e and lieu: old friends.

This is Lieu and I kicking it on a breezy Saturday afternoon. It happened to be really quiet around the workshop yesterday as i walked by on my way back from some retail therapy down at the shops. My fave lady Lieu was sitting here peacefully making some of her beautiful collage cards. (She also makes wine bags that are gorgeous.) Next thing you know, I stopped in for a chat and a coffee with Karen & Lieu. The Lifestart Foundation Workshop really is the best place to hang in Hoi An when you want a little respite from the bikes and horns and hustle and bustle. The space just pulls you in to linger and stay awhile. Lieu and I are old friends because a few years back I made a portrait of her as part of another artist exchange project I participated in a la the (no name) art group with lifestart’s original workshop members. 12 women artists in the US partnered to make memory portraits for 12 women artists in Hoi An. And there they are still up on the wall here in the workshop including the one I made of Lieu (last image, bottom row, right). Lieu kept in touch with me through letters and would send gifts back to the States for me, so needless to say I was ecstatic to finally meet her in person. She told me she was happy I made her look so young in her portrait. Lieu and I get on really well, despite our limited shared language skills. She reminds me of my grandmother. She is always bringing me good things too, the other day it was a watermelon. I couldn’t fit it into my hotel fridge so i brought it back to the workshop for us all to share at the party yesterday. It was fantastic. Cam on Lieu, that means thank you in my bad Vietnamese accent.