PORTLAND OREGON, 2013 - The Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association in commemoration of its 25th Anniversary held the opening of the “The Trails of Bliss” Poetry, Photography Exhibit in co-sponsorship with the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the Portland Center for the Performing (PCPA), and the Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office (SFAO) and its many PSSCA sponsors.
The Exhibit was free and open to the public through May 31 2013 at the PCPA and then traveled to Portland’s Sister City of Suzhou China along with the Mayoral delegation from the Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association.
The Trails of Bliss Exhibition celebrated the four seasons of Northwest Oregon. The exhibit’s creator, artist, Grace Lim was born in Malaysia of Chinese descent. Grace has said that she always wanted to experience life living in four seasons and so came to Portland, Oregon, in December of 1999. “It was deep in the middle of winter. I heard the groan of the frosty grapevine in my front yard and felt captivated by the stunning quietness of the frozen creek. The fragrance of cedar, the valley wildflowers, the fall beauty and the ghostly frosts have left my nerves trembling ever since, and the natural beauty that connected deeply to my heart naturally evolved into poetic words and prose. These librettos walk the line between being heartrending and being heavenly and always have an underlying innocence and hope to them.”
There were 28 poems and photographs featured in this Exhibit. Grace’s intention is in combining poetry with photographs to bring “blissful” words together with the beautiful images to discover the trails of northwest Oregon. As you traveled through the poetry and photography of this exhibit you would have heard challenging voices on how her life was plunged and restored to blissful harmony.
Limited copies of the Trails of Bliss Exhibition Catalogue in English and Chinese are available for PSSCA Members at a $15 donation and $25 for non members. Price does not include shipping. For purchase, please make your payment by using the donate button here and send an email to robertjfraser@comcast.net.
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