Cruising and Hands-on Living

My    family and I enjoyed a fourteen day Disney Cruise through the Panama Canal on the Disney Wonder. It truly was a magical trip for us all where we experience the Church of the Mouse. After the trip we began to understand why so
                                                                many people are fanatical Disney cruisers.

I'd like to share some thoughts about what I enjoyed most about cruising and visiting ports south of our border. It's really simple.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing hands-on work in everyday living situations...so refreshing to my soul.

The commercial signs found on walls and shops were painted by hand. The painted surfaces were textured with brush strokes and compositions were designed without the aid of a computer. They reminded me of what my artist life was like before the computer came along.  Forty years ago living in rural southern Maryland, I made extra income hand silk screening posters for political campaigns, church suppers and hospital ... all screen templates were hand drawn and hand printed.

A restaurant we dined at, handed out menus constructed using a combo of stamps, handmade papers and bound together using hand stitchings. How original!

Thirty years ago I made hand made papers and bound books by hand.  When I came across Mexican Amate bark papers in the market place, I was so happy to talk shop with the paper artist. By beating and bleaching the bark she makes different brown toned paper pulp. Without getting too technical, she then weaves, knots and embosses the pulp into stiff but airy paper squares. Lovely designs. Each unique.

And at sea on the Disney Wonder ship, my family took advantage of so many creative activities such as the Boat Building Bash.  We scavenged all kinds of materials such as plastic bottles. straws, coffee stirrers, dental tape to make boats that could float with a can of coke balanced on top: some more successful than others.

Here's one of the winners: it is the big one.








And our host servers could make awesome cloth origami objects d'art too.

I found some time to sketched my way through the trip using felt tip markers.

And there were the unforgettable,beautiful sunrises created by Mother Nature herself each morning.  Here is Panama Bay just before our vessel entered the Panama Canal early morning.

If you want to learn how to draw Goofy, here is a Disney handout I received during the cruise. Don't be too critical with yourself.  Just enjoy being a 'hands-on', creative, loving person.
It's magical and B E A UUUUUUU tiful.