"Der fröhliche Wanderer"

"La Ville-Lumière", 9" x 27"

Thanks, Kate, for an interesting challenge.  As always, it inspired a lot of day-dreaming.  What would you do if you couldn't fail, if no harm could come to you?  Hmmm.

If I had 9 lives, I'd pack my bags and I would be out of here…..unquestionably, I would hit the road, all by myself.  With a pack, a camera and a GPS (okay, and probably an iPad or laptop), traveling far and wide, the more foreign, the better.  Visiting places where I can't decipher the signs with a cursory knowledge of Germanic languages. I'd visit Zanzibar and Namibia, India and Japan. I'd go to Morocco and Turkey and Thailand.  I'd climb mountains, soak in hot springs and witness celestial events.  I'd attend local celebrations and visit ancient ruins.  I'd wander off the beaten path and into fantastic cities. Everywhere. I'd go where I didn't know a soul or the language or the customs and I would experience it all and take it all in.  I'd send postcards to myself, collect tiny trinkets and baubles in my bag and take a million photos.  I would live in the moment, smiling to myself, rain or shine, humming "The Happy Wanderer".

And at some point, I would come home, briefly.

"La Ville-Lumière" (City of Lights), 9" x 27", was created with hand-dyed silk charmeuse, and silk and synthetic organzas, raw-edge appliquéd and machine quilted.  And, although I chose the Eiffel Tower to depict my travel bug, it would never be a destination in this venture. Far too western and familiar.