Home from China, part 8

There were wonderful sights everywhere. The buildings were interesting, and in a variety of architectural designs.

The white domed building is the Dalian Modern Museum

 

In front of Beijing East Hotel

Sculpture in Beijing East Hotel, representing wine poured into a glass

The sculpture is made up of thousands of Chinese characters

U. S. Embassy

 

 The little children looked like dolls, and the parents enjoyed having them photographed.  

Home from China, part 7

It was my pleasure to donate Butterfly Crossing to the Dalian Modern Museum. There are thread-painted butterflies and quilted ghost butterflies flying between the yellow/black fan shapes, and it will be a tribute to the beautiful and colorful people I met! The museum is free to the people, and the directors and staff are proud to inform the people of China's rich cultural history.

Dalian Modern Museum Director Liu Guang Tang receiving Butterfly Crossing
with Linda Ginn, Scott Macintosh, and Assistant Director

The audience members at the museum talk were very interested and appreciative of being able to examine the pieces up close. They were curious about techniques and took lots of pictures.

In a hands-on demonstration with a sewing machine set up in the hallway after the lecture, it was a privilege to get to see some works by local quilters. These pieces were made by young women and they were skillfully done.

Home from China, part 6

Katie Zahn below wall quilt

I was delighted to find the Slow Life Patchwork Quilt Shop in Beijing, run by Ms. Katie Zhan. She teaches quilting and has fabric and tools that quilters need. About 15 women (and one man) brought their sewing machines and supplies for my Ghost Quilting Class. Although we had the interpreter with us, many English sewing terms--stitch, fabric, binding, machine, rotary cutter, mat, straight grain--were familiar and did not have a Chinese translation; they knew what the feed dogs were but not the name we use (feed dogs), so this was a lightbulb moment! The interpreter explained the process along with my demonstration and hand signals. The students had their center focus fabric and solid background and most brought fusible. After we adhered the center square to the background, I demonstrated how to continue an object (flower, fruit, leaf, etc.) out into the border with Neocolor II crayons. We passed crayons back and forth among the students until everyone had their piece ready to layer and begin quilting. I showed them how to start and stop the quilting stitch and how to bury the thread tails and how to add thread painting to enhance their design. Most had done some free-motion quilting before and made excellent progress.

Close examination of facing method

We discussed various edge treatments for their work--rat-tail cording, single- or double-fold binding, and facing, as well as adding a sleeve to the back to make it ready for hanging. Notice that the students are all wearing coats to be more comfortable in the unheated room.

Interpreter Describing Process

Home from China, part 5

In Beijing we attended the Graduation Fashion Show at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Amazing and innovative designs were presented by models who could have been on a New York runway.

 The next day I gave a presentation to students, thinking, "What am I going to tell these students about color and design?" I focused on the creative and originality aspects of my material, and they responded with great curiosity and interest.

At each venue I began with "who I am and what I do," which showed pictures of my map location, home, yard, and studio, and the thought of living among trees and a grassy yard was appealing, since most of their experience is in high-rise apartment living. I told the Rise and Shine, Inner City story about how the arrangement of colors creates "neighborhoods" which have to touch and merge and interact to become a successful city, which is also a metaphor for countries in our world. It was rewarding to see smiles of recognition and agreement on many faces as they understood the message the quilt portrays.

We were fortunate to see Beijing on a relatively clear day but also saw the frighteningly sad smog on other days. There were trees planted along most of the streets we were driven through, but they were still bare from winter. I can just imagine how different these streets will look when all these trees are fully leafed out!

Sidewalk in Beijing

On a clear day

Same view from hotel window on smoggy day

 

 

Home from China, part 4

Linda and Martha in library lobby

The Dalian Municipal Library is a beautiful building four stories tall and is free for the residents. There are branches, but no system for borrowing from other branches. They use the card catalog and there were large tables set up for people to use while reading books, magazines, and newspapers. We saw many students studying.

 

I had a copy of The Llama's Pajamas, written by a good friend, Carol Vickers, with me in case any of my talks involved young children. It's about a boy who didn't look after his quilt as he should have, and had it borrowed by a bear, a monkey, and a llama. I gave it to the children's librarian after I showed it to her and briefly told her the story; she was delighted to add it to their collection.

The Llama's Pajamas

 

Dr. Seuss books in Chinese



MEANWHILE, back in Mississippi, the azaleas were blooming, as well as my healthy geranium plants on my front porch. The temperatures in Dalian were in the 30s and 40s, sometimes quite windy when we were near the water. When we left home the flowers were barely beginning to bloom, so this was a happy surprise to see when we got back.

Home from China, part 3

Dalian is a beautiful city, situated near the rocky coastline, with hills and mountains surrounding the heavily populated city. Traffic in Dalian and Beijing was very busy, with pedestrians and bicyclists moving in and out of traffic as they could make their way. Changing lanes was a daring act, often accompanied by a beep-beep as the car moved over, trusting that the oncoming vehicles would yield. Turning at intersections sometimes resulted in traffic jams when cars would head in the direction they wanted to go and others were turning other ways. We don't have any photos of these scenes, because Linda and I often had our eyes closed. The only way this could work is because the traffic was moving much slower than we are used to here.

Mr. Wong and Linda

The temperatures were in the 30s F, and the wind could be quite chilling. Our guide (Nancy) from the Dalian Modern Museum took us to the Museum of Natural History and a large aquarium. We ate lunch at a place called "Barbecue Meat in Wang Mazi," selecting food by looking at pictures of dishes posted on the wall. Mr. Wong, our driver, tried to teach Linda to use chopsticks, but forks were always provided when they saw how inept we were. We enjoyed and were brave about trying new dishes . . . well, a little brave.

Martha and Nancy

We toured the Dalian Polytechnic University and visited with Professor Ren Wendong, a famous Chinese Brush artist, who shared his book of paintings with us. After my lecture, we visited classrooms where students were working on weaving, interior design, and clothing construction.



Professor Ren Wendong and staff

From window of Dalian Polytechnic University

From window of Dalian Polytechnic University



Home from China, part 2

In Dalian we were escorted to the Museum by Scott Macintosh, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, and Li Zhuo, Cultural Assistant, from the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang; our interpreter was Ms. Teng Chaonan (Nancy) from the Museum staff. They took part in the ribbon cutting and setting up all the groups for talks.

Scott Macintosh and Li Zhuo

The next lecture was for 16-18-year-old students at the Bainian Vocational School, a school for children of migrant workers. Our concept of migrant workers is of people who follow the crops for work. In China, the rural people are called migrant; if they need a job and come to the city, their children are not eligible for school because they are not registered in the city. This school is a free school established as a two-year boarding school to prepare the young people with a trade so they can earn a living.
My emphasis in this talk was on creativity and originality, entitled Finding My Way, Following My Dream. The students were extremely interested and asked many questions.

 

The students were constantly reminded of ways toward a good life by the signs posted along the hallways, in English and Mandarin:

I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.

Knowledge makes humble, ignorance makes proud.

Action speak louder than words.

A thousand-li journey starts by taking the first step.

Do one thing at a time, and do well.

Home from China

My daughter Linda and I have just returned from a 12-day trip to China--what a marvelous experience! The first day (our rest day) we enjoyed seeing some of the sights of Dalian with a Dalian Museum staff member and a driver.  We attended the opening of The Sum of Many Parts: 25 Quiltmakers in 21st-Century America at the Dalian Modern Museum in Dalian, Liaoning Province.

Poster in front of Dalian Modern Museum

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, I gave a talk/demonstration for some very interested visitors. Walking through the exhibit answering questions and giving information about the variety of quilting styles was enjoyable to us all.  

The museum director hosted a dinner for our group from the U.S. Consulate office, who had organized the Dalian events. The next day we were taken for a tour of the Dalian Municipal Library, where Linda was able to ask and share information. (Linda is a catalog librarian at USM in Hattiesburg. On this trip, she was also my computer/PowerPoint specialist and the one helping me remember where we were and what day and time it was; I could not have managed without her!)

Museum visitors

That afternoon I presented a lecture to about 100 junior high students at the Dalian University of Technology. They listened politely, but when they were allowed to come close for photos and examination of the fiber art pieces, they really came alive.

 



Dalian University of Technology students





More report and pictures tomorrow.


Dalian Modern Museum in Dalian, China

Dalian Modern Museum

An exhibit at the museum

Opened on March 22, 2002 Dalian Modern Museum is the first museum building in Dalian which follows the modern western style. The exhibition is organized in a clean, transparent way, and the information is presented with a bit of luxury and big space providing good visibility. Black and white, the dominant colors of the interior correspond with yin-yang theory, traditional in Chinese culture. The impressive building with total space of 21 600 square metres soon became the 21st century cultural landmark of Dalian.
What a beautiful place for the display of The Sum of Many Parts: 25 Quiltmakers in 21st-Century America. How exciting it will be to see some of the history and culture of China and share our quilt story with the people there.