Mission Explore Texas

You've heard people say this before: Texas is not just a state. And they're right. It's more like its own continent on Planet America. If I had a list of the last places I would live on Earth, Texas would definitely be among the last. Yet, ironically, I find myself living here now in the "heart of Texas" for a whopping record-breaking 3 1/2 years! That's the only place I've lived in the longest besides Detroit (the burbs), Michigan, where I grew up to be an American. The city's slogan is "Keep Austin Weird" and that probably has something to do with why I love it! What other city do you know celebrates Eeyore's birthday (yes, that's Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh and his birthday party is this Saturday) by getting dressed up in weird costumes, drumming, and doing "stuff" in a public park? So, instead of feeling sorry for myself and dwelling on the fact that I currently reside in Texas and not somewhere much cooler (not in temperature), like Vietnam or India, I've decided to make it my mission to explore Texas like a real tourist. (I'm also a proud owner of a Texas State Park Pass for 2 years.) You know, maybe like someone from Vietnam who has never left her country and has dreamt all her life of bountiful America, just like the way it is in the movies with huge houses, fancy cars, mountains of money, triple-decked hamburgers, shopping malls, movie theatres, amusement parks, etc.

Austin is the capitol of Texas AND the "live music capitol of the world!"  Yes, really, it is.  On any given night, Austin has more live music than any other city in the world apparently.  Pretty incredible, isn't it? Austin is also in the Hill Country region of the Lone Star state, which means lots of rolling hills and my new favorite, fields of amazingly beautiful wildflowers in Spring! I took my first spring time scenic road trip to North Padre Island (NPI) and I must have been driving at 35 MPH just "ooohhing" and "aahhing" at the huge fields of Bluebonnets (the state flower) and Indian Paintbrushes, and the poor little armadillos on the road (the state animal, although I didn't know what they were but since we were in Texas, I figured armadillo was a safe guess).  I mean, just crazy splashes of vibrant blues, reds, yellows and whites along the side road.  It was definitely breathtaking and I wanted to just go run in the fields and lose my breath some more! Actually, on the way back, my friend and I couldn't resist stopping several times to pick ourselves a nice bouquet of wildflowers.

One of my favorite things about Texas besides the hot weather and wildflowers is, the warm friendly people. And they say sweet things in their sweet Texas twang like "Bless your heart!" I just love that, for some reason. Anyway, I believe there is a strong correlation between warmer weather and warmer people.  *Travel Tip* Go to places where the average daily temperature is at least in the high 70s and you'll be guaranteed a more friendly and relaxing trip, seriously. 

Ok, back to the heart of the story. I was sitting on a bench inside the Wal Mart in Seguin next to a properly dressed Texan man, in a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, of course. He looked healthy and no more than 80 years.  He was very friendly and asked me how I'm doing and if I'm from the area.  I said, "no," and he went on to tell me that he's 90 years old, from Stockdale (roundabout 30 miles from Seguin), survived all his 9 siblings and he was the third oldest.  I listened respectfully while he detailed who died in which year, etc. (I'm used to this because my dad does the same thing.) He wasn't being depressing or morbid but rather grateful and happy to be alive. I told him how impressed I was that he was 90 years old and still healthy and alert to be shopping with his daughter at Wal Mart. He even told me how he took the car and drove to the store the day before even though he wasn't supposed to!

(This is the reason why I wanted to tell this story.) 

In response to me, he said, "I'm just lucky to be here."  And I nodded in agreement.

I was secretly hoping he'd share some profound wisdom or advice for me after 90 years of life experience, but what he said to me was so simple. Yet, I contemplated it for the next 4-hour drive and then some.  As I chilled on the beach, breathed in the fresh ocean air, listened to the waves, felt the ocean breeze in my face, and cozied up to the fire, I thought about how lucky we ALL are to be alive.  No matter what trials and tribulations life throws at us, we should all be able to enjoy all the simple and beautiful things that life has to offer - the beach, jellyfish, flowers, rain, sun, moon, stars, clouds, kite-flying, etc....and especially, ambient beach camping with the company of friends and fellow beach lovers.  Awww yeah!!


And another reason why I love Texas - While passing through Stockdale on the way home, I nearly drove right into an old man (I don't think this was the same old man at Wal Mart) on this antique 3-wheel scooter just scooting across a wide 4-lane highway.  He saw me coming but apparently it was HIS town so he decided to cross right in front of me in the middle of the road anyway, at 5 mph!  I was totally laughing and thinking, ONLY in Texas would I witness such a site! And the wind must have blown away his cowboy hat. 

Ambient Camping with DJs spinning retro 80s ambient music! Total ambient awesomeness!

Malaquite Beach, NPI

I love FIRE! Luckily I always keep matches in the car, yay!

Jellyfish, they're huge! Is everything really bigger in Texas, you ask?  YES!! I weigh my heaviest now bc of the large portions of food and the State of Texas government work life. btw, I think this is a Cannon ball jellyfish.

a beautiful field of Indian Paintbrushes!! 

My First Paintings

All I have to say is that it's been a very interesting journey painting. Although I sometimes get frustrated with it and can't do some of the detailed work I'm used to doing with henna and pen, I certainly enjoy the  mental/spiritual health benefits it offers. It's when I focus and meditate on just painting that I find much peace and relaxation.  I enjoy my teas or wines or the company of my girlfriends painting with me. I don't care if I never sell a painting. That's not the mission. The mission is to try something I've never done before and have fun doing it. Whether it's good or not, is irrelevant. In any case, art is in the eye of the beholder.  I've heard the answer to the question, "what is art?" and it's "if it moves you, it's art." The simplicity of the lines, shapes, and colors of my style may appeal to some and not to others.  That's cool. But I'm sure my style will evolve and change as I keep painting, learning and experimenting. At the moment, I like simplicity and always have. It's easy on the eyes, mind, and heart.

These are posted in the order that I painted them, from my first painting to the last.  I am painting these for the Reggae Festival, April 16-18, 2010, but if you'd like to make an offer on one, please be my guest and make me a happy gal!  I've coordinated these in sets of 2, so I prefer that they go together. If you don't see one you like yet, I've got 3 more just about done and working on a few more in the next couple weeks.

A special tribute to Bob Ross, the best PBS painting guy and show I've ever seen and loved watching when I was growing up as a kid.

To Happy Clouds and Happy Painting! :)

Love, Peace, and Namaste,

LPN

Portrait of me in the black Ao Dai.  Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 16"x20". Not for sale.

Vietnamese school girl in white Ao Dai. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 16"x20".

Vietnamese school girl with bicycle. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 16"x20"

Vietnamese girl in bamboo trees. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 11"x14" (her sister is born and will be posted soon.)

Vietnamese girl in rice field. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 11"x14" 

Portrait of Greta and Grayton @ 4 mos. Acrylic on canvas. 11" x 14". Not for sale.

Too Good to Be True Turnip Green Soup

I'm a Vietnamese girl from Michigan.  I have never heard of turnip greens or turnip green soup!  If it weren't for me being in Texas and for the awesome Farm-to-Work program, my palate would never have been so enlightened!  Every week, I can order $25 worth of seasonal organic veggies from local farmers.  I don't do it often because it's usually too much for 1 person but it's the season of the greens and I love me some greens!

This is how it works and what I got for 25 bucks*:

turnip greens
2 bunches of mustard greens
collard greens
kale
spinach
bok choy
romaine lettuce
2 heads broccoli
green onions
a bunch of sweet potatoes
an onion
a clove of garlic

*If you don't like something, you can trade whatever you don't want for something you do want. That's cool.  So, I traded in a bunch of green onions for the mustard greens.  Not bad, eh?  Usually, I trade in the okra too because I haven't figured out yet how to cook them right.

So, it was really cold on Saturday and of course, I felt like soup.  FYI, I love soup!  I started a big pot of chicken stock.  I love making stock because it's so easy and yummy!  Here's how you do it.

A couple pounds chicken bones (2 carcasses) or 1 whole chicken
A couple carrots
A few stalks of celery
10-15 whole peppercorns
I recommend roasting these cause it's so much better and just use what you have or be creative:
1 whole onion
1/2 clove of garlic
1 thingy of ginger
Other misc things you can add if you want to experiment:
bay leaves
coriander seeds
lemon grass
whole all-spice
other veggies you have in the fridge that needs to be used
chicken neck

Throw it all in a big pot (about 6 qts.) and fill the pot with cold water, covering the whole chicken.  Then just let it boil and simmer for at least 2-3 hours.  The longer, the better for sure.  Skim off the foamy chicken goo and fat that collects.  Strain off all that goodness and compost or give to your kitty and then make whatever soup floats your boat!  Or freeze a portion of the stock for next time.  You can also turn this stock vegetarian by just omitting the chicken, of course.  I've done it before for my veggie friends and they loved it!

Sorry for the half-empty pot. I had already used half of the stock to make the turnip green soup but you can see I've got chicken neck and bones and carrots and all kinds of stuff in there!  That's what makes a good soup.

Then, I had to figure out what to do with all my Farm-to-Work veggies and my stock. So, while it was simmering, I googled "turnip greens" and came up with a few turnip green soup recipes.  Perfect!  I never heard of it before but I love soup.  The basic recipe calls for turnip greens in a stock with navy beans.  Well, I didn't have navy beans nor am I a huge fun of them so I just used what I had, lentils and a can of black beans.  The nice thing is you can use whatever kind of beans you like. I didn't follow any of the recipes and just made up my own awesome impromptu version of turnip green soup recipe:

1 1/2 - 2 qts of stock (medium pot)

1 bunch of fresh turnip greens, dice the turnips and cut the greens in 2 inches or so. (I suppose you can use the frozen ones too)

1 small onion, diced

1 can black beans, strained and rinsed

1/3-2/3 cup lentils

1 tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions in a little olive oil.  Then add your stock and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils first, since they take the longest to cook.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked.  About 10 minutes after the lentils, add the turnips.  They're like potatoes, so they take a while but not as long as the lentils.  Then when your lentils and turnips are cooked, add the turnips and can of black beans and turn off the heat.  It'll be enough to cook. You don't want to overcook the greens and the black beans.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Then you got yourself some yummy and ultra healthy (high in Vitamins K, A, and C) turnip green soup!!!  

I don't know what turnip green soup is supposed to taste like, but I don't think it matters as long as it's got turnip greens in it and it's yummy!

A Woman's Guide to Picking Up Hitchhikers

Let me guess what you're thinking...."What?!?! You PICKED up a HITCHHIKER?!? That's crazy!  You could've been killed!"  Yes, I picked up a hitchhiker and I know I could've been killed. Call me crazy. I'm a girl. I was alone. I could've been hacked into pieces, blah blah blah.  BUT before you REALLY think I'm crazy and stupid, let me tell you my story and then you can judge for yourself if I really am crazy and stupid. So this is how my awesome Houston hitchhiker story goes...

It was 6 days before Christmas. I had been listening to Christmas songs and dreaming  of a white Christmas. [Perhaps being in the Christmas spirit might have played a part in my impulsiveness that day, but then again, I probably would have done it anyway because I'm not that religious.]  I was on my way to Houston for a photoshoot and to visit family. Shortly after I started heading East on Hwy 290, I saw a guy sitting on the side of the road at the gas station, holding a sign that said, "To Houston (Montrose)." I didn't get a real good look at the guy or anything since I was in a fast moving vehicle.  But instantly, my unfiltered thoughts were, "well, I'M going to Houston. If there's someone that needs a ride, why not give him a ride?" Seriously, that was all I thought before I took the next turn-around and headed back to the gas station.   

Here's my perspective behind this: What if we didn't live in a society where we were inundated with depressing news of random shootings, murders, rapes, kidnappings, burglaries, terrorism, etc? What if there was no crime, no evil? What if we lived as humans should live together...in love, peace, and respect for one another? Imagine that for just a moment. [Seriously, pause and give it some thought. Close your eyes if that helps.] Then imagine a situation where you are driving somewhere and you saw someone who needs a ride to the exact same place you are going.  Would you even hesitate to give that person a ride? Would you even question for just a second that that person could be some crazy pyscho that will chop you up in pieces? I don't think so. If you're an average sane human being, your good Samaritan human instincts would tell you to do the right thing and give that person a ride.  It should be that simple, right? 


Now, imagine you're back in the real world. In two seconds, your mind would be flooded with paranoid thoughts of how you might be killed with an axe and buried in pieces, etc. If you grew up watching Freddy the 13th, Jason, Poltergeist, or Pet Cemetary, I'm sure you can conjure up all sorts of gory scenarios. [By the way, I don't like and refuse to watch horror movies because of this.] But, you won't immediately realize that those paranoid thoughts are precisely the result of our (crazy) society invading the purity and goodness of our human nature. Personally, I think that's sad and depressing to think that we live in a society that IS that scary -  that we are  afraid of helping a fellow human for the sake of protecting our lives. Honestly, I think THAT'S crazy. It just doesn't feel right to me. How would you feel if you were stranded one day and had to hitchhike for a ride?  Wouldn't you just want a kind person to give you a friendly ride and not think that you're an ex-convict axe-murderer going to kill them?


Ok, hopefully I made my point and convinced you that I'm not crazy.  But I haven't convinced you that I'm not stupid either.  You're probably thinking..."Get down from Cloud 9 you crazy girl because we DON'T live in your dream world and we DO live in a scary world. There ARE crazy people out there that will kill you." True. You're absolutely right. I'm not totally naive and stupid enough to think that I'm always safe from crime and evil and everyone out there is inherently good. So, I tried to be smart about it at least. 


This is my woman's guide to picking up a hitchhiker:

• He was young, under 30 years old. Plus, under all the facial hair, you could tell that he was good-looking but that doesn't matter. It was just a lucky bonus.
• He had dreadlocks. I know this is stereotyping but it's a good stereotype and I would bet my life (and I was right) that guys with dreads are hippie types that make peace, not war.
• He was dressed in pants held together by a whole bunch of patches, actually in several pants and in several layers of shirts. This means he was a serious hobo gypsy traveler type. I don't know about you, but they're my kind of people.
• He had a backpacker backpack. If they don't look like they're really traveling then you can assume they're in a different type of situation, though that doesn't eliminate the fact that they may still need help.
• He had a guitar. My theory is that musicians are creative, not cruel, nor criminals. Brilliant theory, isn't it?
• I also checked his I.D. He didn't have a license, but he had a passport. That says A LOT to me, personally.  He's smart enough to have a passport and even better that he's a worldly traveler. [The statistic varies, but according to an article in the New York Times, the State Dept. estimates that only around 27% of Americans own a passport.]
• He was just trying to see his good friend in Houston that he hadn't seen in a long time. I think that's simple and sweet.
• He was kinda stinky, but that was a good thing in this case. :)
• Given all that... I've backpacked and lived around the world by myself so trust me, I have enough experience (and never a bad one, thankfully). I can say with confidence that I trust my instincts. If you don't trust yourself, then who can you trust? [On a side note, I must say that of all the places I'ved lived and traveled in, the U.S. is the place that I feel the most unsafe. Just something to ponder.] 

So do you still think I'm stupid? Perhaps. But anyway, you know that the story doesn't end with me being chopped up and buried in the bushes somewhere in BFE, Texas. To continue with the story, I picked up the hitchhiker and we shared a deep conversation about life, art, music, kids, travel, etc... We listened to Pink Floyd and had an enjoyable ride to Houston. He kept me company, we had great conversation, I got him safely to his destination, and even met his friend. In fact, I am even Facebook friends with both of them! Needless to say that I didn't do it to get anything out of it, but I was rewarded for my good deed with a bowl, Jim Beam, and VIP seats to good live music.  However, I am absolutely positive that my real reward will come as good karma in disguise at some point, if not already. Besides that, it simply felt good to help someone out and make him happy...and not just one person, I made two people happy.  They literally jumped for joy and hugged and screamed like little girls when they saw each other.  And it really really touched me and made me so happy to see two grown boys hugging like that! So, as crazy and stupid as it may have been, I followed my heart and I know I did the right thing.  Love, Peace, and Happy Hitchhiking!       

Disclaimer: For your safety, La Pham Nikita does not encourage women (or men) to pick up hitchhikers and even if you do, I cannot guarantee an experience as pleasant as mine.  But if you choose to do so, please be safe and use good judgement.  I don't do it regularly or pretend to think it is a smart and safe thing to do for a single woman, but I just trust my instincts that much and consciously choose to live my life this way, as pure and good-hearted as possible, uncontaminated by society, seeking adventure at my own risk and hitchhiker-friendly. But, I will probably delete this post when my children are able to read.  This is just a post to stimulate your thoughts and provoke some conversation about the society we live in and how it affects our thinking and our human relationships.

Caption: This is the photo of the hitchhiker and his friend.  They were both extremely talented musicians and I was lucky they didn't chop me up, but instead sang and played beautiful music for me. How blessed am I?

Note to self: Austin, Art, Attraction, and I

[note: this is kinda just a personal journal entry for myself - just my uninhibited unedited freeflow thoughts tonite.]

So I guess I took a mini sabbatical from blogging.  Over a month.  I finally found some down time to reflect on the whole past month or so of my life.  It's been a total crazy whirlwind of everything. I took a little break from drawing, henna, peacock bags, work, and overdosed during the holidays with family, travel, eating, knitting, skiing, dancing.  I've been deep in my self-conscience, mindful and alert of all the signs in the world around me and listening intently to the Universe speaking to me. Family has come back in my life so strong. Art speaks for itself. Love, and the endless search. Friends, cherished and more beautiful.  Passion.  Energy. The Secret. The Law of Attraction.

I've been wanting to write about this "law of attraction" I've been experiencing intensely for the last few months. My life has been kind of tossy turny to say the least. My heart was wounded. My job is boring but I can't complain. I was lost, still lost. I've turned to art for healing, expression, focus, meditation, relaxation, motivation, energy, passion, collaboration, fun, friendship and love. I can feel the energy all around me.  It gives me energy  and gets me all excited whenever I get myself into a project. Just ask my friends. There's proof in every person I'm meeting, family, friends and in all my travels, encounters, conversations.  I'm going to cram more than a month's worth of blogging into 1 long run-on sentence.  Here goes... from my brother, my dad, the sudden flood of emotions all directly related to the hours...days....weeks I've spent with my family this past year (it was good but intense, not including the funniest thing - they want me to go to dental school and they said they would pay for it), my encounters with Austinites (this is one of the reasons why I love Austin - all the cool people I've been meeting!).... the mysterious awe-amazing energy of a woman that bought my first piece of art, the henna peacock drum, the musician at the (my uncle's) Mi Bar on New Year's eve, Ella Reese's Pieces' birth, my hotshot famous artist friend, the beautiful and so talented painter, neuro-linguist Syrian masseuse that I instantly connected with at the Austin Asian Film Festival, my friendships with the pilllow designer, models, photographers, the fashion designers, the dreadlocked San Franciscan musician hitchhiker I picked up on my way to Houston the week before Christmas and the conversation I had with him, my cousin Lee's sweet friend that I met in Germany 3 years ago and took me skiing at Mt. Snow, Vermont, cooking with my mom, tennis with my niece and nephew, ice-skating with my cousins in Hartford, CT, karaoking with my cousins in Houston, my brother's mouthwatering and romantic foodblog, his awesome xray flower photography, his fiance Kim Dao's Jalapeno Poppers in a blanket (Vote for her too!), job searching, internet dating on eHarmony and Okcupid.com, the german-speaker, the salsa dancer, the journalist, the filmmaker, and so many more unidentified experiences and people yet to be known. I think that's a whole lot of attraction and creative energy going on in just a month or so, don't you think?  I had no time to pause and blog.  I was focused on living in the moment. I feel very lucky.

My current artistic venture is painting.  This is the first time in my life, seriously. Believe it or not. And I admit I'm scared.  I was scared of drawing. I'm also scared of painting. I vaguely recall helping an older schoolmate paint a mural on the wall for young kids after school.  That was maybe between the 7th and 8th grade. I'm starting with acrylic on canvas. It's a photograph that Miriam Daugherty took of me in my black Vietnamese Ao Dai and conical hat with a bold red sash. This was my first photoshoot.  The thing that really started the ball rolling in my world of creative experimentation and exploration.  My friend kept saying I should try painting and that I would like it.  He's right.  Now I'm painting with my lovely Syrian friend and she said I'm talented. I hope she's right too.  :)  I will post photos of it when I'm done.

My upcoming events:

I'm excited to say that I'll be doing henna tats and selling whatever art type stuff I can create at the Austin Reggae Festival, April 16-18, 2010.  I'll be sharing a booth with several other Austin artists, http://www.dracouni.com/. 

I'm also super honored to do my friends Ekta Shah and Anirban Chatterjee's wedding henna, the date is June 19, 2010.  I told her to submit their photo to the Austin360 Cutest Couple in Austin.  so please vote for them! Yes, they're the cute Indian couple. In fact, they're a smart techy couple and both not vegetarian.  This is my first wedding henna, yikes!! Super nervous.  Wedding henna tats are a big deal, majorly auspicious! And just think that all her Indian family and friends will see it and examine it?  OMG, I'm scaring myself. When I'm not nervous about it, I like to tease her and tell her I will sneak in 2 fishies into the henna design (fish is a symbol of fertility) and that I'll be extra careful to make them identical.  :) She says, "NOoooo!!! You better not! I will take 2 days off work and travel to Dallas...and experience a full-on traditional Indian wedding. Wow, that part is going to be freaking exciting!  I gotta get myself a Sari! In fact, my bollywood SRK crazy Indian girlfriend is working on getting it for me from India, right this moment...

It's half past midnight and the storm is rolling in.  It's thundering and lightning.  I want to be awake to hear it. It's pounding on the roof now.  I love it.  It makes me miss Hanoi.  I love Vietnam.

Ella Reese Michaud, Born December 27, 2009 in Hartford, CT.  6.1 lbs and a precious little 17 inches.  I knit her those snuggly soft booties and mittens in record time so she wasn't cold.  I think she's the Secret. I call her my little Reese's Pieces.

It's going to be an awesome year of art and attraction in Austin...Go Tiger!

Transformation...

The theme is "Transformation." How fitting as I feel like I've been morphing and transforming this whole year - from cooking to modeling, from aspiring entrepreneur to artist. I just submitted 2 experimental pieces of 12 x 12 x 2 wood panels for the Maranda Pleasant Holiday Art Box Show. Neither of my pieces turned out as I had envisioned, of course. Nevertheless, this is a tres cool art event that I'm happy and excited to be part of for the first time.   Art, food, wine, music. Perfect! I got a sneak peak and it's amazing to see how a 12x12 frame can be transformed into so many one-of-a-kind pieces of art!

I had spent a few weeks doing research and contemplating what kind of mediums to use: paper, pen, paint, natural dyes, henna, goatskin, and thick leather scraps. I asked lots of art questions and bounced my ideas with artists and friends. (Thank you!) I've been spending after hours at Jerry's Artarama, Tandy Leather Factory, and Hobby Lobby. In the last 4 weeks, I discovered Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens (instead of black Sharpie markers), rapidiograph pen sets, how to use and color gesso, how to stain and stretch goatskin with henna, coffee, tea, wine, and how to silkscreen. All of this is completely new to me and the projects were entirely experimental. I love the challenge of trying to do something I've never done before. Creating art is a risky business but the excitement of the unknown is thrilling. I think I am mastering the art of improvisation but I have a lot to learn in finding my creative voice.  What is art what is not?  ...if it moves you, it's art.

Reflections on my 2 experiments...

"Meditation in Space"

As I was drawing the mandalas, I was meditating on the theme of "Transformation" and the meaning(s) of mandalas. I love the symbolism and the depth of the meanings of a mandala: the circle of life, a microcosm and macrocosm of the universe, a tool for meditation... It's fascinating how all things in nature are mandalas from the very nucleus of our body cells, to flowers, to our solar system. (also check out the Mandala Project) For this piece, I was attempting to transform my henna skills into a piece of art and drawing the mandalas was helping me find my center. It is of mandalas in space of different sizes and drawn freehand with sepia ink pen. I painted and sanded 4 layers of gesso and colored the gesso with coffee and tea. That was fun! Originally, I had sketched a large mandala  in the center and one in each of the 4 corners. However, it turned out to be the opposite, a lot of white space and a few small random mandalas. This was a very mentally challenging project for me, especially because I had stayed up all night working on the henna pea-drum project and was already mentally and physically drained. I did not sketch a detailed drawing beforehand. I make it up as the tip of my pen touches the board. I had to be extremely focused with a perfect steady hand. It's being in a meditative space and a calm state of mind. It's finding patience and balance. The most difficult part of it all was knowing when to stop and let go. I could have spent hours adding layer after layer of details but I decided to stop when one of the mandalas got a little smeared. I was gutted but I had to accept it. I do like the simplicity and the contrast between the details of the mandalas and the openness of the white space. As Carl Jung might say, "it is a representation of my unconscious self." Forever transforming...

"Henna Pea-Drum"

I spent most of my time researching, planning, and testing this piece and had high hopes for it but I ran into a lot of obstacles along the way. It was a very long process involving heating whole cloves, a blowdryer, ammonia, henna paste, lemon juice/sugar sealant, and other miscellaneous stuff. I wanted it to be a warm henna peacock on a goatskin canvas illuminated like a lamp. But it didn't quite make it. While I was shopping for the light for my henna peacock lamp, the man at Home Depot said to me, "the project took on a life of its own, huh? That happens!" Art (and life) certainly has it's surprises! Even though you try to plan things out, things don't always happen as you hope and that's ok too! I guess I can say it's at least a drum with a henna peacock on it. Practical art. A Henna Pea-Drum. Why not? In fact, one of my favorite nights of all my travels was spent deep in the Sahara Desert camping, drumming, singing, and speaking English, Arabic, and French with Moroccans and Berbers.  Totally exotic and in the rough...!  I will not give up on the henna lamp and drum idea.

...and through all of this "art" world, what I appreciate the most...

the inspiration
the visual connections
the energy felt
the ideas exchanged
the vibes
the chemistry
the excitement
the chaos
the craziness
the dedication
the perfection
the support
the friendships
the passion and love of creative expression...

Escaped artist "American Dreaming..."

What IS the "American Dream?"  Traditionally, it is the dream of fame, success, and wealth.  In history, it is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." [first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, 1931]  I like this.  For my parents, I think the "American Dream" is having the freedom and opportunity to lead a happy successful life and anyone can achieve it with hard work. This is what makes America so great. It truly is a land of freedom and opportunity where anything is possible, if you work for it. I share the same "American Dream" as my parents, but with my own little twist.  The twist being the definition of happiness and success.  Naturally, this is different for everyone.

This week, the Austin Asian American Film Festival is premiering All About Dad, a comedy about a Vietnamese-American family with generational and cultural gaps.  The main character, Ty Do (I also have the same household nickname), tells his dad he doesn't want to be a doctor, but rather a filmmaker.  I, myself, am in a similar boat. Growing up in a very traditional Vietnamese and Catholic family, my Dad constantly reminded me that if I don't work hard for my education and career, my future would not be so bright.  And he was absolutely right.  Thank God I listened to him!  I studied biology and women's studies, got a Fulbright scholarship and a Master's degree.  I thought I was doing it all right, but there's something that still doesn't feel quite right for me. I've come to realize that my parents' idea of happiness and success is not the same as mine.

Finally, after years of working hard for a good education and a stable career while trying to figure out who I am and what I really want to do, I've decided to take a turn to the wild side.  I am exploring my creative side.  It's ironic that the same parent that I get my creative side from is the same parent that would love for me to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or teacher. I don't want to quit my public health career that I've invested so much in, I just want to transform my creative side into something more tangible for my future.  So, here I am, living in Austin, Texas (the perfect city for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs) and at a fork in my journey, where the options are endless and I have the freedom to choose my destination. For me, the "American Dream" is not about success, fame or wealth.  It's about what makes you happy. I'm a boat girl, so whatever floats my boat, right? Seriously, it means having the freedom and opportunity to do whatever makes you happy and only you can determine your idea of success. This is often taken for granted because not everyone can do this (if you've been to a Third World country, you know what I mean).  But fortunately, I can. I am an aspiring artist who has been dreaming and has escaped....with my first henna design to be screenprinted on 100% recycled cotton canvas bags. Keep on dreaming America!