Yogjyakarta the Artist Town

Yogjyakarta, arrived this morning and put up Ary's Hotel at 100.00 per night in a single room with Spartan furnishings. The owner is an artist and married to a Japanese and so the landscaping and decor has a japanese taste to it. Talked to the owner this morning and learned where to go to meet artists and galleries in the area. Took a walk later in the morning and had lunch at the Kebun Restaurant which also another art corner cum Restaurant where local artist congregate. There is a comic exhibition goingon and a few comic artists has their works in progress on the walls. It reminds me of art cooperative joints in San Francisco where health foods and arts and crafts are shown. Later took a walk to another art corner call Cemeti Art House where i met the staff and the owner who are all in the arts in one form or another. Very polite and helpful group of people and a good source of Art information of the area. I had a good rapport with a young art student from Bandung who had just graduated and presently employed at the Gallery.There is a show by the Artist Krisna Murti entitled 'The Forbidden Zone' which showed works of large paintings of abstract landscapes and also a few media Graphic works on screen.
From the Cemeti gallery i took a 'Becak' or trishaw to the Art Library and Archives with Albert where I read a book on the famous Indonesian Artist, Affandi. He was no doubt quite an artist and his works were very strong and expressive although the subjects were just normal as any other. Affandi i learned never used brushes when he painted and instead used his hands and paints squeezed directly from the tube. It was astyle of its own but at the cost of a tube of paint today the style can be a very expensive one materialwise. I also read from a magazine about 'The Gaurdian of Mount Merapi. Mbah Maridjan, it seemed is quite well known in Central Java as the keeper or Shaman of this active volcanoe whivh erupted in June of 06. According to this 80 year old man the volcanoe had to vent out some pent up energy that's all nothing serious and the manner in which it erupted was not meant to cause much destruction as it happened away from the general population.
It looks like i may have to cut short my visit here as I have arrived at a very critical financial crisis. Tomorrow i will check for any chance of changing my return flight date and if it does not cost too much book a flight back. It is very disappoiting but hell maybe next time i get to see the Borobodur. I had done pretty much what i needed to do in Ubut and Solo and took almost 700 shost of pictures. Got two CD's worth of underwater pictures a present fromn a underwater diver from Switzerland and met a great Englishman in Solo, what more can a guy want? All great things must end even if it means somethings left undone or incomplete but is meant to be. Perhaps my childre misses their Dad now that he is not home to bring their dinner home to them or get their cloaths washed or moaned and bithced at them for not doing their school works...well I do miss them too. Such is Life!