The Thursday Tease

Black...White... Grey... Red and anything in between

Fade in...

Fade out...

Let's Rock 'n Roll!

Mixed these colors with contour shaping of the guitar and let your imagination run wild...

To create or not...

I see some interesting shaped beaded collars... beaded beads anyone in ombre shading?

I see a lampworked sculptural bead shaped by gravity then teased with my tweezers or pliers...

I see a wired component reminiscent of the strings on the guitar...long and slim... one, three or five... but always odd.

What do you see and want to create?

photo borrowed from Ipxnevermind from Flickr.com

The Thursday Tease

Yummmmm....

Visually beautiful....

A balance of color... in presentation... simple yet complex.

And Oh So Deliciously Edible too...

Me like this photo as the Thursday Tease

Who said you couldn't mix your meal with your dessert??

Blues for the ocean, Greens for the bamboo cake border and chopsticks too ... intermixed with Salmon blossoms... only two mine you.

Not too much and not too little. Just enough to fill you up with color inspirations.

Food for your eyes and food for your tummy!

Anything mixed with sushi is just fine by me.

Enjoy creating!

Lisa

Photo borrowed from Whipped Bakeshop from Flickr.com

The Thursday Tease

I often reminiscence about my travels to Japan in my past life as an engineer. Although I was meant for this beady and glassy life that I lead now all along while I was "growing up", my time as an engineer gave me many opportunities to travel to places I would otherwise not have seen in this lifetime. So all is well and I'm making up for lost time in my beady and glassy world these days by working, working, and working. Designing beadwork is my way of telling my stories of my love for nature and history.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so for this week's Thursday Tease, I tease you with Bento Art. Bento boxes are a staple in the Japanese life and culture. I remembered my hosts in Japan would escort me to the train station and treat me to a bento box meal. The Japanese are such hard working people, always on the go, that they would eat their meals on the train in between destinations and changing trains. The above photo showcases the art created by food arrangement. Food doesn't have to be boring and our inspiration for our art can also be taken from FOOD! The Japanese have a way with making something quite ordinary look balance and beautiful.

So let's eat up, drink up, and create something beautiful in our art inspired by our food.

It's okay to play with your FOOD, forget what your parents told you!!

Bead Creatively,

Lisa

photo borrowed from Sakurako Kitsa from Flickr.com

The Thursday Tease

Because this week I am in Santa Fe exhibiting at Bead Fest... and RED is a favorite color of mine...

It symbolizes luck and fortune... as well as LOVE! So vibrant, strong and rich in hue.

Study the different shades of red in the drying chiles above, as the red color drifts into mahongy tones...

Uhmmmm....

This photo of chile ristras not only makes me think of some delicious dining possibilities in Santa Fe but also...

Beaded beads dangling as earring drops...

OR fringes in a necklace, bracelet anyone?

Hmmm... maybe briolettes wired onto chain... swinging and swaying ... this way, that way... here and there.

Felted pods also come to mind... who is gonna stop you from dreaming your dream creation?

So many possibilities...

Do you see a pattern with me? I love being inspired to create when viewing FOOD and its yummy ingredients!

Photo borrowed from Alasam from Flickr.com

Just about...

Just about as good as it can get at this hour...

(Lisa looks at the computer clock)

My it's 3 a.m.

This fiasco only took me less than 1/2 hour to foul up and about SIX hours to fix.

She's BRILLIANT ain't she??

La de dah... yes, siree

It's time to get some rest and then continue preparing for Santa Fe

I'm in a better mood knowing that all of you can see and browse the site while I'm gone.. but I am not happy with Frontpage!! Not the least. I'm not happy with myself. I know better than this. I used to take distress calls from people having problems with their electronics... why did I have to go trying "this and that". Why today? Why not when there is more time to tackle these mishaps! Eeeeee...

(self taught web designer here! now you know why all the periodic goof ups)

I want to thank Yahoo Small Business Tech Janardhan for his patience and allowing me to talk fast in communicating my frustrations. He recommended me to download the trial of Dreamweaver for a testrun and then shelling out the big bucks later, if I like the platform. No need to think this over... if I have to give up some beads and skeins of yarn for Dreamweaver CS3/4, I'll do it.

(Talks to self: What am I saying?...I must be desperate or really can't stand Frontpage. My yarns...my beads...how can I stop buying more?? Can't stop..don't want to stop... must think of alternatives like sneaking some expendable cash from Nick...(smirk) Aha! Yessssssss........)

I fixed it..and I'm not gonna break it again (yeah right!!)

(taking a deep breath)

It's late and I start writing strange things here...so that is a sign to get some rest.. I'll be up before I need to wake up.

I NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE... NEVER. You can't take me down Frontpage. I got you cornered and you are going "bye bye". Hasta la vista, baby!

P.S. I'm writing a lot here this week but after I return from Santa Fe, I will be absent from the blog for about two weeks or so, with the exceptions of the Thursday Tease posts. I need to work on several SUPER DUPER, seriously important assignments with real deadlines. I rather lose sleep over writing assignments than troubleshooting software issues. Egads!! I will learn with time..

Exhausted

but obviously

still loves to write

a lot

even at this hour
Lisa

The Thursday Tease

Uhmmm... tease, teasing your visual senses.

Will you ever look at slate again the same way?

Instead of just one image this week, I thought I would bombard you with four beautiful images of "slate" to entice you to create from your surroundings inspired by quite ordinary things and the Mother, our Mother Nature.

In my work, you will find many influences from Mother Nature. The earthiness, I so love. The color palette of earthy colors or tones. I'm not one for splashy brights (even if I use Swarovski crystals here and there for a bit of flash) but what calls my name is the more subdued and subtle shades. I also like the mystery and shadows created by gray/grey.

I like the rusted, the unexpected, the imaginative to be interpreted by the "eye of the beholder". Walking, looking, wandering, searching, and always finding Mother Nature is here to aid me. She shows me her COLORS, plain and clear. All I have to do is STOP, LOOK, and SEE!

See what I see?

Maybe?

Play with me, will you, as I tease your visual acuity.

I see a variegated scarf or shawl knitted up in some wonderful handdyed/handspun yarn.

I see a lampwork bead with metallic and interactive glass perhaps made with Zimmerman, Reichenbach, Moretti, or Borosilicate. Mind you, apart and not combined or it'll shatter. Shards everywhere.

I see a cuff with tiny precious size 15/o seeds in rounds and delicas sprinkled, intermingled with metallics, lusters and matte. Just a little not too much. Colors bouncing, complimenting, dancing lovingly.

I see a wonderful copper, brass, bronze or silver creation patinated or left to age gracefully with time.

I've got all the time to stop in this life and discover the wonders of my Mother. How I do love her and all that she selects to show me. My eyes are always seeking for the next tease....Thursday Tease.

Enjoy... and Please Create!

Lisa

photos in order of top downward borrowed from Beshanti2, Beshanti2, MeirionMatthias, and Perseverando from Flickr

The Thursday Tease

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy!

Delicioso.... muy bueno... aaaaaaaaye, mi amor!

Colors. Lots of beautiful colors. My eyes are melting and hands are reaching for the screen. I want all those YARN cones!

Could this be a peep into my yarn stash?

Naaaah.....

Not yet...

...But daydreams are great for my escape. I live in my dreams some days.

This week's Thursday Tease not only teases you with color but also with fiber. A tribute to those beaders who are also knitters, crocheters, weavers and spinners.

This winter I was reading up on yarn cones and actually purchased some nice selection of wool cones for future indulgence. Sometimes you can get fabulous colors not available in commercial skeins. The only thing is that you have to rinse the binder off the yarn to allow the yarn to "bloom". The binder added allows the yarn to compress and spun into cones for ease. Generally these cones are used by weavers but hey, it's all yarn, right?

Danger zone. Danger zone. (beep beep)

(Smash... Crash... )

Fibers are as dangerous as beads. You want to have it ALL! When do you say "no" or do you? Yikes!

I'm drowning here folks with color, texture and absolutely loving it. The photo does not only show you beautiful fibers but if you look carefully there are variations of tones that can assist you in designing with color.

Yowza!

Perfecto maestro...

picture was borrowed from Photovox from Flickr

The Thursday Tease

I've had some requests to bring back the Thursday Tease posts now that I am again actively blogging. The above photo are waterdrops captured on top of a rainbow-like background most likely thru glass. The water drops create mini-worlds of many miniature rainbows. Makes me smile just to look at all that color.

While driving back from Tucson, it was raining a bit. I saw FOUR rainbows on my trip back home driving 7 hours with TWO stops this time around. One rainbow was a full arch. Dazzling... simply miraculous... I love mother nature. Beautiful...utterly and plainly beautiful. The simple things in life. Seeing rainbows and driving in the rain. Smiling and singing songs from the INXS CD. It doesn't take much to satisfy me... just to be alive and to live life.

Life is great even with it's many challenges, the ups and downs, the happiness with the sorrows... the successes and the failures... there are always polar opposites in life. I take it all in and know that in the sum of all that life throws me... I am fortunate to be me and you ... you. We are unique individuals in this vast world of many simple things that when combined makes up the more complex things.

We are so fortunate to live in this time... OUR TIME, where moments become the experiences of our lifetime. To see rainbows. To dream of rainbows. Don't you think so?

SMILE!

(I don't see you smiling!!)

You too will start seeing rainbows too!

Lisa

picture was borrowed from Asadbabil from Flickr

The Thursday Tease

I almost forgot that today was Thursday. It appears that the crazy weather in Milwaukee last week is now catching up to me. I was caught in the rain on Sunday after breaking down from the show, having dinner at Mader's and then running several LONG blocks to the Hyatt because Nick forgot the umbrella in our rental car. We thought the rain was gone but we obviously misjudged the MidWest weather! I feel bad for the family and kid in a carriage running in the rain. If I am THIS sick, I can only imagine how they are holding up, since they were wearing SHORTS! We were fortunate to escape into the Hyatt's skywalk to walk the remainder of the way to the Hilton. Sure I had a Puma hoodie on and had my head covered but that obviously didn't keep this cold/flu that I have now away. Hmmm... or maybe I caught the nasty germs on the plane because when you fly as much as I do, you always catch something from someone along the way. Ick. So this week I'm gonna try to rest up and work on paperwork in bed but I'm still working. I have 3 weeks to get ready for the NEXT show. What was I thinking when I booked this year's shows?

Back to the Thursday Tease, can't forget that just because I'm feeling under the weather. The above is a photo of metal shavings that I found on Flickr by Tanaka Who. I think the colors are just beautiful. Who knew scraps of metal could inspire anyone but I see blue iris, purple iris and brown iris seed beads in there!

hope to feel better soon,
Lisa

The Thursday Tease

Interesting... Very Interesting

I believe this is a photo of a glass dome window but whatever the original subject was, it is simply BEAUTIFUL and inspiring me to think about an oval glass bead with raised linear textures. Get those steady hands ready to be able to lay out such fine lines on glass! NO CHEATING with enamel pens and paint, either! I can also see some possibilities in woven beaded beads. Size 15/o beads anyone? Hmmm, what about a wire encapsulated bead using basketry techniques? Or crochet anyone? PMC, etched metals, polymer clay, felted beads and many more ideas come to mind - really the possibilities are endless.

I like that there is an internal sphere seemingly floating about, giving the image depth, as if a secret world is captured and protected. The reflection on the glass is illuminating too.

You may wonder how am I able to post this week's Thursday Tease if I am at Bead and Button. Aha! I prepared well in advance and scheduled this post to be uploaded on the perfect date!

I am sure I am having loads of fun in Milwaukee on this preview night of the show. I'm probably running around the booth just about now, as you read this post, making sure everything is in the right place. And fortunate for me, Nick is here to help me, so I don't fly solo on my debut at Bead and Button as we have a corner booth to manage. This is my first and hopefully not last time at the Bead and Button Show. I'm just substituting for my friend Jannell (Specialty Beads) this year, as this is her booth and if there is space for me next year, I shall return. In the meantime, I'm going to have a BLAST here. So, hello Milwaukee and come see ME at the show this weekend!

Cheers,
Lisa

The Thursday Tease

Peeling paint can be beautiful, no?

I find inspiration in decay and rust, at times. Doesn't anyone? Or am I just "odd" to see beauty in most things. I love the colors on this brick wall, peeling or not. But because the paint IS peeling, makes me want to reach out and help the paint peel faster. (My fingers are reaching at the photo now.)

Blues and purples always blend well together! (Except in a bruise! ha!) The splash of black breaks up the monotony but does it really? An intentional composition or just a happy accident? I say, just make it work and anything will work for you. Jump in with confidence. Anything can and will become my inspirational visual stimuli, so bring on some rusted surfaces, found objects and vintage goodies. Enjoy the peeling paint on this brick wall as this week's Thursday Tease!

Photo borrowed from Stager 57 from Flickr

Go
Flourish, Inspire, and Create

Lisa

The Thursday Tease

Happy Roses. Feel Good. Feel Happy.

A very colorful Thursday Tease. I will let the photo above and the attached article tell the story. Personally, I'm not quite sure what the market is for these roses. Colorful they are but I would like to leave the paintbrush and palette to mother nature instead. Thank you very much!

(from the Happy Rose website)

What is and how does a Happy Rose get its special colours?
The Happy Rose is an especially colourful rose, which will immediately cheer you up! Due to a unique colouring application, every rose petal receives its own cheerful colour.

The Happy Roses are placed in special water. Different substances are dissolved in this water. The rose branch absorbs this water as part of a natural process. This is what changes the colour of the petals. What makes Happy Roses unique is that the inventor has managed to colour a few petals, for example, yellow, whilst at the same time other petals colour differently, for example, blue, orange or lilac. It even proved possible to achieve a range of different colourings in the flower, which as it were fan around one another. This resulted in these unique, colourful and cheerful roses.

Who cultivates the Happy Roses?
Happy Roses is the result of an alliance between the companies River Flowers and F.J. Zandbergen & Zn. The firm of Zandbergen is specialised in everything to do with roses. They know exactly which roses are suitable for Happy Roses, who are the best cultivators of these roses and how, together with these rose cultivators, they can acquire the nicest and finest roses for River Flowers. River Flowers is specialised in the cultivation and colouring of chrysanthemums and the making of Happy Colors. They devised this process, developed it and then applied for an international patent. Initially this process was developed for the River Flowers chrysanthemums, but River Flowers happened to come into contact with the firm of F.J. Zandbergen and the process was tried on roses. This proved extremely successful and from that moment on the rose has been included in the development process.

So at this moment there are Happy Roses and Happy Chrysanthemums, both under the name Happy Colors.

Read about all the excitement of Happy Roses as featured on the front page of Chronica Horticulturae (2-04-08)

Photo borrowed from JerikoJosh from Flickr

*****

So are you Happy
and Feeling Good yet?
Cheers,
Lisa

The Thursday Tease

The color gradation of the photo above showcases what light transmitted through a plastic medium can create. Fascinating art form and photography, I say. For this Thursday Tease, I can imagine using some of the colors in perhaps a peyote cuff bracelet. And then where the lines come towards the center, you can place an interesting focal, as a suggestion. Oooh, I want to go bead NOW but must continue to prepare for Bead and Button. My fingers are itching for tiny beads, but I must contain myself.

I'll let you know that yesterday I went a bit crazy for a weekday in my walk training. I'm still recovering from my 7 mile walk Wednesday morning. It is getting a bit warmer these days in SoCal so if I am to continue with my training, I'll have to wake up at the crack of dawn and start training at 6 a.m. If I train in the heat, it will only be fruitless, resulting in early exhaustion. I have decided to walk every other day instead of every day to give my body rest. Don't want to overdo things over here. Yikes!

Or maybe instead of training or torching, I can just stare at beautiful photos like the above. Here's to this week's Thursday Tease to energize you to go create. So GO Create!

Back to work!

Lisa

P.S. I have compiled a preliminary list of all the seed bead colors I used in the book and will be posting the info before I leave for Bead and Button, June 2nd.

Photo borrowed from Reciprocity from Flickr

The Thursday Tease

Aaaahhhh...So many possibilities can be made with simple lines and dots. I found the above image on Flickr a long time ago. It could be some fancy tilework but whatever it was, I think it is simply GORGEOUS. For this week's Thursday Tease, study the photo above and what does the imagery lead you to create?

I can see the above in an intricate glass bead where the ENTIRE design is created with overlaying dots. You would have to be very meticulous with a steady hand but it can be done. OR what about a sculptural beaded flower? Then you can also use this pattern for a loomed design by adding your own colors? If you are at a loss still, how about transferring this image to metal clay, with the tear away technique from Gwen Gibson. Or just go scribbling as that usually leads to another innovative design. Oh my goodness, stop me now as I need to work on other projects instead of staring at this lovely photo.

I'd like to invite anyone who creates art based on a Thursday Tease post to email me the result! I'd love to see what you folks create from these Thursday Tease images. Aren't they fun?

Until next time,
Create with a Vision
Lisa

The Thursday Tease

Tiny water droplets capture a miniature world. Mother Nature comes through again for this week's Thursday Tease. Don't you see some possibilities in beads? This time, I'll let you do the imagining but just a hint that I'm thinking an embellished fringe on a necklace with drop beads (Czech or magatamas) and then... then what else ... there are many other possibilities. Come play with me. Imagine and create something spectacular.

Another small hint: Play attention to the colors utilized in this photo as another possible inspiration. Aaaah...you're getting the hang of this. Trust your intuitions.

The Thursday Tease

You may be wondering why I am posting at this hour. Well now you know that I really DON'T sleep.

Today I returned back to the studio, after nearly a three week absence, due to intense show hopping around. My other secret identity is a superhero, who flies off from one part of the nation (Portland) one week, followed by flying clear across to the other side of the USA (Miami). It's so fun to be a superhero, if only I had useful superpowers! Btw, I also talk/write about weird subjects in the wee hours of the morning. I think it's because I like to tell stories to keep myself entertained in lieu of listening to the creepy noises around the house. HAHA!

Lighting the flame, watching the glass melt and manipulating the shape with my guiding hands (not bare hands, with specialized tools, silly) reminded me today of why I LOVE, absolutely LOVE working in this medium. So I found myself working, working and working until this hour with one of my favorite bands playing in the background. I never get tired of cycling that CD over and over again, driving people nearby me to wonder what is wrong with me that I would want to listen to the same songs over and over again, continuously. Well, because Marty Casey is one cool dude and has a divine voice. He can sound "romantic" but yet "rock 'n roll" too. My favorite song is TREES! (because I love trees). (Click to read more about Marty. See Marty below wearing a wonderful T-shirt with wings that conjure up some design ideas.)

Another favorite is "Casualty", from Marty Casey and Lovehammers CD released in January 2006 (this is the CD I keep on playing over and over): Aren't the lyrics COOL!

Rise and fall,
Climb the Walls.
Won't stop till I have it all.
Persistence.
Resistance.
One man can make a difference.
The battle's inside of me.
The fight's begun, but not yet won.
And I won't become one more casualty.

Now I want to quote Marty, who said this about his fame after the Rock Star competition where he ended as the runner up to being the lead singer of INXS! I heard about Marty from a local radio station one morning thus leading me to his glorious music. (Note to self: Fan club president, Jenny Creson, emailed me this morning to say that there are actually previous CDs that I am missing out on. She was notified that I was writing about Marty on my blog (ain't the Internet grand?) and wanted me to know that they are working on a new album NOW in studio. Woohoo. I'm excited. Now that is one fan club president that is on top of things. No I don't belong to the Fan club "yet")

"I don't feel like I am a different person since Rock Star, he says. "Some people presume I am, and they treat me differently now. The challenge is to remain true to who you are even when that foundation gets shifted. You gotta' bend and not break."

These are the words that I too live by. I remain true to who I am even though Bead Romantique has taken off and has been quite successful. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!! Keep the letters coming! I love reading from all of you.

Of course I could go to bed but I'm still energized and need to wind down before sinking into my dreamworld. Okay... Okay... With no further delays and quirky conversations, in today's Thursday Tease, I tease you with TEXTURE! but in BLACK and WHITE. Even though the image is void of "color", the different tones of black and white along with the added texture lends to our imagination. (Or is it just me?)

What does this image conjure in you to want to create?

I see a glass bead or an intricately woven bracelet in there, don't you? Hmmm... further contemplation and study also makes me think of a lovely texture one could create and achieve in a rolling mill to create perhaps a metal cuff. The diamond shapes on the brick stones makes me think of the diamondback snake. (Hey, the Arizona Diamondbacks! how strange that this Thursday Tease would connect to next week's Bead Expo Phoenix special Friday night baseball outing!) Wowza, so many connections in my LIFE these days, it's amazing.

All silliness aside, with all that being said, it's time for bed people. I will sleep for a "few" hours, maybe. I'll seriously think about it. Haha.

Until next time,
Design Creatively,
(with a smile and some humor, as well as GREAT music!)
Lisa

The Thursday Tease

I found this image long ago on one of my Flickr romps. I can spend HOURS on Flickr! As a fan of fine photography and visual art renditions, I always keep an eye out for images that "speak to me". I will have to be better in the future and capture the artist's names because I want to give them full credit for their inspiring art.

For this particular Thursday Tease, the artist called this piece "Electric Watermelon". I can see MANY design possibilities conjured up by this image. Can you too? Come on... come play with me... close your eyes and you shall begin to see things too.

Stare at this image and then close your eyes quickly, several times. You can still see things even with your eyes closed because our minds are all powerful, having the ability to give life to things intangible, full of imaginative possibilities that only we control. There are infinite possibilities. I can see things - images, shapes, forms, etc - but then I may be a bit looney you say. Just let go of your preconceptions and think "outside of the box". You too will start being able to see more than what is before you, what is obvious, and see beyond the reality into the open expanse that I call the imaginative realm.

Shall we imagine together? Let's dance in our mind's creativity and be the bewildered child of our youth, as anything is possible!

The Thursday Tease

An early Thursday Tease for everyone as I am off to Miami with NO Internet access while there. I always feel so out of touch when I can't get on the computer. We're somewhat "slaves" to the super highway, this Internet. Without it we feel so disconnected. I don't have that attachment to my cell phone like others. It's strange but wonderful to be connected to the world through this medium - and here I am writing to all of you from my blog - whoever is reading.

And, perhaps I am hungry for exquisitely delicious mochi at this late hour of my post. If you've never had this dessert, you're missing out on some gummy yummy stickyness. It's a Japanese rice cake desert made with glutinous rice (sweet rice) filled with lots of wonderful sweets (generally red bean paste, sometimes green tea flavored) which I can't have much of due to being diabetic! Ouch, life's not fair but I can sneak a small bite when I go to Little Tokyo. The Chinese have a similar version and we eat it during the New Year festivities. It's definitely an acquired taste. To read more about mochi, just visit Wikipedia!

I think I thought of mochi for this week's Thursday Tease because of this fascinating new friend I met recently, whom I hope to collaborate in some future projects with. I've been fortunate, of late, to come across some amazing artists. But "hush" is the word for now but you will know more later this year what I am cooking up. If he reads this, he'll know I'm talking about him. He was emailing me this weekend about drinking kukicha tea and having a Japanese pancake (okonomiyaki) for breakfast - making me thirsty for matcha and hungry for okonomiyaki (Chinese folks have a similar pancake too!)

And as luck would have it, I later found this wonderfully colorful photo of beautifully decorated mochi in my archives. It was a photo I found on Flickr sometime ago.

Can you see an inspired beaded bead amongst the mochi with Miyuki or Toho size 15/o seed beads? Perhaps a sculptural glass bead emulating this scrumptious dessert, using Opalino or Alabaster Italian Moretti glass? Or maybe a hand-felted woolly version of these with Cascade 220 yarn to tempt your fiber desires? Maybe another variety of mochi with punched out shapes from exquisite origami papers? Or even a polymer clay alternative with Sculpey, Premo, Fimo, Kato or your favorite clay. My imagination is running wild and rampant here.

Goodness gracious food can be inspiring to our art as well, no? The Japanese are experts in creating artfully decorated foods that are a feast to our eyes and to our tummies. Let's feed our "color" hunger and creativity with some MOCHI! Yum!

The Thursday Tease

Going Away, Coming Home
80 Blessings from Oakland Artist Ms. Hung Liu
(click the photos for an enlarged view)

For this week's Thursday Tease, I thought it appropriate to share with those who have not been fortunate to see the Going Away, Coming Home installation at the Oakland Airport by artist Hung Liu. With all my years of traveling, this is the FIRST time I've had to switch planes at this airport and I believe it is a poignant message to me, as I travel this year, from one show to the next. I am also a glass artist and Chinese too. I found many messages in my travels this trip which I will tell you more about in future posts. For now, let's all admire professor Liu's wonderful glass art and special message to travelers coming and going!

(excerpt from the Oakland Airport Installation)

Going Away, Coming Home. Hung Liu's 160 foot glass mural is also a layered work of art. It is composed of two panes of glass, two sides of which are either hand painted, airbrushed or photo etched. The light that penetrates the glass panels allows the layers in Liu's art to be literally apparent as well as metaphorically powerful. The imagery is itself layered: an overlay of digital satellite photographs of the California coast and the Asian Pacific, a web of longitudinal and latitudinal lines, tracings of geo-political borders and edges, organic weather patterns of clouds and clear surfaces of water and land, and, of course, the elegant network of imperial cranes flying above and sitting atop an imperial palace. Not only is each crane layered in the paint that compose it, but its silhouette is sandblasted behind it - on the outer layer of glass - allowing light that would otherwise darken the paint (even white paint) to be caputred in the etched surface, thereby illuminating the cranes from behind, turning darkness into light. And the painted circles keep everything afloat...

Within The Window

There is nothing that involves only going without returning. It is the nature of Heaven and Earth. When there is going, there also must be returning. ~ I Ching

Hung Liu is an Oakland artist whose work is exhibited widely in the United States and Asia. A California resident for 20 years, she was born and reared in China, coming of age during the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution. In many ways, Going Away, Coming Home, Liu's first effort in glass at such a large scale, can be seen as emblematic of her history as a Chinese immigrant and her focus as a contemporary artist.

Many of the images encompassed in the window reference potent symbols of Asian culture. The red-crowned crane - the second rarest crane species in the world - has been a Chinese symbol of peace, purity, wisdom, fidelity, prosperity and longevity for centuries. In China, the color red (present in the crane's bright crown) is considered to bring good luck and is a sacred, vital color used in the expression of joy and a talisman against evil. The circles represent the universe and eternity. In the Japanese philosophy of Zen Buddhism, they also indicate endlessness, emptiness and wholeness, all at the same time.

Known for her innovative use of historical materials, Liu's placement of the cranes is directly influenced by the 12th-century Chinese painting, Auspicious Cranes. dating from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the hanging scroll painted by Emperor Huizong depicts 20 cranes flying over the roof of his palace, bringing the blessings of peace and prosperity to his dwelling. Nine centuries later, Liu extends this metaphor to include safe travel by incorporating 20 flying cranes into each of the FOUR window sections, in effect bringing 80 blessings to the travelers who pass by them.

Liu's painting technique has its roots in the traditions of Chinese calligraphy and the exuberance of Abstract Expressionism. The earthy, material weight of paint and its drips contrasts with the images of the birds aloft and their aspiration toward flight. While the paint succumbs to the forces of gravity, the birds ascend and break free, flying upward despite its pull. The white - not black - shadows underneath the cranes reinforce their heavenly and angelic nature.

Underlying Liu's lyrical painting is a second layer of glass created from satellite photography. The map begins with a close up of the Bay Area and expands sequentially away from the Northern California coast to include the entire Asian Pacific region. Departing passengers experience an expansion of scale as they pass by. Returning passengers see the image reduce in dimension back toward the Bay Area, like the descent through the skies to come home to Oakland.

In Going Away, Coming Home, Liu has masterfully combined Western technology with Chinese traditions to bring the blessings of peace, wisdom and prosperity to all.

*****

BRAVO to Ms. Liu for delivering her art and message well. I hope this Thursday Tease inspires you to create with a story and then tell it well to share with others.

The Thursday Tease

The color of Spring, in the flowering vines, is juxtaposed on a rusted aluminum siding of a structure/building, somewhat ironically beautiful. The living (flowers) next to the dying (painted rust surface) together in this composition clearly displays that what is "beautiful" is left to one's imagination. I see beauty in this photo. What do you see?