Finding Inspiration
Joan Newcomer

     The lovely fragrance of lilac intrigues my senses as I walk up the hill to my art room.  Almost to the door, I see the amazing old cherry tree in full blossom!  Unbelievable!  Its branches were bare just a few weeks ago, and now it stands magnificent in its own pinky lavender glory.  Spring is here, and the beauty that it presents is a true astonishment to all the senses.

     Just as Mother Nature renews itself each springtime, artists and art educators need to take pause for their own renewal.  There are many methods to obtain this objective. Some possibilities are to attend a class, convention or conference; read a good book; or visit a museum or craft show.

     This spring I experienced a truly unique method of rejuvenation.  My daughter, a college junior studying abroad in Costa Rica, had been keeping a blog of her experiences, which I had been following religiously.  When spring break came, she wanted to share her adventures with her family.  I feel quite fortunate that her desire to learn about the biodiversity of Costa Rica led to an opportunity for me to experience it as well.
March 18th was our big travel day.  We arrived in San Jose around 3:30 P.M.  A driver was waiting for us, holding up a sign with our name written on it.  The Ticos were already making us feel welcomed.  He drove us to Atenas to pick up our daughter at her Universidad and then we went to Los Lagos in La Fortuna to see the Arenal Volcano (the third most active volcano in the world).  It was night when we arrived and we were looking for red molten lava, which was no place to be found.  When we awoke the next morning we were pleasantly surprised to see that there most certainly was a view of the volcano right from the window of our cabaña!

      When we began exploring the next morning, I actually felt like I had found the Garden of Eden.  The landscape was so incredibly beautiful everywhere I turned and so different from the gray bare trees of Baltimore.  It was very hilly and filled with amazing tropical plants. The vegetation wasn’t the only thing that was exotic.  We saw morpho butterflies, large crocodiles and smaller caiman crocodiles, beautiful basilisks, Jesus lizards that really walk on water, and lots of horses waiting to take people closer to the volcano.  There was marvelous food, wonderful hospitality, and a hot spring fed swimming pool with a wet bar and underground slide. In the evening we took a taxi to the active side of the volcano and sat and stared at it for an hour and a half.  I could imagine earlier cultures worshiping this cone shaped

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mountain as they listened to its rumbles and watched its changes.  We watched formations of white clouds appear and disappear down its sides- a vision in a constant flux of change.

     The next morning we took a ferry across the lake and a jeep up the mountain to Monteverde Cloud Forest.  Our Bed and Breakfast was actually in Santa Elena where we had a guided tour of the canopy and walked across suspended bridges.  Our second day was spent in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in search of the endangered resplendent quetzal.  My daughter and her friend Mike got to see it, but I only got to hear it!  I did get to see lots of amazing tropical vegetation on old growth trees and many different types of hummingbirds.  That evening, we found a wonderful restaurant that was built around a huge tree where we had chocolate fondue.

   Our third destination was Manuel Antonio, which is on the Pacific coast and backed by the rain forest.  We saw a baby sloth with its mom, howler monkeys, families of white-throated capuchins, exotic birds, colorful land crabs and iguanas that were as common as our squirrels back home.  A highlight was horseback riding through the rain forest and back down to the beach at sunset.

     This trip definitely gave me fresh motivation and a feeling of renewal.  I will be able to use what I learned both in my teaching and my artwork.   

Dylan O, 2nd Grade
McDonogh School