In 1979 Eleanor rented an apartment on Marine Street in St. Augustine. A painter traveling from Mexico she found a place that fit her desires. An ancient, tropical enclave by the sea. A few months later she met Curt, a newly arrived woodenboat sailor who had traveled down the East Coast from the Outer Banks of North Carolina stopping and working along the way. He too had found a good reason to stay.

From that time, through their years together and the many places they have lived, they have documented their experiences through creative expression. Their story continues here...

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Chalk in the Barrio

Our friends Diane and Tracy dropped in for the night on the way to Arenal and Tamarindo. We rambled around town and talked through the evening as the cool air blew through their hotel´s second floor patio. They caught a tour ride the next morning and we resumed our explorations of the city as the weekend wound down.

 




Monday morning brought children to the studio for more drawing classes followed by our working on our own art. I seem to be continuing with my Tico inspired modernist abstractions and Eleanor is deep into her collage assemblage based on stories she is collecting in the neighborhood. We were both surprised to find that our barrio was built decades ago by women as the men worked. They even made the bricks in forms. Although it is a very humble place, it continues to exude a lot of community spirit and pride.


 



Tuesday more children appeared. It seems that the word had spread. Eleanor planned for it by buying chalk at the party store in 'el centro'. It was quite a party in itself with chalk drawings covering the sidewalks.


 


 


 


Top to bottom... Magdelana, Dana, and Marisol



 


slight disruption when a work truck snaked through the sidewalks


'big kids' joined in


 


We got together with fellow artists again mid-week. Nice wine, showings of our work in progress and lots of conversation...


Holger's outdoor studio



The weekend is approaching and we are getting ready for a three-day trip to the Arenal volcano and the Monteverde cloud-forest. All via bus, jeeps and a boat. Yippee!


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1 comment:

  1. UnknownFebruary 7, 2016 at 7:42 AM

    Hey Curt! Just read all Costa Rica posts. Fantastico! Love the faces-in-foliage fellow, and the chalk-on-sidewalk especially. Sounds so wonderful. We have recovered from last week's blizzard, expecting some light snow Monday & Tuesday (in case you are getting homesick). Love you both…xx kay

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