This March newsletter is just like Spring this year: very late. It is snowing as I am writing this and it could be snowing by the time you read it. I don't remember if the groundhog saw his shadow this year, it doesn't really matter, the poor marmot was wrong either way. It's already been seven weeks since Groundhog Day and it is snowing. Not reliable, Chuck!

I need more concrete ways to know that Spring is here: a snowmobile falling through the ice, laundry hanging in a backyard, wrrr-wrrr-wwwrlies of Harleys and chick-a-dee-dee-dees of chickadees, a runner in shorts, Easter bunnies at CVS, the first sighting of a pale but audacious muffintop, stuff like that.

Speaking of bunnies, I saw one the other morning while having breakfast. So unexpected that I  knew Spring was just around the kitchen corner. It was lying so sweet and quiet that I was able to take a picture before spreading it with butter and orange marmelade.

It was delicious.

I tried another slice but that one looked more like a baby hippo. It got  me quite confused. I ate it anyway. While I was chewing on its buttered snout the word Kubu suddenly came to mind: Kubu is how hippopotamuses are called in Botswana and that thought instantly brought back a hippo-dropping load of memories about my travels in that part of the African continent a few decades ago. I'll tell you about it some other time...when it's warmer. For now it still winter and while we, in this part of the world, can't wait for the temperatures to rise, people living under other latitudes have quite opposite preoccupations.

I recently came across an article in ODE magazine about this guy in Peru  who decided to paint in white the mountains where glaciers used to be.

Chalon Sombrero Glacier

His idea is that since dark colors absorb heat but light ones reflect it, the solar energy hitting the whitened mountains will be reflected back into the atmosphere and not warm up the earth, just like when snow and ice used to cover the mountains. He actually believes that this can even bring the ice back and recreate the glaciers. Sounds crazy and desperate? Not to the World Bank apparently, which awarded Mr Gold $200,000 for this project. You can learn more about it here. 

It did sound a bit crazy and desperate to me so I googled away and discovered that the concept of "making glaciers" is not new. Populations in the Himalayas have used a very simple technique for generations to create glaciers to "store" water for the drier summer months (full story here); and more recently a retired ingenieur in Ladakh has been making glaciers using a similar technique to help local villagers survive global warming (more here). Note that the village of Stakmo mentioned in this article is of course at 3000m above sea level, not 300. 3000 (about 9000ft) is about as low as you can go in Ladakh.   

From the South America Andes to the Himalyas, the problem of melting glaciers is indeed global...

Europe: Swiss Alps

 Africa: Kilimandjaro

North America, Mt. Hood, Oregon

South America, Patagonia 

Asia, Himalaya

...but the priorities are very different from one continent to another.  In my home country of Switzerland, where almost 60% of the energy produced comes from hydraulic power, people seem less concerned about the potential shortage of water to power the turbines than the the loss of photographic appeal of snowless mountains or the declining number of skiers.

So much so that they invest millions in projects like this 

Attractive, isn't it?

I guess as long as water is flowing freely from the bathtub faucet, there is no need to worry; leave it to others to paint the mountains white...

By the way, I have cancelled all my magazine subscriptions except for ODE. This publication brings a very uplifting look at the world and offers positive and inspiring news about the ecologic, economic or social challenges of our times. I even read the commercials! (Thank you Barbara for giving me a subscription for Christmas a few years ago!)

ODE

for intelligent optimists.

Just the tag line makes you feel smarter...

Rosemary Wessel

at the

Elusie Gallery

Watchful Mind

April 1st - April 30, 2011

Artist Reception
April 9, 5-8pm

Preoccupation

"My work addresses the meeting of the spiritual and physical aspects of life's experiences, translating the patterns and tone of spiritual and emotional energy in different situations into a visual language. Not wanting to repeat the heavily abstracted and stylized symbols used in traditional religious art, I provide a more direct, visceral depiction of energy patterns pertaining to particular states"

Resolve

"Using plaster casts of people, life sized and accurately proportioned, to represent the physical state of being, they're shown immersed in textures and colors of energy that permeate all of existence. The plaster casts are embedded and surrounded by sculpting made of shredded paper/latex molding material and whatever other materials lend the desired texture. Colors relate to the energy of the subject, permeating the aura around the individual, sometimes reflecting those hues traditionally associated with the chakras, though tracing the effect of those energy centers in other locations. I work with a broad base of models to provide a wider range of face and body shapes, sizes and types and leave them relatively free of any cultural trappings to reinforce the idea that these spiritual interactions apply to everyone"

Rosemary Wessel

The Eastmont Art Fund

Vital Connections

fundraiser for 

Update

Thank you to the more than 40 artists who have requested an application package, and to those who have already returned it.

A reminder to all :

The deadline to return your application form is April 15.  So even if you haven't asked for an application form, there is still time to do so.

For more information on this unique fundraiser and to apply, visit the Art Fund page of our website, and thank you!

One last update about Artglass.

You may remember that last fall we introduced an interesting alternative to Museum Glass: Artglass

This glass has the same amazingly clear non-glare effect as our Tru Vue Museum glass but much less conservation properties. It is a lower priced solution for work that doesn't require as much UV protection.

Our supplier has run out of this glass last December already and immediately reordered large quantities from th European manufacturer. The shipment arrived as scheduled but the container was mishandled and the glass damaged while being unloaded. After inspection, the whole shipment had to be reordered.

We were told last week that the new shipment has arrived and is being inspected and reboxed. We're expecting delivery within 7 to 10 days.

We apologize for this unfortunate delay and thank those of you still waiting for their order to be completed!

Thank you for reading and

Happy Spring!

Jean-Pierre Pasche