Happy Chinese New Year!
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Happy Chinese New Year!
The decision to get out and enjoy some of the “Chinese New Year” day festivities around Houston, Texas, (“America’s Most Diverse City”),
where I’ve lived since 2008 and shared many adventures with my partner Brian, seemed like a perfect fortuitous collision of the many things we love and which I hope to share: new experiences, food (and drink and recipes), social community and meeting people, photography, art & culture and fashion (own and others)!
While there were many activities going on around the city, Brian and I visited the Texas Asia Society Center (TASC) and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH).
Our first stop was “TASC,” an amazing “east meets west” spot, both architecturally (it has a rooftop reflecting and misting pool, a meditation garden and a bamboo courtyard), and culturally (with regular speakers, cultural and educational events and exhibitions ).
The woman who offered to take our picture taught us some Chinese for the word “good” –asking us if her photography was “good”!
Good: 好 Hǎo
Our afternoon at TASC was a vivid one, one exploring customs and cultures of East Asia with performances (traditional costume, dance, acrobatics and music from Huaxing Arts Group), art activities including Paper Cutting (in traditional Chinese patterns and designs), Red Envelopes (which are given as gifts during the New Year), Banners (featuring the 2017 zodiac sign, the Rooster) and then a walk through the launch of the museum’s new exhibition, “Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art.”
Brian and I joked that we were walking into a “underwater-basket-weaving” class. As we walked the galleries though, going piece by piece, my thoughts drifted to the bamboo growing in my own back yard and the incredible transformation that happens when human hands take the most basic of materials and transform it into art. I also have a new appreciation of bamboo’s symbolism in Chinese culture as the spirit of continuous growth, strength and simplicity.
Of course by the time we’d made our way through all this we were hungry. The food-truck phenomenon is alive and well in Houston! You’ll find at least one or two, if not more, at most weekend festivals (sometimes even privately hosted parties!) and today was no exception. We opted for Muiishi Makirritos “mobile sushi truck serving Japanese food with a twist! mui bueno! “
We had the “Pork Bunz” which consisted of fried buns with a Kakuni style pork belly (think pork belly braised in sake, sugar, soy sauce and salt until fall-apart-tender) topoped with Asian style pickled cukes and green scallions!
Next stop in the Museum District was MFAH, which had its own Lunar New Year Celebration festival inspired by the art of the exhibition “Emperors’ Treasures: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and we spent the rest of the afternoon in the five room gallery exhibit exploring the paintings, bronzes, calligraphy, and decorative arts, including porcelain (such delicate pieces), textiles (amazing panels of colorful embroidery ), enamels, and complex carvings in jade. (Some of the works below: a “resting pillow,” “pottery vases” and a gilt edged bowl with leaf impression.
A culture-filled day!