Carolyn Hancock Newsletter
June 2012 |
SCRUMBLE
Scrumble, to a pastel artist, is to lightly touch to create interest and excitement
Pastel, art, travel, golf - my Scrumble |
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ART. Would you work for $7.00 a month and smile like this young boy?
After painting Hot Day Cool Drink last month, I re-remembered how many wonderful things I saw in the two trips to India. The Taj and the Red Fort and all the grand buildings, centuries old. But what jogged me most was how much more comfortable and excited I am to paint people, rather than scenes and flowers. To work for so many hours to get just the right expression in the eyes or right turn of the mouth. Surprisingly, lots of times just one gentle swipe of the pastel finally creates the look or emotion I want.
The story of this boy is just below, but what's not there is how his infectious smile has stayed with me for so many years, waiting to be painted. He's a young man now. He will never know that he left a lasting impression on me and that he now smiles across the lives of many people!
The point is: smile and be nice; someone may remember you for many years.
Photo of me with Anu and Suriya, daughters of our friend, Ganesh, 1998.
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TRAVEL. Madras and South Coastline, India
The Boy Mechanic
They were just boys—three bright-teeth grins, clothes dripping grease, elbowing each out of the way, each one saying, "I fix your car, Mister."
We were in the return leg of a driving trip from Madras (Chennai in India) to a small town south of Pondicherry, when the AC went out. Our driver insisted on stopping in a village to check it out, just 5 minutes, mum.
Three hours, with kids pedaling off for 30 minutes to pick up a part, then again. The mechanic’s assistants were 8, 10 and 12 year old boys, who don’t go to school, but earn 150-300 rupees a month ($3.54 - $7.08, a month, not a day). When finished, Bill gave each one 100 rupees--it was like a jubilation, not only with the boys, but all the men working nearby! Across the street, while we waited, men and women were making cement and carrying buckets of it on their heads around the construction site: they work 9:00 to dark, the women make 50 rupees a month ($1.25), the men 100 rupees. We don’t have it so rough, do we?
Amazing Along the Way: Village people use the roadway to thresh their rice crop: men with great bundles of rice pound it against a boulder, log or simply the road; it’s spread on the road for cars to run over, which helps separate the grain; it’s tossed up in the air, the lighter chafe flying away; it’s swept into piles barricaded with rocks to now make the cars detour around; it’s bagged, young people sewing up the bag. The road is their dry, flat, “clean” work area. Next time eating rice we’ll have a better appreciation.
 Kapaleeswarar Temple is cited as “the most beautiful structure in Madras.” It’s certainly unusual and eye-catching. A pyramid shaped gateway called a goparum provides a fantasy entrance to the Dravidian temples. Every inch of the four sides contains realistically carved and brightly painted statues of people and myths, many life-sized.
Shopping. Cottage Industries in Madras had probably the most beautiful rug of any I've seen, including those in Bahrain and Saudi. Made in Kashmir, the silk handknots were so minute the scene looked drawn with a fine line. With a price tag of $3,800, we left that one, and chose one with a wool so soft it feels velvety. I love the one we bought; its soft blue and creamy yellow look perfect in my studio—but I always remember "the one that got away."
 Mahalibapuram: bigger than life elephants, gods and temples carved into giant boulders in the 8th century--worth the trip and time. Size comparison: that's me in the photo.
"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." (Miriam Beard)
GOLF. Sometimes 75% Backswing, 50% Speed Will Do It.
Pecan Grove is a beautiful golf course, and, true to its name, has the trees. Can we ALWAYS stay in the fairway, avoiding the monster trees? Of course not. It seems like they were strategically planted to interfere with the average ladies' hitting distance. The ball invariably lands just short of a huge tree, under a wide spreading limb.
But there's a great little pink book titled, "A Girl's On-Course Survival Guide to Golf." And it has become my go-to for how-to. All shots and instruction are written concisely, with few words, nice photos. SO, Under the Tree on page 133 taught me how to tackle that errant shot, and it is now my favorite—no dread, no problem. My personal setup for this shot is ball on right foot, using 7 iron, sing-song mantra "three-quarter backswing, 50 percent speed, finish low." A sister site to the pink book with lots of good info, dedicated to us ladies, is Miss Par.
"One under a tree, one under a bush, one under the water." (Lee Trevino, describing how he was one under during a tournament.)
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| Just changing the color. Check out the interesting backstory on my blog: One bayou landscape, five ways to sculpt the land, five ways to color it. |
Carolyn Hancock's Fine Art - Available Works: Click here to go to Portfolio.
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