Montana Fires

My goodness - I am far behind with updates as I returned last month to Bhutan to complete the sculpture for the king a few months earlier than planned (with only two weeks to prepare during which I worked hard to try to complete a commissioned sculpture and then too - we took my mother's ashes to Nebraska to entomb with my father's ashes). Friday I finally felt more grounded and less jet-laggy.Meanwhile, Montana is experiencing an unprecedented fire season so I wanted to let you know that so far we are ok up here on my mountain while much of the state suffers and we are all under extreme alert and much smoke:

Fingers crossed...

I update Facebook and Instagram nearly daily (and will soon be investing in a way for my blog to be more connected to the daily updates)

Stay tuned (and stay safe)

Food for thought:

If you were a door - what kind of door would you be?

Let there be light...

Thankful for good light today (still wearing long underwear but at least I could shed two down layers and the fleece/wool Carhartt hat). Brave little buds have begun to appear in trees and on the ground much to my relief -helpful encouragement after an unusually delayed spring.

A rabbit for a prince

I leapt into the project the morning after my arrival as if jet lag wouldn't catch me.  The weather has been unseasonably COLD since my arrival in Bhutan.  After two days at the job site finishing the panel with the snow leopard I carved last year, I got sick.  But I continued carving the little rabbit cheered me up as I struggled to carve in the cold with a cold and very little good light. [embed]https://youtu.be/Hgv5N6RvwHU[/embed]

Time warp in Bhutan

Two weeks have leapt, spun, crawled, tickled and tortured me since I left Montana to embark on the second chapter in the carving project for the king of Bhutan.  Time is a trickster.

Can I just say...."PHEW?!"  Today is my first day off since I arrived.  Unseasonable cold, wet and snowy weather challenged me to the max since I am carving outdoors and have only natural light to see by (not because electricity and light don't exist in Bhutan but because the only artificial light source is florescent which doesn't work at all when carving relief - besides the fact that florescent light literally makes me crazy).  I woke my third morning here with a nasty cold after two bone-chilling long carving days.  Luckily the cold waited until after dinner with the governor in his home before it clutched my innards, clogged my lungs and zapped my bones.

But I kept carving.  I even crammed two sawhorses into my room to carve with more warmth in near darkness next to the window while snow blew sideways outside.

Magic, happiness and soul food are fast friends in this magical kingdom.  But a few days ago I found myself pushed to a tender edge - raw and emotional.  Fragile.  I desperately needed a break before I broke.  My dear friend Dilu offered me refuge at the splendid Druk Hotel which he manages in Thimphu.  After a breath-taking and life-threatening 3 hour steep narrow mountainous ride I arrived weary and teary in Thimphu to the delight of finding a claw foot TUB in my room. Sweetness and relief (tubs are rare here). I awoke early this morning cocooned in sumptuous comforting sheets, serenaded by city dogs enthusiastically barking their Sunday morning "revival meeting."   I am calmed by the elegant beauty and healing tones in my spations well-lit warm room - full of gratitude.  This gift of a room is like a light sponge cake slice of heaven. Pure delight.

The next chapter in Bhutan

I left Montana a week ago already (seems like much longer ago).  My first post enroute to Bhutan:

The impressive land/snow mass presence of Mount Rainier pumped my spirit with belief and strength as we flew by.  Not so long ago I found myself on that summit in borrowed snow gear, rented boots and crampons - my first snow/glacier/mountain summit embarked upon rather blindly as a distraction/reaction to deep grief of suddenly losing my dear dog Shiva.  Life presents summits, none of which come by without the not-so-simple ability to put one foot in front of the other in unfamiliar and even extreme conditions while belief and disbelief dance with each other.  Powered by the drum beat of persistence.  Compelled.  Scared.  Humbled.  Intrigued.  Here I go again - not the ice crystal snow ghost mountain but a creative endeavor in a tiny fairytale country undertaken as a gift for a king.

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Little Prince

Crown Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan celebrated his first birthday earlier this month.  Of course I included a special critter just for the young prince when I designed the carving for his father the King of Bhutan.  Next month I will return to Bhutan to continue the carving project.

Totally infectious Happiness

Singing - much of the time. Lotsa laughing. The Bhutanese carpenters I work with sing and laugh and laugh and sing. Old people, young people - sing. Totally infectious. I love it. So here is some candid footage of the girls who work at the resort I stayed at: [jwplayer mediaid="4813"]

https://www.facebook.com/rob.ryder2/videos/10155485881084829/

Home Sweet Home

Oh my goodness.  We all need to sit down for a long cup of tea or a big glass of wine as I've sooooo many stories to share...!

I meant to write.  Sooner.  More often.  But lordy life walloped me with complexity at the same time I was whipped with jet lag (much worse jet lag on the return than going over).  Just a quickie list to give you an idea:

Studio furnace gasped, sputtered and quit (over and over) a few days before my return from Bhutan.  I had to gimp it along, restart and restart the poor bugger while keeping a fire in the stove for the following week.  Raymond had to keep blowing our road open for three service visits while we waited for parts during a SUPER cold snap.

No truck.  My truck was totaled just a few days before I left for the fairy tale kingdom of Bhutan.  I've owned 3 trucks in the last 30 years.  Insurance companies and shopping...

Solstice in Yellowstone.  What a blessing to be at Old Faithful with my new (OFFICIAL) family for a few days of pure beauty and total delight.  The snow coach delivered us back to civilization a day before Christmas Eve.

The holidays.  Mix of celebration and mourning.  Cliff and mom a big part of my heart and soul.

Lotsa post-holiday life stuff as the sale of my mother's condo was settled, a new (used) truck purchased, some intense post-dog-attack yuckiness in the formal (formidable) world of attorneys and insurance companies, the delivery of a sculpture to the Yellowstone Art Museum and a total (much needed) revamp of my studio.

More (of course) has transpired in the four weeks since my return.  I am still processing the magic that happened overseas even as I begin plans for my return.

Yaks...!

Big yak attack just below Cheli La pass. (gosh I love these cute buggers - there is something kind of bunny-like about them...)

Truck Love

"I love the construction trucks" I said to Big Tashi our driver during my first week on the job site in Bhutan. "You should love a man, not a truck" he said.

Sparking possibilities...

She was very shy but circled closer and closer once her brother excitedly told her what I was up to. I'm not certain but several of us us discussed it and believe I am the first female to carve in Bhutan. The beautiful fairytale Himalayan country is impressively embellished by a long history of traditionally trained carvers. One of the caught this candid moment while he was on a ladder outside:

Lofty Heights and Soulful Depths

Two weeks of spiritual, artistic, scenic, meditative inspiration and healing.  I feel more-than-blessed.

While I have zillions to share and stories abound - my internet time is limited.  Although internet is more accessible than one would think in this remote Himalyas valley, I am most often without the internet (which quite frankly is totally ok with me).  Contradictions abound and astound - but rather than being frustrated, I am amused.  For instance, plumbing in my room at this quaint resort freezes each night yet the beautiful staff girls who dote on guests who sing to themselvehave their own cell phones.

Today I completed the design for my carving.  Phew!  I say "Phew!" for several reasons.  I am rather out-of-shape creatively since life events and PTSD from the dog pack attack last year have kept me from creating.  Then too - EVERYTHING here is different.  Even simple things which I take for granted back home (like paper) are cause for a convoluted treasure hunt.  Don't get me started on tools....!  Well just to give you an idea -  back in Montana I pulled the aluminum framing square out of my suitcase at the last minute when Raymond insisted that certainly framing squares exist in Bhutan but it turns out "not so much" (the standard Bhutanese answer for many inquiries).  But I love it. 

I am slurping up the vivid culture like a hungry child.  Total immersion (another reason why blog-time hasn't happened much).  But I do manage Instagram and Facebook posts nearly daily so please follow me there.  Even if you don't participate much in either Social Media worlds, everything I post is public so you can follow and look freely.  The Bhutanese people are not slaves to time - "maybe after sometime" is also standard response - to everything.  

I like it.  Meanwhile, I will write another blog post sometime.  Maybe.  After.  Some.  Time.