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Clean, green, oil spilled New Zealand

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One week ago the container vessel MV Rena ran aground off the east coast of New Zealand’s north island, she is stranded on the Astro Reef near Tauranga.  At that stage the weather was clear and calm;

From what I understand a lot of valuable potential clean up time was lost while the weather was calm.

I am a New Zealander based in Croatia, on the radio here I was able to pick out something about environmental ‘catasphoe’ in NZ, and I have been watching, reading and learning about this VAST and tragic disaster since I first heard this news.  Anxious to know what is not being reported in the ‘news’ I asked a Tauranga based friend what she knew, through this friend I was put in touch with a the ‘MV Rena Response Monitoring & Action’ Group that has been established on facebook.

The images that I am using here come via this group and I am following with interest, sadness and awe the ‘progress’ on cleaning up the mess that has been created by the grounding of this huge vessel.  The ship was carrying 1,368 containers, eight of which contained hazardous materials, as well as 1,700 tons of heavy fuel oil and 200 tons of marine diesel.

 

By Sunday, 9 October, a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) oil slick threatened wild life and the area’s rich fishing waters.Oil from the Rena began washing ashore at Mt Maunganui beach on 10 October 2011. Bad weather that night caused the ship to shift on the reef, and the crew were evacuated. The shifting of the ship caused a further damage, resulting in a further 130 – 350 tonnes of oil leaking. (via Wikipedia)

My interest in this disaster is natural as a New Zealander/caring environmental person, my sadness is also a natural reaction to this disaster;

how can we not feel saddened?

And my awe stems from the strength of passion and the sharing and caring expressed by the members of MV Rena Group –  together we are strong.  The information, updates, video footage, photographs and thoughts that are being shared via this forum remind me how great it is to be a New Zealander, how together we achieve more, how in times of trouble we must pull together and how the combined voices of people who care need to shared and listened to.  Will our government listen? What action will be taken and will lessons be learnt from this environmental catastrophe?

As I am writing this it is about 3am in New Zealand and these words were just shared to the group by someone who had stopped her car at the beach on her way home from work,

‘ there was a airy feeling standin there alone it felt like i have just lost  a love one i know i have we all have it our beach our pride and joy. as i walked bck to my car tears rolled down my check as it was like i was saying goodbye. i dont know what i was feeling maybe it was sadness anger all in 1 i have no idea’

this was one of the first images that I saw, it also resonated very strongly with me.

Thanks to group members for allowing me to share your photos, and for all the work that you are doing, sharing and caring, you make me proud to be a New Zealander amid this mess.  Kia kaha!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5770592/Rena-disaster-Second-officer-charged-cracks-in-ship

A news article and footage of the MV Rena

http://www.petitiononline.co.nz/petition/demand-answers-from-the-national-led-nz-government-regarding-the-rena-oil-spill/1338#.TpVrVmCTiTM.facebook

This link will lead you to an on-line petition to be presented to the NZ government when it has 50,000 signatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Cloud II – another Beautiful Design.

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Sea Cloud II - Korcula October 9 2011

Today Korcula is dwarfed  by the presence of Sea Cloud 2 – an amazing boat, and I thought you might be interested in a little of her design and sailing history.

The Sea Cloud II was built as a sister ship to the original Sea Cloud that was built in 1931 by the Krupp family at their shipyard in Kiel.  The huge and impressive four masted vessel was commissioned by one of Wall Streets wealthiest traders, a Mr E.F. Hutton. Mrs Hutton, herself a successful business woman, designed the luxury yacht.

Please see www.seacloud.com if you would like to read more about these amazing vessels.

Work on Sea Cloud II was completed in 2001, combining ‘ the timeless elegance of windjammers of past with the highest safety standards and the luxurious comfort of modern cruise ships’.  You can take a tour of her cabins on the website and learn more about her majestic beauty there.

The Sea Cloud yachting philosophy is as follows;

Y  achting

A  mbience

C  haracter

H ospitality

T  radition

Even if you are not interesting in sailing I am sure you will agree that the Sea Cloud is an impressive vessel.  She and her sister ships visit Korcula five or six times during our summer season.  Each ship carries 60 passengers from all over the world, we wish them a happy journey to their next port of call.

 

Sea Cloud II - berthed at Korcula

How we create our stunning filigree balls – Part 2

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Following directly on from yesterdays post;

When all segments in the filigree framework have been filled with tiny silver thread & their twisty twirly pattern the delicate filigree pattern must be soldered into place.

Filigree frames with flux

A mix of silver powder and borax is used to solder the filigree pattern into place, the heat of the flame is controlled by a blow pipe – too much heat and the work will be ruined.  Getting the heat factor ‘just right’ is a skill and ‘feeling’ that is learnt with time, practise and patience!

You can see the filigree pattern emerging here as flux is burnt off.

Following this soldering of the filigree pattern, each bead half is polished to showcase the delicate pattern at its brightest and best.

Polished bead pieces.

Each of our Seba Dizajn beads is individually created using traditional filigree practises that are centuries old, it is a pleasure to be sharing some of the processes used with you here.  The story will continue next week, in the mean time please leave your comments and questions below.

Baby beads (earrings) ready to be shaped into 'ball' form.

 

 

How we create our stunning filigree balls – part 1

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A question on our facebook page this morning (www.facebook.com/SebaDizajn) prompted me to add descriptions to all the photos in our ‘Action at Seba Dizajn album, something I had been meaning to do for sometime – thanks Bryce for your question.

Part way through I realised I was writing a short jewellery making story and have decided to share it here in a little more detail.  The photo to the left was taken in our store (Seba Dizajn), in Croatia earlier this summer.  This photo shows Adolf Seba (aka Doka) heating silver coils, when silver is heated it becomes softer and easier to work with.

To create the filigree beads or balls a frame-work is shaped from the silver wire;

Shaping the framework for a Seba Dizajn bead

Frames ready for soldering

The floral shaped framework is then soldered together.

 

A very fine silver wire is used to create the various patterns seen in our beads – each is unique, although a popular pattern can be repeated and we often create a pair of beads to be used for earrings.

A pattern is forming
Another step closer - these photos show work on a bespoke bead, our customer requested a heart to feature in her bead.

I hope you are beginning to see some of the work that goes into creating each of our beads, this is going to be a four part post.  Remember you can subscribe to our blog in the box at the top right.  And if you don’t want to wait for the next installment head over to our facebook page where you can see these photos and more in our ‘Action at Seba Dizajn’ Album – please hit the LIKE button while you are there.

If you have any questions about our jewellery making please leave them below and I will reply to you.

See you next time, Ruth

Mornings musings; pasteries, coffee and public grief.

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I have just been to the bakery to get our morning pastry fix – we seemed to have developed a daily pastry habit this last few months, just as well there is a bit of walking involved to and from the bakery.

It’s a beautiful morning here in Korcula, the sun is shining and the sea is so perfectly still and clear, one of those mornings to remind me why it is so nice to live here.  I grew up by the sea (Otago Harbour, Dunedin) and love the smell of the sea and its many moods.  This morning is calm and gentle and the coffee is brewing and I have my visnja (cherry) pastry, 2 good things to start the day with.

Switching on the computer and tuning in this mornings news I note with sadness the passing of Steve Jobs, all the more poignant for me (& many others) as I have an Uncle in NZ who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 3 months ago.   I find the very public sharing of grief an interesting phenomena and the prevalence of social media in our daily lives spreads so many messages of support to the Job’s family so quickly.  There are so many heart-felt messages being shared,  and a number of blogs already written and dedicated to Mr Jobs – here I am doing the same thing, this was not what I was not what I was intending to write about this morning but here we have it.

I found this interesting CNN article on Steve and his conversion to buddhism,

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/05/tech/innovation/steve-jobs-philosophy/index.html .

Sympathies with the family and friends of this visionary and thoughts with all families and friends who are hurting and grieving today over the loss of their own loved ones.