Sketchbook 18, The Book of Travels, continues with the other half of the drawings from my lovely holiday in San Francisco with mum, which was the happiest week of my life. This set opens with another lovely little coffee and cake place where everyone seemed to be an artist or a writer all working in their projects at the tables and a view of the street opposite the hotel after our first day out. There was a cafe opposite called The Promised Land, which seemed apt. Next another cafe - opposite the hotel called Caffe Trieste. Next was my favourite iconic building in the city (because Invasion of the Bodysnatchers was one of my total fave films). On the Sunday morning I wanted to find the Triratna Buddhist Centre but, pre-smartphone I failed so I wandered and found the NKT Centre. It suddenly rained heavy warm rain on the way and I remember a man at the bus stop doing the 24 Form of Tai Chi in the downpour - very slow and undisturbed. I went and sat morning meditation with the Kadam and they were very welcoming. I bought a statue of Vajrayogini for Kev and they wrapped it for me in a San Francisco Buddhist T-shirt as an extra souvenir when they heard I was from Liverpool. Next, my first ever performance work. I had decided to take a pilgrimage and make prostrations and traditional offerings of water, perfume incense etc at the memorial to Harvey Milk. The line from the Triratna puja “I make offerings at all the holy places and places in which the Bodhisattvas have been” permissioned me to make a whole set of LGBT pilgrimages starting with this one - shown also added in here is a later visit to New York’s Stonewall Bar. #traveljournal #sketchbook #drawing #journaling #memories #performanceart #pilgrimage #harveymilk #harveymilkfoundation #offerings #secularsaints #bodhisattva #hero #sanfrancisco #mum #adventure #happiertimes #love #pride🌈 #queerartist #queerart #liverpoolartist #nkt #meditationinsanfrancisco #bayarea #joy #kadampabuddhism (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cja-8qxMeXZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
