Archive | craft

Some more thoughts from Robert Henri…

By John on July 7, 2012 in craft, Greece, Paros, skill and craft, Uncategorized, working

Before I start quoting Robert Henri I must say that it feels good to be back in the Hudson Valley. This time I am just visiting, and that is an interesting feeling in itself. I do not feel the need to become too involved in the daily goings-on of my mother’s house other than to fill out some paperwork should it need doing and eat the food that’s put in front of me–no hard task that! Her health is solid and typical for a woman her age with the physical issues she has developed. Nothing dramatic, just a steady plateau of daily living for an octogenarian. There are naps, movies to watch, the New York Times, phone calls from friends and family and more naps.

I have been reconnecting with my friends here as well and have found the same old crowd more or less exactly the way I left them, which I am relieved about. In a world that is constantly changing, sometimes too fast for anyone’s good, it is a pleasant and healthy surprise to find that one has anchors of friendship and support in the old haunts as well as the new.

Right now there is a group of turkeys crossing the lawn, bobbing through the hollow on their way to the pond for a morning drink. I saw some deer last night, some possums too. The hydrangeas are blooming in enormous white balls of tiny flowers; the air is damp and the weatherman predicts hazy, hot and humid today. I meet with the editorial board (of which I am one) of PAGE magazine today for the final layout session before we go to press. This has been a 2-year labor of love, a long time coming and, frankly, I think we are all ready to put it to bed. With that, Robert Henri has something to say on the matter of work…

“All outward success, when it has value, is but the inevitable result of inward living, full play and enjoyment of one’s faculties.”

“Don’t belong to one school [i.e., of thought, ed.]. Don’t tie up to any technique.”

“It is necessary to work very continuously and valiantly, and never apologetically. In fact, to be ever on the job so that we may find ourselves there, brush in hand, when the great moment does arrive.”

“Events and upheavals, which seem more profound than they really are, are happening on the surface.”

“On the surface there is the battle of institutions, the illustration of events, the strife between peoples. On the surface there is propaganda and there is the effort to force opinions. The deeper current carries no propaganda. The shock of the surface upheaval does not deflect it from its course.”

“On the surface, disaster is battled with disaster. Things change. But all improvement is due to what of fundamental law rises to the suface, through the search made by this of the undercurrent.”

“There are painters who paint pictures with spiritual titles but whose motives are purely materialistic.”

“The great masters in all the arts have been whole men, not half men. They have had marvelous fullness in all human directions, have been intensely humane in themselves and in their interests. And if they seem to select, it is because they have so much to select from.”

“A public which likes to hear something worthwhile when you talk would like to understand something worthwhile when it sees pictures.”

“The true character of the student is one of great mental and spiritual activity. He arrives at conclusions and he searches to express his findings. He goes to the market place, to the exhibition place, wherever he can reach the people, to lay before them his new angle on life. He creates a disturbance, wins attention from those who have in them his kind of blood–the student blood. These are stirred into activity. Camps are established. Discussion runs high. There is life in the air. The non-student element says it is heresy. let us have ‘peace!’ Put the disturber in jail. In this we have two ideas of life, motion and non-motion. If the art students who enter the schools today believe in the greatness of their profession, if they believe in self-development and courage of vision and expression, and conduct their study accordingly, they will not find the audience wanting when they go to the market place with expressions of their ideas. They will find a crowd there ready to tear them to pieces; to praise them and ridicule them.”

More to come…

JDCM

Some Robert Henri-isms…

By John on July 3, 2012 in 4×5 photography, craft, Greece, nude studies, Paros, rangefinder camera, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, Uncategorized, working

Here are some quotes from Robert Henri, from his book ‘The Art Spirit’. It has given me great joy and pleasure in the past 24 hours. His words, I feel, are meditations…

“An art student should read, or talk a great deal with those who have read. His conversations with his intimate fellows should be more about his life and less of paint.”

“He should be careful of the influence of those with whom he consorts, and he runs a great risk in becoming a member of a large society, for large bodies tend toward the leveling of individuality to a common consent, the forming of adherence to a creed.”

“An artist who does not use his imagination is a mechanic.”

“All things change according to the state we are in. Nothing is fixed.”

“There is nothing in all the world more beautiful or significant of the laws of the universe than the nude human body. In fact it is not only among the artists but among all people that a greater appreciation and respect for the human body should develop. When we respect the nude we will no longer have any shame about it.”

“The art student of these days is a pioneer. He lives in a decidedly colorless, materialistic age…Sometimes in the past we shot ahead, in certain ways, ahead of where we are now…We have yet as a body to come up to the art of living.”

“If a man has the soul of an artist he needs mastery of all the means of expression so that he may command them, for with his soul in activity he has much to say.”

“It is a splendid thing to live in the environment of great students. To have them about you in person if you can. If not in person, in their works. To live with them. Great students agree and disagree. They stir the waters.”

“If you want to know how to do a thing you must first have a complete desire to do that thing. Then go to kindred spirits–others who have wanted to do that thing–and study their ways and means, learn from their successes and failures and add your quota. Thus you may acquire from the experience of the race. And with this technical knowledge you may go forward, expressing through the play of forms the music that is in you and which is very personal to you.”

“Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.”

Paros news, part II, and travel ahead…

By John on June 25, 2012 in 4×5 photography, craft, darkroom work, Greece, Paros, quiet islands, rangefinder camera, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

Once again I find myself at Mikro Cafe updating this electronic epistle, free to whomever wishes to read it and in doing so, please respond. I arrived after my 12 day island-hop with fifteen rolls of exposed 120 film and I have developed it all. This is important because it means that I may not have to bring my heavy medium format camera to Italy in the fall, which also means no tripod, no film, etc…What a literal load off my shoulders! I can concentrate on digital color and get to know my new Leica M8 during the Italian session. There was an issue in the darkroom, however, dealing with the near-tropical conditions. In short the water coming out of the tap was 24-25C and I need the chemistry to be 20C. The ambient room temperature was also 24-25C which meant that all the metal canisters and film reels were all 24-25C. The upshot is that even if I drop the chemistry temp to 20C the second I put the soup in the can, the temp will rise 2 degrees at least, thus dropping the developing time. This was my solution:

I made the initial film rinse at 16C, thus dropping the can/reel/ temp to 20C. Then I can add the 20C soup and it will at least be stable for a couple of minutes before the ambient room temperature raises the can of soup a degree or so. Now, since I have been under developing my PlusX by N-2 anyway in this darkroom I have to adjust the time again, this time for ambient temperature. For this round of work I dropped the time to N-5 and the effects are very nice indeed: good separation in the shadows, nice highlights that are not overexposed and a balanced contrast. Considering that many of the images were made in the height of the Greek sun (10:00-15:00, or 5800K) I am very pleased with the results.

Paros is much the same. The Watercolor Workshop and the Digital Photography Bootcamp finished and hung a small exhibition last Friday which was lovely. I was impressed by the photographers and enchanted by the watercolorists. Some of the photographers had never worked in this kind of digital dynamic before and their work was terrific: all illustrated an excellent use of negative space, lovely light/shadow, texture and elegant composition in the work. The watercolors were ethereal and splashed with colors, bright and soft. There were some students who had never worked in this medium as well but that wasn’t apparent. This is a testament to both their innate skill and that of their instructor. There are more tourists on the island, but it is not crammed with people. I am sure this is making some business owners nervous about their futures, but the summer hasn’t really arrived and the July and August crowds will write the book on this piece of marble in the blue sea.

I leave Paros for the USA in about a week. I would like to think I will have a relaxing time back in New York but my time will be short and I have much to do, many people to see and commitments to keep. I will be off-island and out of the EU for a month and then return at the very beginning of August. As the plan goes I have about three weeks here and then I am off to visit a friend in England for a couple of days and then head to Italy, Ravenna and finally Pistoia and the Villa Rospigliosi where I meet up with the rest of the school for the Italian Session. I have a lot of work to do for the fall. My portrait project must continue and I need to push that a bit if I am to stay on schedule for the beginning of printing in October. I am thankful for all the work I have done so far and I am a little ahead of schedule in the darkroom, but I must not rest on my laurels. My role as student/intern is unwritten but the future looks bright, at least from this vantage point.

JDCM

Paros homecoming…

By John on June 20, 2012 in craft, Cyclades stone walls, darkroom work, Greece, Paros, quiet islands, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

As we left Sifnos I waved goodbye to that pretty island and began my short journey home via the Aqua Jewel, a ferry I have come to know very well. The northern wind whipped up the waves and as we sailed due west we were in a beam sea most of the trip. This caused a fair amount of pitch and roll and, although I am not one to get seasick, I kept my eyes on the horizon to keep my inner ear on an even keel. The trip was, as I said, supposed to be a short 3 hours, but it went for an additional 45 minutes due to that weather. As we came into closer sight of Paros, we turned south, the seas calmed and the rolling ceased. The following sea pushed us and as we sailed past The Doors and I felt like I had come home. A friend met me at the port and we caught up with others at Pebbles for a sunset.

This morning I loaded a large pile of laundry into the machine, opened up the doors of my flat, shook the rugs out, swept, mopped and generally re-opened the place after having it closed up for almost two weeks. I then headed to the market and picked up some essential stuff and went out to Drios to pick up the rental car I had lent to my friend Jeanne. It was great to see her and some other folks. When I returned back to Paros I realized that I had accomplished what I needed to do for the day and had little choice but to head to the beach for some swimming and lazing about. Not really, of course. I did a hundred or so crunches and bicycle pumps, swam a few ‘laps’, read a bit (a biography of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius) and then headed back to Paros for a shower and quick nap.

As I write this I am back at Mikro Cafe. Colin has made me a wonderful iced latte and offered me an apricot from a friends garden. “They were falling off the trees, he said…” There is chill music on the stereo, the weather is balmy with a light southern wind and I have plans to be in the darkroom tonight to begin developing the film I shot while I was hopping about the Cyclades.

Ah yes…back home and back to work!

JDCM

Sifnos, hiking and going home…

By John on June 18, 2012 in craft, Cyclades stone walls, darkroom work, Greece, Paros, quiet islands, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

I left Serifos almost three days ago. It was sunny and warm and the northern wind was Force 7. The ferry arrived shortly after 12:00 to take me to Sifnos and off I went, rolling a bit in the sea, but enjoying being back on the road, so to speak. How do I describe Sifnos? If Serifos is the rugged, rough and rocky island then Sifnos is its more quiet, calm and well-preserved cousin. It is not as if either are not developed, but Sifnos has been developed in a more thoughtful way while Serifos will always bear the scars of 19th and 20th century industrial manhandling. In short, Sifnos is lovely. The towns are small, the island running roughly north-south and the ambient charm all Greek, all Cyclades, all the time. Sifnos is the ‘Island of Potters’ and the number of ceramic workshops dotted across the landscape speak to that, but this was not always the case. At one time Sifnos was an island of gold and other metals which made it very wealthy. Each year the inhabitants gave a golden egg to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The end came around 500BC when, as legend has it, the Sifnains gave a gilt egg instead of a solid one and so brought on the wrath of the god who flooded the mines thus ending their prosperity. Just a warning from history about taking shortcuts! In any case, the island was eventually part of the Duchy of Naxos, then suffered under the Turks and then finally liberated in 1830 along with the rest of Greece. The history is more complex than what I have just written and you can read a bit more here.

My stay so far has been relaxed yet very active. I have been taking pictures and have only a single roll of Plus-X 120 to shoot. If I don’t manage it I won’t kick myself because I know I will be back here soon but I would like to finish up the pack. The quality of the walls here on the island is magnificent and I have been documenting them extensively. Like most of the islands there are stone walls everywhere but the level of preservation here is well above the others. I imagine this has more to do with the importance of agriculture when compared to other islands. More agriculture means infrastructural relevance which translates to a pragmatic upkeep of existing bulwarks and boundaries. There are olive groves covering open areas and along myriad terrace farms while fields of barley grow wherever flat ground can be tilled. One striking short journey is from the port of Kamares to the primary town of Apolonia. Through the long winding uphill valley the olive groves line the road, hugging the steep hillsides, their silvery green-grey leaves standing out in stark contrast to the dried golden hue of the surrounding flora. The Port of Kamares is small. I like port towns and it is quiet when one compares it to Adamas or Paroikia. There is something about being so close to the hub of travel that excites me. Once again I am reminded of the millennia preceding me and the countless footsteps that have traveled the path I now tread. Not much has changed, I think. Not really.

I have been staying at Simeon’s Rooms and Apartments. It is clean, neat, the terrace of my double room looks out over the bay and I have a lovely view of the sunset. The owner and his family have been very helpful during my stay and I highly recommend the place. They also seem to run a small taverna about 100 meters from the dock where I have been happily eating for the past two nights. I tend to stay away from overly-complex new-wave Greek cuisine in favor of local home cooking and I have found it here. The kolokithokeftedes I had two nights ago were fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. They were a perfect match to the garlicky tzatziki. I could spend a week here and really explore the restaurants but in the end I am a creature of habit and when I find a place I like, I stick with it. I’ll be there again tonight, this time for imam baldi, salad and something else to be decided upon later.

Sifnos is also noted for its hiking. There are many well-marked trails running throughout the island and all of them well maintained. I have been on two jaunts so far, the same one really, but tough enough to make the second time as challenging as the first especially in hot weather. My choice has had more to do with the high northern wind and my search for a quiet beach away from whatever crowds are here. I chose the path that runs on the southern tip of the island from the small seaside village of Vathi to Fykiada Bay. The hike to the bay was mostly downhill and I covered the 3km in about 25 minutes. The return trip took 40 minutes. I brought 1.5L of water, some fruit, sunblock and other beach necessities. The fine, sandy beach is nestled in a quiet cove and I saw no other humans the entire time, including during the hike. The only other souls were a few goats running around the scrubby, rocky hillsides and the beach. There is an abandoned farm behind the beach and an olive grove stretches another half kilometer to the NE. I loved walking through the grove, feeling very much like I had discovered this place for the first time. In the middle sat the old farmhouse, crumbling stone barns and other outbuildings. I wandered around the place for a while today, snapping pictures.

This is my last evening of my island hopping adventure. I have been away from Paros for less than a fortnight yet it feels like a month since I have sat at Mikro Cafe for coffee or watched the sunset from the terrace of Pebbles. My friends at the Aegean Center have been busy with their watercolor workshop and their digital photography boot camp. I have been working as well, but at a different pace. Tomorrow afternoon I board the Aqua Jewel for the three hour voyage to Paroikia, a place I hope is becoming my home. I have loved my break and there have been moments when I have lost track of time. This has been a cure for my restless mind. I have met some very interesting people and I hope to see them again in the future but as I write this my thinking is already beginning to shift. After over a week of being off-island I need to clean my apartment and air it out; I need to finalize some details with my mentors regarding the fall; preparations need to be made for my trip back to the USA in two weeks; I have to develop 15 rolls of Plus-X…the list could go on, but you get the drift. Reality seeps back in to the fantasy of life on the road and reminds me where I need to be standing. I can have my head in the clouds all I want but my feet need to be firmly attached to the earth in order to properly fix my position with the wandering stars.

JDCM

Charmed by Serifos…

By John on June 15, 2012 in autumn, craft, darkroom work, Greece, quiet islands, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean

Some would say that Serifos is a desolate place, barren and dry with few amenities. I have found the opposite to be true. It has just the right amount of mod-cons for me. It has one bank, one petrol station, wonderful and accessible beaches, excellent hiking, beautiful vistas, local grocery stores (no franchises) and a very friendly and hospitable local population eager to help an intrepid traveler from across the sea. There are many restaurants, most of which fall into the middle-of-the-road category, a few that are trying to impress and at least one where I wish I had been eating all along. First, the bad news…

I ate at ‘Aloni’ last night. This place is situated on the hillside just below the Chora, overlooking the harbor. It is a lovely view and the restaurant itself is relatively new having opened in 2007. I was pointed in its direction by a local business owner and I must admit it has many qualities I found enjoyable. I sat outside and ordered simply: saganaki and a half-kilo of lamb chops with fried potatoes. The sagankai was perfect-crispy on the outside and gooey and hot inside. I didn’t need to ask for lemon as it was served with a large chunk on the side, same with the lamb. This, for those who don’t know, is something I have had to ask for on both Ios and Milos. It is traditional. The lamb chops were alright, a bit overdone, but the fat was crunchy and the meat still tasty if a bit dry. The potatoes were decent. Now, the downside. I chose to sit next to two Greek men about my own age who were loud and boisterous, always on their mobiles and every third word out of their mouths seemed to be ‘malaka’. I know it has multiple meanings and was probably being used in an affectionate and friendly manner, but I don’t need to hear it all through my meal at such a high volume. Plus, how do I know it was being used affectionately? In any case, back to the meal. After finishing my entree I sat for at least 35 minutes with no sign of the waitress (not uncommon, and normal, so no big deal) but when I called her over she disappeared into the restaurant and returned with my check, which I had not yet asked for. I guess I wasn’t having dessert. I paid the bill and left, feeling as if I had been given the ‘bum’s rush.’ I was let down, to say the least.

Tonight, however, I found a secret restaurant, hiding in plain sight. Next door to my hotel is the Hotel Cyclades. The Hotel Cyclades is located away from the main cluster of the port restaurants and not in Chora, so they seem to be a little in the background of the hustle and bustle that is downtown Serifos. I was overjoyed at being able to have a starter of melitzanosalata (acidic and rich) then a mixed dish of gigantes, imam and roast pork in lemon sauce. I even ate the bread, which I usually try to avoid. It was the best I have had here, chewy and flavorful. The dessert was a traditional sweet cake and they brought me an excellent double espresso to wash it down. Really superb and my kind of Greek food. No pretense, no flash and no trying to ‘out-restaurant’ anyone else. Just good Greek home cooking. I cannot speak of their rooms but I imagine that they are as basic, clean and neat as these kind of family establishments tend to be. Next time I visit Serifos, I will try to eat there more often.

As I sit outside at the Serifos Yacht Club, listening to a mix of world groove and enthusiastic action from the European Football League playoffs on the big screen I am washed in a balmy breeze from across the small harbor. The parade of life that is Serifos on a Friday night wander past, off to dinner, cafes or coming home from one of the same. I have yet to pack my bags for my short boat ride to Sifnos tomorrow at noon. I have to return my trusty Suzuki Vitara in the morning and pay my hotel bill. Yes, I will say ‘ephcharisto para poli’ and ‘yassou!’ to Serifos but only for a short time. I am looking forward to returning, perhaps in the fall when the crowds have thinned out and Serifos is once again the Serifians. I will hope to find some sun in the gradually shrinking days of autumn, dine at the Hotel Cyclades and find a less aggressive light in the whitewashed streets of the Chora to photograph. I will bathe in the sea, still warm from the summer heat and count my lucky stars that I have been able to experience this place, this small island of Serifos.

JDCM

“…My God, it’s full of stars…”

By John on June 14, 2012 in craft, darkroom work, Greece, Paros, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

Anyone reading this has a chance to win a free cup of coffee or tea at Mikro Cafe on Paros if they can guess the movie the above quote is from. This was my reaction after walking back to the port last night after dinner. I ate in Chora at a lovely little place called ‘Karavomypos’. It is not quite traditional Greek, but it has taken some Greek ideas and spun them into something quite good. I started with louloudakia, zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and then fried. They were served with a mayonnaise style sauce. Very tasty. The entree was grilled pork tenderloin with a side of oven roasted potatoes seasoned with garlic and oregano. Also very good. For dessert I had a small plate of cherry spoon sweets, a fruit conserve in sugar syrup. Yum! An excellent meal and I highly recommend the restaurant to anyone coming to Serifos. They are only open for dinner.

Mamiya c330 and a view of Chora, Serifos

On the walk back down the hill to Livadia (4km) I chose ‘The Stairs’ a broad rambling staircase leading back down to the port. It only took me 25 minutes in the dark but the way was lit pretty well most of the time. I did have to be careful and I did take a wrong turn once in a while but I figured that as long as I was heading downhill I was alright. At one point during the walk home I chanced to look up. There were few lights where I was and I had not seen so many stars since I was in the fields behind my mother’s house in New York. It was inspiring and so that line from the movie…

I hit the beach early this morning (07:30) and sat on the sand as the sun warmed the earth. It was lovely, and quiet, the water still as glass. As I dove in I was surprised how warm it had become since yesterday, but then I remembered that I was on a different side of the island. I basked in the sunlight, drying off slowly, swam some more and then headed off in my Suzuki jeep to take pictures. I was able to shoot a whole roll of 120 in one area, documenting some walls and part of a donkey path. I was grateful once again for four-wheel-drive as the road to and from the site was very steep and made of sliding gravel. Bravo Vitara! I continued and stopped at the Monastary of Taxiarchis (Archangel Michael), a beautiful 15th century structure still in use. It has served the island well as a fortress against raiding pirates and a spiritual center. By 11:00 the temperature risen to an unbearable heat and I pulled into Chora and sat at a cafe, ordering a espresso freddo and a water. As I cooled off under the pergola I realized that my day nay have to be cut short. I had been up since 07:00, tramping about in the bush and although I had stayed hydrated the dryness of the climate had worn me out. i went back to my hotel and relaxed until 15:30 when I went back to the each and lazed about until 18:00. Then I came back to the hotel and showered, lay down and slept until 20:45. I went out, ate dinner (review tomorrow) and here I am back at the keyboard. It is just after midnight and I am seeing the end of my island hopping. In two days I head to Sifnos where there are few beaches to write about but much in the way of local color and sights to see. I go home to Paros next Tuesday and it will be good to be back. I miss the friends I have there and am growing tired of eating dinner by myself all the time. The locals begin to look at you funny…

JDCM

Serifos, first impressions…

By John on June 13, 2012 in craft, darkroom work, Greece, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, Uncategorized, working

After the busy-ness of Milos, I boarded my beloved Aqua Jewel and headed north to Serifos for another 3-4 day stay on that little island. I had been told by one Greek person that Serifos “was spoiled”. I am not sure what she meant but I have found the exact opposite to be true. This is a charming place; rugged, undeveloped in the ways of other islands and, in the words of another friend, like Greece was many years ago. Yes, there are tourists, but not so many. There are boats in the harbor, but again, not so many. It is, in some ways, similar to a little backwater town that is somewhere off the tourist maps. I mean this in a good way. The locals are very hospitable, the food is tasty and the beaches are lovely. I spent the early morning and mid-afternoon on a quiet beach called Vagia (vay-ya)on the island’s southern side. There was no one there the entire time. This may to do with the month since June is not the high season for them, but in reality I needed my little Suzuki Vitara to get down to the sand. Also, there is no public transport so you must drive there. It is too far to walk and the heat even at 10:00hrs grows oven-like. In any case, I swam and basked in the sun for a while, then did some crunches, my bicycle pumps and some stretches before having another swim, drying off in the sun and heading back off to take some pictures.

One of my favorite subjects is old equipment left over from the influx of humans and their work. Like Milos, Serifos was heavily mined, but only since 1885. The mines closed in 1963 and what is left is fascinating. Ore carts, tracks, trucks, buildings, machinery of all sorts lay scattered around parts of the island, primarily in Mega Livadi and Koutalos. I am enthralled by this milieu as it always reminds me of the poem ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley. These wrecks of industry lying powerless among the thorns, rocks and heat are a reminder of the futility of mankind’s hollow greed and hubris. Someday when the human species has disappeared from the face of the Earth, the Earth will swallow the remains, turning them back into the minerals and metals from which they came. We all return to the Earth, it seems, even our tools. This may sound bleak but I find great comfort in knowing that the Earth is a more powerful force than we are. It keeps me right-sized. As a photographer I find endless textures and shades of color in these objects and they contain a beauty all their own. I had to do some hiking to get the images I wanted but these places are not roped off and are safe to approach as long as one uses common sense and simple caution.

My hotel is situated on the peralia, the strip of road the runs along the half-moon of the natural harbor. The Hotel Maistrali is a clean, neat place and the owner Bobbi is a charming host. We have already had conversations concerning politics, mining, and Serifian history. He has looked at the map with me and told me of the high and low points to see and avoid. Not much to avoid, but still…I found his place via another travel website which is also a wealth of Greek information. I am here for another two full days and am looking forward to more photography, more beach time and general sightseeing. Tonight I will have dinner in the chora, the older town up on the hillside overlooking the harbor.

JDCM

On my way again…

By John on June 12, 2012 in craft, Greece, Paros, silver darkroom, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, working

My new clock

I had forgotten the joys of the open road after living on Paros for such a long time. True, the occasional trip to Athens took the edge off of staying put, but when I began traveling back in 2005 I was always exhilarated by what was around the bend or over the next hill. I have missed this. I seem to have found it again in this little island hopping adventure on which I am currently engaged. First, the ferry schedule mix-up on Ios readjusted me to the realities of the road (or sea, as it were) then, as a result of the schedule changes not only did I spend a lovely day on that island but I was “forced” into coming to Milos, an island not originally on the agenda. I am very happy that this occurred. I have had a lovely time here and met some of the nicest people. Let’s face it, the Greeks are the nicest bunch of folks I have ever met anyway so this is saying a lot. The beaches, the food and the accommodations were all top notch in my book. I stayed at a nice place, just off of the port called “Aphrodite of Milos Hotel Apartments.” The owner, Nikos Mathioudakis is a charming host and was willing to talk about his joys and troubles in the same breath. He was also able to help me with a small load of laundry and send an important fax to America. All of this he did without charge. Ephcharisto para poli Niko!

This morning I was up at 07:00 and out the door with my camera, tripod and a towel. I stopped at the old salt factory on the edge of town and finished up my shoot there, which makes for 5 rolls of Plus-X exposed on Milos. I have 9 rolls left and I am pretty sure I can use them up on Serifos and Sifnos. This will make me happy. After the shoot I went down to a nice sandy beach for an early morning swim. The water was perfect and as the sun rose above the craggy rocks I walked along the edge of the sea to dry off. Then, of course I had to swim some more and then walk around again. I decided to do some stretches and crunches so I did about 50 of those and then, yes, I had another swim. At that point it was edging up to 09:00 and almost time to drop off my reliable Fiat Panda at Nikos Rentals here in Adamas. So I walked around some more, dried off, got dressed and headed back to the road where I had left the Fiat. As I drove back into town I was full of gratitude to be able to be living this life. Truly amazing. I checked out of the hotel and wished Niko good luck for the summer. When I come back to Milos I will stay there again.

I have a few hours until the NEL Aqua Jewel arrives to take me to Serifos and I am sitting in the Puerto Snack Bar, immediately adjacent to the port. It is a decent place and actually only serves Greek fare in the evenings when they make kalamakia but during the day it is more western: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, panini, salads, etc…Excellent espresso freddo, by the way, and lots of shade. It is just after 11:00 and it is already very hot. Poli zesty! If the boat arrives on time (14:05) then I should be on Serifos round 17:30, I think. No matter, however, since I am on a different kind of schedule that pays less attention to timetables and emphasizes the unknown journey over the wine dark sea.

Ios, plans and changing with the wind…

By John on June 8, 2012 in craft, Greece, Paros, skill and craft, spring in the Aegean, Uncategorized, working

I am taking some time off and hopping about the Cyclades Archipelago for a week or so. I think I mentioned that in an earlier post. Before I left Paros I had checked some ferry schedules and I had set my plan thus: Ios for a night then an early ferry to Serifos the next day then a few days on that island then Sifnos, then back to Paros. The best laid plans of mice and men, indeed. Apparently I misheard the ferry schedule and the boat to Serifos left the same morning I arrived on Ios, so I had to shift my sails. This is the new plan: Ios, then the afternoon boat to Milos where I will stay until Tuesday and then go to Serifos for three or four days and then Sifnos afterwards. I have had to extend my hop and added Milos, but such is life. I could not have done it without the help of the good people at Acteon Travel in Ios. Thank you Calliope, Theodora and Themos. They proved the point that there are always solutions to what I may think are dire problems. The upside is that have been able to see some interesting sites here on Ios. There are no downsides. I drove out to Homer’s grave, visited the Paleokastro in the mountains and had a short swim on a deserted stretch of beach in Psathi. I ate dinner last night at a small taverna at the very top of the chora called ‘The Mills’. Excellent chorta, revithiokeftedes, spitted lamb, tzatziki and fried potatoes. I highly recommend the place.

From Ios I can see Santorini to the south and Paros, Andiparos and Naxos to the north. The terrain here reminds me of the Naxian interior and is very rugged and unbuilt. Goats, donkeys and cows roam the twisty mountain roads, gnawing on the rough foliage. The stonework of the walls that make up the terrace farms is also very different than on Paros and Naxos. The material here tends to be more flat and sedimentary and as a result the walls are wider and flatter than those made with chunky bits of marble or limestone karst. I have exposed roll of Plus-X with my Mamiya c330 and I hope to continue this while I am on my hop.

As I sit in the port of Ios at the Remezzo Cafe (free WiFi) I am surrounded by travelers waiting for the next high-speed boat to wherever, maybe Naxos or Milos, or perhaps Pireaus. I had a nice chat with Themos this morning before I rented my little Fiat Panda. We talked of reincarnation, the changeless quality of travel and why we love it and how beautiful the world can be if we just slow down and let our lives run on a different kind of schedule, one not dictated by our minds and wallets but rather our hearts and souls. This from the guy who rented me a car…

More to come…JDCM

← Previous 1 … 6 7 8 9 Next →