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Fourteen Yeses and a No
This is one of my favorite artworks from this year. In fact, I finished it today. It’s been sitting on my desk waiting for the moment when I felt brave enough to tackle the gold leaf. In the autumn, I audited an online class about divination, Prediction X: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies. It was fascinating
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Transformations in 2025
The Year of the Snake signifies shedding skins and transformations. I have done a lot of that this year, on purpose and unintentionally. Self-perceptions I AM AN ARTIST. This year I decided to lean into “being a Artist” and it worked. I created drawings, collages, paintings, and art materials from botanical sources – and sold
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My Will Be Done
This year I learned a lot about Japan’s death procedures when I wrote The International Resident’s Ending Note and its Family Guide. One thing that really stuck with me is that I am not aligned with the law when it comes to inheritance. Inheritance laws in Japan mandate the division of property: 50% to a
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Depicting Women’s Empowerment
I was deep in a design job over the weekend making an infographic for a corporate client. One section depicts corporate community activities. Along with nature preservation, youth programs, and disaster recovery, I needed to find an icon for “women’s empowerment.” It was more challenging than I expected. What kind of empowerment? Economic? Education? Work-life
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UltraBob in Kamogawa
Bob was in Japan for a conference an he made it all the way out to see us for a day. We packed it full of food, a little sightseeing, admiring nature, and lots of catching up! Also chasing hunters and their radio-beeping dog away from 555. Though time-space has separated us, we go way
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Uncial
TIL I have been mispronouncing uncial (ŭn′shəl) as “unical” for my entire lifetime. Have I ever said this word out loud? Maybe not. I learned it from a book of calligraphy when I was 11 years old and I’ve used the fonts in all kinds of designs since the late 1980s. It is possible I
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Drawing the line
Here’s a question I frequently ask myself: when teaching a creative topic, is it best to have students copy your work and use your ideas, or is it better to let them roam free in their own style? I’ve done both and I don’t have a definitive answer. It depends on the students, mood of
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Oyama Fudoson recognised
Oyama-ji, my favorite local temple, has been officially designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. It’s been a long time coming! I am very glad it has a federal designation now. This should help with its preservation and upkeep. 1301 years ago, in 724, a traveling monk (possibly Roben) asked one of the
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Generational blind spot
Katie and I met at the start of the pandemic when she joined my online yoga class. She recently came to visit in person for a few days. We get along great, have a lot in common, and Beryl loves her very much. It’s a delight to spend time with her. But here’s a thing
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Studio for Happy Experiment and Discovery
It’s taken me a year to get the studio shed under control. A couple weeks ago, Tod helped me cut some shelves which I immediately filled with all of my botanical inks and glass labware. I made a lot of inks this autumn and I want to paint with them but the clutter of bottles
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