Projects Overview

Current Projects

Aranjuez: Gardens & river 2019-2024

Maestro J. Rodrigo’s (1901-1999) inpirational landscape & soundscape is located just south of Madrid, in Aranjuez. His unique guitar symphonic composition, “Concierto de Aranjuez” was born from strolling in the gardens. Later he composed it fully in Paris based on his memory of birdsongs and fountains. First debut 1939.

Aranjuez celebrated special music days dedicated to Maestro Rodrigo for the first time in 2019.  Although Aranjuez is not his hometown, his masterpiece namesake has been recognized worldwide.  Guitar as the main instrument at the forefront of an orchestra was a rare event, and Rodrigo introduced the Spanish guitar as part of his homeland nostalgia. At the time, he was living in Paris and Spain was on the edge of civil war. Although a concert pianist, Maestro Rodgrigo found the guitar the best instrument to convey the essence of this landscape that captured his heart on his honeymoon in Aranjuez. To coincide with the 80-year anniversary of this magnificant composition, I began a project to capture the essence of his inspirational landscape as a forest flaneur.  For the past few years, I have strolled the same paths as Maestro Rodrigo and lived amongst the bird songs that inspired his guitar concert.  Now in 2023 the project is coming to completion.  A special commission by the local rowing association will house one of my final paintings from this collection in their newly awarded building for a national rowing center. A 3D poetic canvas will also be created in homage to this composer along with a short musical score on piano, my instrument of choice.

The Olive Branch: Toledo & surrounding olive groves 2023-2024

The olive branch project began as part of the international cultural heritage celebration (UNESCO) of the olive tree. It is celebrated in November and this year women were part of the theme. I created a mixed media collage on canvas that is a fusion of contrasts; the softness of lace juxtaposed to the roughness of an olive branch. Lace is traditionally a women’s handicraft due to its complicated process of intwining threads with nimble fingers.  It is valued for its beautifully woven patterns and versatility. The coarse olive branch is stiff and rudimentary withstanding winds and dry heat in rocky soils. It is respected for its steadfast determination and abundance of fruits sustaining civilizations past and present with its oil. Together these elements form a bridge across the canvas unbroken in strength and elegance much like women who have worked side by side in the olive groves over time to produce quality oil. It is no wonder that the olive branch is our shared cultural heritage considering it has inspired legends, myths, and spiritual renewal under the wings of Goddesses such as Athena and Eirene (Goddess of Peace). Let us not forget the simple yet powerful symbol of the olive branch. I offer here my olive branch in communion of other women as a way across borders for reconciliation to rub out the roughness in the world with its soothing oil, especially today in times of unrest. Hopefully it will inspire others to create their own version of an olive branch.  A forest flaneur stroll through the olive groves of Toledo countryside has a quiet and serene element of wisdom imbedded in the ancient trunks. Can we hear it? I hope to capture more creative inspirations from these mighty trees and their ageless landscapes. A 3D poetic canvas upcoming.

Past Projects

Project 1

The Mini Zen Flaneur and sharing abundance.

The farm flaneur came about due to my recovery from Covid-19 in Spring 2020. I was able to rent a plot of land in a rural area south of Madrid to get out into the fresh air and sunshine. Organic gardening was refreshed from years ago in California volunteering with UCSC Chadwick farm project. In Spring 2020, it was a way to build back my physical strength and at the same time raise my own food. On my flaneur following a country road to the farm, I stopped and took in the flora and fauna. I took notice of the farming community (human and animal) that I was now becoming a member. As I gardened with weeding and caring for plants, I became immersed in a mini zen flaneur of visual and tactile perception. The harvest was abundant and we shared all with friends and family. Poetry and art to follow.

Project 2

Journaling through the pandemic.

As I faced the aftermath of Covid-19 side effects from the virus, I realized my body was in need of recovery including my cognitive and emotional status. I had made a journal of scanty notes during the illness.  The challenge of isolation was daunting, so I used this creative writing technique to ease the mental pain and keep a focus on progress to trudge through the dark times.  It served me greatly to find a voice with an ironic tone in order to face the whole ordeal from a positive attitude. Later, I used these notes to write a story that actually helped me recover my brain capacity. I had started with poetry as a simple way to approach a cognitive task. It was a slow process to activate the brain, and not overheat it. I had headaches, confusion and trouble focusing. Then, I added a prose section to explain the story reaching out to a broader audience and levelling up my capacity to complete longer sentences and paragraphs. Finally I added an academic section of research to recover completely. It was an efficient mode of gain back my concentration and confidence. Journalling workshops available. Book published August 2019.

Project 3

In the footsteps of Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft.

2019 marked the 200-year anniversary of the first Frankenstein publication in 1819.  I was in Mont Blanc holding a workshop on the flaneur methodology and was able to capture a unique walk behind Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft in her poetic inspirations for the novel.  It was Autumn 2019 and the proliferation of mushrooms dotted the countryside with a wonderland of colour hidden and in plain view.  However, the unexpected glacier flaneur was astoundingly magical with its exquisite colours and texture admired from a distance.  However, the shock came as we approached the ice cave. The markers of time alerted walkers to the devastating depletion of the ecosystem since Mary had visited.  The most noticeable was the 2015-2019 gap that was as large as 1915-2015.  In a mere 4 years, the glacier had melted at the same rate as the one hundred years prior!  I began to create a photo collage of movement for the mushrooms that were poisonous and untouchable.  I wanted to write and paint this sense of speed that blurs our vision of global warming; bringing it to the forefront.  Poetry and art to follow.  Book published 2022.