I’ve Returned from Ikh Nartiin Chuluu

My trip to Ikh Nart was amazingly successful. It seemed like all the stars aligned for my three days of meetings with the women who want to start a crafts cooperative.
It’s going to take a bit to sort it all out and write it down coherently, but the punchline is that they got the word [...]

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How to Run a Hotel and a Cautionary Tale from Last Year’s Trip

Just back from breakfast. I had asked for an 8am wake-up call when I checked in last night, just in case I had a rough time getting to sleep. I didn’t.
This morning, 8am came and went and no call. Inexcusable in a high-end business hotel adjacent to a major international airport. Especially for what they [...]

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Mongolia Monday- Talking About Takhi

Well, I certainly enjoyed the last two Mongolia Monday posts and hope you did, too. Thanks again, Simon!
Today it’s back to a subject that has become near and dear to my heart- the takhi or Przewalski’s Horse. I always liked horses, even though I was deathly allergic to them as a kid, but have never [...]

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New Paintings and Equipment Review

I’m just finishing a second productive week in the studio after my return and, boy, does it feel good. As did getting out yesterday afternoon and planting some new roses and spring bulbs.
HEAVY LIES THE HEAD
I’ve got a number of pieces in progress, but wanted to share this one that was completed before I left. [...]

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Mongolia Monday

I started some fun paintings from my new Mongolian reference last week and thought I’d share a couple of them in progress. I’m experimenting with a new way of starting, based on something I learned from John Seerey-Lester. Up till now I’ve begun by drawing directly with the brush, using line. It’s a default from [...]

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Postscript-Beijing

Back home safe, sound and pretty functional. I use a jet lag program from a book I found years ago at our local travel store, “Overcoming Jet Lag”. I think it’s still available on Amazon. It consists of a variety of things to do to rapidly shift one’s body clock to destination time. For me, [...]

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Last Day in Mongolia (for now)….and show news!

Arrived in Ulaanbaatar yesterday afternoon. Managed to get together with a couple of the Mongolian scientists that I met on the Earthwatch project in 2005 and got an update about what is happening at Ikh Nartiin Chuluu.
And….had a hoped-for email from my husband informing me that I have had two paintings accepted in the Society [...]

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Amazing Time at Arburd Sands, Mongolia

Back at the Bayangol Hotel this afternoon. I’m sorry we didn’t get to western Mongolia, but our time at Arburd Sands was fantastic! The ger camp is owned by a local herder family and is located amongst a 20 km long stretch of sand dunes, which form a sort of northern border to the Gobi. [...]

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Back from Hustai National Park!

So we were sitting in the lobby of the Bayangol and who should walk in but Baaska, who was my guide for the Gobi and Ikh Nart legs of my trip in 2006! One of the nicest surprises I could have had. And, and to top it off, the driver was Omroo, who was my [...]

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Out and About in Ulaanbaatar

Back in the room after dinner and wanted to post a few images from today. This is the first time that I have taken my laptop on one of these “adventure” trips and, with David to sort out the technical issues, I’m able to blog, check email and follow the news for the first time. [...]

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