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Last weekend to catch the terracotta warriors at this little museum in Santa Ana.  I went yesterday and was a wee bit disappointed.  There were only three dudes there.  They had wall-size photos to give you the full effect of the masses of them in the tomb, but yes, only three dudes hanging out.  No flash photography, so I used my iphone.

Lovely day in Santa Ana.

This looked like it was to scale, actual size. Hard to tell though, it was on a raised platform.

Polo player on plaster.

His opponent. The text said polo was a favorite sport and men and women played during the Tang dynasty. It probably came from Persia along the trade routes. I love the simplicity in the strokes still able to give you a vivid picture.

Golden dragon.

Gold filigree tree. I'm so sad that the light is blown out. This little tree is quite beautiful, delicate, someone should make a necklace charm with a shrunken version of it.

Gold ornaments. Such an unusual shape.

Headdress. OMG it was so crowded around this one and I didn't want to wait to read the placard, so not sure why all the pieces are loose.

This is a small bull with a picture behind him of the enormity of the tomb. And those are just bulls. There were goats, sows, sheep, and horses.

I exited the exhibit and it flowed into an exhibit of the Miao people of China.  This, to me, was actually more exciting.

The girls start weaving and embroidering at six (!). That's why when they're ready to marry their clothes are so exquisite. The clothes tell you what their social rank is, shows her talents, and creativity.

All silver. They were doing the big big statement necklace for forevah.

Woman's traditional dress. The embroidery is amazing.

Wow. This is an apron! This is the sh*t, non?

Another traditional garment. Those aren't prints, those are embroidered and batik pleated skirt.

More women's jewelry.

Look at the deadly haircomb.

That pipe with the pendants is rad. I want it!

More women's jewelry.

Tradional costume and jewelry. These use a lot of indigo.

Hand-dyed batik! That takes some talent.

Here's a closer view of the sleeve.

And the back.

This jacket has metal decoration sewn into it.

Here's a closer shot. All the silver was sewn into a pattern.

Ceremonial women's costume.

A Miao woman with her jewelry.

The Miao exhibit was small but each piece was a “Wow.”  I was intrigued by their indigo wax-resist dying technique.  It could be the next thing for denim.  No one has done that yet, and that’s hard to say because denim has been done in just about every way, stone washed, acid washed, faded, waxed, baked, dyed, overdyed, etc.  If you could figure out a way to do it on denim, in intricate or simple patterns, it could be rad.  Tattooed denim anyone?