Art Work

For the artwork in Forgiverance, I am humbly indebted to the ever-prolific Sandcrabs of Ko Phayam, Thailand.   May our lives be as fearless and truly timeless as these masterworks of improvisation. Highest Accolades to Pam Nimegeers for her spirited collaboration with these tiny zen artists, producing an excellent 2009 cover design.  

Butterfly is the Day

to Luna Moth's Night.

This painting is from "Travelpoems."   Lenzo believes that the clearest "way of liberation" is to start walking...  and walking alone.  The simplicity of solo travel makes it easy for us to discover our excess baggage -- to examine it, to play with it, and to leave it at the wayside.

A feast, while kayaking

"On the Sea of Cortes."

In my dreams, sometimes,

I remember things...

A scroll of universal wisdom.

In the center you can see one of our tiny zen artists:   a Thai Bubble Crab.    They are about 2-3mm in diameter. They make the balls as they feed off of the algea attached to individual grains of sand.   When the ball (or sand bubble) gets too big to sit on, they roll it to one side and start over again... creating the most fantastic sandpaintings as they lunch away the day.   

They're a bit shy so I had to make several efforts to get a portrait.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_bubbler_crab.

Some of the best sandpainting photos were taken right at sunset, when the sun would be low on the ocean and the tiny little sandballs would cast long shadows.    

Frequently I was working in and around a day's worth of human, canine and bicycle tracks.    Which raises a delicate issue:    should I "restore" a sandpainting by removing said tracks (via photoshop)? -- or should I simply smile as nature shows us yet another way of "renewing the canvas"?   

Indeed, the footprints and bicycle tracks are an artform unto themselves. 

A terror from the deep mesozoic.