Drawing on the dock.
While Tod snapped 733 photographs (I thank him for the illustrative materials in the previous week’s entries!), I spent my time sketching. I wasn’t quite so prolific, but I managed almost 2 dozen drawings.
Near the end of our stay, Jone was peeking over my shoulder watching me sketch the clubhouse window and bookshelf, I think it was. So I invited him to draw with me the next afternoon during his break. He and I sat outside and drew flowers. I showed him how to use the watercolor pencils I’d brought along. Soon we were joined by Benny, Maria and her sisters. It was really fun to watch them work. Benny drew a fabulous leaf. The girls drew flowers on the bushes around us. They are all very natural artists.
Jone has an untapped gift. His watercolor of hibiscus showed a delicate touch and a good eye. It was every bit as good as mine and he swears he hasn’t drawn before. I was so pleased! We gathered again the next day. “We should have started this sooner,” he commented. He was so delighted with drawing that I left the pencils, brush and the remainder of my watercolor paper for him.
Tapa patterns on cloth in the clubhouse.
There are traditional geometric patterns laid out in lines called tapa that are used in textiles and as decorative elements. They pop up everywhere on Namena—the bed canopies, the ceilings, the table mats, even the battle hammers that decorate one wall. I spent a lot of time examining them.
The sulu design in progress
So when Joan asked if I would draw them a logo to use for their new sulu and t-shirts, I incorporated tapa into the design. Moody’s Namena have a tropicbird as their mascot, so the bird flies over three rows of tapa: one neat geometric that Benny likes from the fabrics in the clubhouse; one of my own design that symbolises the plants on the island (and the male/female triangle symbols since I’d just finished reading The Da Vinci Code); and a wave pattern on the top so the bird soars over the ocean. I was pleased with the result; Joan loves it and gave me a big hug when I presented it to her. I’m happy that a little bit of me will be on Namena for a while.
Posted by kuri at October 15, 2004 01:43 PM