I mentioned Kim's gardens - she served very tasty lunches, and treated us to veggies from those gardens. Kim also surprised me with an ice-cream birthday cake! How cool is that?! (Yes, I am officially on the other side of that hill, and curious about the rocks that form the next one!) Yes, I'll be back to work with these awesome folks in upstate New York again next year ~ maybe I'll even take time to see Niagra Falls next time.

Kim Pandina hosted a two day, intermediate designs, session for her wire group in her home in Rochester, NY. Saturday, we made my Victorian bracelet design and Sunday we accomplised a prong-framed faceted stone pendant. (These are two very intense and detailed classes!) Everyone made great looking projects, and left loaded with new knowledge and techniques using faceted stones. Kim and her partner have a beautiful yard, filled with flowering plants, a hothouse full of unusual cacti and a nice veggie garden. (In her "spare" time, she enjoys canning!)

Thursday I boarded yet another plane to fly to Rochester, NY for 3 full days of classes. Betty Schnellinger had taken classes with me at Beadfest events and then traveled to my studio for semi-private sessions. She returned to her home in Buffalo, and scheduled me for an intensive, all day beginner's workshop for members of her bead group. We worked from 8:00am until about 7:00pm, completing three full projects. These ladies were a lot of fun to work with. They provided a wonderful lunch buffet, and made some beautiful projects. I know I'll be back next year, to take them even further with their gorgeous work and designs. Many thanks Betty!!
(Also to her husband Jim, who makes unique handcrafted pens, one of which was presented to me as a thank-you gift!)

After flying back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai, we spent a day in the city, and visited a convention center which was hosting a cultural event featuring craftsmen from each province and their skills. We then hit the road to travel to the shore at Hua Hin. A few of us walked down to the tall Buddah you see on this point. Charlie got some great photos on our way, while I picked up some amazing shells. We all enjoyed our stay there, our rooms were in turrets, completely round, and each day a variety of fresh flowers were scattered on our beds. (Green orchids one day!) We shopped at the night market, lazed by the pool and indulged in a massage and salt-scrub in an underground spa.

After visiting the Elephant Camp, we had lunch at the Bai Orchid & Butterfly Farm. As I love orchids and try to keep a few alive at home, Charlie and I found the way they grow here very interesting. Some of them were simply hung on a wire with their roots exposed to the air and growing/blooming profusely, while others were planted in half coconut shells with a bit of moss ~ beautiful. (The constant fans blowing mist, and koi ponds and fountains keep the humidity high for these delicate beauties.) They also use a special process to preserve the actual orchid flower, (as well as butterfly wings), to make into jewelry pieces edged with 14k gold plating.

Ok, so the elephants deserve two pictures!! Charlie and I really loved our ride through the rainforest. The vegetation is incredible, huge trees, voodoo plants everywhere, and the rocking tranquility was wonderful. Our driver has been with his elephant female, (Mae Boonma, age 35), for four years. Of course, she had a mind of her own and didn't always want to go where he wanted her to - but eventually complied. She even pulled a flower down from a tree for me. Had to be the highlight of my week.

One of my favorite activites during our visit to Chian Mai was visiting the Maesa Elephant Camp. Absolutely amazing! While learning about the relationship between the elephant and its rider/trainer, it made me wonder if Anne McCaffrey used research on these wonderful giants when she wrote about the dragon riders of Pern - very similar. We were there first thing in the morning to see the elephants come out for the day. They began by visiting with all of us, and then moved into the river where they enjoyed a vigorous scrubbing from their human. They moved into an open air arena to 'show off' by dancing, playing soccer, and painting! Yes, they would hold a small paintbrush with their trunk, and painted pictures of trees, flowers, et. Very cool. I really loved my "huggs".

At the base of the temple mount, is the Orchid Jade factory in Chiang Mai. Here we enjoyed a short informative video and then a tour of their workroom. Their showroom is full of gorgeous carvings and jewelry, all created with jade, jadeite, native star sapphires, star rubies, as well as regular rubies and sapphires in a variety of designs.

Loved this version of the 'Art God', Ganesha. I also splurged and purchased a beautifully carved jade pendant with its likeness.

In Chiang Mai, we visited the temple on top of the mountain. It was overflowing with statuary, flowers, and worshipers. Every male is required to spend time as a monk to help prepare him for life. While a monk, they are not to have any physical contact with a female, even their sister! The penance for touching or for being touched by a female is to retire to a temple and pray for a full year.

We visited several different temples. The statues, carvings, paintings and architecture will take your breath away. I thought of several of my friends and their respective talents while taking pictures to bring back for inspiration.

So many things to share and not nearly enough space. Our Thailand Adventure was awesome! Following are just a few of the highlights.
First - a shot of my personal favorites - the giants at the Imperial Palace in Bangkok.

Labels: Thailand 1