You may know it as the Day of the Dead in Mexico. In Guatemala November 1st is called All Saints Day. Families flock to cemeteries to decorate graves and visit their ancestors, but the wonderful surprise about this special day is the kites. Guatemaltecas create colorful kites, tiny and gigantic, artistic or whimsical or with sociallyContinue reading “Kites”
Category Archives: art
Karatsu
I thought that the last stop on my potter’s pilgrimage, on the island of Kyushu, would be the most remote and provincial, but Karatsu, Japan is a thriving city, the women were fashionable, and it’s a bit of a resort town. Several school children called out “Hello, how are you?” giggling as they tried outContinue reading “Karatsu”
Hagi
The town of Hagi lies on the Japan Sea, near the western tip of the main island. The lonely, one-car train chugged along through tiny mountain towns, crossing the island and following the coastline at the very end of its journey. Misty rock islands appeared and disappeared in after-rain gray skies. My large room atContinue reading “Hagi”
A potter’s pilgrimage: Bizen
During my third year living in Japan, in 2011, I made a potter’s pilgrimage to three historic towns where contemporary potters, many descended from old masters, still produce mingei, stoneware folk pottery. This trip had been long planned; I had spent years gathering information and improving my Japanese. For a week, I alternately traveled aContinue reading “A potter’s pilgrimage: Bizen”
Butterflies in Tucson
Always looking for an interesting place to walk, I strolled the grounds at Tucson Botanical Gardens. The highlight of the park was the butterfly center. Staff members or volunteers limited the numbers in the enclosed area, and carefully checked for butterflies that may have landed on a visitor before allowing each person to leave. FloraContinue reading “Butterflies in Tucson”
Icheon pottery
Having been a potter in my younger days, I often seek out traditional ceramics when I travel. Not to be confused with Incheon, the city with the major airport serving Seoul, South Korea, the town of Icheon is known as a pottery center and is about an hour southeast of Seoul. The area came toContinue reading “Icheon pottery”
Remembering a friend
Sitting in the stuffed, upholstered chair that I grew up in, reading now as I did as a child, curled up in the chair, I am sad that my parents are gone, but pleased to have rescued this chair from my childhood. I had it repaired and recovered a few years ago by a skilledContinue reading “Remembering a friend”
A labor of love (reprise)
It’s time for my favorite local event, Georgetown Plein Air, a couple of days of outdoor painting and a resulting art exhibit. I can’t resist sharing again my post from last year, when I had fewer readers, with some timely updates. The mountain town I live in—Georgetown, Colorado—is part of the Georgetown-Silver Plume National HistoricContinue reading “A labor of love (reprise)”
Decades
Change has been a constant in my life. Sometimes I think about various periods of my life in terms of a cat’s nine lives. Right now, though, I’m thinking about decades, as I turn seventy. How is that possible, a voice in my head asks? I keep thinking I must be doing the math wrong;Continue reading “Decades”
Monet in Giverny
From the train window on the way from Paris, fields of brilliant yellow bordered by ones of deep green unfurled along the landscape. I could picture Vincent or his cronies sitting out with their easels and paints, feeling the color fill them up and overflow onto the canvas. This post is continued from Cézanne inContinue reading “Monet in Giverny”
Ruth Rosenfeld 