The train is rollin', and I got behind. However, after one or two days of whimpering, I got back on my own journey, on my own path, in my own speed. Which, I have to admit, is not the speed of light, but yesterday, while sitting and beading on the patio, I managed to make some really interesting stuff. Nothing big, but at least there will be a tutorial from the ring and the half-finished earring someday, and maybe a workshop, too. I still need some components to make them right, so I don't want to show them yet. But anyway, I still wanted to tell you some more about my Serendib.
As I wrote earlier, in the spring we spent a month in Sri Lanka. Hence the name of the vest- in the ancient times, Arabic traders called this beautiful little island Serendib. It is a great travel destination: just a little more than 65 000 km2, but fully packed with stuff to do and things to see. A bit to the north-east from the capital, Colombo, is the area called The Cultural Triangle. Early Lankan history is pretty simple: the Sinhala majority sets up a capital, than after some peaceful years, the invaders force them to abandon the city, flee to a safer place, and establish a new political and cultural center. One of these early capitals (Actually, the third in line, and than 15 more followed.) was Anuradhapura - still a flourishing city with great tradition. It is a Unesco World Heritage site, and attracts tourists from all over the world because of the very well preserved antique Buddhist ruins.
There is a wide range of accommodation available in Anuradhapura: on our trips mostly we go for some laid-back guesthouse friendly to our limited budget, but not lacking atmosphere. Actually, this time we got to the Lake Wave Guesthouse by mistake: our driver misunderstood us, while talking about where to go. After checking out the place, we were quite happy about this error. In addition to the really nice family running the place and the great food they provided, there was a special little place above the lake for me to sit in the morning, and think about what to make for the battle.
Fortunately usually I get up pretty early, so there is time to pet the dogs, do some beading and my homework from Spanish, or in this case, to look for the water monitor living in the lake and to draw up some sketches for the vest. (I really want to show you, how it evolved on paper, but I just can't find the booklet I used.) The nature around me and the treats for breakfast really helped the creative process. And of course, all the artwork we saw while sightseeing, especially the moonstones - the special doorsteps carved out from stones, decorating the entrance of various buildings. It is not connected directly with my design, but the concentric half-rounds you see in the moonstone are waving back from the motive on the back side of the vest.
There is a wide range of accommodation available in Anuradhapura: on our trips mostly we go for some laid-back guesthouse friendly to our limited budget, but not lacking atmosphere. Actually, this time we got to the Lake Wave Guesthouse by mistake: our driver misunderstood us, while talking about where to go. After checking out the place, we were quite happy about this error. In addition to the really nice family running the place and the great food they provided, there was a special little place above the lake for me to sit in the morning, and think about what to make for the battle.
Fortunately usually I get up pretty early, so there is time to pet the dogs, do some beading and my homework from Spanish, or in this case, to look for the water monitor living in the lake and to draw up some sketches for the vest. (I really want to show you, how it evolved on paper, but I just can't find the booklet I used.) The nature around me and the treats for breakfast really helped the creative process. And of course, all the artwork we saw while sightseeing, especially the moonstones - the special doorsteps carved out from stones, decorating the entrance of various buildings. It is not connected directly with my design, but the concentric half-rounds you see in the moonstone are waving back from the motive on the back side of the vest.
Anuradhapura and all Sri Lanka was a great experience. We are fully packed with memories: climbing up to the sacred mountain Sri Pada at two o'clock in the night to reach the top at sunrise, walking thigh-up in the river in the Sinharaja rainforest and swimming in a waterfall, all the magnificent animals we saw: elephants running across the road, peacocks showing their colorful feathers, huge spiders hanging above our heads. And I am a 100 percent sure, that there are some more Sri Lanka-inspired designs to come :)
For some more photos and stories about Sri Lanka, you can visit my travel blog (http://erikalandok.blogspot.hu/) (text in Hungarian), or my page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Erikalandok). I hope you will like it :)
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