This week, I started going to a weaving class and my professor would like us to keep a journal for the class. Just so happened that I found this beautiful handmade paper journal in a local thrift store recently; and, I am happy that now I can make good use of it. The papers have very nice quality that is more like fabric or leather. It inspires me to keep a stitching journal….a journal without my handwriting. The first assignment in the class is to think of a word to share with the class. I have been thinking about “roots”. Root as in origins as well as source of energy. This is a collage with photocopy of an old photo of my brothers and me with hand stitching and stamping of the word “roots”.

My coworker Lissa was invited to show her work at Cafe Barrone in Menlo Park. And, she generously invited Jo, my other coworker, and me to show some of our work too! The artwork will be there from July 23 to September 9, 2006.

Untitled: July 2006

The piece I put in the show is an extension from my previous work Lucid Thread. For this piece, I explored and experimented different textures on the surface with threads by hand stitching & couching. The figure was painted with incense powder and tea diluted with brown fabric paint. The original concept for Lucid Thread revolves around the ambiguity of presence and absence, duality and coexistence. The concept derived from a childhood portrait of me in Malaysia. It serves as a reflection of my life up until this point. Also, I am interested in the idea of living in two worlds. As a Malaysian born Chinese currently residing in the United States, I often find myself reflecting on my own roots and the feeling of being in two places at once. Space suddenly becomes borderless and the two worlds start to merge into one.

Lucid Thread: May 2006