Beginning Again

Yesterday, Nina sneaked down to the basement studio, by herself again. She is always curious about what next to discover there. So I decided it’s time to introduce her to my hidden room with the peddle sewing machine. We explored some of the contents of the cupboard labeled ‘toy’. Then we walked back out and she see this photo pinned on the dark design wall. It was printed earlier on a piece of silk earlier, a photo of us in the backyard, on a beautiful day last summer enjoying banana popsicle. She said she wanted one. I said we’ll have to wait for summer to come back.

Thoughts on Open Mind

I have been away from here for too long. It's time to come back and re-establish a habit. Just that my recent past since the last visit seemed like the spring swell of a quiet mountain stream, dancing through the channel of time with unsurmountable energy.

I feel like I have been riding the whirlwind, swept along at incredible speed through ever-changing vistas, trying hard to maintain the semblance of balance and control while doing my utmost to savor life's offerings. Every backward glance is a blur.

This morning I arrived at a beautiful revelation. At the Park, the atmospheric light was calm and clear, literally sparkling. It was magical. I can feel the first hint that autumn cannot be far away. Near the end of the Tai chi routines, I took off my glasses and put them in my pocket. I dallied a while longer than usual taking in the magic. A new appreciation revealed itself from the seemingly familiar surrounding - underlying magic that stay hidden as a result of my attempt to be in focus. What irony!

My week at the Open Mind Festival was a revelation. There is no need for me to understand or analyze this experience. For the record, there were magic, beauty, adventure and moments of peace. What I saw was a glimpse of a benevolent intersection of many worlds, some vaguely familiar, some radically foreign, others within my conscious awareness whose boundaries I have not yet attempted to breach. It has been an engaging experience all around. I must have gotten careless near the end because by the time I arrived back home on Monday, my body's defense system has been compromised. I succumbed to this tummy flu that left me weak and hapless for over 48 hours. When was the last time my body protested like this? Never mind, I am vulnerable after all.

As I walked out of the Park. I realized that I had my glasses on again. I took them off, put them on again and repeated several times. Sherbrooke Street in front appeared to shift through time and space. How comforting and reassuring this surrounding can seem. My habits and familiar environment have isolated and protected me all these years. Yet I suddenly come to the realization that I only see what I want to see. There are many more underlying layers of reality. I just need to allow them to show themselves. Open Mind? Perhaps. No artificial material agent used.

2010 Catch me if you can!

2010 is a year of playing catch-up: with family and friends, with work and play, with old traditions and new adventures. There has been important milestones worthy of highlighting. Clement received his 35 Year Long Service Award at Concordia University and looks forward to formal retirement come 2012. Lily looked back at the past decade as a retiree from computer software development and feels firmly grounded in her creative pursuits using needles and threads. Sigmund and Edmund discovered their Chinese roots and made plans for the future to come. The world marched on with long strides in the direction of social networking and we put in efforts to keep pace. So with a fewer words, and a selection of images, I am setting down the 2010 marker. No more catching up, just moving onward.

Ying & Yang

This is my first post since returning from Hong Kong.

Denna Crain invited me to take her Class at Quilt University. I chosed her recent Crystal Quilt session and had a fabulous time. Making these two Crystal Quilts had been a wonderful way to get me back into the quilt making grooves. Although there remains a few finishing touches, I declare my CQ # 1&2 finished.

I showed my CQ's to my visitors yesterday. While discussing them, my friend convinced me that what I have made is a sequel to my 'Taiji Journey'. These two quilts can be seen as representing the energy balance of Ying and Yang. There is Ying within the Yang (CQ #1) and in a similar way, the Ying (CQ #2) is supported by the Yang energy. Out of Nothingness, the two poles of the Supreme Ultimate are born.

Happy New Year!

As 2009 prepares to leave, making room for 2010
may there be
Peace on Earth and Happiness for All!

Dream Catchers

We spent a good part of this summer on the road again. Ever some often, our travel bugs bite and we will head out to see the world. This time we head out, just the two of us, with the final destination as the Upper Peninsular of Michigan State, Houton to be exact. Clement attended a Math conference and did some work with Tonchev. I tagged alone and visited some friends on the way. We visited Algonquin Park, Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsular. These are Ojibwa country. On this trip, I really feel the presence of the Great Spirit. There are many small things that touched my senses, but I was most pulled by seeing the hand made dream catchers in one of the few shops I visited.

So back home I had to complete the circle by making my own dream catchers. I took branches from my kiwi vine that has been growing for years in the back yard. I wove with last year's silk threads that I dyed and spun. Each of them features a white swan feather that I picked up by the lagoon of the Victoria Park in Kitchener where we went to see this year's Grand National Post Card collections on the very last morning before we came home. Here is where you can see the rest of the dream catchers.

Home sweet home! Sweet Dreams!

Les nomades

Recently I was given an opportunity to do something special with and for groups of school children from 10 different inner city schools in and around the City of Montreal. It was an experience I looked forward to, somehow knowing that it will come to me and that I should take up the challenge. The challenge came as a request from the McCord Museum to participate in their project "Les adventuriers nomades".

It involved my effort to develop and conduct a series of ten 2-hour workshops; during each of which a group of up to 50 Cycle 2 students undertook a creative adventure to put together a personal quilt block using colourful fabric. The creations express their thoughts on the theme of "nomad".

The sets of quilt blocks were assembled into 19 separate quilts - traveler's blankets. It was a considerable amount of work, but I marvel at the spontaneous creativity of these children and the results are quite wonderful to look at.

To see the quilts, go to

http://picasaweb.google.ca/MoonGlowStudio/LesAdventuriersNomadesAtTheMcCordMuseum#

Throughout this week, the 19 quilts - traveler's blankets - were exhibited at the McCord Museum. The children came to the museum for the final visit of the project. They saw all the quilts displayed together and each school gave a performance based on their story. It was such a wonderful experience.

Imagine - the talents in Hong Kong

The current exhibition at the HKCL Gallery features the young artist Johnson Tsang entitled "Imagine". My gallery visit was a unique experience. It points to one reason why Hong Kong is such a special place - so rich, so predictable, yet ever-changing. I am impressed.

The New Face of Central

Yessterday, life started to pick up pace. With a late start in the morning, we headed out to Quarry Bay Park. Passed by Tai Koo Estate and saw the Wan Fung Art Gallery and spent a good hour there. Quite impressive to see the work of the new generation of Chinese painters, mastery of traditional technique with a modern sensibility. Mr. Kwok, the owner was being interviewed for a tv program so I listened in for a bit. The work of a Mr. Suen Jianlin with his "colourful manifestation of lines & curves" combining western modern technique with traditional Chinese folk art is especially inspirational. I'm very tempted to buy the catalogue of his work.

Back to the park, I found a quiet place to do my taichi routine, first time since over a week, felt much better after.

Salted chicken lunch at Tai Gar Lok, then took the West Central Tram to the end. That's where the Western Market has been converted into a tourist point. I discovered that what remained of Fa Bo Gei has been moved to it's 2nd floor - great browsing but not really with any intention to shop, not for now at least. There was a French lady there buying up yard after yard of Thai silk. Must felt like great bargain.



I didn't really have any objective in mind. So since I saw the harbour looking our the window on the top floor of the Western Market and was pulled by it, we headed out and got onto the skywalk. The extensive skywalk system connects us all the way to East Central so we started strolling east. I like strolling along the skywalks for many reasons. It is away from the hassel and bussel of the city; it affords great views; we can sit and rest from time to time; the interconnecting shopping areas break up the monotony.

At the HK/Macau/China terminus I looked at the holiday packages advertised by the travel agents. They were also selling cheap last minute boat fare to Macau, shouting at the top of their voices. Outside the Four Season Hotel, the landscaping is modern and tasteful. Between the 4-Seasons and the IFC is the new Lane Crawford, high style as usual. In the mall is City Shop, the fancy grocer that will satisfy any international craves and desires on an unlimited budget.

As the office workers started to pour out in all directions, we hurriedly made our way to the MTR which took us home in a jiffy.
For more photos, go to
http://picasaweb.google.ca/MoonGlowStudio/HK20081102#

Collective Visions - Opened at the McClure Gallery November 5, 2008

It's as if I'm trying to make up for lost time this morning. This will be my fourth post in a row. I decided that, while I'm at it, I might as well do my best to fill in the blanks.

What I am showing here is my "Juxtaposition I" (the purplish textile piece) on the bright green wall of the McClure Gallery of the Visual Arts Centre in Westmount, part of this year's Collection Visions Art Exhibition and Gala event.

Collective Visions took place on November 5-15, 2008. Yesterday, I received a nicely written acknowledgement from Victoria LeBlanc thanking me for my participation; mentioning that the exhibition and gala opening party were successful on every count.

I felt happy about participating. I am also happy to play my role in providing exposure, for my work in particular, and textile art in general, to the public eye.

L'or du Bleu - Live Smart Livie Green, October 25 2008

Following the heel of my Open Studio event was the weekend of Live Smart Live Green in Westmount. October 25 2008. This was a public awareness event organized by the local community group, Healthy City, to raise awareness about living our life ecologically and responsibly.

As part of this Healthy City project, back in the summer, the local association invited submission to participate in a special exhibition of works made from or about recycled materials. Well, I talked myself into pursuing a spark of an idea and talked Edmund, my son, into cooperating with me and submitted a proposal: "Techno-Obliviation". Well our submission was selected so we went to work. The following is a direct quote of our statement for the piece that we completed. It was one of a collection of 18 accepted entries shown at the Victoria Hall Gallery October 22-25, 2008.

Techno-Obliviation – L’or du bleu
by Lily Lam and Edmund Lam
October 2008

Modern technology pushes the current of change ever forward. In recent decades, the speed of flow is especially remarkable. Successive waves of techno-oblivation leave recognizable ripple marks in landfill sites everywhere. Yet, many time-honoured textile skills persist, serving as the common thread that links ancient and modern cultures; holding together our social fabric and daily life. We only have to pay a little more attention to become aware of these ever-present influences.
This mural uses the discards from notable generations of digital technology to mark off areas of contiguous space defined by the ever-expanding Fibonacci series. Through this space the three spirals of natural, cultural and technological progression march forward. Although the project plan was drafted using computer-aided-design, its construction falls back on the use of time-honoured manual techniques of spinning, weaving, stitching and knotting. Structurally reminiscent of conventional quilt making, the materials used are anything but typical.

This is the second time this mother and son team collaborates to complete a “quilting” project together. In each case, the project involved using discarded materials that are no longer considered valuable or desirable to express a thoughtful idea in an aesthetically pleasing manner. In completing this project, we obliviated techno junk from our home, as well as built up a stash of enticing components for creative play.


To have a virtual visit to the exhibition of L'or du bleu, visit my web album at http://picasaweb.google.ca/MoonGlowStudio/LOrBleuOct2008##

When Disaster Strikes

When disaster strikes, it is good to remain calm. Things will take its course and normally, things do work out.
So here are some reminders that staying collected and hoping for the best do take one over obstacles safely for a softer landing.

The garden floor turned white last night ...

The garden floor turned white last night as I glanced out of the window beside my bed. First snow of the season softly felt. It was a magical moment, but I was tired. I thought to myself, "I should sleep well tonight. I finally put some order to the recent snapshots and uploaded the results. Tomorrow I can start thinking seriously about packing. By week's end, I shall be back close to the Tropic of Cancer, I shall be a child again and spend some time with mother."

In the past few months, I ran myself ragged with deadlines. The deadlines came and past. I had fun with my play, perhaps a little too much fun. I felt I was on the edge of losing it, losing the balance, the harmony, the ugly word - control. I must be more careful in the new year. I must watch myself and stay away from the temptation of over-committing.

It will be the beginning of the New Year when I will return to my studio again. So it is appropriate to write about my Open Studio experience back in October.

Arts Westmount 2008 took place the weekend of October 18 and 19. This was the second Arts Westmount event and the first time I participated. It proved to be a great experience even if it was a fair bit of effort to pull it off.

As usual, I didn't finish all I wanted to do, but that's very much expected. it's the norm of my life. The unexpected twist was the emergence water main break disaster. Having to deal with workmen digging holes on my front lawn and inside my studio space when I needed to do last minute preparation and cleanup was a nightmare I can do without..

The visits were interesting and the visitors interested. I even made some sales! It feels good to be appreciated, especially when people were ready to part with their cash. Would I do it again? Most probably. It was an interesting stopping point on my on-going journey. The best part of it was meeting and interacting with all the "chance" visitors.

As I like to do with me new adventures, I took lots of photos. My camera has become my trusted notepad. So another album has been added to the collection.

See it at http://picasaweb.google.ca/MoonGlowStudio/ArtsWestmount2008#

Thanks Marilyn!

Hanging Loose and Comfy - Thanks Marilyn for modeling for me.

Hanging Loose Comfy Wrap

So we were playing with Indigo dyeing. So we have to experiment with shibori techniques. So we look up the web to learn all we can. But one thing leads to another, who knows where we might end up? On seeing the beautiful wrap coats of Karen Illman Miller at Nautilus Fiberarts, I just have to figure it out. Besides, there's this colorful yardage sitting around crying out for attention...

Et Voila, my version of "Hanging Loose Comfy Wrap" was born in a jeffy. I'm ever so pleased.

Meet Oscar, my new pal

I once had a friend named Oscar. We played in the amateur mandoline group together every saturday at the Preville Fine Art Centre.

Oscar the Octopus was born today. Isn't he handsome?

Good Time making New Friends

The highlight of this week is my 3 day visit to Perth, Ontario with the wonderful new friends of the Lanark County Quilters Guild. I am delighted with the enthusiasm and energy level of this group of seasoned quilters. Watch them spinning out circles! Thank you all for inviting me.

The side trip to Brockville on the home stretch was combined with a most enjoyable dinner with 2 of the "Threads" and an eye-opening visit to Kit's studio. Did some damage to Jennifer's "Picket Fence"

Welcome 2008 - Happy New Year!

Eternity - existence outside of time.

It's finally done! And I did it my way.
First entry on project book September 16, 2004.
The last entry put down today, January 1, 2008.

Segue -- Pronunciation: (sā'gwā, seg'wā)

First morning of the last month of this year.
How time flies!
It was shortly after the new year 2007 that I began with you.
I might have subjected you to periodic neglect, but I don't think we did all that badly, everything considered.
Should I promise I will come more regularly from now on? in teh coming year?
Why bother. I think we are doing just fine. Anyhow this is an exciting morning, a bright cold winter morning. I suppose winter has come to settled in earnest as predicted. The sun rise I saw out of the window was just beautiful, pre-breakfast and breakfast conversations were more exciting than normal. A good beginning.

Now is a good time to segue. Yes, to seque. This is the reason why I'm writing now. What an exciting idea this is. Can't wait to see how it will develop.

An Early Morning Moment

A Triangle out of a Square