After graduating from Cornell in 1965, I chose to volunteer with International Voluntary Services (precursor to Peace Corps) and to go to Laos to work with villagers. What an adventure half-way around the world, with several opportunities to travel and 5 years to experience the culture of Southeast Asia.
While there, I learned how to do Batik from a fellow American. I purchased China silk from the market and my parents sent me Rit dye and paraffin. Three of the pieces here represent batik, two being mine and one being from a trip to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
Thai temple rubbings were abundant and provided some models for making some of my own art. In this collection is a Thai dancer carved into a door panel and then painted.
The Cambodian rubbing shown here in part was given to me by a friend who visited Cambodia. At that time, my passport did not allow me to visit that country to view in person the magnificent Angkor Wat. The original rubbing is over 8 feet wide and is mounted on my Livingroom wall.
The Lao dolls were made by a local Laotian woman and reflect several minority women living in Laos. The population in Laos is comprised of over 40 ethnic groups. One particular ethnic group, the Hmong, lived in the hills of Northeast Laos and were very involved in the Vietnam War and the Secret War in Laos. Those were unsettling times!
Buddhism was the major religion of Laos and Thailand, with many Buddha temples and images. The image of the Buddha head here is from a metal sculpture obtained in a tourist shop in Vientiane Laos. Perhaps it originated from Thailand over the years and provided good income for the shopkeepers.
These images are my contribution to the group show entitled “Awakenings”. They “awakened” many memories of adventures from many years ago.
