Even though this year has been heavily marked by my Mono and Coronavirus, I feel like I developed as a painter.
Argentina -Travel Video on YouTube However, the second semester started off with a unforgettable journey to El Bolson Argentina, I volunteered there for 3 weeks from Dec 23- Jan 13th. I lived in a small village in deep Patagonia where nobody spoke English. The host family were organic farmers and consisted of Ado, his wife Nancy, their daughter Ailén, and their son Manu, and their dog Mona.
I lived in a small hut “La Casita” next to the host family with a girl, Emilia, who was from Argentina. Emilia and I ended up becoming very great friends and even today we still send audio messages in WhatsApp so I can practice my Spanish. At first it was hard for me to connect with Emi because she was very anti Army and war, And when I first came to the host families house they asked me about college, I told them that I was in Army ROTC and that I would have to serve 5 years after to the United States Army. This gave her a bad impression of me. However, after the day ended and we would return to the Casita, Emi and I would make dinner together and talk. At first it started with small conversation and a quick bite, but after 3 weeks it ended with long conversation with a delicious meal. She was patient with me and was interested in knowing me. We would laugh and make so many jokes. We would have meaningful conversations about the path that our lives were about to take and what our purposes were. God gave us each other. God has his ways of bringing two people from entirely different backgrounds and experiences together to heal one another. We would sit in the sun either in the grass or on the beach and she would listen to me, She would tell me:” Josie, todo va a estar bien.” And I believed her. And everything is good. There would be sometimes where I would get so frustrated because I couldn’t express myself in Spanish and she knew. All she had to say was “ Josieeeee te quiero muchisimo” from across the farm field, the casita, or the river and I would smile and my heart would be filled.
Since Argentina is below the equator, I was there for their summer. I celebrated Christmas and New Years with the host family. This family not only taught me the language, culture, and more about organic farming, but they taught me patience, kindness, and how to just be in the moment. There were countless days were we would have no internet or electricity due to the sudden storms. The amazing Argentinian tradition of Mate allowed me to hear the language and the people. To sit an have Mate was this incredible relaxing part of the day where anyone could talk about anything that was on their minds, I was able to hear a variety of topics and discussions through our daily Mate. What is Mate you might ask? Mate is basically like a big tea time. However, it is more of a social aspect that is enjoyed. Of course you have the Mate-which is the free tea leaves that you put first into the Mate bowl. Then you pour hot water over it and each person will take their turn sipping from the metal straw. As the cup ran out, the server of the group, would refill it with hot water and a little bit of sugar, and then pass it to the next person. Mate was something that allowed people to meet as well. Emi and I, every day after work would go to the near by river that flowed behind the host families house. We would go swimming and jumping off the cliffs. One day we found this amazing spot where there was a little beach and the water was not as strong. There was almost like a pool aspect to it where the water was warmer, still, and sallow. She and I would horse around there a lot and have a good time teasing each other. After the first day, we met these group of young men who were there for their summer vacation but they were native to El Bolson. All I remember is sitting there quietly while Emi explained our volunteer work and where and who we were staying with... all while this boy with dark skin, black eyes, and deep green eyes, smiled at me and would have the longest eye contact ever.
His name was Gabriel and he was with his friend Fran. They were both native to the tiny village of ِEl Bolson. Gabriel is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met. He likes to think about nature and the purpose of man, happiness, family, and energy that surrounds us. Truly a free spirit. Anyway we got to know them when one of them asked me if I would like some Mate, Of course I said yes, Not many foreigners like Mate because it is very very very bitter. But I liked it for its many different qualities that allowed many people of all types to love one another and to know one another on a profound yet relaxed level.
Ailén was the daughter of the farmer Ado. An incredible woman who has injured so much already in her 25 years of life. What a girl. She has so much charisma. Its an incredible amount. Always dancing , always smiling, always asking hard questions, and always making others feel better, even thought there might be some hurt in her heart. Ailén Emi and I were great friends and we would spend some days inside dancing to random songs when the rain and cold permitted us from hiking and swimming. Ailén opened her life to Emi and me, she shared her home, her family, her friends, her joys, and her heartaches with us. We got to know Ailén on a proud level. She would take us to hangout with her amazingly funny girl friends and take us camping with her boyfriend and other friends, She took us clubbing and dancing in her home village and showed us the stores where she got groceries from.
So much happened in a span of 3 weeks, that I didn’t realize how much I was changing. After an experience like that one can never be the same, I love those girls, the family, the river, the mountains, the endless sky, the slow warm rain, the animals, the vegetables, the smiles, the laughs and the Mate.
After Argentina
After Argentina, I started my second Semester. I added a lot on my plate but I was enriched and excited for a new start. I was going to continue with my stopmotion and portrait paintings. After being surrounded by the nature in Patagonia, I was left dry when I tried to paint plants from life in Indiana. So I spent significant time in the greenhouse on campus house taking photographs, familiarizing myself with the different plant types, and making sketches. Then I would take this back to my studio where I either made larger sketches of combining photographs. For my portrait of Marissa, I started off with priming the entire canvas. Then I painted her from life. Then I combined several images and sketches into the portrait. I liked the greenhouse because it added some geometric shapes and architecture among the organic busy plant life. After her portrait I started my big self portrait in the greenhouse. I decided to incorporate a panoramic view into this painting. I wanted to capture how the greenhouse seems endless at times and how often I get lost in it . After corona virus and getting kicked out of my studio, I completed a lot of those painting. However, once I was ready to start the stopmotion I was not satisfied with the lighting and quality the camera was capturing with the space that I have it hanging up in my house.