ARTFUL READERS CLUB 

HALF OF A YELLOW SUN  

BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE 

JULY 31, 2015

It's time again for my monthly book review for Art and Sole's ARTFUL READERS CLUB. For July, I'm reviewing "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adihie. 

The book gets its title from the flag of the short-lived, independent nation of Biafra. After 2 1/2 years of civil war to gain independence from Nigeria, millions of civilians died from fighting and from famine. Biafra existed from May 30, 1967 to January 15, 1970. It has since been reintegrated into the Nigerian nation.

HALF OF A YELLOW SUN is a story about the birth and life of Biafra. Before reading this book, I didn't know much about the small country... what I knew came from photojournalism- LIFE MAGAZINE pictures, primarily. Biafra was a synonym for starvation, hunger and misery. 

But the book isn't only about war... war with its horror is scenery for a story of love, loyalty, friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and fight for survival. It's a universal story placed in a particular historical context! It's a HUMAN story, bringing to life the different layers of Nigerian society, giving them back their African identity and heritage while telling how it was snatched away. War cuts across class, gender and race...the privileged Igbo woman (the second largest ethnic group, living in southeastern Nigeria,) the Igbo houseboy from the village, the white Englishman in love with Igbo art. Three primary voices for this story, three hearts broken by the grief of a war from which they were somewhat protected: Olanna by her family's wealth, Ugwu by the status and resources of his employers and Richard, by being a white foreigner. Yet, their hearts were all exposed and vulnerable...HUMAN!

I was totally unprepared for the force of this story about the birth of little-known Biafra...how the impact of the awful reality of these years would affect me, loving Africa as I do. The realization that this struggle has been repeated over and over throughout the "dark continent"...throughout the world... and continues to happen. It was searing, raw and unforgettable...a highly recommended read!

Thanks for stopping by. Please join me for my next regular posting.

Big Hugs,

abbyj

WILD, HOT AFRICA 

JULY 22, 2015 

TRY IT ON TUESDAY just opened a challenge that I absolutely couldn't resist... "hot and wild" is the theme- for me, AFRICA is the place!

I caught this fabulous leopard in Botswana one late afternoon when Michael and I were enjoying our 50th anniversary trip to Africa. She was watching some warthogs below the tree...planning dinner for her babies. A woman's work is never done!!

This guy is a resident of Tanzania. He emerged from the rocks at dusk (when the lighting was perfect) on a search for food...always food!

Meet my friend, Icaru. She lives on Ngamba Island in Uganda. We met when she and I went for a walk, along with her keeper, several years ago. She was 11 when we met. She's an orphaned chimp as are all the rescued chimps on this island.  Chimps have a very good memory...she has remembered me on subsequent visits through the years. We play, groom one another, and you should hear her giggle when I tickle her... she is a gift in my life!

 

 

 This was a quick post...hope you enjoyed it. See you next posting...

Big Hugs,

abbyj

  

BACK IN THE GAME

August 6, 2013

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

I hope you've been enjoying your days... for us, summer...warm and sunny, green and fragrant. The birds have been very busy at our bird feeder...always a pleasure to watch! 

 

Back in the swing of art challenges from a variety of online blogs...ongoing fun to share art and create new pieces!!

 

SoArtful Challenges asked participants to play with maps... with Africa still very much on my mind and in my heart, I used my photo of an Ethiopian mother... 

Collage Obsession was in the mood for some gardening... perfect time of year to admire the fruits of your labor if you're into that!!! I used some field journal sketches and notes about gardening...

Being a former pilot (of small aircraft) and having a continuing interest in aviation...(my husband is a dedicated recreational pilot...) I'm an admirer of Amelia Earhart. When Sunday Postcard Art requested some art to celebrate women, my thoughts turned to her. What ever happened to Amelia?

 Finally, is there anyone who doesn't love the idea of Paris...if not the actual city? Just the thought conjures up so many wonderful images for me. Again, using some photos I took while there, I offer "Bon Pain" or good bread...for Think Monday-Think ATC's challenge blog.

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week and of course, your weekend!! Thank you for stopping by.

 

Hugs 'til the next,

abbyj

READY FOR CHALLENGES... 

August 22, 2012  

RAINBOWS refresh my heart and soul!

Welcome back, family and friends, 
Hope this posting finds you all well and enjoying the tail end of the season (wherever you may be!) This weeks posting is all about art challenges...

The challenge blog at 4X4 FRIDAY asked participating artists to create a piece with a rainbow... I also chose "rainbows" for my 6 word memoir this week as well- they ARE beautiful, aren't they? 

COLLAGE OBSESSION and SUNDAY POSTCARD ART both declared their themes to be CIRCUS...I'm really into them having just finished reading "Night Circus."  INSPIRATION AVENUE asked artists to show where they wished to be...of course, in my current frame of mind, I chose THE CIRCUS!~!!~ Finally, THREE MUSES wanted to see something in black and white plus one more color...guess what my theme was for that?  Obviously...CIRCUS!!!

B and W and one color

One more CIRCUS theme...my choice... TAKE A WORD requested a piece of art that looked TATTERED- my last circus themed piece...I promise!!

Last (but not least,) CRAZY AMIGO CHALLENGE wanted to see if we were given a choice, where we'd travel to...of course, I chose AFRICA.

One last thing...a sneak peek at a project the PHOTOARTJOURNALS online Yahoo art group has been working on...love this group as it's all about photography and improving your photographic skills. We're in the process of putting together a collaborative book using our photographs, but inverting the color...makes it look like a negative. Interesting effect...here's one photo I've played with: can you guess where I took the picture? 

All for now, dear family and friends.  Hope you'll stop by again.

Hugs,
abbyj 

BACK ON TRACK... 
July 25, 2012 

'Try to live your best life!"

CRAZY AMIGO CHALLENGE  blog declared it's theme for the week would be decided by each participant and TAKE A WORD suggested the theme "messy."  I decided to combine the two and make a little soapbox comment about a very big disaster...a MESSY tragedy of major proportions...the senseless massacre in Colorado. I suggest that we all try to be the change we want to see in this world because clearly, things MUST change!!! The hugs and kisses as well as the flowers in the graffiti piece suggest a gentler, kinder approach toward others and toward  life itself.

I hope you've all had a happy, healthy, productive week. I've been getting stronger with each day and am almost back to normal...ready to return to Africa tomorrow (if the opportunity presented itself and if my husband would come with me!!) Instead, I must wait until next summer... I'm still unpacking the suitcase in my mind, filled with memories of another wonderful visit with my African families and friends...

Back in America, in my part of the country, summertime means the fish are jumping...the theme for this week's COLLAGE OBSESSION challenge blog. That's the case waaaay up north in Alaska, into Canada and all the way to the Arctic Circle where the polar bears are catching those jumping fish...they need them to survive!!! Here's a piece based on a photo I took when we were visiting with the polar bears in Churchill...northern Manitoba, Canada several years ago. Amazingly beautiful animals...

THINK MONDAY-THINK ATC, in the spirit of summer, declared their theme to be "summer rain." I really enjoyed this subject and worked on two pieces...

Finally, my year-long Art and Sole Postcard Challenge took us on a virtual trip to INDIA... and what a trip it was. Here are my card and my book page... I was very taken with the depth of spirituality in this country...beautiful people with wonderful, honest, reverent hearts.

I wish you all a gentle, happy week with many reasons to smile. Hope to see you for my next posting...thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

abbyj

AFRICAN ADVENTURE 
July 18, 2012 

"The RHINO population is near extinction..."

Hi dear family and friends,

I know it's been a long while since I've blogged, but it's not because I didn't try! The signal in Africa didn't allow me to upload photos and since I'm a visual person, I couldn't get myself to write if I couldn't SHOW you what I was writing about!!!  But, having weathered a parasite scare, a severe intestinal disorder, the worst case of flu I've EVER experienced...and, believe it or not, a ROOT CANAL as soon as I returned home...a week ago today... I'm now almost back to "normal."  A few more tests and I'll be free of any scary disorders... 

I want to tell you, first, about the awful state of the RHINO POPULATION throughout South Africa. Poaching has reached epic proportions and it's probable that our grandchildren will never see rhinoceros in the wild when they're grown up...a sad commentary on the greed and cruelty of the poachers.  While in South Africa with my family (transplanted from Glasgow, Scotland to Johannesburg and Capetown, South Africa many years ago,) we all had the opportunity to join forces with South Africa's Anti-Poaching Team as they darted (from a helicopter) a young rhino female for the purpose of putting a tracking chip in her horn as well as to take a blood sample and a bit of her ear...all for d.n.a. purposes if she's ever abducted or injured...or worse. All the info the team gathered will aid in identifying, prosecuting and bringing to justice those poachers responsible. It will help A BIT... they need many, many more people to do what we did. Meanwhile, we all got to be up close and personal with this sedated rhino... to feel her horn, the soft skin around her mouth and face and just be in the presence of such a powerful, prehistoric animal. She was blindfolded to lessen her stress and was quite gentle. After the anti-poaching unit finished their tests and implants, we all cleared the area so that when the vet gave the rhino a "wake up shot," we could observe from a safe distance as she got up and walked away as though nothing had happened. It made us feel good to have done a little bit to help...  A final note to this story: I had the privilege of naming this sweet female rhino, so I named her after my Sweetie Girl granddaughter, Lilly... Lilly the Rhino!! Here are some photos of the process... 

...And in another part of South Africa, East London...

Dear friends in East London, South Africa...Ingrid, Andrew and Emma and Holly...we had fun at an elephant encounter!!

Moving on to Ethiopia and my adopted families and my Kara village... located in the southern part of the country along the Omo River, an extension of the mighty Nile.

Kara village (Duss) from the air

Lumale, the 6-tented camp where I stay, 5 minutes from my village

The drop toilet tent and the shower tent behind my living tent

The view of the Omo River from the front of my tent

A pretty empty Kara village...it was harvest time in the farms and everyone was working at their farms during the day...

  

Now for my favorite part...the people of the Kara community...my families and friends... 

My dear friend Walla, her husband Dido and their children

The first ABBY in the Kara community...Walla's daughter. Color me honored...

I've known this girl, Mudo, since she was 4 or 5...she painted me in typical Kara fashion!! Not bad...

My dear friend Buno with her husband, Nanga and her children. Nanga is holding onto little 14 month old Abby...the second Abby in the Kara tribe. Buno's eldest daughter is married and has a baby of her own now...she's pictured with the infant on the right of the photo...

Buno and little Abby

Finally, a few token animals in South Africa...I never see any of THE BIG FIVE in Ethiopia...too many people!

But I DO see lots of livestock throughout tribal Ethiopia!!

 I've had a hard time keeping up with my Art and Sole Postcard Challenge while in Africa... finally caught up with this weeks virtual journey to Ireland...where residents enjoy the world's highest quality of life- it's true!  This, courtesy of THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT, a part of the group that publishes The Economist.  In rendering this judgement, they used 9 indicators to rank 111 countries for its residents' quality of life: material well-being, health (life expectancy at birth,) political stability and security, family life (divorce rate,) community life (church attendance or trade-union membership,) climate and geography, job security, political freedom and gender equality. Interesting, isn't it?

 All for now, dear ones...thanks for coming back to check in after such a long time away. I hope you enjoyed your virtual African trip with me... it was heart-warming and soul-fulfilling to see family (both blood and "adopted,")  as well as dear friends. I look forward to seeing you for the next posting of The Vivere...my blog!

Hugs of appreciation,

abbyj