-
Painting and thinking
This morning I was feeling unsettled. American government is transforming into something unrecognisable as the democracy that I am comfortable with. The Constitution is being cherry-picked just like the Bible. Whatever supports the narrative is mentioned and everything else is ignored. Checks and balances of power in Articles I-III are out the door in favor…
-
Camera roll
It’s time for some random photos of things around here over the past little few weeks. None are worthy of posts in themselves, but I’m hoping to keep the memories. First, some cats. Two new strays have been visiting. I think grey tabby is from next door, but “orange fluff” is a complete unknown. He…
-
From branches to paint
[Apricot colors, part 2] Yesterday I reached one of my long-standing goals. I made paint from raw ingredients. Artists have been doing this since art started but I have mostly purchased supplies ready made. I love knowing how things are made from start-to-finish and making pigment from apricot branches, then binding the pigment into a…
-
Ending Notes
Am I obsessed with death? Perhaps. Any of my friends will tell you that I am deeply aware of the passage of time whether it’s mere moments or long ago futures. I am always thinking ahead and looking back. Planning and remembering. That’s who I am. I can’t help it. One of my goals this…
-
Community Center Festival
This weekend was the Kamogawa Kominkan Matsuri, a gathering of all the clubs, circles, and hobby groups that meet at the city’s community centers. Each showed off their activities at the city gymnasium. It was like the craft hall of a county fair. There are so many interesting hobby clubs in this town. Who knew?…
-
Camera Roll
A roundup of little things I’ve observed in the past few weeks – none big enough for their own feature, but worth remembering anyway. Over at Oyama Senmaida, school experiences are back in full swing and I’ve been busy with papermaking and straw craft, but that’s not all. I suggested rearranging things at Gonbei, and…
-
Overwhelmingly Messy Studio
Sometimes, I put myself in a situation where I am paralysed by my own diverse interests. Take the studio (please!) as a good example. This table contains a lot of projects in progress to the point where I have piled them up to get the out of the way of other things and then piles…
-
Tanada Go-nin Otoko
Kabuki debut! It’s been years since I’ve been on a stage for any sort of performance and this one was special – a Kabuki skit in Japanese, and I was in drag. Since I was in makeup at 9:30 and in costume from 11 am for our 2 pm performance, I made sure to add…
-
Hand Meditations
For the FEWture Conference in June, I presented a thematic drawing mediation activity around hands. When my friend came over this weekend, she paged through the sample book I’d prepared and thought it looks interesting, so we drew some hand meditations at the dining room table. Drawing Meditations can take many forms, but the basic…
-
Paper sculptures
Allow me to introduce you to three pieces of art that I have worked on recently. “Love Letter” is an assemblage made with hand-formed paper, milled card stock, copper wire, cotton thread, wood beads, cedar board, red iron oxide, watercolor, and ink. I immediately recognised the initial form of the handmade paper as an envelope…
Archives