisca Rotor, SPC) just to watch and ponder on her glass aquarium sitting on a window facing the northeast. The sun shone through the glass, its rays splitting into the prism of the rainbow spreading on the aquatic plants, and the playful goldfish. Bubbles hanged on the glistening Elodea and Hydrilla plants, then rose slowly to the top faintly hissing and popping. I now understand that these bubbles are pure oxygen, the by-products of photosynthesis.

At the bottom and side of the aquarium were small snails which did the job of the janitor fish as gleaners and cleaners. Snails scrape off algal crust and being saprophytes too, convert organic matter into detritus which is equivalent to compost - in turn provides nutrition to the aquatic plants. Carbon dioxide emitted by the fish and snail is used by the plants for photosynthesis, and in the process produce sugar, and oxygen as by-product. Sugar is subsequently converted into other organic compounds which are necessary for the plants to grow and gain biomass. Being herbivores fish and snail depend upon the plant.

The secret of a stable aquarium is balanced gas exchange and organic-inorganic cycle. Once this is attained we can say the aquarium is a "balanced ecosystem," a microcosm of a pond or lake.

Manang Madre aquarium soon led me to search for great minds and their works, among them, Aristotle's Natural History, Darwin's Theory of Evolution, Oparin's Beginning of Life, Cousteau's Oceanography,  EO Wilson's Sociobiology, Leeuwenhoek's

Microscopy, and  Henry David Thoreau's Treatise of Nature and Man. 

On the other hand I taught my students to build aquariums without any electrical gadget, telling them, "In any experiment, understand and apply the laws of nature." 

Why don't you put up a project in your home or school, and replicate Manang Madre's natural aquarium? It is peeping through the keyhole of magnificent creation.   ~

Discovering a wonderful world under the sea

Characteristics of a Natural Aquarium

1. A natural aquarium is a miniature pond, lake, or sea. 
2. The basic principle is conversion of the sun's energy into food and oxygen by algae and plants (photosynthesizers).
3. Food and oxygen are important to fish and other animals.
4. In return, the animals give off "waste" as nutrients and carbon dioxide important to plants.
5. A natural aquarium therefore is a simple ecosystem, balanced environment. 
6. Like any ecosystem, its balance depends on healthy interrelationship of the living and non-living world.
7. The organisms are classified into producers (plants, algae), and consumers (fish, snails), and decomposers (bacteria)
8. Balance is dynamic, it changes, but nature guides it to attain stability or homeostasis.
9. Energy flow goes through the food chain, food web, food pyramid.  
10. Humans are part of this system, and has assumed dominance over other organisms.
11. Nature takes care of itself even without man.  Thus, forests, coral reefs, and the like, are best maintained without man's intervention.  
12. On the other hand it is man that may destroy this natural balance through pollution, over fishing  chemical farming, deforestation - and global warming, which is a consequence of man's increasing number and affluence. ~

                   Natural Aquarium - Miniature Ecosystem 

I loved watching the guppies in an old fashioned aquarium

     sans any gadget for lighting, filter, and fancy screen;

the sun, the provider of food and oxygen through the algae

     clinging on rock, and snails living off the glass clean.  

I was a kid then eager to discover the mysteries of nature; 

     a little of Darwin, Linnaeus, and Arthur Doyle I sought,

of Fleming's serendipity and Leeuwenhoek's microscopy,

     seeing their images in an aquarium my cousin taught.

It was schooling, experimenting, and above all, dreaming,

     it took me to a little Smithsonian, to a niche in biology,

archive of living history, the microcosm of the living world,

     to the ends of the world, far from man's technology. - avrotor 

                             

 Basic microscopy for kids in the neighborhood.  Bubbles of Oxygen, by-product of photosynthesis cling on the alga before they are dissolved in water  for the use of fish, or released into the atmosphere for humans and animals. Children's workshop at home in Lagro, QC, organized and conducted by my children, Marlo, Anna and Leo.

 

Kids in the neighborhood observe how guppies devour mosquito wrigglers, a lesson in controlling diseases carried by mosquitoes without use of harmful and expensive chemicals. Common house mosquito, Culex, lays eggs on water which hatch into wrigglers. 

 

 

Microscopic community nestles on the alga.  It is made up of protists living in a complex interrelationship, and interaction of energy and matter, in dynamic balance. Practical microscopy using ordinary compound microscope and camera.

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To me, Manang Madre's aquarium was a laboratory, the curious kid that I was.  It introduced me into a realm I would be devoting much of my time as biologist. It left an indelible mark of nature's self-contained system - the dynamic balance that keeps order and harmony in nature which scientists call homeostasis. ~

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Part 2  Hobby:  Raising pet fish in the city 

 

          Albino Oscar fish in a glass aquarium. The Albino Tiger Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus), is also known as the Marble Cichlid or Velvet Cichlid, 

At home in Lagro, QC. Photos by the author.

  

Garden Pond at home, QC. Stressed due to overcrowding and false economy on electricity and water, this 2-kg Pacu fish (Piaractus brachypomus):failed to recover in spite of the first aid applied at the incipient stage. It was around two years old.

My pet fish grew and grew, until they became overcrowded. Now electricity and water are very expensive. But is it worth the hobby?

Yes, indeed.

How I love the relaxing sound of a little fountain, the gurgling of a bigger one, the splash the fish make in their play, and at feeding time. Now and then they come close to be touched. A scratch on the back like any pet.

What a morning to greet them. And they to meet you. Coffee and newspaper would not be complete if you are away from their company. So move your reclining chair close. Who say you cannot relax in the city anymore? Not with my pacu.

And if you need exercise, carry a bucket or two of freshwater to replace evaporation everyday. Yes, everyday. Clean the pumps of clog now and then. Scrape off overgrown lumot (algae), unless the janitor fish is doing it efficiently, with the help of suso (snail) while the fish are still small. By the time they weigh one kilo each, no snail will survive. By this time the janitor fish shall have grown as big to the pacu.

A garden pond is actually a small world – an ecosystem where the laws of nature are taking place to maintain a dynamic balance called homeostasis.

First, you must keep Carbon Dioxide in water as low as possible. That’s why you need an electric pump to augment the desirable level of dissolved oxygen.

Second, you must clean the pond with least disturbance. Detritus must be regularly eliminated otherwise they will continue to decompose and produce toxic gases and substances that breed unwanted microorganisms, including pathogens that kill your fish.

Third, feed them regularly and moderately with the right kind of food. I give dog food, and cat food sometimes, for a change. One good thing with these feeds is that they float and feeding is regulated. Never, never overfeed. It is better you miss a day or two than leaving unconsumed feeds.

Fourth, assign only one caretaker, better still you are the caretaker and nobody else. They are your pet anyway. Don’t allow feeding from anyone. Don’t allow children to play with your fish. Warn them of the danger, and consequence to your prized pet. They may get wild and aggressive. And get stressed.

Fifth, there is no substitute to Loving, Tender Care. Like a Florence Nightingale, visit them often, even at night, and see if they are well.

During brownout, be patient to recirculate the pond with a bucket to incorporate air. Do this for the duration of the brownout. At one time it was a whole day. Two helpers assisted me and we saved all of the fish. They were stressed all right, but they recovered.

Rainwater can be used with caution due to the effect of acid rain. I harvest rainwater for the pond at the peak of a strong rain. Tap water should be allowed to stand at least overnight before pouring it into the pond.

For all of these, is it still worth the hobby?

Indeed, it is. ~

 

Pacu fish in a glass aquarium before they were transferred to a garden pond where they grew more than twice their size in a year's time. Pacu is a common name used to refer to several species of omnivorous South American freshwater serrasalmid fish that are related to the piranha. Wikipedia  ~ 

The Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) - Nature's Example of Speciation

 TATAKalikasan Series 7

The Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis)

- Nature's Example of Speciation*

Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations 

evolve to become distinct species. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Tamaraw in its natural habitat in Mindoro Island; skeleton of a tamaraw

 at the Museum of Natural History, UPLB Mt Makiling Laguna

The Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) or Mindoro Dwarf Buffalo is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, however, to have once also thrived on the greater island of Luzon. The tamaraw was originally found all over Mindoro, from sea level up to the mountains (2000 meters above sea level), but because of human habitation, hunting, and logging, it is now restricted to only a few remote grassy plains and is now an endangered species.

Contrary to common belief and past classification, the tamaraw is not a subspecies of the local carabao, which is only slightly larger, or the common water buffalo. In contrast to the carabao, it has a number of distinguishing characteristics: it is slightly hairier, has light markings on its face, is not gregarious, and has shorter horns that are somewhat V-shaped. It is the largest native terrestrial mammal in the country.

To me this means that the carabao and tamaraw, though of different lineages, undoubtedly had a common ancestor, shared by other buffaloes found in Asia and in different parts of the world.

In the same manner plants and animal species evolved from common stocks, popularly referred to as missing links, named for the fact that it is rare and extremely difficult to determine where that crossroad of dichotomy lies.

When Charles Darwin found out that finches vary from island to island in the Galapagos group pf islands on the equatorial eastern coast of South America, he was in effect telling to the scientific community of an evolutionary phenomenon called speciation - the formation of species. Because it is a very slow and indeterminate at that, scientists were baffled by the question, "When does a species called a species, and not just a variety or breed?"

What I learned from my professor, the famous Deogracias Villadolid (PHOTO) who introduced tilapia in the Philippines in the fifties, is that, when the species in question is capable of interbreeding to make a population, and on the other hand, no longer capable of breeding with its original stock or parent species, or members of its former lineage. Dr Villadolid emphasized that this criterion is more reliable than morphological deviation, ecological distribution notwithstanding.

The tamaraw is no doubt a product of speciation. The island of Mindoro is its original home and still its natural habitat today, the forested areas and near open-canopied glades. Since human habitation and subsequent forest fragmentation its population has drastically declined to a few dozens. This is exactly the same situation the wild buffaloes of bisons of the Prairies face before they are saved from extinction in the last hour.

The tamaraw is a grazer that feeds on grasses and young bamboo shoots although it is known to prefer cogon (Imperata cylindrica) and talahib (Saccharum spontaneum). They are naturally diurnal, feeding during the daytime hours; however, daytime human activities have recently forced select B. mindorensis individuals to be nocturnal to avoid human contact.

The tamaraw is known to live for about 20 years, with an estimated lifespan of about 25. The adult female tamaraw gives birth to one offspring after a gestation period of about 300 days. There is an interbirth interval of two years, although one female has been sighted with three juveniles. The calf stays for 2–4 years with its mother before becoming independent.

Let's help conserve the highly endangered tamaraw, proudly our own endemically.

 

Charles Darwin and his famous sketch indicating that evolution within species may eventually give rise to entirely new ones.

Speciation produces diversity of life on earth by splitting evolutionary lineages through the evolution of reproductive isolation between populations of a species. In ecological speciation, divergent natural selection to adapt to different environments results in the evolution of reproductive isolation.

Acknowledgement: Museum of Natural History UPLB, Marlo Rotor and Internet for the photos. and Wikipedia

A Piece of Eden on a Wall

                                  A Piece of Eden on a Wall

Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

“Those ancients who in poetry presented

the golden age, who sang its happy state,

perhaps, in their Parnassus, dreamt this place.

Here, mankind's root was innocent; and here

were every fruit and never-ending spring;

these streams--the nectar of which poets sing.”

― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

A Piece of the Garden of Eden (8ft x 16ft) mural by AVRotor

Does the Garden of Eden still exist? If the Garden of Eden still exists, no one knows where. The Bible says a river ran from Eden and separated into four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.  Here is an artist's concept of a little corner of that garden. ~      

   

Rediscovering Lost Culture and Art - Pride of a People and Nation

Rediscovering Lost Culture and Art

 - Pride of a People and Nation

Dedicated to the memory of Mr Bonifacio Rafanan (c.1956), my teacher in history and social science in high school at Divine Word College (Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion) in Vigan Ilocos Sur. - avr

 

 “My dad taught me from my youngest childhood memories through these connections with aboriginal and tribal people that you must always protect people's sacred status, regardless of the past.” Steve Irwin

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Homogenization, like a giant pool, mirrors a phenomenon which is a consequence of progress - globalization.

Headgear is ethnic art and status symbol among the Igorots.

Globalization is irreversible. But is it really progression? If it is trend of progress where will it lead us to? To what extent, and for how long? The believers of this thesis are disciples of science and technology, and therefore are not afraid to open new horizons. They seldom look behind.

The traditionalists look at things differently. They have deeper roots in history and culture, they find time to ponder and analyze, and ask others and themselves, “Quo vadis?” But don’t get me wrong as anti progress, anti technology.

Globalization is like a cauldron in which diversities of culture are thrown into. They dissolve in our very eyes. Either they disappear or lose their identity.

Clearly there is homogenization of races, creeds, ideologies - technology. For example there is only one kind of car in the world – they all work of the principle of Internal Combustion. Formal education has generally of one pattern worldwide, from preparatory to post graduate; so with the various courses offered. Ethnicity encompasses many aspects of life and culture; other the humanities are the natural sciences, ethnobotany among them (the study of the relationship of people and plants in a natural setting). 

Ethnic wooden art in the Cordillera

From here evolved the knowledge of man in pharmacology, and while such knowledge has vastly grown into a major industry dominated by multinational companies, a great deal of herbal healing still abound in rural communities.

Folk wisdom akin to traditional knowledge is carried onto the present by elder members of the community has lost much significance in general perception, but a great number of them are enshrined by our culture and writings. They are natural leaders whose words are listened to with respect. Why village elders have also the role of an herbolario, matchmakers in marriages, teachers in their own right based on rich experiences and long practice!

Confucian teachings permeate in the family. Christian values are reinforced by age-long heritage, and vice versa. So with the teachings of Buddha and Mohammad, and other great religious leaders. Mythology, too, has deep rooted influence in our lives. It lives in our superstitious belief, folklore and customs. But many of these are being threatened, if not endangered, in our march toward progress and affluence, along with the current of postmodernism which is sweeping the world today.

On the other hand, there is growing consciousness for moderation in living. More and more people are looking for alternatives of the so-called Good Life.

One alternative is the revival of tradition, a rediscovery of lost culture and art can be enshrined in our present life.

1. Revival of ethno medicinal healing has suddenly found relevance where the dangers of modern medicine are perceived. Lagundi, Oregano, Sambong are now DOH-approved How about the bulk of herbal medicine?

Home child delivery assisted by a village "kumadrona" 

2. It’s the cold wind from the north that came too soon that caused poor rice harvest. Old folks would tell us. And scientists confirm that pollination-fertilization is indeed adversely affected by cold weather.

 Revival of Pottery: art and livelihood, environment friendly. Sudipen, La Union

3. Pet therapy is gaining popularity even in modern hospitals. Victims of stroke who lost coordination of their hands surprisingly recover with a pet around.

4. Honeybee sting sends arthritic people back on the road.
5. Return to cotton, ramie, abaca, flax, and other natural fibers for clothing and other wears is indicative of people's awareness on the comfort and health benefits of these natural fibers, not to mention their being environment friendly.

5. Ethnic art  is gaining popularity in galleries and studios. Native arts are found on murals and in halls. The revival of ethnic art is very visible among the aborigines of Australia, the American Indians, the Incas and Aztecs. So with other indigenous cultures.

                                         A tribal community sketch 

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We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation. - Cesar Chavez
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History, Culture and Traditions of 5 tribes in the Philippines  

Other tribal communities offer equal opportunities in research in schools, particularly on the collegiate and graduate study levels. 

"Let's save the indigenous people, their history, 

culture and traditions before it's too late." - avr

Acknowledgement: Internet reference and images