Light

Hi,

We had quite an exciting weekend. Loy Kratong is in full swing, and we took a little road trip and discovered some amazing places.

The 'Old School Friday' song was "Dedicated To The One I Love" by The Shirelles, but you knew that. 'Easy Monday' should be easy for most of you. "We've been together since way back when. Sometimes I never want to see you again. But I want you to know, after all these years you're __ __ __ I want whisperin' in my ear." Hint: Three words letting someone know that they still count, by a group whose name is after a city on the Gulf. Hmm.

Saturday evening we went to The 9 Art Gallery for the opening of 'Portraits of The King'. It was quite an affair, with a brief traditional dance by two girls in elaborate costumes along with a strange antelope type creature controlled by two people inside. It was like a lion dance, but not a lion. They were accompanied by two drummers. Then there was the presentation of the two artists. After they spoke to the audience, in Thai, they drew a portrait of the King with oil pastels, each taking a turn at doing a feature of his face, until it was done. What a treat to watch a 'live' drawing right there on the highway. Then we went inside to see all the variations of The King at various stages of his life. When we left we were given two plants. We still don't know the story on this but we'll find out.

The other big thing that happened Saturday night was the delivery of copies of "Traversing the Orient," with the article about Lisa. It looks fantastic.

Sunday morning we did the Big C thing and had lunch. In the afternoon Bob and Noni came over and we followed them to the 'factory' of Tawd, the man who will frame Lisa's show. It's north of town, way out in the country. It was a huge building that was filled with concrete elephants, giant facades for temples, and art everywhere. Some of the work was actually fiberglass that was formed over concrete molds. It turns out that he made the New Clock Tower, following the design of Chalermchai, who also built Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple). He showed us the structure that will someday be his gallery. We're really looking forward to seeing how he applies his creativity to the framing of Lisa's work.

After we left the factory, we followed Bob and Noni farther up the road and into another countryside village to a place called Doy Din Dang (Red Clay Hill). It's a compound owned by Somluk Pantiboon, a ceramic artist who makes incredible pots and sculptures. He studied in Japan and learned how to make glazes that are non-toxic. He has trained many of the people in his village and given them a craft.

Sunday night was the official night of Loy Kratong (according to the moon). We walked down to the river on 'our side' and looked across at the festivities. Paper balloons fueled by flaming rings were streaming into the air, fireworks of every description were going off, and the river was lit up with the candles that floated on the kratongs that had been placed in it. The ferris wheel was going and the crowd was huge. This morning we had about 8 of the balloons in our yard. What goes up must come down. Since there wasn't much wind, the area was littered with them. We thought it was over, but tonight it's going as strong as last night. More on that tomorrow.

Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny

"There are two ways of spreading light...
to be the candle,
or the mirror that reflects it."
~Edith Wharton

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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