Donuts and Dodos

I have been illustrating a children's book and as usual, I try to do my homework and research things as diverse as flora and fauna, clothing and cultures. And I look at other illustrators to see how they would handle the same subject. Yes, I should be unique in my style and approach, but who knows, maybe I can learn a trick or two along the way. And actually I do end up with the drawings reflecting me more than anyone else. There is always that moment of imposter syndrome when you think that you should throw the whole lot in the bin because you are not good enough, but I have learnt not to do that anymore. And that is another reason I look at other illustrators. Oh my goodness me, did someone actually pay these people to do this stuff? If I think I am not qualified, then I need to re-assess the situation. Some of their drawings are so awful it takes a few moments to figure out what it is supposed to represent. While others are so gorgeous they should be framed and put in an art gallery. I sit somewhere in the middle. Many years ago I was working in a psychologist's rooms and she had a book with an interesting illustration on the cover. At first glance it looked like random dots, but as you relaxed your brain, or the thinking part of your brain anyway, the dots formed into a face. It was so well done and was supposed to be a Rorschach inkblot reference. (Where the patient looks at the inkblot and says what it looks like to them and then, the psychologist can analyse their emotional functioning and mental health.) As an artist I love the inkblot artwork that has developed. In fact I used it in one of my first big art works when I painted a face for a friend. I used orange and purple paints, so, obviously not photo realism in any way shape or form. I thoroughly enjoy the 'happy accidents' that form when you allow the paint to flow out of your fingers and do its own thing on the page. Rorschach would have a field day analysing my art. I can see him tapping his chin and looking at me quizzically as he decides whether I am a genius or simply mad as a hatter. The answer is simple: Tuesday through Friday I am genius, and the rest of the time mad as a hatter. Oh, I do enjoy Alice and the interaction with the Hatter. In fact, I am a fan of many of the character of Lewis Carrol's fantasties. Did you know that Lewis Carrol invented Scrabble? He was the fourth child of eleven and never married and he spoke with a stammer as did many of his siblings. He said the character that most represented him was the Dodo. Because of his stammer, Lewis Carrol would introduce himself as 'Do-do-Dodgson.' (The real name of Lewis Carrol being Charles Dodgson of course.) Oh, yes, I am happy with my illustrations for those of you who may be wondering.

Now as to the Dodo bird. It was real. Yes, it is now extinct. But it is a close relative of the pigeon which is in no way near to extinction. Just a pity the sailors didn't take their own birds with them for a tasty pigeon pie or two. The Dodo was about a metre tall and totally flightless. Which made it easy prey for hungry sailors who could run faster than the bird could scurry away. And no doubt, it was very meaty and made a delicious stew or roast or pie. Sadly it died out in 1662 and has never been seen again. Discovered in 1598 and gone less than a century later. The symbol of man's greed and stupidity in thinking they can kill indiscriminately without any consequences. They blamed it all on the Dodo being stupid, as if the victim had a choice in its demise. My ancestors lived on the Dodo's home island of Mauritius and one of them was instrumental in establishing a bird sanctuary on an outer island, although at that time in history, the Dodo was considered a myth. The biggest avian population was and remains the bat in Mauritius. Bat guano was mined and sold as fertilizer. A fairly smelly way to make a living but to the bat poop digger the spoils were financial and lucrative if not pleasant to collect. I like bats. Yup. I am a bat lover. They look so intelligent hanging upside down looking at you with their large eyes. When I mowed the lawn in Zululand, the only highlight in an otherwise arduous chore was looking up into the Ficus tree and seeing the bats watching me with wings folded over their bodies like strange biker leathers. I would stop in the shade and wipe the sweat out of my eyes as I spoke to the bats, asking them how their day was going and if that pesky snake had bothered them? Okay, to be truthful, I chatted to the resident snake too. He/she/it had large brown eyes and was so cute. I could say that snakey would wink at me but we all know that snakes do not have eyelids and sleep with their eyes wide open. Hey, maybe I was speaking to a sleeping snake without realising it? Nope, it was definitely awake and aware of me. Snakes have transparent scales over their eyes, by the way, to protect the eye from injury and damage. Snakes don't even have ears, so maybe my speaking was more for myself than for snakey? Snakes feel vibrations through their body and the buzz of the lawnmower would have penetrated Snakey's sleep. Snakey lived in our gatepost and would pop his/her/its head out at the approach of a pedestrian, which freaked out many a visitor. But Snakey was harmless and helped keep the bug problem under control. In fact the bats were also on bug patrol most nights. No snakes in my present garden situation. A few odd sounds at night that have me scratching on the internet to find out what animal or bird had created that noise. So far it has been owls and the odd possum that have penetrated my snoozing. Oh, and the nocturnal obnoxious inebriated eejit that I wish was extinct or at least isolated on a distant island or two.

We had solar panels fitted to our house this week and every one of the installers was South African. Yup, my ears were entertained with the sounds of my home country. My daughter teaches at a school locally and apparently there are quite a few more of our ilk residing in the area. She came across a few in her classes and says it is interesting to hear what they say before they realise that she can understand them. I have an app on my phone that tells me how much energy the panels are generating and how much I am using and hence how much is being sold back to the grid. Gee I could watch that all day. Little red and green dots dancing across the screen. Oh yes, I love those green dots the most. I am not racist against red, but come on, the green are my friends. I am biased of course as the green ones add pennies to my pocket and the red ones are evil and are the vampires of my power grid. We have panels on two sides of our roof to utilize the sunshine throughout the day. I am a bit geeky in that I want to save the planet for future generations. I can't change others, but I can certainly do a little bit here and there. I watched a talk on Jordan Peterson about Population collapse. Yes, I have heard all the horror stories about overpopulation from the time I was a child, but sadly I don't take instruction very well and have always questioned that premise. I know that Eugenics is where we try to breed 'good' people so that the 'bad' ones are overpowered, but no, nope, not what I had in mind. I want us to have children that will make the world a better place in the future for everyone. Children that will care for the environment, yes, even the snakes, bats and Dodos. Nigeria is on track to overtake China as the most populated country in the world and I do hope and pray that they have educational programmes to feed their minds and nourish their ideals. Young people will be in short supply in the next generation. Young people with innovative minds that can deal with problems, food, energy and even the oceans and coral reefs. We have reached the tipping point where the population in the world is at the most it has ever been, but also it is the most it will ever be. From now on in, the amount of people will decrease until we cannot sustain life as we know it. Yes, we can rely on mechanics to replace humans up to a point, but then mechanics pollute the atmosphere and slowly poison the air and stratosphere until ... well, thank goodness I will not see that eventuality. But my grandkids will and that scares me. I want them to swim across a coral sea and marvel at the beauty of the diversity of the fish and plant life. I would love them to be driving a vehicle that uses clean fuels and have careers that they enjoy but will also be beneficial to the world around them. My husband strived to make the world a better place before he died. Each day he would go for walks and pick up rubbish discarded along the roads and pathways. He would climb down muddy banks to retrieve a plastic water bottle and thought nothing of picking up a stinking piece of something disgusting, as long as he could leave the area cleaner than he had found it. The next day the rubbish would have been replenished, but he never gave up. We had got rid of our one use plastic bags long before it became law and the fuel consumption on our cars was always more important than horsepower or status. So, solar powered everything for me. I plan on buying a nice little car that I can plug into my solar panel powered power point in the near future.

No, I don't plan to go all the way back in time to actual horsepower. As a child I heard the story of Dick King and his 600 mile (960 km) ride through a treacherous country to find help for the British troops under siege in Durban. I might admire his perseverance and courage, but in today's world we would have used a cell phone and called in an aerial attack. Dick King and his compatriot, Ndongeni, were amazing and deserving of all the accolades they received for their heroic efforts. But me, I would have complained about saddle sores and fording 200 rivers without dry clothing on the other side, maybe not for me. I would have been bitten by the horse, or knocked off by the first low hanging branch. Could others in my family have done better and saved the soldier? My Dad would have stopped to talk to the locals and find out their histories ... he was an anthropologist at heart. Or investigated shipwrecks or archeological finds, or maybe bird watching. My Mom would have climbed trees to harvest orchids and it is debatable if she would have made it all the way down the coast without having to stop because she would have been overloaded with plants. My Gran, Gogo, was of sterner stuff. She once had a lightning ball chase her across her kitchen. The fireball had come down the chimney and luckily Gogo had the back door open and the lightning could escape without injuring anyone. I can see Gogo striding through the bush, stick in hand to swipe away any offending snakes. She spoke impeccable Zulu and would have been welcomed wherever she went. Maybe she wouldn't have made it either? She would have been offered meals and drinks and would never turn them down. She would sit cross-legged on the mats around the kraal, curing ills and caring for children. Well it would have to be up to Barry to save us all. My husband might have done it without stopping. He was all about being goal orientated. A trip from Zululand to Cape Town was often accomplished in the minimum amount of time because Barry would get behind the wheel of the car and refuse to stop except for essential pee..t stops. About 2,000 km (1,240 miles) Non stop. Let me repeat that. 4 kids in the back of the car all whining 'Are we there yet?' and Barry would switch off and drive and drive and drive. 18 hours on a good day of my answering the kids with platitudes. Trying to keep them amused with games and songs. Songs which my autistic son hated and he would put his hands over his ears and complain. Loudly. My mind and body was frazzled long before we reached our destination. Even without saddle sores I am not a good traveller. But Barry could have joined Dick King and focussed on the goal. Forget the people trying to kill him, the animals and the hazards. Nope, Barry could have done it. Him and Dick King would have been triumphant. Horsepower and man power at its best. But no, I do not want to house real horses in my backyard just to save the planet from pollution. I will find something else to ameliorate my affect on the environment. One solar panel at a time. One reusable bag, one recycled whatever and one less plastic water bottle. I am a warrior at heart. Truly I am. And if I reward myself with a donut or cronut, then that is just the way I roll. Join me.