Behind These Walls: Art Series based on trip to Viet Nam

Meditation 3, mixed media

Meditation 2, mixed media

Meditation 1, mixed media

Contemplation 5, mixed media

Contemplation 4, mixed media

Contemplation 3, mixed media

Contemplation 2, mixed media

Contemplation 1, mixed media

This series of monotypes was inspired by photographs of the walls of monasteries I took through Asia but mostly in Viet Nam outside of Hanoi in the small town of Bac Nihn.  I was exposed to Buddhism, visiting Temples, Stupas, Pagodas and Monasteries. Seeing the lovingkindness and sweet nature of the people, I came back and made these series of mixed media prints using photographs of monastery walls as the basis. I selected the saffron yellow color for several reasons- some of the buildings from the French are in that color as well as some monks wear it. I like combining modern technology and traditional printmaking techniques as well as mixed media in this series


See more on my website: lindadubingarfield.com

Halong Bay- "Princess Junk" Cruising the Bay

We were on the "Princess Junk," the first deluxe one-cabin junk on Halong Bay. The interior is all hard wood and very lovely. The crew was fabulous. Everyone was so nice. Look at the gorgeous bird the cooks carved out of vegetables. They bought all new pots and pans for us and cooked all vegetarian meals, after many consultations with our travel agent.

The name Halong means "the dragon descending to the sea." It is a picturesque bay with some 3000 islands rising form the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. The islands are home to many species of animals seldom seen on the mainland including- monkeys, tropical birds and a rich abundance of marine life. Vung Vieng is a floating fishing village which you can see above.

Halong Bay- Peaceful Beauty!!

Situated in the northeast region of Viet Nam, Halong Bay is made up of a dense cluster of 1969 limestone islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographical work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. along has been proven by scientists that it was one of the first cradles of human existence in the area. It is also a region of highly concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of salt water-flooded forests, coral reefs and tropical forests featuring thousands of species of animals and plant life. Specially, the 18th meeting of the World Heritage of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.

Hanoi Hilton

Hỏa Lò Prison, later sarcastically known to American prisoners of war as the "Hanoi Hilton", was a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.

Very bizarre place, for me. I never really realized it was an old prison. Somehow, I thought they took over a hotel and made it into a prison. That's how dumb I was about the war. Seeing a place of torture and history first hand. Now it is a museum. I read everything they had there to know what went on. It was the least I could do.

Hanoi Highlights

Hanoi has a lot of charm, with ochre-colored  colonial style buildings, tree-lined boulevards, elegant squares and green parks as well as modern buildings. Hanoi means "within a river bend." Established as a defensive citadel in the 8th century, Hanoi has had at least 7 name changes. In the past, Hanoi was first chosen by King Ly Thai To as the capital of the country and was named Thang Long (Ascending Dragon) in 1010. through several successive dynasties, it remained the capital city, the heart and soul of the nation, and has borne a variety of names, including Dong Kinh (Eastern Capital) from which the Europeans derived the name they applied to all of northern Viet Nam, Tonkin. The city was finally named Hanoi by Emporor Tu Duc  (Nguyen Dynasty) in 1831. From 1902 to 1953, Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina.

It is now a bustling city of 2 and a half million people and over a million motorbikes. There is a cosmopolitan flair to it as you can see from the signs in Hebrew.( 4th photo above) The Ho Chi Mihn Museum is where he is buried and is a very popular site (first photo). The next photo is the President's Residence which was built by the French but Ho Chi Minh refused to live there. It was too fancy for him. He used it for state events but lived in a more modest apartment (third photo) behind the residence. the last photo shows the over abundance of wires on a telephone pole. Many people from the countryside are moving into the city every year at an accelerated speed and is not decreasing in the foreseeable future.

ART: Inspire from Viet Nam Trip

This series of Archival Pigment Prints is entited Devotion

 

This series of prints is based on photographs of walls of monasteries I visited in Hue, Viet Nam.

Contact me at  garf621@aol.com for more information

Hue: Along the Way

Fruits at Dong Ba Market

More vegetables at Dong Ba Market in Hue

Mosaics at Khai Dinh's Mausoleum

Mosaics at Khai Dinh's Mausoleum

Mosaic room at Khai Dinh's Mausoleum

Large fruit and vegetable market in Hue where fresh produce is available from local farmers. There was so much fresh produce available throughout Asia, it was a pleasure to eat healthy and nourishing fresh food!!

Khai Dinh's Mausoleum was built between 1920 and 1932, the last of the mausoleums of the Nguyen Dynasty and by the time he was contemplating the afterlife, rich had given way to concrete.  The interior is decorated with colorful murals and fragments of porcelain. It is the most elaborate of all the tombs

Hue, Viet Nam: A Beautiful Way

Hai Van Mountain Pass

Along the Perfume River

Pagoda built under the Nguyen Dynasty

Along the Perfume River

Thien Mu Pagoda built in 1601

Hue served as the political capital of Viet Nam from 1802 to 1945 and has been one of its cultural, religious and educational centers. It is a small and quiet city know for its architecture, and in 1993 was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site.

Thien Mu Pagoda is Hue's most preserved monument standing on the riverbank with its seven-floored tower. It was built in 1601 by Nguyen Hoang, the governor of Hue. The monastery is the oldest in Hue.

There was considerable fighting in this region during the Viet Nam War. I remember reading about Hue often in the papers.

Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon

Known to most as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is a city of contrasts. The pace is frenetic, yet the wide streets and open spaces help it to retain an air of calm. Classic French architecture competes for attention with brand new high rise buildings. The port hosts vast tankers and cruise ships while tiny sampans dart around them on the Saigon River.

Sidewalks, designed for strolls, are now lined with food stalls and cafes that spill into the streets.  Art galleries pop up now and again with contemporary as well as traditional styles. The villas left by the French have been converted into the city's best restaurants and the wide tree-lined streets are abuzz with motor bikes.

From top: Wide Boulevards, Main Post Office, Motor Bikes,  Modern Buildings, photos taken by Linda Dubin Garfield

Why Travel? Someone once asked me

Natural Bridge in Western Australia

Beaches are spectacular in Western Australia

Singapore skyline

Halong Bay in Viet Nam

Halong Bay in Viet Nam

Buddhism is a part of the culture throughout Asia

Young monks learning in a monastery

Outdoor markets with fresh products are all  over Asia

Rice paddies are all over Asia

Primary school children in Luang Prabang, Cambodia

Sunset in Laos

Rivers and fishing are a mainstay in Asia

Shwedagone Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, former known as Burma

Someone once asked me why I wanted to travel so much. He was content to stay home and maybe take a few days to go 60 miles to New Jersey to a change of scenery. I said that God made this beautiful world and it was my job to see every inch of it!! I do love the visual beauty of it and am in awe of what glorious diversity and grandeur there is. But there is more to it than that.

For one thing, one’s world view is enlarged and deepened by travel– particularly by experiencing new places through the eyes of the people who live there. You get to see and experience things as others do. Nothing was brought home so much as our recent trip to Viet Nam where we viewed the war that we lived through from a totally different perspective. It was not an easy one, I must say, even after all these years. I will be writing more about the Viet Nam experience in future blogs. It is an amazing country and was a complex and wonderful trip.

I have a very strong desire to nurture experiences in parts of the world that are most foreign to me. With increased telecommunications, we are all citizens of the world and I want to become more familiar with the many wonderful people and cultures that inhabit our planet. I love that I have Facebook friends from my travels to Australia, Africa and Asia! I reluctantly went to Myanmar and was delighted with the experience. I wanted to wait until Aung San Suu Kyi was freed to go. but were have been in other tyrannical countries and I had been told the people are wonderful, so I went. I will tell you more about that spectacular trip in future posts. Extraordinary place!!

Travel is, in and of itself, an education – a discovery of the commonality of people amidst great diversity. It is fun as well as deeply meaningful! Travel nurtures me.