Thursday, June 25, 2009

The farewell sea

I had made a third cup that failed miserably, and after my sister and Kelsey made those scrunched-up faces while viewing it, I ripped out the top and turned it into whatever this is. I know, it looks weird. But it was the best I could do considering how much cord I had left in this color/size and how much time/patience/thumb power remains.

I went to my dyeing teacher today intending to say goodbye, but he instead took me back to Djin Suk Kim's gorgeous exhibit, and said, "you'll visit again, right?" I didn't have the heart to say no. I'll either stop by once to say goodbye or call. It's too late to lie and say I'm leaving earlier, but I have to stop all the time sucks. I had texted Hyunmi to meet me so I could say goodbye to her, and she got it. She gets everything - she looked at my website and had spot-on feedback about my artwork. I really like the way she experiences and processes the world.

We went to Changdeokgung, one of the Seoul palaces. I had wanted to go for a long time but never got around to it. I had only really wanted to visit the "secret garden" behind it but we didn't do that today. It was a TOTAL scorcher and we went right after high noon, so I was totally wilted and barely shuffling along under my parasol, but I'm still glad we went. The park part is quite lovely and extensive.

[Flowers outside a past prez's compound.] Afterwards, I made it home to shower and collapse into a heap of more weaving. I also updated my sample books and pushed around more pieces of future work that have been haunting me. When I told Hyunmi about how my hands feel crazy and restless when not weaving, even though they are tired and in pain, my dyeing teacher said, "you know what that means: you're an addict." AAAGH! I'm one of those people who don't do well with storing things; I like to use up every last bit of material and then move onto something new. Knowing I have more cords means I feel like I have to use them all at once.

After cooling down, I got to meet Katherine for faboo shabu-shabu (which is SO close to my home. If only I had known sooner...). We got to do a farewell call to Frank, who flies back home tomorrow. B/c of our crazy schedules, I don't think I'll see Katherine again until we're both back on the east coast, which is sad. But I'm crazy thankful that she was part of my life here in Korea; she's been a total rock, a solid confidante, and like the wise old guru on top of the mountain, only she comes to you! And she's way more fun (and actually tells you things instead of hitting you over the head and giving you riddles before sending you back down the mountain).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

actually, i had a zen koan that i forgot to give to you yesterday.

what is the sound of one hand weaving?

xoxo,
kath