Shadow

We had zero visibility in a total fog out during the Oct. 14 ring of fire eclipse. I was jealous of friends who were in the right place at the right time for this cosmic shadow drama.

However, we were exhilarated to connect with our eclipse friends camping in Northern California’s lava beds. They zapped shadow action pics to us in real time. Both images shown at the top of this story have a green tinge because Dave took the Iphone shots through welder’s glass.

As the moon covered the sun, the earth darkened and temperature dropped. However, the sky was still too bright for Dave to photograph the moon’s famous fiery perimeter. A while later, he wowed other campers with moon shadow crescents seen through a colander.

Now, moving on to different moonlit shapes and shadows, we are entertained, surprised, perplexed, and teased through mysterious portals.

Shadows invite us to face fears in unknown territory.

If we dare enter Spooky Cave, maybe we manage to ramp up bravery.

Or–dark places exacerbate fears. An old guy’s dark, creepy creases and damaged hand remind me of The Mummy’s Hand, which gave me nightmares at 4th grade 4-H camp. Speaking of wrinkles, I recently saw a photo of my own aged, gaunt visage–plenty scary. I’m not going to show you.

Inching toward mortality is an uncomfortable, edgy space. We wish we had more clues instead of a hole in the head. Some people are so frightened they become zombies devoid of emotion.

Uncertainties and doubts prompt us to teeter.

Now let’s grope our way beyond the willies and fears to take advantage of binoculars that provide alternative perspectives.

My chili pepper mind memory opens to beach art adventures with Rick Paulus , Julie Guibord and friends.

For more about rakes and beach art see the post from February 2022 in the Wild Art archives at the end of this story.

I also recall full moon dance extravaganzas in Anza Borego’s Indian Valley.

Vivid memories from our visit to a nearby oasis highlight a shadow procession with palm fronds.

We find a different shadow dance in the garden. (For more poppy photos see Poppy Party from the May 2023 Wild Art archives.)

Believe it or not, these are shadow fringes of candle wicks as they hang on display.

Ruth Asawa’s looped wire sculptures in the DeYoung Museum are exquisite mates with their shadows.

Although Carhenge silhouettes are not technically shadows, they are too crazy to be left out. Near Alliance in northwest Nebraska, they were created by Jim Reinder in 1987, when the project was locally controversial. Using old cars as his primary resource, Reinder considered this henge a whimsical knock-off standing in the metaphorical shadow of the famous Stonehenge on England’s Salisbury Plain.

Magnificent shadows delineate the cracks between massive, awesome, gorgeous 200 ton stones transported and maneuvered by shifts of 20,000 Incan laborers in the 15th century. Sapa Inca Pacachuti and his successors organized the project, which was crafted with such precision that not even a pin or piece of paper can slip between the limestone blocks.

Conquistadors wrecked the Saqsayhuaman fortress and mercilessly murdered people–which fast forwards us to the current horrific destruction, pain, grief. There is no easy lah-dee-dah ending to this mini-journey circling around shadows.

And yet, and yet…we hold each other in the light.

Footnote:

Wikipedia’s informative article includes extensive primary source descriptions of the wall’s cultural context and construction techniques. Some of you will want to know all about it.

For no relevant reason, here’s an anecdote: As I was walking along the edge of this designated ritual area in 1990, a herd of white alpaca stampeded down the field. “Stampeded” isn’t the right word. These fleet-footed creatures were snowflake quiet as they ran.