Yanaka group show

A Yanaka art group I admire has invited me to join thier group exhibition this year.  It is in a Yanaka tradition I think.  People form an art group not because of similar art but from geographic location.  "All neighbors in Yanaka, so lets show."

At Kingyo Gallery, Sendagi, Tokyo

April 2-7
http://www.gallerykingyo.com/

A request, as it is the 10th anniversary, every artist should bring 2 stones this show.  In addition I have painted a new Yanaka Mandala.

Dragons and Japanese TV

 

My last dragons for the Gunma museum are colored. 
My daughter complained -  "No more Dragons Poppy! People were looking over the fence from the community center!!!"

It is the Japanese in her, wanting to hide.

I was on TV here Tuesday, but they cut out my best words. They asked me what I liked about Yanaka. I said, "Yanaka is full of spies and liars."

 

I meant it in the best possible way.

The same as Oneonta, my hometown, , my grandfather used to say, "Nobody buys the paper to get the news. Everybody knows the news, they buy the paper to see who got caught."

Tokyo winds

Nice cold day in Tokyo today.

I was working on one of the dragons outside and the wind kicked up.  I may have a chance to exhibit this guy at Koya-san holy mountain before it goes to the museum in Gunma.

It will be a busy dragon this spring, if it ever gets done.

new gold

Long dragons for the April exhibition at the Nakanosawa Museum are nearly done.  Yesterday I began working on smaller things, putting gold and silver on some of my roasted mud.

New Year

The New Year break has gone by in the blink of an eye.

again.

Japanese used to have a way to celebrate the new year.  It was the most important time of the year. And the most important thing a person could do was... nothing.  Sit quietly, eat a little food that was already made so that no one would have to be working in the kitchen.  Maybe later, put on your new kimono, visit a friend, or the local shrine.  It was a supremely quiet time.  No one driving.  No one hurrying around.  No stores open, of course.

New Year was that "ma," that quiet time in the Japanese, type A, frenetic year.  A pause. A space.

I have been here.  I have watched Japan loose its quiet space, watched it disappear from the paintings, from the music, from the films, and from the New Year.

It's  like a punchline in a new haiku - "Where did nothing go?"

New Year

Cleaned my studio for the new year. 
Now I'm getting ready to paint 29 meters of dragons on a 2 1/2 meter room.  I wonder what will happen.

New Year Cleaning

 I cleaned my studio down to the tatami.

I have to paint 50 meters of dragon.  It is part of my plan for my  Exhibition at the Nakanosawa museum April - June 2013. 

 

The dragons are to go along with my 29 Stops of the Yamanote paintings.  I needed every inch of the tatami to attempt it, and still I will only be able to work on 2 1/2 meters at a time.

 

I picked up materials.  Wish me luck.