My Own Stranger
Shanghai Bikes
A couple of winters ago my husband and I had the opportunity to visit three cities in China, one being Shanghai. It was in rainy, cold, snowy January, certainly not tourist season, and most faces on the streets were Asian. After a few days of exploring the city on foot, I had an even more novel experience, starting with my observation of a strange-looking woman walking in my direction through the throng on the sidewalk. At first I couldn’t place what was so unusual about her. Then I realized the oddness was that she was ultimately of European heritage- like me- and in that moment, I became my own stranger. How startling it was to see that my likeness was foreign to me!
After being in Chinese cities for a couple of weeks, our return to the U.S. seemed marked by emptiness, even in Los Angeles. In the airport I briefly wondered, “Where are all the people? Has there been a catastrophe?” It took a couple of days to adjust to not seeing a saturation of humans every time I went outside.
This pastel painting was a baby shower present for friends, an example of the irregularities that occur when one befriends artists. As events turned out, the little guy who was born and has now morphed into a toddler knows no strangers, loves crowds, and wants to meet everyone he sees. He might do well in China.
its fantastic
Thanks for reading and looking and encouraging!
Lynn, I think your blog is amazing! I cant believe you did this yourself after all of your talk about not being good at it. Well done!
Julie, thanks for reading and being so supportive! The truly hard part for me hasn’t been writing or making the art, but making it all happen online. The geek gene expressed so well in the generation previous to mine and in my children does not express itself in me!
In coming back from China and arriving at LAX, I was saddened by how overweight everyone was compared to what we saw in China. Especially disturbing was the border agent or police officer with a huge belly hanging over his belt. What a poor advertisement for foreign visitors to the US. And his body langauge matched his body. He seemed a little insensitive or intolerant in his demeanor.
Love the drawing!