Happy Solistice, Festivus & All that Jazz

Some loving insanity for your pleasure.

Click or tap on image to enlarge.

Power of the Mind

More loveliness from Natalie Tollenaere.  Mark and I may be making quite a few artistic investments soon.

 

Watercolor as Therapy

My Ex-Pat life coach and friend, Natalie Tollenaere, is an amazing and prolific artist.  She uses many media; the other day she commissioned me to document some of her watercolor, nut pigment and acrylic work from over the past 16 years.  This particular painting strikes me to the core.  I will likely purchase it.  She had me shoot all of these images for her website-in-progress where you will be able to purchase her art, too.  Stay tuned for that link.  

Watercolor © Natalie Tollenaere

The Elements

 The fiery wind.

Mystical Sun.

December 11, 2013

As part of the Kurema, Kureba, Kwiga event in November, an HIV+ artist expressed himself in sculpture.  

December 10, 2013

Part of the first large-scale public mural (Kurema, Kureba, Kwiga) in Rwanda at the RBC in Remera, Kigali, Rwanda.

December 9, 2013

DSC_0308.JPG, a photo by juliet.hutchings on Flickr.

In the vein of Throwback Thursday, I bring you Memory Monday, wherein I dig through my archives and find some photos of the recent past. This image was taken on a weekend trip on the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria, Uganda, 2008. I chased this raptor till she was fully fed up with me and waddled off into the lake. For more fun, check out my flickr photo stream at www.flickr.com/photos/julierue

December 7, 2013

Blue lights for Christmas are a throwback to childhood delights in Acton, MA.

December 6, 2013

The misty mountains of northern Rwanda, dusky and lush.

December 5, 2013

Mark and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at the Virunga Lodge in the misty mountains of northern Rwanda.  Idyllic.  

The (other) Men of the House

Final fur baby moment.  Here are Chewbacca (back) and Bob (front).  Bob is the newest member of the HutchPick clan, after Chewie's twin brother and best friend, Samwise Gamgee, was killed earlier this year.  Bob entered the family in April, and has been embraced (literally) by all members of our tribe.  We miss our Sam, but love our fam, all the same.

Daddy's Little Girl

More HutchPick fur baby fun!  Here is Debbie.  She is definitely Mark's baby--loves everyone, but adores Daddy.  I love it.

Fur Baby Love

We love our animals to bits.  This here is Lucky.  We are so danged lucky to have her.

Autumn in the States

I have an affection for all-things autumnal.  While visiting family and friends, I was smitten with this.

December 3, 2013

After a too-long hiatus from my photo of the day project (all for "good" reasons, e.g. I've been happy and busy working and traveling), I find myself desperately missing the ritual of shooting and sharing. I appreciate those of you who have been loyal followers, those who have shared this blog (in spite of my absence) and those who are coming back to see what's new.  

This past Sunday was World AIDS Day.  As part of the event, one of the oldest arts centers in Rwanda--Ivuka Arts--ran a 2-week-long anti-stigma arts workshop called "Kurema Kureba Kwiga (To Create, To See, To Learn)." The workshop culminated in this (the first-ever) street art mural in Kigali at the RBC (created, in part, by the Ivuka Arts Center artists and a visiting muralist from South Africa, Ricky Lee Gordon).

The event, spearheaded by my new friend and colleague, Judy Kaine, helped bring two things to the fore: cultural acceptance for those affected with HIV and AIDS and a burgeoning acceptance for the arts as a form of public expression.

Below, the official reveal of the mural the morning of World AIDS Day.