Artist , bead expert and author , Bucklee Bell , travels far and wide seeking items of interest for his business, Kesorn Arts , in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which specialises in ethnic arts and antiques. Along the way he undoubtedly picks up ideas for his distinctive artwork which kicked off when he was involved in the 1967-70 Underground Comix Movement in San Francisco and Berkeley, California , going under the name of Buckwheat Florida Junior , bringing him into contact with the American counterculture identity Robert Crumb .
Bucklee is snapped above at a Chinese pharmacy in downtown Kaili, Guizou, 2005, offering a range of powerful potions and powders using many ingredients...snakes , shells, crabs , turtles , plants. The shop was near the entrance to the old Miao and hilltribes ethnic arts market , which he attended. The area is renowned for arts and crafts , jewellery , embroidery and brocade work, with many festivals .
His shop in Chiang Mai, which he runs with his wife , is just as fascinating and exotic , described as a crammed treasure house , and has a studio attached . NEXT : Political paintings and other fabulous works from the extraordinary Bucklee Bell Collection .
