Friday, June 29, 2007

chasing rickshaws



As I've been watching my art through my daily collage practice I've really been thinking a lot about colour, texture and pattern. All of this thinking has led to remembrances of growing up overseas. Hands down the country that has most influenced every aspect of my life is Singapore. Four elementary school years - full of the most vivid and engaging field trips - to mosques, alligator farms, tiny little islands...and we participated in neighbour celebrations - oh, the weddings! And the little rooms full of shrines, candles, fruits and incense.

Family friends were married - a pretty western style wedding, quite different than the celebrations of our neighbours, except that the bride and groom arrived at their wedding is separate rickshaws. That was one of the great things about that wedding - the other great thing was that the groom found someone in Singapore to play bagpipes for the wedding march. So romantic, the bride being from Scotland.

Paging through this book brought back so many memories -- and dreams of travel.

I really feel blessed to have spent so many of my early years overseas. The gold, the texture, the batik, the awareness of the beauty of other religious celebrations and beliefs.

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