Friday, October 28, 2011

This Fragile Earth iii


The ground - the world over - weeps, seeps and shakes.

Oh Turkey. . . _/\_  Thailand. _/\_ Bangkok. 

Closer to home, on the news tonight we learned that engineers hoping to be able to tack and brace Christchurch cathedral have concluded it will need to be dismantled, pared back to basics and rebuilt - 'a marriage between the old and the new'. Remarkably - triumphantly - part of Christchurch's CBD is to be opened to the public for trading tomorrow; the first time since the earthquake struck the city on 22 February. I am humbled by the community's tenacity and courage.

Oil from the stricken Rena is still seeping into the ocean off the coast of Tauranga. Too tongue-tied to write about this when the container ship ran aground on the Astrolabe reef in the Bay of Plenty a week or ten days ago, I turned to my drawing board instead. . . Pamela of Shroedinger's Tabby wrote a moving tribute to the sea birds impacted by this environmental disaster. 




And the sea? How it murmurs. How it murmurs. . . 
Charcoal & Pastel on Paper - CB - October 2011




Forgive me my absence; I'm not sure where or what I'm up to as far as blogging goes these days. There's so much going on here, work- and other- wise. . . I do hope you are all well and finding your way(s) forward during these ordinary, extraordinary days. L, C xo



8 comments:

  1. Ordinary and extraordinary days, Claire. Tonight in Melbourne we have strong spring storms and at the back of my mind I think of the floods that seem to have gripped other places in recent months and days. Now Thailand.

    And earthquakes, as you write, continue to shatter the skeleton of the earth.

    It's good to hear from you and to read and see your beautiful work once more. Go easy in this unsettled space and hopefully things will evolve for the better.

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  2. Dear Elisabeth - unsettling times and an unsettled space, yes. And yet. . . how much there is be thankful for, too. I cannot imagine the depth of anguish or extent of hardship communities in Turkey and Thailand are having to manage right now. 9 million people have been instructed to evacuate Bangkok. . . where will the go to? What will they eat? The country's rice fields have been submerged beneath water for weeks. It's as if the earth is tossing and turning, heart heaving, heart pounding. I keep wondering what small daily gestures we might make to offer comfort, add balm. Thanks for coming by, Elisabeth - I do hope your spring storms are no more than an exuberant display heralding the new season. Go easy over there in Melbourne, too. L, C

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  3. Always thinking of you. No matter where you are. But I do imagine you in your studio most of the time. A safe place. We are all safe when we are creating.
    xo

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  4. Dear Claire, how hard it is to keep the self balanced on the reef of everyday, when the physical world is so deeply unsettled and treacherous, rebellious even. And when the heart is on the balance beam, carrying your own weight on the strength of one arm, including your art, and the weight of loved ones and the world on the other arm, how can you be but overwhelmed and anguished--and yet you, with your open and generous spirit always find a way to bear upheavals and despair. You teach us how to bear our own fragillty, to find new sources of courage. Thank you. xo

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  5. Yes -- ordinary and extraordinary -- every last day.

    xoT.

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  6. Claire, I am feeling it too.
    Along with frustration that little is being done to avert the disasters that can be prevented.

    All I managed was to put up an amusing video (penguins) from the new documentary "Frozen Planet". Looks breathtaking.

    WV: "tesco". Seriously?

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  7. It seems all so overwhelming. Your drawing, your art, your writing, is a comfort not only to you, but to so many others. Touching piece, Claire.

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  8. I always appreciate what you bring my attention to.

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