Blessings

"Flexibility"

There’s a rainbow of dragonflies here in Bali. There are red ones, black and magenta, sapphire blue, metallic gold, green, and even rare white ones. For decades they’ve been an important symbol to me in both my paintings and jewelry. I’ve designed carvings of frogs with dragonflies on their backs, leaves with dragonflies and just dragonflies for earrings and necklaces.  

In the spring of 1984 I’d rented a house on the remote island of Filicudi off the coast of Sicily. I was in the middle of a painting and sensed it needed a dragonfly. I didn’t have a picture to refer to and had only a vague recollection of how they looked. I’d never seen one on the island and my attempts to draw them from memory were miserable. 

One morning during breakfast on the veranda, I was still wishing for one of these clear winged beauties when a dragonfly suddenly appeared and landed on a tall weed a foot away from me. My heart raced. With no pencil at hand, I very slowly rose and made a dash for anything I could find to draw with.

The dragonfly was still there, perched on a gently swaying stalk, as though awaiting my return. I sketched. He turned giving me another angle. I sketched again. He turned again until I had all the angles I needed. Then off he flew. I didn’t see another one during my stay on Filicudi. 

A few years ago in my Ubud home, a black velvet dragonfly buzzed around the kitchen, banging into the windows, looking for the way out. I observed him for a while and then said out loud, “Come on! Let’s go outside.” He landed on my outstretched thumb and we walked together out into the garden. In the sun he transformed into a stained glass window. His black wings had transparent olive green at the top with tiny magenta windows inset into the black. His body had mosaic patches of robin’s egg blue and a red dot behind his head. He stayed for a while until we had our fill of each other and then we said, “Good-bye”. 

These meetings with dragonflies make me stand at attention. And when the rare white one skims the koi pond at twilight I feel blessed. Blessed to live in this thriving colorful and complicated culture. Blessed to have love in my life, and blessed to be creative. 

What makes you count your blessings?

Mammoth Tusk and Sterling Silver