Studio Chronicles
It is wonderful to be in my new studio. It is terrible to be in my new studio. The space is good, with two big windows letting in tons of light. I have most of my equipment in place…a painting table on wheels, a desk for my computer, a purple easy chair in the corner for pondering and the occasional cat nap… a white utility sink in the corner. Unfinished paintings lean against the wall begging for my undivided attention. Rolls of paper, some with old drawings and some completely and nakedly white lay on the floor…waiting. It always takes a while for the work to “kick in.” The trick is to arrive at the studio and STAY at the studio no matter how restless or distracted I may be. You have to establish a schedule and then stick to it. I Know the pattern of a new space. I will spend many hours organizing, sorting, ... read more
Be Here Now
We recently returned from three truly amazing weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. Every single day of that trip is worthy of it’s own blog chapter. It began in Hanoi with it’s tough crowd of Vietnamese (I’m calling them the New Yorkers of Asia) and then came the exquisite beauty of Halong Bay followed by a three day motor bike tour in central Vietnam. There was the beach town of Na Thrang and then on to Saigon where we witnessed the most unbelievable scooter traffic imaginable. Next stop, the Kingdom of Cambodia where we stayed in the capitol city of Phnom Penh and then Siem Reap situated next to the ancient city of Angkor . We encountered language barriers, ate strange and wonderful food, had clothing malfunctions, drove motorbikes through mudslides and over lush mountains, got caught in epic lightning storms and were sheltered by a kind villager…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I ... read more
Chiang Dao or bust!
Note: We are leaving on Saturday morning for a three week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. We're taking only small backpacks and our computers will be left in Chiang Mai. Communication will be sketchy at best but we'll look for an occasional internet cafe to check our email and let you know how we're doing! Facebook is blocked in Vietnam so personal email will be the only way to reach us. As always, our hearts are with all our people back home. Much love from Amy and Jim I’d been working hard…pushing forward on the book as well as finishing up the drawings for my upcoming exhibition in June. Time for a break. Jimmy and I decided to head out of town for a weekend getaway to the town of Chiang Dao…an hour and a half due north. We rented a couple of scooters from a place just up the street and although it’d been raining ... read more
Kinetic Anatomy
According to the books, the rainy season doesn’t start around here until late June…just about the time I will be returning to the states, but you wouldn’t know it by looking out the window. It’s raining cats and dogs. I have no complaints, after we arrived here in Thailand it was sunny every single day for two and a half months straight. The first time I heard thunder I thought it was an airplane. On that day, the weather changed and it’s been raining regularly ever since. It’s the best possible kind of rain…a spectacular show of foreboding clouds come over the mountains, followed by dramatic lightning, a torrential downpour, and then it’s gone. The sun is back within hours. After years of living in the Pacific Northwest where the idea of “rain” meant months of gray, bone chilling damp…I have finally come to embrace a good drenching. The locals say this is unusual weather ... read more
Amy’s Guide to Chiang Mai (dedicated to Janet)
It was a travelers worst nightmare. After weeks of planning and anticipation, my two sisters were turned away at the airport in Newark due to a passport technicality. How could this possibly happen? I was so excited to have them visit me here in Thailand, my disappointment was nothing less than heart breaking. In my mind, I had already walked them through the markets, taken them to my favorite restaurants, pointed out things I’d discovered, and rode with them in tuk tuks. I could see their delighted faces. I had already dazzled them with my knowledge of Thai and local culture! All this and more they would report back to the family! But it was not meant to be. Stunned and sad, I spent a day feeling extremely sorry for myself. My sweet and considerate husband Jimmy suggested we get away for a few days…exploring the nearby town of Pai, three hours away by mini-van. It ... read more
Leaving Laos
Final destination Laos…the capitol city of Vientiane. One of the first things we noticed when we arrived was how quiet it was compared to Chiang Mai. Considering it is the largest city in the country, there was very little traffic. It felt peaceful and calm. There was French architecture all around us, many good restaurants, and friendly locals. Our first impression was a good one. After checking into our room, we walked around getting the lay of the land. It was very hot, in fact it was the hottest we had yet experienced in Southeast Asia. I quickly bought myself an umbrella which is how many, if not most, of the locals stay in the shade. No matter where we ventured, finding our way back to the hotel turned out to be pretty easy because of a nearby landmark …That Dam Stupa. Stupas are monuments to Buddha…a common sight around these parts, but the ... read more
Central Laos
When we first arrived in Thailand, we had to learn to convert our money. It was really more of a mental adjustment rather than any complicated math…the numbers here seem really big. 100 Bahts is equal to 3 US dollars…more or less. Jim made two little cheat sheets which he laminated and we carried around in our wallets for the longest time. We were getting pretty good at the money thing… and then we came to Laos. Laotians use Kips and…are you ready for this? Three dollars=100 Bahts=26,660 Kips. Yikes. So when you order dinner, your bill might be 90,000 Kips. This takes some getting used to, because even though it’s still cheap…it feels like a huge amount. To make things a little more complicated, the Kip is difficult to read having more than one large number printed on the colorful little bills. I must admit I handed over all the responsibility to Jimmy and ... read more
Luang Prabang, Laos
The final moments of the trip to Luang Prabang came just as the sun was setting on the Mekong. What a beautiful sight. As cheesy as it sounds, the landscape all around me looked just like every Vietnam war movie I had ever seen and I half expected to see Robert Duvall standing on the riverbank. From the boat we could see mountains softened by lush vegetation and big palm trees swaying in the breeze. It had been a good two days on the water but now it was time to say goodbye to our slow boat and it’s pilot who Jim called a “man boy” because he was so little. We looked ahead for signs of Luang Prabang. Everything we’d read about the city led us to expect an idyllic old-world Laos, filled with ancient culture and unspoiled nature. I expected things there would be rural, relaxed, and very inexpensive. When at ... read more
Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos
I know, I know. It’s been almost a month since my last posting. What can I say? I’ve been a little busy. Between working on the book, studying Thai, teaching salsa, and fashion shows…there just aren’t enough hours in the day! I have also noticed that keeping a blog almost requires you to step away from what you’re experiencing at the moment and think about how to record it, report it,…and otherwise describe it later. It’s like some sort of weird reverse engineering. In any event, my apologies for the delay in the action. Busy or not, you are all in my thoughts and heart every day. Life is Chiang Mai continues to be good and very, very interesting. This is quite the international city and I am surrounded by every imaginable sort of people. We could easily stay here for the entire six months and never run out of new things to do and ... read more
Semi-normal
The “vacation” is officially over. It continues to dawn on us that we’re actually living in Thailand and not just on a visit. I suppose it’s relative and to some people six months might seem temporary. But to us, the time we have feels long and substantial. And the reality is that our suitcases are unpacked, we’re in a real apartment, there are monthly bills to be paid, and work to do. Over the past week, Jim and I have fallen into a routine of sorts…but one that is anything but boring or taken for granted. Although there is a pattern, not a minute goes by that we don’t feel like pinching ourselves to see if this is real. It’s so exciting and different to be here and it suits us very well. Life is good. Each morning…without fail, the weather is utterly gorgeous. From our bedroom window, which overlooks the street seven floors ... read more