The Earth Ink

30/01/2025

Today was full of meeting new creative people and being inspired by their work – plus getting to see some of my own artwork blown up into large format prints.
If you're in the UAE, don't miss a stroll through Aljazeera Alhamra Heritage Village in Ras Al Khaimah. The Ras Al Khaimah Art Festival is on through February 28 and the artwork will remain until the end of March 2025.
Free tickets here: https://www.rakart.ae

27/01/2025

Only a few days left to see my "Afterlife of Stones" photography showing at the _Design Gallery . I remain honored to be shown along with the other photographers in the first exhibition of 2025!
Stop by if you're in Ras Al Khaimah until 30 January!

26/01/2025

If you're in the United Arab Emirates, join me at the Ras Al Khaimah Art Festival 2025 at Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village in Ras Al Khaimah!
I'm extraordinarily honored to be showing two pieces of my art from the series, Recollection of a Traveller, along with brilliant pieces by other local and international artists!
Doors open to everyone at 9pm on 31 January and you can take in all the art, workshops, entertainment, and RAK culture throughout the entire month of February at this massive outdoor art gallery!

21/01/2025

My creative work is showing up this year! Check out my first UAE gallery show – now on display at the _Design Gallery until 30 January.
Three of my four photographs in the series "Afterlife of Stones" are on display from Petra in Jordan, Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan, Hegra in Saudi Arabia!
The fourth image of the Pyramid Complex of King Doser at Saqqara in Egypt is currently not on display.
These Nabatean and Nubian architects certain knew to to make a tombstone!

More info here: https://www.theearthink.com/exhibits

© 2017-2024 Andrea Rip / The Earth Ink. All Rights Reserved.

13/01/2025

In 2025, the Earth Ink is going to reboot as a creative brand. !

05/01/2021

I laugh and smile a lot. It pops out of my lungs in the best and worst of times. But, even in moments of true comedy, my laugh is rarely as spirited or contagious as those laughs from the women we encountered in a Namibian Himba village.

"Laughter is a sunbeam of the soul." - Thomas Mann

This visit to learn more about the Himba people and their way of life, highlighted our trip to Namibia. I was impressed by the culture and their joy in spending time together and sharing a tight-knit community life – one where the women seem to do the hard work and likely influence the village life quite ably and meticulously while the men tend to cattle and goats during the day.

Our group of single women travellers from around the world could not be culturally further from the women who we met that day, but our visit reconfirmed my belief that we are more similar than we think. We work to provide for our needs. We thrive off of relationships and people around us. We develop bonds and establish communities (especially important during this pandemic). And we all can giggle and laugh uncontrollably to unleash the giddiness and joy in our soul.

See more on Instagram .

Trekkup Dubai

16/12/2020

In 2017, I hiked up Kilimanjaro. The story, for better or worse, is now posted to The Earth Ink blog!
Read up!

When I started thinking about traveling, one big adventure was immediately put on my wanderlust list: Kilimanjaro.

05/11/2020

When Namibia opened up to tourists, I jumped at the opportunity to travel last month with Trekkup Dubai. Now back, and finally finished with quarantine in Abu Dhabi, I was interviewed for The World Nomads Podcast. Listen in to catch a bit about the trip and travelling during COVID-19.

In this episode, press trips for travel companies are back on, the ex-pats flying during COVID and the entrepreneur inspiring women to explore the world.

17/05/2020

I'm sharing my most impactful travel experience in 2019 from Yemen, Djibouti, and beyond in a new blog: Being Seen.

I took an instant camera to Madagascar, Socotra (Yemen), and Djibouti and was surprised a the power of a picture to make people feel seen and important. In lieu of sharing a language, leaving a snapshot with someone was my most impactful 2019 travel experience.

28/04/2020

After listening to critters scurry around my toukoul, and probably under my cot all night, we woke early to experience sunrise amidst the limestone chimney's that formed under Lac Abbé's waters from geothermal activity bubbling up from below. When the Lake receded, it left the chimneys that still offer up puffs of steam in the morning light. In some places water bubbles up in hot springs that gurgle boiling water.

After navigating the chimney's while the sun rose, we took a seven kilometer walk to the water's edge. Along the way, we spoke to an Afar woman. The tribe wanders the Ethiopian and Djibouti borderlands around Lac Abbé, following their fresh water resources. We watch young Afar women carry water and guide donkeys across the salty dry lakeshore. And we saw the Lake's famous flamingos bobbing along with their feet in the water and mud that got too thick for easy human navigation.
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26/04/2020

In December, I popped across the Arabian Peninsula for a weekend in one of Africa's smaller countries, Djibouti. Despite its small landmass, the country has three sea ports on the Gulf of Tadjoura and Gulf of Aden and seemed to be a coastal crossroads of the horn of Africa.
After racing across sand at sunset, we arrived to the extraterrestrial landscape of Lac Abbé in the dark. Our true view of the peculiar landscape would reveal itself at sunrise. We slept in traditional toukouls, traditional huts that we saw dotting the landscape.
We had a cot to put our sleeping bags on and there were lots of critters scurrying around as the covers didn't quite reach the ground. I was so glad I had a second cot to put my bag and boots on, but I still stuffed socks inside my shoes and checked inside them in the morning to make sure nothing had crawled in.
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