Baltimore Sonnets

Today is a lucky day for those who remain cheerful and optimistic. Mona Lisa on handmade paper, 2014 Lucky Numbers: 1, 5, 8, 29, 39, 58

& Ethereal Blue . . . Ethereal Blue: silkscreens on textile, 2014 Red Whispers & Ethereal Blue is the title of my artwork currently on exhibit at  Ukazoo Books  in Towson, Maryland until October 18th. Ukazoo Books reading room, Towson I created these scrolls right before I left for Korea. Ancient Korean scrolls at National Museum of Korea Little did I know how much my exposure to Korean ancient paper making, printmaking, and textile design techniques would change the way I tell stories and document experiences. Ten story Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple Site, National Museum of Korea I visited lots of museums and one of my favorites was the National Museum of Korea in Seoul.  By the time I finished walking through the calligraphy section of the museum, the battery of my camera went dead and I had to sketch what I saw. Pencil sketch with fabric swatches, Seoul, Korea 2014 I will turn these sketches into linocuts and print them o...

"Tom Cruise" out the window!  1. Hang the hook on the bolt safely.  2.  Fasten the belt around the chest. 3.  Throw the reel out the window 4.  Descend your body facing the wall. When I saw these emergency instructions in my room, I immediately thought of Tom Cruise descending the Burj Khalifa building in the movie Mission Impossible.  I am a huge Mission Impossible fan going back to Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, Martin Landau . . . .  I am happy to report there was no emergency, but I was ready.

My Favorite Hangout in Korea . . . Shaved ice Korean style.  With ice cream, cheesecake and a tumbler of sweet condensed milk.

Textures, Part III I find myself very inspired by signs and textures -- Daejeon, South Korea.

Experiencing Korean Culture at Daejeon International Center, South Korea One week ago, I set out on my adventure to find a museum dedicated to the history of education in Korea. I had my map, the address, and I knew which metro trains to catch. I thought that I was well prepared -- until I got out of the metro station in the old part of town, which meant all the signs were in Korean and Chinese characters. I was lost. Walking around cities in Korea, I quickly learned that there are streets with names and there are just as many streets with no names.  These "no name" streets are back alleys, and they are just as vibrant and active. And then there are underground passageways, busy with markets, vendors, and city life. I was so turned around and lost, that when an elderly women smiled at me and waved to follow her, I instinctively did so.  She led me down the street, speaking quickly in Korean, and waved me to go into some building.  When I didn't move, she poin...

Through the Mountains and Beyond by Suzanne Coley and Marilyn Leon Haeinsa Temple We heard about the 81,258 woodblocks that contained sacred Buddhist texts.  We heard how each block was meticulously carved with 644 classical Chinese characters.  No block contained an error.   The exquisite characters on each block were so precise, with a uniform carving manner, that it was believed for many years that one person carved them all.  We heard about the wisdom of the ancient architects who constructed the library, using only natural ventilation, to preserve and protect these woodblocks from decay, insects, and deterioration.  What we saw was majestic Haein-sa, a Buddhist temple hidden deep inside Mount Gayasan for the past 12 centuries.   Haein-sa, home to the Tripitaka Koreana, the most complete Buddhist canon extant, and Janggyeong Panjeon , the architectural masterpiece that houses them. This is our 4-hour journey t...

Textures, Part II Known for its science and technology, Daejeon is South Korea's 5th largest city.  The streets are wide and traffic is heavy.  I took these photographs as I was walking around.