Tonight I’ve been up to some random things. This image is a mixture of thoughts and ideas that I was having for the past couple of days.
First of all, I wanted to try a Hawaiian dancer because of the skirt, but then I decided I liked it without all of the lines that delineated the raffia. I thought this was more fun… it kind of reminds me of something you’d see on the Flintstones.
The leis around her neck is actually something I pieced together using a real photograph of a tiny segment of a leis I found online – and the flower in her hair was a real hibiscus. I don’t really care for the color mixtures here, but I’d already illustrated the woman and done her coloring, and I didn’t feel like going back to change it. If I ever try to repeat the process I’ll probably use a different colored leis.
Now for the part that’s really random. I started watching the show ‘The UnXplained’ and learned that it literally rains fish in Yoro, Honduras. Not just once, and not just once in a while, but about 4 times a year.
I realize that this woman is not from Honduras, but I thought it was more fun to use something tropical because – well – fish rain sounds kind of tropical to me. And weird.
But the thing that really got me was the fact that the people of Yoro don’t worry so much about how this happens (which, of course, I am still wondering) – but they celebrate the fish rain – and they eat it. It’s like free food, falling from the sky, for everyone!
It reminded me of the Biblical reference of ‘manna’ – some form of nourishment that fell from Heaven for the Israelites. While fish aren’t really manna, what’s important here is that the people of Yoro just appreciate the food, and they don’t waste their precious time trying to solve the mystery behind it.
I wanted my piece to reflect that, because it was kind of a lesson to me – to just appreciate the good things that happen, or even life in general… and stop trying to find answers all of the time.
I guess it’s human nature to complicate things by dissecting and analyzing them, but the story of the people of Yoro made me step back and realize… hey, just enjoy! Eat!
Anyway, that’s the story. And I think that whether the girl in my image is from Yoro, or Hawaii, or even Timbuctoo, she is smiling with gratitude and saying…
“Look! It’s raining fish! Heat up the grill because it’s time for a feast!”
That’s about all for now. Thank you for reading!
Until later,
-Janet
A Sprinkle of Faith 