Chiang Mai is a city that is buzzing with creative energy, though I am not sure why. Is it the long history of their hill tribes and their crafts? I thought I’ll share some of the scenes that caught my eye:
Apart from selling these beautiful handpainted journals, one can paint their own at the shop with the materials provided. There are also a ton of other fun craft workshops one can do at this artists’ village:
Sometimes I’ll come across some random unexpected art while walking on the street:
I love handpainted signs like this:
This market i known for fabric crafts, so it was very interesting to see a fruit jam seller using sewing for his signage:
This is reminiscent of korea’s ugly drawings — there is something about ugly art that is very attractive. Does it appeal to the primal part of us:
Of course, everywhere we go there are beautiful intricately crafted temple buildings:
I loved the simplicity and modernity of this logo, and also the accompanying illustration on the bag:
It is interesting to observe how art and design is strongly influenced by a city’s culture. I went to Chiang Mai to chill without much expectations and was pleasantly surprised with the creative energy of the place.
I feel like each time I visit a foreign city the experience fills up an unconscious well of creativity. They make me feel like I want to make a ton of art when I get back home. But once home, I am caught in an endless cycle of paralysis. Will my unconscious well fill up one day and overflow into something? Or will I always be at the mercy of my broken brain?
But at the very least, taking photos of what I find creative and inspiring is also an act of creativity and enrichment, and I get to share them with you. Perhaps some of these may be inspiring to some stranger out there, or bring some additional colour to someone’s day.