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Turmeric Anthotypes and beyond
In about 6 weeks, I will be leading a workshop featuring “nature art” at the Oyama Senmaida harvest festival. Last year we explored a variety of ways to get color from plants and earth. This year, something different: anthotypes. (antho, flower + type, print) It’s a fancy word for capturing shadows by sun-bleaching botanical emulsions.…
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Camera Roll
Another couple of months in photos from my Instagram Stories. Week by week the seasons change while daily life remains “same-same but different.” Scroll to see nature (including my best ever photos of a snail and a grasshopper) and art. Always plenty of cats.
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Late Summer in Inaka
Every summer on the 2nd Saturday of August, seven local temples parade their mikoshi to Oyama Fudoson to pray for rain to swell the rice before harvest. I think it worked this year. We’ve had rain. A lot of rain. Earlier this week, Typhoon 15 made landfall in Ibaraki prefecture and also dropped a heavy…
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A: One board at a time
Q: How does an old lady tear down a barn? This morning was unexpectedly cool and I went out to (attempt to) weed the garden. Before long, I was sitting on the ground facing the barn. The naya is scheduled to come down in the “sometime soon” future with a rough start date that came…
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Festival Spider
When my sister read my previous post, she wrote some encouragement to me. Not a classic “you can do it” message, instead it reframed my perception of my role at Kozuka Art Festival. You are the spider of the festival. You have put yourself in a shady spot where there are trees and tenderness to…
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Kozuka Art Festival 2026 (first half)
Art festival in the forest! A magical week full of artists arriving and displaying their wares and their work. Restaurants come to us on a daily rotation. There are performances and impromptu encounters. Workshops, crafts for sale, art on display. It’s very cool. But from my point of view, its been a lonely four days.…
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Inserting My Voice in Art Writing
When I write my workbooks for Drawing Meditations, I make them more like a series of worksheets than a book: spare and succinct with emphasis on instructions over descriptions of the outcome. It clearly reflects how I teach art. My teacher’s instinct is to let the student discover their own path to creative insights. I…
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Haruka Ueno, 1929
Last December I was shopping in the thrift store for picture frames. I am always on the lookout for interesting old frames with ugly art in them. I repurpose the art and use the frames for my own work. One frame had a rough-hewn rustic look, with cracked glass and nails holding the back on.…
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The Art Briefcase
My new, portable art workshop makes its debut at the Kozuka Arts Festival later this month. Last year I did a full-on booth with a tent, table, and stools for workshop participants. It was a lot of prep and although it was well-received, I just couldn’t bear the thought of doing all that again. So…
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Camera Roll
I’m replaying my days in Instagram Stories since early May. Everything is green and crafty. There have been monkeys and raccoons. Even more beautiful skies, trees, flowers, and waterfalls. Tod is the curator of our meals and excursions; he is always on the lookout for interesting places. My life is full and I overflow with…
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