my chinese new year fortune.
“conscience is our magnetic compass; reason our chart.”
-joseph cook
—
photo credit:bryan david griffith
it’s the year of the rooster, and i am one, excited for new beginnings
happy chinese lunar new year 2017
to you and yours
roosters and the rest.
—
photo credit: pinterest
part of my aussie family
was visiting here in
ann arbor, michigan, usa
from
bunbury, western australia
and
by chance
went to a local county beekeepers meeting
with
some of my family who live here
where he
came face to face with
his doppleganger.
both with
yellow shirts
same
glasses
hair
beard
eyebrows
smiles
face
age
mannerisms.
just
crossing paths
and
finding themselves
in exactly
the same time and place
turned and talked
and then
went their separate ways once again.
—
11,208 miles
Distance from Ann Arbor to Bunbury
dop·pel·gäng·er
ˈdäpəlˌɡaNGər/
noun
an apparition or double of a living person.
—
credits: p. porter, geomaps.com
such a wild adventure
grandie m’s 9th birthday fun
special ops teams, nerf guns, fairy bread, burger bar, headbands, sunglasses and laughs
one powerful team member even offered a great tip
when she warned me:
“never trust a panda with a gun.”
lesson learned.
—
‘it’s all fun and games ’till someone loses an eye, then it’s just fun you can’t see.”
-james hetfield
Tyrus Wong, the artist whose works inspired the Disney film Bambi,
has died at home. surrounded by family, at age 106.
A Chinese immigrant, Mr Wong’s vibrant paintings captured Walt Disney’s eye and became the basis of the film’s distinct style. In a statement, the Walt Disney Family Museum said “his influence on the artistic composition of the animated feature Bambi cannot be overstated.”
Mr Wong emigrated to the United States from China as a child, with his father – leaving behind his mother and a sister he would never see again. After studying as an artist, he began working with Disney in 1938 as an “inbetweener”, drawing hundreds of pictures between poses to create the illusion of motion.
When the film studio began pre-production on Bambi, “he went home and painted several pictures of a deer in a forest”, the Disney museum said. “Walt Disney saw that Tyrus was able to produce exquisite artwork that did not necessarily look like the forest – but rather, felt like the forest. Walt’s vision for Bambi and use of Tyrus’ work still influences films today,” it said. Tyrus Wong only worked at Disney for three years, moving to Warner Brothers as a concept artist, designing greeting cards for Hallmark on the side.
Tyrus Wong holding one of his intricately made bamboo kites on the beach
After retiring, he turned to creating hundreds of elaborate bamboo kites, received many awards in recognition of his work, and became the subject of a documentary about his life, TYRUS. Writing about his death, the documentary’s director said “with his passing, we have lost a brilliant artist, motion picture and animation legend, Chinese American pioneer, and hero. “Tyrus always faced adversity with dignity, courage, and art… he awed us with his talent, charmed us with his boyish humour, and moved us with his humility, generosity, resilience, and big heart.”
—
“the secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure.
so, you see, they’re always looking ahead to something new and exciting.
the secret is not to look back.”
– norman rockwell
—
credits: walt disney studios, bbc canada, TYRUS, image copyright: sara jane boyers
—
image credit: courage works
what a lovely day for a walk in ann arbor
with some of my friends and neighbors
“today is one of those excellent January partly cloudies in which light
chooses an unexpected part of the landscape to trick out in gilt,
and then the shadow sweeps it away. you know you’re alive. you take huge steps,
trying to feel the planet’s roundness arc between your feet.”
― annie dillard
—
image 1 credit: ann arbor townies
I didn't have my glasses on.... 