January, Early Song

My beautiful boyfriend took me on an amazing trip over Christmas and New Year. We started off in Hong Kong and whilst over there I learnt that in their culture, birds are considered to be a good luck charm, they believe them to bring good fortune to their lives. We moved on to Thailand and here also everybody seems to have a bird.

At the Yuen Po street bird market on a Friday morning in Hong Kong there are hundreds of birds for sale. All are housed in beautiful hand made bamboo cages.
The louder a bird sings the better, with prices being decided on how well the bird can hold a tune!

The sound walking round was so beautiful, and so loud it was almost deafening, it was as if the birds knew their worth depended on their song.

I've decided I want a little songbird when Richard and I move in together, so he can sing at us all day and I'll always remember walking through the market that day. Also one of the pictures shows me holing a cage containing some birds that I set free to a Buddah in Bangkok. To offer them as a gift to Buddah is supposed to bring you luck and happiness for the rest of your life. Richard laughed at me but when I let them go my heart did soar.

I have been inspired by this aspect of their culture, and I want to bring it in to my project somehow. I'm going to attempt some sketches over the weekend and maybe get them posted.