In search of what I had 
what I have
and don't have. The trees are dying. The days left in the water supply are in the double digits. We use as little as we can. We are not allowed to water our gardens.
I dream of rain
but it does not.
So I'm going to watery places---
Hawaii next week and Paris next month, and in June, a place very like Hawaii, but very different.
I'm making art about rain, about my daily use of water, about life that lives in or on or from (don't we all?) water, in acrylic, watercolor, ink and pen, and who knows what else.
If I paint it, will it come?
You ask me when I am coming, I do not know
I dream of your mountains and autumn pools brimming all night with the rain
Oh when shall we be trimming wicks again, together in your western window
When shall I be hearing your voice again, all night in the rain?
Li Shang Yin
translated Witter Bynner
How I can empathise with this thirst for water. Every year we wait for the monsoon, hope it will not fail. Sometimes it does. Our well ran dry this year, for the first time -- construction all around has lowered the water table. Some years, the streets are full of trucks carrying loads of water -- but their supplies have to come from farther and farther away. This year we've been very lucky, but that doesn't mean we will be again next year...
Look forward to many more paintings of water from you. They are all beautiful.
Posted by: Nancy | February 11, 2008 at 11:07 PM
in wartime picasso painted sausages, so you're on the right track laura:) this too will pass.
Posted by: ming | February 11, 2008 at 07:35 PM
Water! And I was so close when I mentioned that monkeys can swim....
;-D
Lovely paintings -- I'm so excited to see what you'll be doing with the water theme! I was also delighted with your addition of Chinese poetry! I have collected good translations of the stuff for years, (harder to find than people might think...) and it is my absolute favorite. How beautiful that one is, too. (sigh) I'm jotting it down to add to the collection. Maybe I'll add one to my next post, if I ever get free of work long enough to ever post again!
Posted by: Linda M | February 11, 2008 at 05:45 PM
YES! I knew it!
I will look forward to seeing more of your wonderful, watery drawings.
To send you off on your journey I found this quote in one of my son's 6th grade reading books..."The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau, a father tells his son--"The main thing is to pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, notice what no one else notices. Then you'll know what no one else knows, and that's always useful."
Bon Voyage!
Posted by: Bec | February 11, 2008 at 04:28 PM
I love the sink painting the best. It's quite unnerving. I just want to grab the tap and turn it off! Dare I say 'be careful what you wish for'? We had a bad drought here for a decade or so, although I don't think it got quite as bad as yours we were on 'buckets only' for about 5 years. In the last year we got enough rain to solve all the water problems, more than enough. And now this year it just won't stop raining. It is its own kind of depression, constant rain when others have none. I feel greedy and guilty for not wanting it any more!
Posted by: Jan | February 11, 2008 at 04:20 PM
Heartbreaking!
you know i empathize...even if it wasn't as grim for us this year as it is for your region. i assume all the fountains were dry in Paris the year of their terrible heat/drought...yes...go to places near the equator and you should find rain...and winds.
Posted by: zephyr | February 11, 2008 at 03:36 PM