-
Two red-blue color sources
Roselle and Red Spider Lily are interesting autumn flowers are full of anthocyanin, a pH sensitive compound, so what you see isn’t necessarily what you get when you make color with them. But the changes are predictable. Anothcyanin Colors If you’ve ever added lemon or vinegar to your red cabbage to help it keep its…
-
Nagasa Light Up
大山千枚田の「棚田のあかり」毎年素敵ですよね。 今年は、私たち長狭エリアの住民も一緒に楽しめたらいいなと思って…家の周りや店先、玄関先に、それぞれ好きな灯りを飾ってみませんか? クリスマスライトでも、ランタンでも、提灯でも、なんでもOK！特に決まりはなし。参加費もなし。申込みもなし。ただ、この時期、みんなで光を灯して、訪れる人も、私たち住民も、みんなが温かい気持ちになれたらいいなって。 「私もやる!」って思ったら、好きなタイミングで灯してください。 こういう輪が広がったら、長狭エリア全体がもっと素敵な場所になるでしょう♪ This is a community project to brighten the area during the winter season. Oyama Senmaida’s popular “Tanada Akari” opens on October 25th Let’s light up our homes and businesses in the area to welcome visitors and give ourselves some beauty, too. Anyone can participate. Light up in any way that…
-
Camera Roll
Time for another photo dump of my Instagram Stories. Here are some scenes of daily life from the past month, in reverse chronological order. It’s been a good month of early autumn weather, making color, teaching art, and noticing the small joys of each day. Also, cats. The praying mantis ran up my arm like…
-
Natural Material Art WS
At Oyama Senmaida’s 収穫祭 harvest festival yesterday, I offered my first taiken on making art from natural materials. It was ridiculously named “Let’s Art” (signaling that it was likely to include English?) but the content was good. Nine participants made paint and ink, devised brushes from foraged materials, and then used them to draw, paint,…
-
SOLD: International Marriage
Not the way you think. It’s an artwork. I rarely put my work up for sale. A combination of imposter syndrome, unfair comparisons to other artists, and fear of rejection/judgement put the brakes on my reaching my potential as a capital A artist. Because I didn’t go to art school. I am not cool. I’m…
-
Ramie Red
This week has been a unexpected color adventure from one weedy plant – ramie. Ramie is a fiber plant called karamushi in Japanese and also called “false nettle” in English. (It’s in a completely different botanical family than the stinging nettles that produce linen.) Ramie’s been grown for 6000 years in Asia. It makes smooth…
-
Camera Roll
Summer has flown by in a haze of herniated disc pain and heat exhaustion, both of which are finally subsiding. Despite being housebound for most of two months, I captured some of the beauty in my world. Let me share it with you via all the Instagram Stories I’ve posted.
-
Charcoal for Art
Some years ago, I learned how to make charcoal for biochar by building up a fire, then adding bamboo and covering it to expose the bamboo to heat without giving it air. In an hour there was charcoal. Looking for ways to share botanical resources as art supplies, I decided to try charcoal-making at home.…
-
Surprises in the Overgrowth
This Mountain Day morning, I decided to take my coffee outside and walk around 555. We’ve had a couple days of windy rain and I wanted to pick up any fallen branches in the driveway. A small daily joy is to wander around in my nightgown and garden boots. I am definitely a member of…
-
Kozuka Art Festival 2025
I feared my offering would be a failure. I had concerns about getting to the venue safely. I was worried that my poor Japanese would be a burden for everyone. I was intimidated by comparing myself to the other artists. I was sure that I’d be a punk misfit in a mix of hippies. Only…
Archives