Greetings from Hong Kong

Written by Diane Harris on October 21, 2018. Posted in Blog, Quilt Lifestyle

I haven’t often had the opportunity to travel, but when your daughter and her family move to the other side of the world, you do it. I’m visiting Holly, her husband Dustin, and my only grandchildren—two precious little boys aged 2 and 6.

It feels like there is quilt inspiration around every corner. In the airport, I spotted this cover on Wired magazine. I see a quilt, don’t you?!

I’m always intrigued by public art, and the international terminal at SFO (San Francisco) is chock full. This wall is huge, maybe 30 or 40 feet by 50 or 60 feet? It’s hard to tell. Every color in this piece represents something for the artist and the people of San Francisco. Take a look at this legend:

In case it’s hard to read, here are some highlights:

• Dark orange for the Golden Gate Bridge
• Misty gray for fog rolling over Twin Peaks
• Grass green for palm trees at Crissy Field
• Purply-pink for Painted Ladies in the Western Addition
• A rainbow to represent the Rainbow Crosswalk in the Castro
• Neon orange for nighttime neon in North Beach

You get the idea. Isn’t that wonderful, to have a piece of public art so connected to the city and all that it stands for? The artist is Leah Rosenberg and the piece is named Everywhere a Color.

This very large mural-type piece caught my eye. Can you imagine making a quilt that large? Quite an undertaking in any medium.

It appears to be made of tiles. It’s abstract but there are shapes that suggest things, which is food for thought. Hopefully I didn’t miss something obvious in my rush to get to my gate on time.

A quick search tells me that “Amy Ellingson is an American contemporary abstract painter. Her work confronts the enormity of contemporary virtual experience while asserting the humanness of painting. She lives and works in San Francisco.”

I’m sure you can guess why this piece drew my attention. I see patchwork. “Blue Deer” is by Clare Rojas. The placard said, “Inspired by American folk art, quilting and storytelling, Clare Rojas creates dreamlike images executed in tightly drawn, crystalline shapes.” This piece is based on a children’s book she wrote and illustrated, Blue Deer and Red Fox.

During a visit to a new-to-me area called Tai Hang, I shot this scene on a dead-end street. I liked the way the temple was juxtaposed against the modern architecture of the round high-rise buildings in the background. Everywhere you look, there are these contrasts. It’s fascinating.

Walking to dinner, we came across these steps with the dates of all the Olympic Games. I hadn’t realized that both World Wars had caused the games to be canceled. In the case of WWII, they were canceled twice.

The yellow steps look rougher than the red ones but I think it’s just that the color shows the dirt a lot more. Little things like this bring a place to life for me.

On my third day here, I went on a field trip with my grandson’s first-grade class. He and his buddies are so sweet. It was delightful, and it inspired a quilt design that is brewing in my mind. More on that later.

It will be interesting to get back home and begin to turn these inspirations into art=quilts=art.

Until then, quilt on!

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Tags: art, hong kong, inspiration