Trilogy of Light
Greetings Everyone,
This week, I’m putting pigment to canvas, passion to heart, mindful that what we do in this world can make a positive difference, widening the wings of hope. As you might know, I live in Northern Thailand, between two small villages about thirty kilometers from the lovely city of Chiangmai, rich in its cultural ancestry and ancient architecture, thrumming with the pulse of Buddha Heart. It is also filled with vibrant creative energy, much of which comes from other cultures. I have a number of such friends whose envisioning is not to change things but to embrace and enhance the beauty already here. In this posting, I reflect on three chalices of promise.
Left to right: Jami Sieber in concert / collaborative recording with Kim Rosen , poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, and painting by Galen Garwood / Jami playing for the elephants at Thai Elephant Conservation Center.
1998-99, when I first began to visualize "PANOM, A Story of Elephants and Humans," I knew I’d need the perfect music score. Immediately, the American Cellist/composer Jami Sieber came to mind; I'd met her briefly; I knew her music from "Rumors of the Big Wave," a very popular American band. She agreed. Her playing for the elephants is one of the film's most potent, touching parts. In addition to her global performance projects, recordings, and composing, Jami returned every year for more than a decade, leading a tour, visiting our most essential elephant centers, including BLES, Thai Elephant Conservation Center and the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital. Jami’s compassion and her remarkable gift of music illuminates a promise of hope.
When I first arrived in 1998 to film PANOM, I met and became friends with Richard Lair, the project director for the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, about 100 kilometers south of Chiangmai. Among the many projects he was involved with was the elephant painting project, and over the years, he kept pressing the idea of my promoting a museum exhibition of the paintings. I mulled over the concept, and four years ago, he insisted I take the 40 or so paintings in his collection and store them in my studio.
In June, due to long-term health issues and age, Richard decided to reiterate, to leave the physical world by not eating. On July 15th, Oliver Hargreave and I visited our friend Richard on the 22nd day of his not eating. His body was diminished severely, but his mind and humor were as sharp as ever. Among the topics we touched on were the paintings. After about three hours, Oliver and I returned to Chiangmai; two days later Richard made his exit into the infinite sky.
Several months went by, and then the big river came; the floods devastated a good part of the Chiangmai area, including my studio, and taking with it were the elephant paintings. Fortunately, I’d photographed them all. To honor Richard’s earthly commitment to the welfare of the Asian elephant, I’ll be producing a book of the paintings, along with short stories, poems, and essays. The book, entitled From the Eye of the Elephant, will be dedicated to Richard Lair and will be part of the Elephant Heart Project. Stay tuned: The publication date will be announced in a later post.
When I was working on the film project in 2007, I met the remarkable Victoria Vorreiter, a classically trained violinist and educator from the United States living in Chiangmai, whose passion for music and culture blooms in astonishing ways. Her books, photographs, exhibitions, and lectures are dedicated to the preservation of Indigenous hill tribe cultures, their music, and their stories. You can learn more about her work and organization at http://www.CulturalCrossroadsAsia.org
Victoria Vorreiter is compassionately relentless in bringing her goals to positive fruition. In her words, “…a vision of providing our Akha children skills they may use in their lifework while documenting their culture. Sustaining lives by sustaining culture.”
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Eye of the Elephant, illustration from PANOM, and the Stone of Light
Kados, Panom, and I send blessings from the river,
Thank you, Jo; light blooms us all.
Your first paragraph alone is full of heart and beauty and interest Galen. I re read it a number of times. Thank you for how you step into the world. ❤️