This year, I was very lucky to take 4 very different and equally inspiring classes at Squam Art Workshops. Hand Lettering was another fascinating class, not in the least conventional as what you would normally imagine by hearing the word “lettering”. We spent an hour hand lettering alphabets in all 26 different ways. It was the toughest thing! Everyone ran out of ideas after 10 or so, start running around the studio to check what classmates were doing. Everyone was so inventive…! Actually, an hour was way too short! So many different ways, so many colors. Below is actually mine. Ah, I know, it’s a mess. But it was so much fun. The second exercise was to create a page with our favorite quotes…
knitting and slow life in Kyoto
Posts from the “10. Travel” Category
This was a photography class. Shari Altman is a self-taught photographer, takes poetic and introvert nature photos. She lead our ways into really “seeing” the world around us. The day was also the most beautiful day in early autumn, and was perfect for walking around the woods for mushroom hunting. We had never seen so many different kinds of colorful mushrooms. Shari, the teacher, and my classmates! One more class, but I am done for tonight. More, soon.
Joy of Intention was a new class taught by Alena Hennessy. She paints with lots of nature-inspired motifs, tranquil and feminine. She is such a sweetheart and totally cute.We started out by relaxing outdoors with some exercise and sketches, focusing on intentions and what brings us joy and so on. Then we moved back to the studio. When I started working on my piece, I had completely forgotten about the “intentions” I sketched. I am not sure how my piece ended up being a ship sailing out. Perhaps it was a subliminal thing.The thing is, I am not very good at creating something out of elaborate “intentions”. I just draw something that comes to my mind. All in all, I am pretty satisfied with…
Today, at last, I am still awake after 9PM. I can post some photos from my classes at Squam Lake Workshops at last.My absolute favorite is Susy’s class (but all of the classes are my favorite…so many great teachers this year). She gave each of us an old cigar box and we decorated them free-style. I was eager to learn her style, so I decided not to cover my box too much, following her example. I also tried to experiment with different types of papers and ink she provided. SO. MUCH. FUN.I did bring the paper with “TOKYO” logo on it. That purple guided my color scheme for this project. The box is actually not done yet, and I intend to draw something over. …
Things that I lost during the 2 week long vacation:– a contact lens case– my favorite thermo bottle– not-so-favorite umbrella– good skin Things I found:– Great friends, many many– Art and inspiration– A hope that modern architecture can create beautiful cities– A new dream for myself– A fact that your might be closer to your dreams than you had thought– Mentors, more than one!– A bit of boldness in me– A breathtaking sunrise
Finished my name tag for the upcoming Squam Art Workshop. I didn’t really plan on specific design, the whole thing came along on its own. I am not very good at embroidery, so it’s messy I know, but that gives it a character. Apart from 2 evenings in Chicago, my sweet friends will let me stay at their places. My nomadic 2 weeks will begin in just 7 days! Excitement is boiling quietly just under my skin.Abandoning my work for 2 weeks makes me feel guilty on one part, makes me a bit nervous about what would people think. But I really need this trip. Last year, I went to SAW for the first time. It was truly a life-changing experience for me. For…
今日は仕事で横浜だったうえ、少し早く終わったので、同僚とランドマークタワーの展望台に登り２周くらいして散々楽しみました。そのあと彼らと別れ、海ぎわ目指して散歩。 気持ち良かった！暫く行っていない間にまた遊歩道など奇麗になって、益々魅力的になったなあと思いました。それにしても、本当に散歩日和。 There was a training session for my work in Yokohama today. Yokohama is a big seaport just an hour south of Tokyo, but between Tokyo and Yokohama the urban area sprawls continuously, so it is hard to say whether these two are really two separate cities. But the atmosphere is definitely different.It was such a breezy beautiful day, a perfect day for a long walk. I went up the Landmark Tower with colleagues after the session, then set out for a walk on my own. It was a blast.
旅行記をぽつり、ぽつり、と読んでみて思うこと。旅の記録。 わたしが旅行に行っていつも気になるのは、まずその街の成り立ちです。それは15世紀に王様がここに砦を築いた、といった成り立ちというよりは、ここにあった川を迂回させてこの崖の一部を崩して、といった成り立ち。おいしいレストランがどこにあるか、ということよりは、どのあたりの地区にお金持ちが住んでいて高級なレストランがあって、どのあたりは庶民が住んでいて食べているものに違いはあるのか。空港から市街への交通網はどうなっているのか。公園はどこにあって、どれくらい安全なのか。誰が利用するのか。どうやって管理しているのか。建物は何の素材でできているのか。建築コードは？物価は？地価は？税金は？人種は？ WhyやWhenというよりは、Howが知りたい。 以前プロフィールに「良く出来てるものをどうやって自分でも作れるか観察することが好き」と書きましたが、別に自分が街をゼロから作る訳でもないのに、やっぱりそういう見方をするんだなと思う。それがわたしの視座なのかな。 だから例え旅行記を書いたとしても、自分の心象と街の風景をぼんやりと重ね合わせ、歴史の断片に思いを馳せる、といった内容にはならないだろうということは容易に想像できるわけです。だからかな、余り旅行記を読まないのは。「わたしの知りたいのは貴方（著者）のそんな個人的なことじゃなくてー」と、読みながら突っ込みを入れてしまいかねない。 大学院時代、研究室旅行の初ソウルで最初に訪れたのは、ソウル市役所（笑）。そこで市役所の人とディスカッションしてから工事現場へ連れて行ってもらったのが楽しかった。できれば旅先でいつもこれをやりたい。 すみません、色気の無い旅の目的で。エキサイティングでない旅程の選択で。 旅行に行ったら彼方此方放浪せずに、１カ所に居たい。住んでる人々を詳しく知りたい。 ロマンがないな、と自分でも思うのだけれど。
Categories: **日本語**, 10. Travel
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 10. Travel
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 10. Travel
Sparkles*United 