The Magic Flute at Lincoln Center

The last time wonder | wander | women were in NYC for Christmas was way back in 2012 when we stayed for a few days in the city to see the Rockettes Christmas special - what a treat! Now in 2021 we found ourselves at the Lincoln Center for that other jewel of the season, Julie Taymor's family-friendly production of Mozart's Magic Flute.

Yuletide 2021

Yule is the pagan - ancient, ageless, and new - holiday that celebrates the return of longer days. Many cultures celebrate Yule - from ancient Germanic peoples to Celtic Druids. This turning of the wheel of the year also has traditions that may seem familiar for those who celebrate Christmas today. 

Yuletide display - AdobeStock / emmi

Wishing everyone a purposeful and fulfilling winter solstice. Life's challenges right now for all our global population has put us through so much loss on so many levels.

Winter Solstice sunrise over NYC - Getty Image

Ancient teachings from our ancestors - in messages on old artifacts, cave dwellings, and petroglyphs - remind us of the importance of holding the light, especially in these dark times.

a much missed view

wonder | wander | women are reunited! For the first time in several years, London HQ set off across the Atlantic for US HQ. Which meant several days of COVID testing setup and many other hoops to jump through before we even set foot on the plane.

leaving the green and grey flats of England

holiday countdown

Contrary to popular belief, the theory that the lyrics to “The 12 Days of Christmas” are coded references to Christianity, has been debunked. 

While it posits that the song was written to help Christians learn and pass on the tenets of their faith while avoiding persecution - the song really isn't a coded primer on Christianity. 

celebrating online, 2020

Forever the irreverent resisters, wonder | wander | women created our own version this year to celebrate our reunion Stateside - finally, COVID be damned! The Countdown begins. . . .now. 

Pentatonix version of 12 Days of Xmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . . .a partridge in a pear tree.

The partridge in a pear tree of course represents Mahala - only and fave spawn of Issa. Whose arrival Stateside is the best Christmas gift for us both.

finding new spaces

Unlike the tidy grids of New York, the streets of central London wander around oddly shaped properties, cross themselves, and split off in small paths that may lead to a dead end. Walkers in a hurry usually stick to their prepared routes or rely on map apps to keep from getting lost.

a truth giving holiday

Thanksgiving is the third in a line of problematic holidays of the fall season — holidays that may seem harmless, but that actually have a grave effect on the well-being of Native Americans. 

Thanksgiving myths vs Indigenous history

The other two are Columbus Day and Halloween. From the second Monday of October to the fourth Thursday in November, Native Americans are hammered with a barrage of racially offensive, culturally appropriative, and historically inaccurate tall tales. 

Thanksgiving Story | Smithsonian Channel

The list is extensive - Columbus Day parades, statues, speeches, and sales; offensive Halloween costumes; Pilgrim and Indian paraphernalia; and of course, all the parties, events, and classroom activities that our children are subjected to. 

the colours of autumn

It's been a wild and walk-filled autumn! This year wonder | wander | women have been exploring again and we're happy to be safely outdoors (with masks and distancing) and viewing the changing leaves again. Of course some of the most vivid scenes can be spotted from our own back window.

Kusama at all hallows

wonder | wander | women had the best time this Halloween at the KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature exhibition - set exclusively in New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx. 

steps spilling over with pumpkins & gourds - [3] Mertz Gallery

"The Garden is uniquely suited to present this once-in-a-lifetime display of Yayoi Kusama’s work for our visitors. An exceptional selection of work invites visitors into her universe, to consider her practice through her unique vision of the natural world."

Kusama: Cosmic Nature at NYBG, 2021

"Our subtitle, 'Cosmic Nature,' references her bold investigations of materiality, media, color, form, and pattern that proliferate into an expansive sense of becoming with the cosmos. We are thrilled to mount this focused survey of the work of one of the most influential artists of our time." ~  Carrie Rebora Barratt, NYBG President 

Kusama: Cosmic Nature, NYBG

Legendary artist Yayoi Kusama is a global sensation. She has paved the way for minimalism, pop art, performance art, and immersive art installations. Her radical works featuring pumpkins, flowers, polka dots, loops, and mirrors - excavating ideas of self-obliteration, fear, and infinity - have attracted massive audiences to prestigious art institutions around the world.

peace be with you!

Back in our Catholic school days, wonder | wander | women's favourite parts of the Mass were always the hymns and the part where the congregation turned to each other and said "Peace be with you."

St. Silas Church, Pentonville

historical horrors

Ancient cradles of civilization worshipped powerful female deities and revered women who practiced the holiest of rituals. Trained in the sacred arts, these priestesses became known as wise women and wisdom keepers in their communities. They may have been some of the earliest manifestations of what we now recognize as the witch. 

The Magic Circle by John William Waterhouse

So why the flip-flop from beloved healer, trusted guide, divine femme to witch, bruja, evil doer? Who decided to brand these women as witches? How did the benevolent image of a wise woman transform into the malevolent figure of the witch bandied about in fear today? 

fresh voices in the art of stage design

The Wimbledon College of Arts is a member of the University of Arts London collective, which includes prestigious design schools like Central St. Martins and the London College of Fashion. Wimbledon College of Arts specialises in set and costume design for theatre and production, and its Graduate Showcase is on at venues around the city.

Doyeon Kim's design for Foucault's Heterotopia
at Kings Cross Station

history lessons

The NYC Department of Education now celebrates Columbus Day as Italian Heritage Day or Indigenous Peoples Day. The US national holiday is still called “Columbus Day” as it takes an act of Congress to change the federal and state law. 

Drummers during Indigenous Peoples Day - © Elaine Thompson, AP 

The Federal Government still closes for Columbus Day which was first recognized in 1937 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it a federal holiday. Lobbying by Italian-American community groups led to its creation. The growing immigrant group preferred recognition as American citizens to being vilified as the latest bunch of outsiders to land here.

Why the US celebrates Columbus

Baroque by the River: architecture around the Thames

London is famous for the history of its architecture, but the River Thames in particular is a treasure trove of buildings with stories. Walking around the river is wonder | wander | women's favourite way of connecting with this ancient and beautiful city.

Happy Michaelmas Day

Michaelmas (pronounced Mickel-mas) - or the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels - is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with harvest, the beginning of autumn, and the shortening of days.

Harvest Home and Golden Corn, 1875. David Payne, Annan Museum

In England, it is one of the quarter days - traditionally the four quarter days in a year are: Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th September), and Christmas (25th December). They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes.

St. Michael, the warrior archangel

Michaelmas is still observed in Waldorf schools, which celebrate it as the “festival of strong will” during the autumnal equinox. Rudolf Steiner considered it the second most important festival after Easter — Easter being about Christ (“He is laid in the grave and He has risen”).

friends al fresco

After who knows how long, vaccinations in the UK are at the point where it's finally less risky to go out to the park and have some snacks and drinks with friends (at a safe distance) again. 

Dune | an epic saga

Dune by Frank Herbert was a strong influence in our wonder | wander | women lives. When we first read it in the late 70s, pregnant with Mahala. 

Throughout the years, we ardently studied the Bene Gesserit training manual and the Mentat handbook, in our own quest to immerse ourselves totally in the made up world of Dune. 

Dune cover art

We are delighted that a new movie directed by Denis Villeneuve is being released this September. So far the reviews and coverage have been positive and that has been so encouraging. 

The truth is, we were so gaga over Dune that when the David Lynch version first came out we rushed to watch it. Even if it fell short of all our expectant excitement, we loved that it stayed true to the book anyway. 

Dune Cast Q&A with Stephen Colbert

42 - the answer?

I was so excited to turn 42 this year. In the Douglas Adams science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the number 42 is given as the answer to "life, the Universe, and everything." 

Art corner at VANS in Seven Dials

what climate?

Death and destruction in the wake of Ida - all across the northeast here in the United States. The storm's tail lashed out - all wild and heavy handed - bringing high floods and causing havoc late evening and early morning, on September 1 and 2. 

The Washington Time

Videos and photos of New York City - under siege and under water - caused wave after wave of surreal chills worldwide. Leaving us helpless and horrified as we watched in joined paralyzing fear. 

Washington Post coverage

studying, resting, writing, learning

Vaccinations are rolling out, variants rampant, summer days hot in one country and damp in the other. What are stay-at-home wonder | wander | women to do? Read, rest, write and learn!

Robin in the garden, watercolours in Paperblanks notebook

Tokyo 2020 Olympics | Kimono Project

After six years, Japan reveals the 213 specially created kimonos depicting the nature, culture, and history of each representative nation participating at the Tokyo Olympics.

some of the stunning kimonos

Despite the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all 213 kimonos and obis were displayed in a special exhibition at "Musée du Kimono" at the Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art in October, 2020.

summer eating for damp days

This summer in London has been a rollercoaster. wonder | wander | women are all turned around between sunny summer days and wet rainy days...and often sun and rain chase each other in a single day. This has made the garden mushrooms pretty happy.

elemental mineral kingdom

The Allison and Roberto Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals is part of the American Museum of Natural History since the Seventies. It closed in 2017 to be redesigned as one of its 150th anniversary projects. Its grand opening was delayed and pushed back to June 12, 2021 because of the pandemic. 

in front of one of two gargantuan amethyst geodes 

New York City in the time of COVID is the perfect poster child for pandemic protocols. As the most populous city and a major gateway of the world on the East Coast, NYC was one of the first in the United States to be hardest hit by this global pandemic. 

museum façade 

indoor adventures: yaki onigiri

wonder | wander | women love the kind of food that you can have as a meal or a snack. They're great for eating at the movies, refueling while working, or watching TV together at home. Yaki onigiri, or grilled rice balls, are some of our favourites.

Photo courtesy of Just One Cookbook

celestial grace

Guru Purnima is upon us once again. Signifying the Guru-shishya tradition - the succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Vedic culture and spiritual belief. Hindu ascetics and wandering monks (sanyasis), observe this day by offering puja to their guru.

This year, Guru Purnima is celebrated on the 24th of July. According to the Drik Panchang, the Purnima tithi begins at 10:43 am on July 23 and will end on 08:06 am on July 24.

traditional guru–disciple relationship

Students of Indian classical music and Indian classical dance, which also follow the Guru shishya parampara, celebrate this holy festival around the world.

mushrooms and moss

It's been an unusually "normal" English summer, by which we mean cool and rainy. After the blistering heat we had for the past few years, this mild weather was a relief. 

NYC staycation

On our first visit to New York City since lockdown in March 2020, we were enchanted by our stay at The Whitby Hotel in the heart of upper midtown Manhattan on West 56th Street at 5th Avenue. 

The Whitby Hotel façade

a detailed virtual tour of The Whitby by Kit Kemp

If ever one feels compelled to take a staycation this most definitely was both a sweet way to live it up. What better way to join in the celebration of Big Apple's grand reopening? 

the hotel reception entrance

the delicate glowing pots of Martha Freud

As it so boldly states on their website: The Whitby Hotel is a celebration of contemporary art and design. Just two blocks from Central Park and on the doorstep of some of New York's leading restaurants, galleries and museums, including MoMA.

summer blooms at St George's Gardens

St. George's Gardens were originally the first offsite burial grounds for a local church, or rather two local churches: St. George's Bloomsbury and St. George the Martyr in Queen's Square.

Some of the graves have been left standing, although the bones beneath them were respectfully gathered and housed in the church crypts. 

a New York state of mind

View of Columbus Circle & Central Park South, Time Warner Center

For those of us lucky enough to live near Central Park it is no wonder the place holds a favored spot in our hearts. This natural haven is made even more magical by its being situated smack in the center of Manhattan Island. 

USS Maine Monument & gilded sculpture of Columbia Triumphant

It may also be because wonder | wander | women relocated far from our home island in the Philippines that other far flung islands call out to us. Though this may just be an added incentive on top of the lush greens that recall our tropical paradise. 

inspirations

Lately wonder | wonder | women are back into the creative groove. We're in the throes of some really exciting work. But it suddenly reminded us...

There are people we'd love to share this work with who are now gone. People who inspired and shaped us, who in some way had a hand in making this work too. 

We want to sit down with them, have a cup of coffee or some wine, say "Look at this! What do you think?" and hear what they have to say.

We can no longer invite ourselves over for dinner or merienda. We can't call them and hear their laughter. But we can put our memories of them into our work.

Some of the people we lost were mentors and fellow artists. Some of them didn't practice art but were supportive and warm people that we drew strength from.

With art, we can say "I miss you", "Thank you", or "I hope you like this". We can share it with other people who loved them and say "Don't you think they would enjoy this?" "Do you remember when we went to see this artist (or this movie)?"

Author Terry Pratchett in his book Reaper Man wrote, “No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.”

The people we loved are departed, but we still love them and are grateful for their gifts and the time we spent with them.

world of words

wonder | wander | women are enjoying being in a writing class together. After over a decade of on going classes with writing teacher and author, John McCaffrey - we can finally attend them together on Zoom. 

NYC & Hudson River - Hoboken NJ

Formed our first year in Hoboken, New Jersey - 24 February 2010, where the local middle school was offering some continuing education evening classes. We signed up for a fiction writing class where we met what would be our decade long tightly knit gang. 

John McCaffrey - novelist, columnist, writing teacher

Sadly, the next year Hoboken was low on funds and killed the program. We prevailed on John to continue and moved our venue to the local Symposia Bookstore along the main drag on Washington Street. Through the years we kept to our core group with some new folks showing up once in a while. 

the walls of Italy

"If these walls could talk..." The story the walls of Italy tell is a story of blood, gold and a wave of artistic advancement beyond anything the early modern world could imagine. 

Siena, Italy

May memorial mantra

This month’s full moon is the first total lunar eclipse in about two and a half years, according to NASA. 

over Hongkong by Anthony Wallace - AFP via Getty Images

The event gets each part of its name from a different source: “flower” comes from this being the full moon in May, when many flowers are blooming. 

Ormond Beach, Florida - Greg Diesel Walck

side streets and secret avenues

Back in the Before Times, wonder | wander | women liked to walk for the sake of it, and we especially liked to meander.

Shoreditch Town Hall

all ablaze

Fire trees are in full bloom in the blazing summer heat of the tropics. wonder | wander | women are nostalgic for this brilliant blooms, our scorching blue skies, violent thunderstorms, and warm curtains of rain. 

Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia)

Also known as flame or flamboyant tree, Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) is a semi-evergreen or deciduous member of the bean family characterized by fernlike, lacy green leaves, scores of spoon-shaped, brilliant red flowers and brown pods that make a rattling sound when wind goes through the tree.

Ponciana flowers, leaves, pods