AVATAR

Yes, the James Cameron movie.  Yes, the movie that’s Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest meets Thundercats meets Pocahontas meets Dances with Wolves.  I freely admit that the storyline isn’t that original and at times seems rather contrived.  But, my friends, I love this movie.  Yes, I really do. 

I rewatched AVATAR again recently and every time I see it I fall more and more in love with it.  The characters have grown on me.  I love Jake and Neytiri’s relationship and how it evolves from distrust to acceptance, trust, and love.  I didn’t really come to appreciate Jake’s personal journey until recently, and I admire the writers’ ability to hint at Jake’s internal conflicts subtly and to not insult our intelligence by having long, drawn-out scenes of his agonizing over what he should and shouldn’t do.  In fact, I think if the storyline had been more complex, it would have bogged down the movie.  Cameron was already trying to introduce us to a complex world with complex rules, creatures and peoples, and to have a complex plot on top of all of that would have been too much for the average audience.

Not only do I enjoy the storyline itself, but the artist in me swoons (seriously, ha!) every time the forest lights up at night.  I remember when I was at the midnight premier, sitting there beside my friends with my 3-D glasses on, completely immersed in the word of Pandora, I literally gasped—as did the rest of the audience—when we saw the bioluminescent forest for the first time.  I still stare in wonder at the radiant beauty of it, at the shades of vibrant blues and greens and lurid purples and oranges of the foliage, of the creatures (especially the dragons) and of the alien people themselves.  

Yeah, they kind of look like Thundercats, but they are gorgeous in their alien way, with their huge golden eyes, long, thick black hair, their slender bodies and lyrical language.  I wouldn’t mind being one of them for a day or two, running along tree branches bigger than anything I’ve ever seen, flying on dragons amid floating mountains, being able to bond and communicate with all life on Pandora.  Cameron’s Pandora is incredible and to see such amazing detail come to life makes me believe that there has to be a world out there like it.  I’ve always believed that if we can imagine it, it has to exist somewhere in the universe, and so I want to believe that something like Pandora is out there among the distant stars.

Needless to say, I’m excited about the sequels that will be released in the next few years.  (Yes, I’ll be at the midnight premiers.)  Cameron has already said he wants to explore the oceans of Pandora…I can’t even imagine what they will be like—they’ll probably be just as exotically beautiful as the bioluminescent rainforest we were introduced to in the first movie.  

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Tumblr

Yes, I have one.  Islanded in a Stream of Stars

I got it quite a while ago but didn't really start to get into it til now.  It's a place where people join together to celebrate their fandoms, no matter what they are.

It's addicting, like Pinterest, and I love it, like I love Pinterest.

You should get one too!

Enjoy :)

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"Never Give Up Hope"

I just wanted to share my newest graphite pencil portrait "Never Give Up Hope" featuring Laura Roslin and William Adama from Battlestar Galactica.

This portrait is from the final scene of the episode Resurrection Ship....


Laura Roslin: Congratulations, Admiral Adama.
William Adama: Thank you, Madam President. I, umm, never gave up hope, I just...stopped trying to get these a long time ago.
Laura Roslin: Just goes to show you, Bill. Never give up hope.
William Adama: Same goes for you, Laura. 
(Bill kisses Laura)

"Never Give Up Hope"
Laura Roslin and William Adama from Battlestar Galactica
Graphite pencils
10 hours

Ever since completing my degree I've dived back into the series for the second time and there is so much more I'm picking up on...all the subtleties of the characters and their relationships with each other--especially those of Roslin and Adama's relationship.  Even though I know what's happening this time around, this couple still moves me to tears.  They don't even need to say anything to each other; sometimes the looks they share or a small touches they give each other here and there is enough for the tears to well up.

In this portrait I wanted to capture their chemistry and the specific poignant moment between them but I also wanted to somehow capture the love I have for them on paper.  I did this by paying close attention to detail, like the curve of Roslin's nose against his, each scar and pucker of Adama's cheek, how his fingers hold her chin firmly enough for her skin to wrinkle a little, the small smiles that play on their lips.

God, I love this show.

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"The Jackals In Their Dens Tremble At Her Approach"

“Come on, Grandma!  Let’s play dress-up!”  So I used to say to my grandma as I breezed past her after lunch, galloping up the stairs as fast as my little legs would go.  Then I would burst into my mom’s old room and make a beeline to the wooden cabinet where my grandma kept a lot of her costume and fine jewelry.  I would sit next to her on the floor and together we would go through each drawer.  Soon we were both bedecked in amethyst rings, turquoise necklaces, and silver and gold bracelets.  I remember on one of these dress-up days Grandma pulled out a white box I had never seen before and I peered down eagerly, wondering what sparkling treasure would be nestled inside.

It was a huge lion’s claw.  The top of it was set in heavy gold and it hung from a long, thick golden chain. 

I remember my jaw dropping and Grandma tells me that my eyes got so big as I stared in wonder at it.  “Is it real, Grandma?”  At her affirmative, I asked if I could hold it.  She let me, and I ran my fingers carefully over the smooth surface, carefully touching the sharp tip.  “It’s your grandpa’s,” she told me.  I loved it.  I have always loved furs, naturalistic jewelry, precious stones and rocks, fossils, and claws and teeth of all different kinds of animals—even at that young of an age my imagination was captivated.

Later that afternoon I asked Grandpa if he would tell me the story of how he got the lion’s claw necklace, and here it is: When Grandpa was a young man he and a few other men went to Africa to hunt the dangerous animals that were overpopulating the areas where people lived.  “These animals, Dana,” he told me, “are not like they portray on television.  It’s like they are completely different species from what you’ve seen on TV or at the zoo.  When you encounter them in the jungle, like I have, and you look in their eyes you can feel their wildness.  They are primitive, feral.”  The claw came from the paw of the male lion that my grandpa killed.  When he came back to America, he had the claws turned into necklaces.  The one I had seen upstairs was the biggest of the bunch.

After that day, every time I played dress-up with my grandma, I would look for the lion’s claw and hold it for a while before putting it lovingly back in its box.  And even though it has been years since I have played dress-up, I have never forgotten the lion’s claw necklace.  A couple days ago during the family’s Christmas dinner party, Grandpa, Grandma and I were sitting together in the living room, chatting and laughing about all kinds of things.  Then my cousin Max came in to show us what Santa brought him for Christmas: a rifle.  It was so cool, and as I watched Grandpa hold it, I asked him to tell us again about his hunting trip in Africa (it had been many, many years since I had last heard the story).  “I remember the lion’s claw necklace, Grandpa,” I told him once he was finished.  “I remember how I used to hold it and look at it all the time when I was little.  It captured my imagination.  Maybe it’s the barbarian in me,” I laughed, “but I love that lion’s claw necklace.  It’s really awesome.”

I have a very special relationship with my grandparents.  We deeply understand each other and saying that we are best friends and kindred spirits doesn’t quite fully explain the profound and loving relationship we have.  Being the beautiful, generous souls that they are, my grandparents wanted to take me out to my favorite restaurant, PF Chang’s, for a celebratory lunch in honor of my completed MA degree and student teaching (my mom came too, which was really nice!).  When we were all seated, Grandma pulled a small box wrapped in golden paper with a shiny gold bow out of her purse and gave it to Grandpa.  Then he reached across the table to place it in my hands, saying, “Here’s an old Moroccan Proverb that suits you now that you’ve accomplished so much and will continue to do so: ‘The lions in their dens tremble at h[er] approach.’”  I grinned and in my mind, I thought, No way.  Not quite daring to believe, I carefully unwrapped the box, opened it, and there nestled inside was the lion’s claw necklace I’d loved for so many years.  I remember exclaiming and looking up at them, fingers tracing the familiar smoothness and sharp tip.  “We wanted you to have this, Dana,” Grandma said.  Gratitude welled up in my heart because the necklace represents so much to me and I thanked them both.  Grandpa smiled and asked, “Do you want to wear that now?”  “Of course!” I replied, clasping it securely around my neck.  Then Grandpa said, “Maybe this is more fitting for you: ‘The jackals in their dens tremble at her (the lioness’s) approach’—the lioness is you!”  “I like that, Grandpa,” I laughed, pressing the claw against my heart.  “I am a Leo, after all!” 

I couldn’t stop fingering the lion’s claw necklace—now my lion’s claw necklace—as my mom and I drove home.  I was so happy and so appreciative and so aware of their pride in me and their love for me that I began to cry.  The lion’s claw necklace is so much more than just a necklace: it symbolizes my grandparents’ strength, their courage, their generosity, and their love.  I haven’t taken the necklace off all day.  And whenever I wear it in the future I will always think of them.

Me and my lion's claw necklace.  Maybe I should think of a name for it!

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