Korea-all sewn up

sewn strips of memories 2" x 32'

We are home, and are missing all the wonders of Korea. I've been experimenting with making that delicious deep flavored soup we had at the Lotte upstairs restaurant. It's good, but not even close or as rich as that broth. Kim and I are ready for a trip to local Korean markets, Ranch 99 in search of more hot chili paste, fresh kim chee, and pickled daikon radish.
It has been interesting to see how each of us chose to catalogue/chronicle our trips. Kim wrote about it in her terrific BLOG, Her Secret Garden. Wendy and Judy made fabulous scrapbooks/journals, on which they would work at the end of every day. I am jonzing to xerox their marvelous creations. I did not chronicle visually in any kind of linear fashion. I did write my daily morning pages.

makeshift studio in our Seoul apartment

I made a makeshift studio in our Seoul apartment, hand shredding bits of the days discoveries and gluing them onto strips like the drywall tape of which I am so fond. I looked for and never found any drywall tape in Seoul, but cut up long strips of papers to about that familiar 2 inch width. I came home with many glued up strips, and continued the process in the last few days, nursing my jetlag with gluing and sewing these strips.

paper memories about to be shred

glued strips waiting to get sewn
sewing strips of memories

Today I completed 5 strips of this memorabilia from Korea that are 32 feet long. Just long enough for the 3 story stairwell at the Museum of Art and History, where they will be a part of my Rydell Fellowship Exhibition, which opens December 19.5 sewn strips 32 feet long

Korea Day 12-flashback to Do-Ho Suh

detail of Some/one 2001 Do-Ho Suh

Some/One 2001 Do-Ho Suh

This morning we visited the Deok Su Gung Palace. We arrived just in time for the changing of the guard. When I saw this fellow in full dress, I had a flashback to the first time I saw Do-Ho Suh's work at the Seattle Art Museum. I wondered if maybe this was some sort of inspiration for his 2001 work, Some/one. Mostly he talks about identity and the body, but I couldn't help thinking that maybe this was visual origin? I could be totally off the mark. I found a great interview with Do-Ho Suh with lots of wonderful photos of his work at designboom.

detail of Guard garb, Deok Su Gung Palace

Guard, Deok Su Gung Palace

Seoul Inspiration-the Marketplace-Day 11

A continuing love affair with brooms-especially the lime green ones

Today we visited three markets, the antique, the medicinal plants, and the flea. I am more inspired by the marketplace than most galleries. The way items are wrapped, stacked and displayed really do it for me. I took about 375 photos today, ok it's a sickness. The fun is that Kim, Judy and Wendy are all doing the same. We all have our own ways of seeing, and it has been so much fun to view our slide shows at the end of each day. We all translate and assimilate differently: I shred and glue, Wendy and Judy have been collaging and journaling out-of-this world books, and Kim is writing a stupendous Blog. Traveling a quatre has been the most terrific fun and so expanding.

pojaji and bamboo at the antique market

woman with ginsing

orange lanterns

can you stand this wrapping!

greens from China?

burdock root

shizo leaves?

the cabbage wall of future kim chee

glasses at the flea

Those wrapped leaves are getting me all excited to resume with eucalyptus at home!

Cheongju Craft Biennale

I'm so far behind in my blogging! Today is day 9 and we are leaving early for the Cheongju International Craft Biennale. Betsy has got us a van for the day. I think it's about a 2 hour ride, and will be our first foray into the countryside. Kim has been doing a stunning job of blogging about our travels day by day with great photos and her terrific writing. For the blow by blow, hersecretgarden is where it's at! For me yesterday, it was all about the walls. Omg, I can see a lot of artwork coming out of this wall of roof tiles.

Seoul Searching-Day 5

Kim continues to BLOG fabulously about our travels...here

Giant brush sculpture

Happy shoppers
Gathering our papers
Betsy oversees the counting!
Buddhist temple
Courtyard with 400 year old tree
Installation by Jong Sub Lee

We meet the charming Jong who signs his catalogue for each of us

Writing lovely sentiments for Kim

More paradise

Can it get more fabulous than this?

Jujube tea time with a few faux pas and a lot of laughs

Seoul Food-Day 4

Today we went to the big department stores, Lotte and Shinshege where all the designer goods from all over the world are shown. We found it much more fun to go to the basements and view these culinary festivals...because it's all about the food! dried fish

sushi

sweets

fresh ginsing

peppers

doughnuts composed of the holes!

doughnut detail

containers of paper

Seoul Vision-Day 3

detail of huge Tiger sculpture comoposed of plastic bottles

negative space says "We are all designers" in Korean

detail of "We are all Designers" (post its?)

The interior of the stadium filled with white "flags" on a grid-this brought me to tears!

interior ceiling of one exhibit

purse made of rubber bands!

a wall of milk crates filled with paper "balls"

where can we get this?

Drawing show performers

Today we visited the Seoul Design Olympiad at Olympic Stadium. The most profound concern was about recycling. Terrific use of materials, and wonderful innovative products from around the world. We were having another day in paradise. To finish it all off, a performance piece called Drawing Show was absolutely terrific!