Craft Discoveries in Epcot

Hello reader! As I have mentioned in a previous blog entry, I was on vacation for 9 days. It was my first time to see Florida and we sure enjoyed it - from Disney World to the wonderful beaches. But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to share with you some craft discoveries during my trip.

Well, I have to say that most of what I'll be sharing is from Epcot in Disney World. This park reminded me so much of the World Expo (The first and only one I've seen is in Aichi, Japan. The latest one was in Shanghai China.). Only Epcot has only 11 pavillions. Three of them showcased some wonderful and interesting crafts.

In Itally Pavillion, I was in awe of these beautiful masks. They were handmade by artisans with paper mache. The guy in charge was pretty strict and didn't want customers to touch the masks. This is because the natural oil in our hands can damage the quality of the masks. There were so many beautiful designs, but they were too pricey for me. Good thing the artisan allowed me to take a photo.

One thing I was excited to see in Epcot was the Japan Pavillion for two reasons. One is the food (although they didn't have ramen), and the other is the Japanese shop. I already had a shopping list in mind. But I didn't expect to see wonderful origami samples. One of them is the Flower Kusudama, which I have never seen before. The staff said that their kit was sold out, but she gave me a copy of the instructions. So I bought a pack of origami paper and tried to make one in our hotel room. The instructions were a little hard to follow despite the English translation, but I figured it out after a while. Here's my first try. I was lazy and only made 4 petals instead of the suggested 5.

And finally while in Mexico Pavillion, we chanced upon a glass art shop. It's pretty small but the details of the decortaive glass are really awesome. And in the middle of the shop, you can see the artist making a gecko design. I could stay there and keep watching, but of course DH is not going to do that.

I just wish I can learn all these kinds of arts and crafts. I know there are tons of them around the world and my one lifetime is not enough to even know about all of them. One can only wish.

'Til next blog!