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One painting, three works
I sat down to paint an abstract self portrait yesterday and ended up with three artworks for the price of one. My plan was to paint on canvas using a technique I’d seen recently. I knew I wanted the end result to have a woven effect and lots of color, but I didn’t have a…
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Struggling with Pride
Having realised that I am queer last year, I am struggling with Pride Month this year. Is being queer something to take pride in? I’m not ashamed of it in the least! Being queer is an essential part of me, like the color of my eyes or the way I thrive when I am outside…
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Beachy days
Our friend, Matt, had a long stopover in Japan after his flight out of Delhi and he came out to visit us over the weekend. Matt works in a think tank doing ocean policy research and was eager to see the ocean and our local beaches. We were happy to comply, hitting both the Pacific…
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Painting Yatsufusa
This beagle is the key to our new animal hospital. Fujii-san and Yatsufusa met Dr. Aoyama at a dog park in Tokyo many years ago. Because of that encounter and the friendship that developed, Aoyama-sensei and her family moved to Kamogawa to build a house with an attached veterinary office. So I thought that a…
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Yoga in the rice fields
This morning you will find me goofing around in the Bonichi Shimbun again. This time I’m not at my desk, but doing yoga in the rice terraces in my work apron and boots. The article announces an event that I am co-hosting at Oyama Senmaida. For International Yoga Day, on June 21st, I’ll be teaching…
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AI Gaslighting, frog-deer edition
At 1 am the other morning I was awakened by a sound that I thought might be prey in distress in the living room – maybe a mouse or a rabbit trying to get away from one of the cats? Even in my sleepy state I knew I didn’t want to let that continue, so…
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Double Taiken
Fresh off the planting season, we are roaring into school experiences (体験 taiken) at Oyama Senmaida. Today I attended two programs as an observer in order to make notes to write up into English instructions. One hundred and twenty six 4th graders from Tokyo came to participate in nature observation and indigo dying. In the morning,…
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Last planting session
This morning was the last planting session of the season at Oyama Senmaida. This time we hosted 134 middle school kids from Yokohama. I got my own section again, with more students this time. Unfortunately, I reinjured my foot last night by leaping out of bed at 1 am to investigate a loud squeaking noise…
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Leading into Rainy Season
Rainy season is on its way. Okinawa’s 梅雨入り(start of rainy season) was declared yesterday. From there it will proceed east and north until it comes here. Tsuyu isn’t officially declared until the rainy season front (梅雨前線 tsuyu-zensen) has settled in. Here in the Kanto region, it generally starts at the end of the first week…
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Resisting Growth – a Meditation
On Sundays in my yoga class we focus on meditation. Every week we do a different form of meditation, because people find their way to inner stillness from many vectors. Today we practiced my own system, Drawing Meditations, where we use art to find insights, inner peace, and connection. And it was a remarkable session…
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