On Tao returning to Bangkok

Greetings, all, John here. I was pleased to see Tanya post a selection of pics of her lovely city returning to life. One of the interesting things about photographs is that the choice of image tells us so much about what the photographer chooses to see.

Not surprisingly then, these reflect Tanya’s instinctive turn of mind. These are not photos of perspectives or vistas – these are people, “ordinary” people; those who are corpuscles in the lifeblood of the city.

Notice too, that they are all caught in the act of inter-relating; speaking, sharing, nurturing, supporting, negotiating; all the individual postures in life that, seen together, narrate the ballet of human existence.

And, too, the essential restless swirl of the energy of life; channeled but never fully directed.

I wanted to offer a few thoughts of my own, and they became this little poem.

Peace to all, john.

The Return of Tao to Bangkok

Looked at all your photos - and I saw
the immense will of life to go on.
After every storm, the sea returns to its' natural condition;
The leviathins come and go with the aspects of the stars,
While empires rise and fall in the cycles of tidal pools.
Immense and microscopic at the same time;
Mute while eloquent;
Irrepressible and fragile;
Infinitely individuated and remorselessly uniform.
Eternal in its' self yet transient within our portion.
The song of the day within the silence of galaxies.

Introducing John and Dylan Blue

Examples of John's work.Various media and all beautiful in their own right.


















To my Dear Friends,
In my last post I mentioned John would be joining with me in making AardvarkSilver grow. I am limited here in what I am to do alone for many reasons,not least the fact that shipping times are way too long to allow for customers to plan projects right now.
And so I will let John speak.


Greetings, all. I am John Madsen, who runs Dylan Blue. Tanya has described us as "joining forces", so I wanted to share my take on that decision and let you know how I feel about it.

So that you'll understand my perspective, a bit about me. I'm 56, a granddad, and a refugee in flight from Corporate America. In the first 30 years of my adult life I moved around through functions such as food service manager, firefighter, computer programmer, military service, production supervisor and manager, sales and marketing, and general manager of a paper-recycling business.
On the side, I was always interested in art - drawing and painting, guitar and percussion, writing and theater. When our kids moved out, I had to grapple with depression which turned into a horrible emotional crash.

However, in recovering from all of that, I've worked at developing myself as an artisan and seeker, through my jewelry and writing and painting.

Tanya and I met online not quite a year ago through a mutual friend, Meredith of CraftyGAGalCreations. Almost from day one things occurred that showed me that I could communicate with Tanya in ways that were new to my experience of what business was all about.So very very different from the regular sales world.

In the ensuing months, I've come to understand Tanya as an individual who combines a wonderful heart with an angelic spirit and a world-class mind. Needless to say, such a person is compels a huge amount of affection and respect, and it is an honor to join forces to make this grow.

Not surprisingly, I've viewed the place Tanya has created in cyberspace as being similarly unique - a place where commerce and art and human values co-exist cheerfully and in community. How cool is that? Massive Cool. In this day and age of the almighty dollar it is refreshing to see heart in a business.

After getting over the initial shock that Tanya accepted my offer to join with her I've begun to see the possibilities and I am full of gratitude and humility for the chance to be a part of making this into an even larger community that benefits all. My place will be to facilitate the growth of Tanya's vision, and contribute my own work and art at a later time.

My first goal will be to always ensure that the enterprise continues to be suffused with Tanya-ness; that it continue to look and feel exactly as it has. Tanya has plans for growth, and I truly believe that I can assist in bringing them to be in ways that are both creative and effective. Tanya is an integral part of all that goes on and as "the Aardvark" she is there as well.

So - that's my story. I look forward to working and playing and seeking and sharing with this community, and hope that you will find my efforts to be of use to you in your works and journeys.

Peace an' love, you-all, john

Bangkok May 2010

The city I live in is in turmoil and is very very unsettled. Many are injured and others have died. We have had momentary lulls of quiet and almost normality followed by times of violence and tension. The fear at times is so tangible that you could almost cut it.

There are soldiers in odd places and police all about. There are barricades and walls of tyres and bamboo poles in one of the main trading areas. The major department stores in parts of town are shut and public transport can be erratic.The buses run along strange routes to bypass all the problem areas and the trains can be closed without warning causing many to be stranded. The water ways used to get about are also shut down for an unspecified time. Last night many Thai people faced long long walks home as the train systems were closed unexpectedly and taxis were not running as usual.

The shooting and fighting is happening not far from my little room and whilst I am safe as long as I dont venture too far out of my little street it still impacts in a huge way as the sirens are audible at all hours.

I have been wondering what to do next. My savings were depleted by my last foray into the health system here and I am currently not able to go back to teaching whilst the students are directed elsewhere.

So what next?????

After much asking and much searching answers have come.

Aardvark Silver is moving to the United States. We are merging with Dylan Blue to work together as a team whilst remaining two separate identities. The logistics of delivery and parcel handling will all be handled from the US. I am staying on in many roles I have been performing but will be still in Bangkok. John Madsen from Dylan Blue will be a great asset to the team and will provide means for Aardvark Silver to continue in a normal fashion.

What does this mean for all of you? All the customers,supporters and friends of Aardvark Silver? Well it means you get your supplies a lot more quickly if you are US based and possibly within the same time frame or slightly faster if you are European based.

This transition will be taking place over the next few days and hopefully by early next week all silver parcels and shipments will be from the US. As far as Aardvark on Artfire...We are changing that a little to just cater for gems,pearls (when I get them) and beads and will change logos soon.It will still be part of the Aardvark family and as we grow we will move that to the US base as well.
A new Artfire store will be opening in the next few days and will be AardvarkSilver on Artfire. I'll keep you posted.

As we make the transition we will be sending you updates via the fan page, newsletters from the web page and blogging more to let you know what is happening.

We expect to have a few new promotions happening in the next few weeks that will be exciting for you as they are for us to share.

So what to expect?? Faster delivery times,the same great service and excellent products, lots of new items as we add to the inventory and expand. Great ideas and new product lines are in the pipeline.
Why am I doing this? To show you that I care enough to make sure you can still get the same great products, more quickly but also at the best possible prices.

I can hear you...Yes I can. Tanya why dont you leave????
Well I have no funds left and I am still not allowed to fly as my head is still having issues of its own. This new way of working will allow for business as usual,will help me to work at accumulating savings and then I can go overland to seek healthcare elsewhere.

And so I ask you for your continued support.

If you have any questions please dont hesitate to email me at aardvarksilver@yahoo.com I will happy to answer any and all emails.

Thank you

Light and Love to all

Tanya

Happy Mothers Day

It has been a little over a week since I got home and I am now feeling more human. I still have a headache for now but am working on that. I'll keep you all updated about how it is going.

I wanted to wish all the Mothers and Mothers to be the Bestest day.
It is always a moment of reflection when this day comes about.Times of great Joy and times of great sadness.
May you never take for granted the little things that make Mothering such a special task.
And for those in the middle of a mad scramble to get through a day because there is so so much to do please enjoy it as much as you can.Within the blink of an eye (or so it feels) it is all gone past and you wonder where it went.
And so moving forward into the next steps.

I wish to leave you all with this. It was written by a dear friend of mine Alfred John Sole.

"Open your mouth and spray me with Diamonds,
I'll open my heart and receive them all.
I'll cherish and make them part of my memory
To take out and polish whenever I please."

Light and Love to all
Tanya