This blog has been a bit slack..sorry if I have not logged in for a while. I had a wonderful trip to London where the museums are always inspiring. First I saw the Tigers in Asian Art exhibition at Asia House. There were 2 rooms full of miniatures mainly from India and China. There were Japanese woodblock prints from the V and A and one incredible contemporary piece by Wang Jin. It was a transparent plastic coat with white tigers embroidered on it in the shape of an Emperors robe. (Wang is also a conceptual performance artist.) The artist mocks the the Cultural revolution's goal to destroy the memory of traditional and artistic values. The rich yellow traditional silk has been replaced by plastic, symbolizing the new consumerism of modern CHINA. There were even some Tibetan tiger rugs from Mimi Liptons collection. I wish I could have bought one..some were on sale!
The V and A had the Imperial Chinese robes on display from the Forbidden City. I was looking for inspiration for a new textile range. Going to LIBERTY'S department store is always a joy. There of course you can lose yourself in the world of scarves. Now it's up to me!
Back in Como I am teaching ENGLISH in a printing factory. Here I am surrounded by scarves...so it's just a question of setting time aside now and getting my ideas printed out. There are so many themes I love. One day a week should be dedicated to this. ........mmm
It was a great time to be in London. I arrived on February 3rd, the start of Chinese New Year. On the following Sunday a trip to China Town in Soho was rewarded with us seeing the dragon dance infront of the shops trying to catch an orange hanging at the doorway. I hope this sighting brings me luck!