the vast orchards that once covered the santa clara valley stretched till this area and the adjacent foothills. just up the hill from the ocala avenue bus station you can still find what must be one of the last apricot orchard remaining. today, the area is subdivided, and a mainly vietnamese community settled in this neighborhood.
the patterns allude to the flower traditions alive in the local community: plum, apricot and peach branches are part of tet, the vietnamese new year celebration. the origami lotus flower is inspired by an encounter with a nun at the nearby duc vien buddhist community pagoda, where she demonstrated how to fold an origami lotus flower, an important symbol in buddhist tradition.
pattern concept development with corinne takara, information provided by mai truong and duc vien buddhist community pagoda.
