Tansen,Nepal

I have been in Tansen for nearly a week. It is a town perched on the side of a ring of hills. Apparently you ca see the high mountains from the peak behind the town, but sadly there has been heavy monsoonal cloud hanging over the mountains for the whole week.
I did catch a glimpse of the high Himalayas as we left Kathmandu and I live in hope that they will appear when I am in Pokhara and then on the trek I will be doing next weekend.

Tansen is a town where the weaving of the traditional Dhaka fabric used to create the Nepalese hats and other garments. I was able to visit where the weaving is done. The weavers sit in a dug out pit and the loom has weaving cards that determine the different coloured thread the shuttle sends through.
I have had a great time looking in the fabric and garment shops and have purchased a beautiful sari and shalwar chemise, as well as some of the traditional dhaka fabric.

A drawing a day and Teachers workshop

The first weekend I spent in Kathmandu was taken up with a full day of teaching art to Nepali teachers. it was a fun day with all of the teachers appearing to enjoy themselves learning while making artwork.
I have been diligently drawing everyday and have nearly half a sketchbook of imagery. It has been a good discipline to draw each day and I have certainly noticed an improvement in my skills.

The mystery of the missing diary, solved!

After getting a very smooth and comfy upgrade from KL to Kathmandu, my bag had decided to have a stopover in KL. Most inconvenient for me. However I managed to survive.... I have a lovely new outfit -such a hardship ! When it did arrive 30 hours later the only thing missing appears to be missing is my carefully prepared visual diary.
Diary found! My husband found it, finally. I had left it underneath something and forgotten to pack it. Silly me.
 So I have decided to work in a smaller scale in the little book I brought probably a better idea.
I have set myself a daily drawing challenge and so far have managed to keep up.
Here is one of the drawings/collage.

A New Adventure

This time next week I will be in the bustling city of Kathmandu in Nepal.
I am fortunate to be travelling with a friend who has lived there so I am looking forward to learning about Nepal from an insiders point of view.
I will be doing a some teaching for a day - running a workshop for teachers on creative ways of teaching art to young children.

I am also planning to create some visual memories for me to use at a later date in my own artwork.
I have prepared a new visual diary by painting some of the pages with ink and gesso.I find it easier to get into the drawing and layering if I already have started before I leave.
I have a little visual diary too that is pristine.

 I hope to spend time drawing and collecting papers - as usual, and then cut, glue and draw over the top.