 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Conference T-shirts featuring our beautiful Conference logo are now on
sale at a special pre-order price – ALL PROCEEDS GO TO WILLIAM B. STAPP COLLEGE
STUDENTS FUND Notes on the “Casting a Wider Net” logo from the Artist, John Ruskey: “Casting a Wider Net” is depicted on the carapace of a Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, which is native to the Gulf Coast from the Mississippi River to Central Florida. The Gopher Tortoise is gentle reptile known for its deep burrows, sometimes over forty feet long and ten feet deep. 360 species can live within its tunnels including frogs, snakes, skunks, quail, armadillos, burrowing owls and scarab beetles. It is considered a “keystone” animal. What will happen to these animals should their host disappear? Some, such as the Florida Mouse, cannot live without the Tortoise hole. Gopherus Polyphemus is endangered throughout its habitat, and is federally protected in the state of Mississippi. Casting a Wider Net illustrates the pre-dawn sky of early November 2004. Imagine yourself looking toward the eastern horizon, the light pooling in the heavens, the sun not yet visible. The moon will be waning during the first two weeks of November. Each successive day it will be found lower and lower in the sky, until Nov 9th and 10th when it will appear before sunrise a thin crescent above the eastern horizon (as depicted here). On the 11th it will disappear behind the sun, and on the 12th reappear in the evening sky as the new moon. If you arise before first light and walk along the beach, you will be rewarded with this same sky! Get up and take a swim and let your consciousness be aroused by the heavens! Venus and Jupiter are found in close proximity, painted here with spikes of light as they often seem to appear in their brilliance with the naked eye. They will be making a spectacular pairing in early November. Venus the brightest of the stars & planets, Jupiter second brightest. Above the pair Alphapecca can be located within the constellation Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown), and Arcturus within Bootes (The Herdsman). To the left is seen the bluish twinkling of the bright star Vega in Lyra, the Lyre. Directly above is the serpent’s head from Ophiuchus, the Snake Handler. A stimulating visualization can be made with Lyra and Ophiuchus. Stand in a dark spot on the beach and fix your attention on the Eastern horizon from whence Ophiuchus is rising. You are looking towards the center, the very nucleus of the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy set on a plane, a very, very large plane, about 100,000 light years wide! In December, you will find the Milky Way following directly behind Ophiuchus. Now fix your gaze on bluish Vega, in Lyra. Vega indicates the direction that the sun is spinning through the plane of the Milky Way. This is approximately a right angle from Ophiuchus. Wow! In a single glance you can get a feel for the proportions of our galaxy, and the direction we are spinning through it! If you are ever feeling lost, this visualization will provide some connection and peace of mind. Studying a turtle shell might provide similar solace. The turtle was sacred to Native Americans and Mesoamericans. Hindus saw themselves intimately connected with the cosmos, living on a gigantic turtle shell. Their totems, rituals, their basic understanding of time and space, and their place in the universal scheme of things were inextricably intertwined with the turtle and its shell. Turtles have long figured large in the human imagination. Some tribes say the world was born on the back of a turtle. They picture the universe being held up by four elephants -- all perched on a turtle's shell. Other cultures hail the turtle as a symbol of resilience and practicality, since it carries its home on its back. Folk tales celebrate its determination -- such as when the speedy but overconfident hare is beaten in a race by a plodding but persevering turtle. Gulf Indians once used the shell of the Gopher Tortoise as a form of currency. I have been finding a large population of Mississippi Map turtles this spring along the Mississippi River, and have been studying their fantastic design, an entrancing arrangement of spirals, waves and globular organic shapes. I originally depicted Casting a Wider Net on the back of a Mississippi Map Turtle, but later adopted the Gopherus Polyphemus which is more appropriate to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. May 30, 2004 John Ruskey Clarksdale, Mississippi Conference T-shirts featuring our beautiful Conference logo -- the Gopher Turtle, native to the Gulf Coast -- are now on sale at a special pre-order price of $12.00 for pick up at conference site. Why not pick up a couple of extra T-shirts for your children or other favorite people in your life this Christmas and celebrate knowing that your purchase will help a deserving college student to participate in our conference next year? Youth and Adult sizes are available. Please place your order online. You can add your order even if you have already registered. Purchases on-site will be $15.00 per T-shirt. Not attending the conference? We will be happy to ship the T-shirt for only $16.00 (total). *Similar artwork will be available for sale at the conference. |
