Presenting our custom leather book to the Smithsonian

A lot of you have asked about my recent trip to the Smithsonian. I’ve promised to share photos and give more details once I had “decompressed” from the trip. Since it’s been a few weeks and I’ve still not absorbed the entire trip yet….I thought I better post before everyone forgot!

For those of you who didn’t hear, in summary, I was contacted about a month ago by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. to create a custom leather guest book (journal) to be used at the “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon” program during the Smithsonian’s 42nd Annual FolkLife Festival. You can read more about the order, the personal invitation from the curator of the Bhutan program, and the custom leather book presentation (to the Prince of Bhutan - His Royal Highness PRince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck), as well as the custom leather book’s final destination - with the King of Bhutan - the Fifth Druk Gyalpo His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, at the Saving Grace Enterprises Corporate site: Lead Artist Present Custom Leather Book for Smithsonian.

For personal commentary and even more photos, you can visit my album of the trip at Flicker: Photos and commentary from my Smithsonian trip

For me, this was really the trip of a lifetime in many ways. Not only did I get the opportunity to create something for the Smithsonian, but, I also got to meet a “real life” prince. It wasn’t until the evening after the ceremony that it hit me that I just met a prince! That’s certainly something that not everyone can say!

He was a very kind man. I am not sure how he can see - I definitely was blinded by the constantly flashing camera bulbs during the ceremony. It was sort of like having lightning flashing 2 feet in front of your eyes for an extended period of time. I asked him, during a moment of udder blindness if he ever got tired of all the pictures and pomp all the time….and he simply smiled and said “I’m getting used to it.”

That was a fair answer. And, I wondered at the time if one could ever really get used to it. Of course, I’m sort of a recluse anyway….so, maybe it would change if I got out more.

We were privileged to be able to stay at the same hotel as the festival participants…which meant that we could interact with the Bhutanese people (as well as those from NASA and Texas). I have to say that I was always *thrilled* to see anyone from Bhutan during our hotel stay. They were always very nice and were happy to chat about anything. They were very proud of their country, as well - and in a day and age when pride in one’s country (particularly when you are living in the U.S. and listening to the standard/drive-by media) seems to be fleeting (in actuality, I don’t think it is….but, the appearance, most likely, to the “outside world” may be quite different - think about what they see - the fleeting glances at our culture, and it wouldn’t be surprisingly if they did believe we weren’t proud of our own country)…it was very heartwarming.

Additionally, the Bhutanese taught me some valuable things through their actions and interactions. Mind you - we had everyone from Buddhist Monks to Bhutanese artists and farmers at the hotel - so, it was a real cross section of their society. You could easily see that “connection” was important to them.

Connection to one another. To “home” (Bhutan), family, spirituality. To the arts - of a wide variety. They were obviously interconnected in many ways…and obviously valued that connection. I would love to visit Bhutan someday and really immerse myself in their culture. I’m sure there are many things they could teach all of us - and I would love to learn.

I think that is one of the main things I took home with me. The importance of connection.

I also brought home a renewed sense of value in art. In Bhutan, they have what’s called “Zorig Chusum” which are the 13 traditional arts that are terribly important to the people of Bhutan - including the special techniques that are used to create their magnificent art.

I spent some time in their art areas….I was totally enthralled by not only the reverence with which they treated their craft…but, also the reverence of their art itself. I think that is one thing that is very difficult for me in American society - we don’t really value art (unless it’s ancient art)….nor do we hold it up to any importance. We almost have come to a point where one could argue we value science over all else. It’s sort of sad, really. Science is important…..BUT, we shouldn’t revert to the half brained pre-renaissance thinking that only arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, logic, and rhetoric were accepted as the noble disciplines - “the foundation of knowledge”. Art, in all its forms (well, almost all its forms…I think we’ve come to define “art” terribly loosely…some “art” - I just don’t see…particularly “pop” art), is a noble discipline that enriches the mind, body, and spirit and often walks hand in hand with other “noble disciplines”.

Da Vinci is quoted as saying “study the science of art and the art of science.” Truly, there’s no separation between the two.

Okay…back to my point. I was really overwhelmed by both the event (the presentation of the book to the Prince of Bhutan), the way it came to me (the Smithsonian ordering the book), where it was going (to the King of Bhutan), AND the interactions and observations of the Bhutanese delegation - to the point that I’m still working on processing everything….while still attempting to work and keep up.

I hope you enjoy the photos and sharing “the experience”. And, in your free time, you may want to learn more about Bhutan and her people….its an incredible culture that, instead of throwing itself headlong into the world….has slowly integrated the world into its culture, and has magnificently preserved its core foundations during the entire process.