I’d Rather be Strong than Perfect
As the resident artist at One & Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives, one of the world’s most exclusive and expensive resorts, I meet many kinds of people. Most are well to do and have most everything money can buy. One day in my studio, a few boys in their early teens (looking like they […]
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Another Epidemic
The Coronavirus is my second first-hand experience with an epidemic. As a baby in Jerusalem, Polio ran rampant and paralyzed people and a nation with fear. My brother and I both contracted the disease. Two years my senior and having had the full series of vaccines, Chip’s system was able to fight off the virus. […]
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Sharks and Shadows
Fish are social creatures. They mass together as a single group so as to look larger than they are individually, protecting themselves from predators. They move as a single unit, streaming around each other in unison like one giant organism. When feeding sharks are on the hunt, the army of smaller fish open and close […]
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Asian Sojourn
More than three decades ago I slipped into the fabric of Asia, concluding a cloistered existence painting the beauty of the California Dream. Retreating from the world of lite beer and dark sunglasses I set sail for Taiwan and total immersion while studying Chinese brush painting and calligraphy with local masters. With a smattering of […]
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Around the World in 80 Days
Sliding out of Singapore to the States to speak started the whole slay ride. Around California with family and friends grounded me to something called ‘Home’. Teaching art in a tiny Italian village before discovering Croatia for the first time seeped me in medieval architecture and stone. Following up with a week in France with […]
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Under the Sea
UNESCO site Hanifaru in the Maldives is a rugby pitch of water in an ancient atoll where Manta Rays congregate yearly to feed in the plankton rich waters. Like a bowl in the ocean just a few dozen meters deep, this magic spot attracts nature enthusiasts hoping to witness a once in a lifetime ballet […]
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A Zephyr of Change Flows Over Burma
Twenty years ago Angie and I landed in Rangoon for a few weeks backpacking overland through Burma. We recall a tough environment with little excess. Traffic was non-existent and roads often unpaved. Our 14-hour bus ride to Bagan turned into 17 hours with the breakdown at 3am factored in. The train from Mandalay back to […]
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Free Solo Reflections
A day after watching, “Free Solo” the Oscar winning documentary about Alex Honnold’s epic climb of El Capitan in Yosemite, I’m still brought to tears while reflecting on the man and the magnitude of the achievement. Besides being an athletic high water mark, it brings each of us closer to our own mortality and eventually […]
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Darwin to Singapore by Sea 2019
Darwin’s humidity is oppressive – like a blanket that follows and swallows you up. Local Aboriginals can stand the heat and are the majority of life one finds on the street. As a small town, Darwin has taken more hits than most. Bombings by the Japanese and the flattening from a hurricane, for a place […]
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