Portfolio

Landscape/Self Portrait

Still Life with Lisa
The Letter
Woman or Decoration?

Ambience
Elegance
Hymalaya Rise
Freud Study
Mainstream

Multi Vase
Raku Vessel
Clear Vase
"Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom. How do they learn it? They fall, and falling, they're given wings." -Rumi
Desolation

Hold and Release
Figure Study
Malignant Force

9/15 Beijing

Our last day as a group. I finished my project this morning. It was a watercolor and ink drawing of the reflected images of people walking with umbrellas. The reflections were cast on stone floors at the temple of heaven. I also included a sampling of words from my thoughts of the day. Alone......content...looking in back on the trip as we are about to depart. In the evening we went to a famous tea house where there were live performances from different samplings of Chinese culture. There was a bit of opera, some kung fu,balancing acts and even a pair of men who could impersonate virtually any sound. It was a nice way to end the trip.

9/14 Beijing

We went to the Temple of Heaven in the rain this morning. It was absolutely poring. Everyone there has an umbrella which made for a beautiful sight. It was hard to enjoy the sights with the discomfort of soggy feet and the awkward navigation with umbrella in hand. I felt closed off by the barrier my umbrella created for me. I did less socializing and more introspective thinking. I was a bit miserable from the elements but feel it was good for me to experience the temple under those conditions. It was raining from the heavens but I was protected, able to contemplate the experience. It was good inspiration for my final project.

9/13 Beijing

Ahhh.....Beijing. What a refreshing retreat. Maybe it is the weather, cloudy and less humid, or the fact that we just came down from the great wall but I feel rejuvenated. We went to the Forbidden City this morning and walked around for a few hours. I couldn't believe the size of the palace. The whole city was displayed with such grandeur that I felt like an ant crawling around the city. The later part of the day was used for project development. I spent some time writing down ideas and recording my thoughts into some form of poetry.

9/12 Great Wall

I woke early to catch the sunrise from the tower we camped on. Watching the sun peak over the meandering wall was glorious. Even though the sky was foggy the suns bright pink rays illuminated the horizon. We hiked for the entire morning and into the afternoon. I loved the stretch of wall we were able to hike along. It was worn and partially crumbling, revealing it's old age.
After lunch near the wall, we went to Beijing. Our first stop was CAFA, China Academy of Fine Art. We were all so impressed by the schools facilities. It was very professional and creative. I noticed artistic elements in unexpected places. From the bathroom signs to the studio labels, every detail was pushed to a creative high. The studio labels were designed as holograms of the students eyes who commonly used the space. As you walked past the eyes would wink or close. All around I found the campus to be a students dream.

9/11 Jinan to Great Wall

Today we traveled north toward Beijing from Jinan. We ended the day in a little town at the base of the great wall. Ying organized a bus to take us there so we could camp on the wall. First we had dinner at a farmers house where the food was by far my favorite cuisine. They made steamed dumplings and fresh vegetables. It was so nice to have a non-greasy meal for a change. We hiked up to the watchtower after dinner and layed out our sleeping bags. After a game of cards and some words were exchanged, we went to bed with anticipation about the sunrise.

9/10 Shandong University/ Jinan

The exhibition was quite the production. The morning began with the hanging of our work. Again we had limited supplies so the installation was a bit rocky but we got it done in time for the opening. I had no idea so many students would attend. There was banner cutting and picture taking followed by certificate signing. After the crowd cleared, all the students got together with the president of their university and we made another spontaneous scroll painting. The exhibition was such a rewarding way to conclude our experience with the students at the Shandong University of Art and Design.