Nature in disguise

Can you imagine a world without birds? I certainly can’t.

Luckily, I live in an area surrounded by rich and diverse birdlife. Every morning, I wake up to a symphony of amazing bird sounds. I love watching the bird's unique behaviors, the colorful lorikeets, the playful magpies, and their melodic songs, the unforgettable vocal performances of kookaburras, and the sharp calls of black cockatoos. But among this feathered cast, one bird really fascinates me - the Tawny Frogmouth, the master of camouflage! This bird is the ultimate hide-and-seek champion.

The Tawny Frogmouth is one of the most unique and intriguing birds in the world. This nocturnal bird has perfected the art of camouflage, blending seamlessly into its surroundings. Good luck finding it without a guide! In our family, looking for Tawnies has become one of our favourite pastimes. Have you ever seen Tawnies in nature? And how did you discover it?

The behaviour of Tawny frogmouth is as fascinating as their appearance. These birds are monogamous and family-oriented, sticking with the same mate for life and sharing parenting duties. They are like the power couple of the bird world!

Bird watching, or as I like to call it, "bird finding," is more than just a hobby for me. It is an adventure and a peaceful escape into nature's wonderland.

And when it comes to the Tawny Frogmouth, it is all about admiring nature's artistic and spectacular camouflage.

I have even painted a picture to celebrate this unique bird for you to enjoy!

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Mind-bending masterpiece

In this month's blog post, I would like to share one of my favourite books by the amazing author Haruki Murakami. I love how Murakami blends the ordinary with the extraordinary, creating a dreamy and magical atmosphere in his stories. His style is often referred to as magical realism, perfectly defining his storytelling approach. When you read his novels, you actually believe in some of the supernatural powers. The surreal feels somehow real. Or is it just me who cannot distinguish the blurred boundaries between reality and the fantastical?

One book that really stands out for me is "Kafka on the Shore." It is a beautiful and imaginative story with multiple plotlines, leaving some mysteries unresolved, which I find so intriguing. The main character, Kafka Tamura, goes on a journey of self-discovery, a quest to find his mother and sister while simultaneously seeking to understand his own identity.

Parallel to Kafka’s tale is the story of Satoru Nakata, an elderly man who lost his memory and intellectual abilities due to a wartime accident but gained the unique ability to communicate with cats. When I first encountered Mr. Nakata's unique ability in the story, I felt this book was very special. This is because when I was a little girl, I developed a special language designed for humans to communicate with cats and dogs. I was super obsessed with this and even created a dictionary with keywords to help understand our furry friends. I even gave regular tests to my parents and my brother, quizzing them on their new language skills for talking to cats and dogs. So, when I stumbled upon Mr. Nakata’s character, I felt like finally someone understood me. Even though Mr. Nakata’s character seems simple, his journey is pretty mysterious, involving other strange events like raining fish.

The rain of fish is a crucial moment in the novel. I think the fish falling from the sky can be a symbol of transformation or change. For the character Kafka, who's going through a big personal change and trying to find himself, the fish could represent this transformation - like breaking free from his old life and embracing the new. I find these kinds of symbols in Murakami’s books really cool and inspiring!

The novel also includes rich references to classical music and literature, such as one of Murakami's favorite authors Franz Kafka, who has a deep connection to my birth country.

Overall, I think this novel is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys diving into a surreal and imaginative world. I hope you get a chance to check it out!

I leave you with a quote from the book, that resonates with me:

 “Closing your eyes isn’t going to change anything. Nothing’s going to disappear just because you can’t see what’s going on. In fact, things will be even worse the next time you open your eyes. That’s the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won’t make time stand still”

And finally, here is my book cover design!

June Greats

Ascending and Descending, 1960

As some of you may know I am fascinated by the surreal and the imaginary world of art. One of the artists I admire is the Dutch graphic artist, Maurits Cornelis Escher.

As it happens, MC Escher was born 126 years ago in June 1898.

MC Escher is a master of the impossible and the unexpected. Escher's work is predominantly mathematical and revolves around architecture, geometry, perspective, reflections, animations of abstract concepts, and impossible spaces.  Despite his universal appeal, Escher was never fully embraced by the official art world. Instead, his fame came from the hippy counterculture of the 1960s, who considered him to be a pioneer of psychedelic art. But Escher was a man who belonged to no movement and had no interest in being associated with any.

Escher is often referred to as the “father of modern tessellations” because he commonly used geometric grids to form intricate interlocking designs. This technique of tessellations of the plane appears regularly in his work.

Another of Escher's fascinations was the animation of abstract concepts. In his piece, Reptiles, the lizards come to life as they crawl out of the artist's depiction of a drawing, only to return to it. Escher wrote of this print, "Evidently one of the reptiles became tired of lying flat and rigid amongst his fellows, so he puts one plastic-looking leg over the edge and wrenches himself free...."

Escher's work is full of surprises, and his imagination knows no bounds. Escher is probably most famous for his impossible drawings, such as the mesmerizing Ascending and Descending, and Relativity.

The Ascending and Descending is potentially Escher's most thought-provoking piece. The two ranks of human figures trudge forever upwards and eternally downwards on an impossible four-sided eternal staircase. The futility of their task is perfected by the two figures that are not on the eternal staircase. One gazes up at his condemned fellows from a side terrace; one sits glumly on the lower stairs. “Two recalcitrant individuals refuse, for the time being, to take any part in this exercise,” Escher commented. “They have no use for it at all but no doubt sooner or later they will be brought to see the error of their nonconformity.” His thoughts about this piece tell me that Escher was a kind of existentialist, not a surrealist.

Let's celebrate the power of imagination and the endless possibilities that lie within us. We can use our creativity to challenge the status quo, to think outside the box, and to create something truly extraordinary, like MC Escher continued doing all his life.

I am intrigued by the art of tessellations and I have tried to replicate Escher's lizards. The creation of the repetitions of the geometric patterns gives me a sense of order in the current chaotic world.

It is worth trying, and I invite you to take a look at my results.