Paths We Travel

I find it so interesting the paths we travel.  It was never even in my thoughts that at some point in my life I would travel to Japan and live at Mt. Fuji.  Never!

So imagine my surprise when I was recently moving and found this watercolor painting I did when I was 16 years old.

And then compare with my recent woodblock print from my Residency at Mt. Fuji this fall.

Great East Japan Earthquake Remembrance Ceremony

Okiagari-koboshi

I was privileged to be invited to the Great East Japan Earthquake Remembrance Ceremony & Luncheon today by the Consulate General of Japan (Detroit) at the Lansing State Capital Rotunda.  I was invited as a representative of both the Michigan/Shiga Sister State Board and as a printmaker member of the Baren Forum and it's "Inspired by Japan" Relief fundraiser.
The Consul General of Japan, Kuninori Matsuda gave a very moving speech thanking "all of our friends across Michigan - individuals, schools, churches, non-profits, corporations and local governments- for your generosity and your solidarity with the Japanese people."  We know that this gift truly stems from kizuna: the bond of friendship."
Speeches were also given by our Governor Rick Snyder and Lansing's Mayor Virg Bernero.  Mrs. Mary Fales, mother of a Michigan man teaching English in Kesennuma City at the time of the earthquake spoke of her son's experience and Dr. Jeffrey Angles read original and translated poetry written in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Each guest recieved a gift from Fukushima (pictured above).  The folk art doll represents the mind of the Tohoku people who are calmly and patiently working on reconstruction with the spirit of "never give up" in the aftermath of the Great Earthquake, as it always stands up with gentle smile however many times it is knocked over. 
I tried to knock it over.  Like our own Weeble's, it bounces right back up when you knock it over!

The Samoe

I am playing catch up with posting things from back in June in Japan.  Life gets busy....

While at the International Moku Hanga Conference in Kyoto, several of us noted that the Japanese printers and carvers where wearing a really nice "smock" while they worked.  Because I was staying longer after the conference I decided to see if I could find one for myself and another printmaker who wanted one.

I looked in several shops but I didn't even know what it was called so had a hard time locating one. 

Takiyuki and Tomoko

When I got to Higashiomi I was very fortunate to stay with 2 artists, Tomoko and Takiyuki, in their family home for 3 days.  They were gracious enough to take me to many sights in the area including Hikone Castle, Shigaraki, and several waterfalls.
I asked Tomoko if she might know of a shop where I could find one of these smocks.  "Oh!  You want a samoe."  She took a long time thinking about it and then said I need to go see the seamstress. I would not find one of good quality in a shop. She proceeded to make a phone call and set up an appointment.
We set out thru the narrow streets and alleys until we came to the home of the seamstress. 
Let me just insert here that I had noticed thru my time in Japan that I was not just taller than most women but I was an Amazon!  I've never been, let's say, petite.  Here I was huge! 
I was still surprised when the first words out of the seamstress's mouth when she saw me were, "So BIG!!!"
You can see by the pictures that I towered over her!  I had to bend down just so she could take measurements and hold the tape measure for her at my neck!  There was a whole conversation going on that I didn't understand but got that she was not used to sewing for someone of my size.  A lot of laughter between us all!  Now I understood why I wouldn't find one of "good quality" in a shop.  She knew I'd never find one that fit me!

My height wasn't the only issue.  The other problem was that the other printmaker who wanted a samoe was a man. More laughter when trying to explain that one!
Tomoko told her that she would select fabric for me and deliver it to her.  And so, weeks after I was home, I heard from Tomoko that she had picked out fabric and our samoe's was being made.  Not long after that a package arrived in the mail and here was my very own samoe, made to order and perfectly fit just for me! 
Made with Japanese indigo I wear it with a grateful heart when I am printing and remember the fun of going to this very brave seamstress's home with Tomoko!

Wearing my new samoe to work!

Inspired by Japan Benefit

The Michigan "Inspired by Japan" exhibit opened on Thursday, Sept. 15 at Absolute Gallery in the Old Town district of Lansing.

Ruth Egnater and Linda Beeman hanging the exhibit

The prints show up great on the beautiful brick walls.

More of the 58 prints from around the world in the exhibit.

First guests on opening night.

Lilian Kumata with her purchase of Mark Mason's print, Cherry Blossoms.  Mark is from the U.K.

The fundraiser for Japan relief is at Absolute Gallery thru Sept. 24.  All prints are $75 with 100% going to MercyCorps . 

Many prints sold already but are still available on the website at Inspired by Japan.

Byobu

While at the Moku Hanga Conference in Japan I was able to take a byobu (screen) and chotsugai (paper hinge) workshop given by Yabuta Kashu. 

Byobu's (bee-o-boo) were used in Japanese homes as room dividers where there were not walls and means 'protect [from] wind'.  They are used as pieces of furniture as well as art and their use can temporarily change the size and atmosphere of a room.
They are held together only by paper hinges and glue and can fold in both directions.  There are no nails, metal hinges or screws.  Just paper.  It's pretty magical!

Once home I decided to make my own using a print made especially for the byobu.  I had only made a small 2 piece byobu in the workshop but made this one 3 pieces.  It took several weeks but it came our exactly like I wanted.  The size is 12 x 25" so it won't work as a room divider but fits nicely in front of the fire place.

Blue Moon 

 

 

 

I used 2 blocks of cherry ply.  The challenge was getting all 3 pieces to print evenly and with the same tone and color.

Oh Indigo! part 2

Business card for Indigo shop

After leaving Tokushima I headed back to Shiga Prefecture, which is Michigan's Sister State.  I was still looking for waterfalls so before I had left Michigan I did another search and found www.shiga-ken.com.   It is a website guide "In pictures and English" to Shiga.  It is extensive and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Shiga or traveling there.  (And http://photoguide.jp/ for all parts of Japan.)  But, on the website at least, no waterfalls to be found.

The owner of the website obviously knew all about Shiga so I contacted him and asked him if he knew of  any.  To his surprise, and mine that he admitted it, he replied back that he hadn't even thought about them!  He went to a bookstore and found a book published in 2010 that featured over 40 waterfalls in Shiga!  Bonanza to my way of thinking.

(I will detail the waterfall adventures in another post.)

After much emailing and scheduling I was amazed to find myself meeting Philbert Ono for a day of exploring Konan, St. Johns Michigan's Friendship City.  (St. Johns is 8 miles from Ovid - the nearest city).

Here is a recap of part of the day:

- Left JR Kusatsu Station 8:59 am on the JR Kusatsu Line. 
- Arrived Mikumo Station in Konan at 9:19 am.
- Took a taxi from Mikumo Station to Mikumo 

Fudo-no-taki Waterfall. 
In the waterfall book, this is Waterfall No. 14 

on page 97.
- Took a taxi from the waterfall to Konki Senshoku 

indigo dyeing 
factory for tie-dyeing a handkerchief.
Konki Senshoku Indigo Factory

Shop front with beautiful pot-grown iris

I was still trying to find out about indigo so when he mentioned the possibility of going to a traditional shop and actually dyeing something, I was excited!  I use indigo a lot in my prints and something I really wanted to know more about.

I learned that indigo is a plant.  This photo shows plants only days old.  The proprietor crushed a young leaf in his fingers until his fingers turned blue!

Photos of growing and harvesting indigo.

It is cut when about 18" high and dried.

It is crushed and then "cooked" or fermented.  He told us it took him 9 years to learn about indigo from his father.  He spent the first 3 years just watching.  Only after 9 years was he allowed to be on his own.

I was given a white handkerchief to wrap however I wished with rubber bands and string.  He attached the string that I would hang on to while dipping it.

(There are more pictures and a video I am trying to paste in here.)

The finished product!

A GORGEOUS vat of indigo!

The shop and showroom.

The back story:

As I mentioned, this man apprenticed for 9 years.  He is now 78 and the last traditional indigo maker in the region.  There is no apprentice to him - no one to take over the shop or, more importantly, the knowledge.  What a treasure this man is.  Phil spent quite a bit of time doing a video interview about him and his work. It will be an important work as time goes on and I was happy to be there with him to hear the story.

Lessons from IMHC 2011 and Visiting Japan

I have had some time to get over the jet lag of the return trip from Japan and to think about the lessons learned from the First International Moku Hanga Conference and the additional 10 days I spent exploring Japan.

Traveling to Japan
As a conservationist and environmental artist, I was concerned about the impact that the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster had on the conference, the people of Shiga prefecture (Michigan's Sister State), Kyoto and the environment. It seemed to me that the best way to support the living was to follow through with my plans to go to Japan. I was dis-couraged about going by many well meaning friends and family, which is understandable. But, as was pointed out to me over and over again in Japan, it was over. Life was going on. I was told many times to encourage everyone I knew to come to Japan. The impression in the U.S. was that the whole of Japan was affected by the nuclear disaster. But that is like saying the the whole of Pennsylvania and the east coast was rendered unlivable after the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown.

I saw and felt the deep, deep sorrow among the local Japanese people that I met about the thousands of lives lost. The economic fallout from people changing travel plans, from business lost - the domino effect will be ongoing. The environmental impact is incalculable at this point.
But to everyone who reads this............GO! The warmth and generosity of the Japanese is unparalleled. You will be welcomed! It is safe! The food, lodging, sights, sounds, people are rich in flavor, texture, personality and hope. Go! Enjoy!

1st International Moku Hanga Conference
I'll just preface this by saying - I can't wait for the next one!

People first - I was so happy to meet the real people that I have only know through forums, print exchanges and emails: Annie Bissett, Andrew Stone, Jan Telfer, Florence Neal, Preston Lawing, George Jarvis.
To be in the same room with the authors of my printmaking textbook, The Art and Craft of Woodblock Printmaking, Kari Laitinen and Tuula Moilanen, let alone get to know them as colleagues, was, as I explained to my tool collecting husband, like meeting the inventors of the screwdriver!
I was able to meet and get to know artists that I have admired: Karen Kunc, April Vollmer, Paul Furneaux; innovators in the printmaking world: Richard Steiner, founder of the Kyoto International Woodblock Association and Susan Rostow, inventor of Akua Kolor; printmaking instructors from around the world: Michael Schneider, artist & professor at the University of Austria, Vienna; Seiichiro Miida, artist & professor at Tokyo University of the Arts; Bess Frimodig of the University of West England, Bristol; Keiko Hara, artist and Professor of Art Emeritus at Whitman College, Washington.

The demonstrations, workshops and presentations opened my eyes to the history, complexity and commitment to the art of moku hanga. I came away with the absolute certainty that we, as a group, are determined and resourceful; generous with instruction and encouragement.

One lesson that I learned was that as a moku hanga printmaker, the tools, paper and techniques that I use and love are "endangered". If there was a list of endangered art forms as there is with animals, moku hanga would be at the top.

THE most important lesson I learned was that the spiritual feeling that I personally have as I create a print is shared by moku hanga artists now and through-out history. It is something hard to express. But we know it. And I have found that people viewing my prints know it too. They describe a peacefulness, a depth of meaning and a meditative feeling that comes over them.

My friend Annie Bissett, who I spent so much time with outside of the conference and at the same workshops and presentations, has expressed it so eloquently that I won't even try. I will quote her, (with my changes in gray ink) and also refer you to her wonderful blog, Woodblock Dreams.

"..........a carver named Hiroshi Fujisawa was demonstrating traditional carving. Fujisawa san is a professional carver who works in a home-based workshop in Kyoto. He was an apprentice beginning at age 16 to master carver Kikuta Kojiro and has now been carving for over 50 years. He is said to be one of the best carvers in Japan.

By the time I made it over to Fujisawa san's demonstration, he had finished carving and was giving a talk about how his study of Buddhism informs his work. In his talk he used the words kokoro (心) meaning heart/mind/spirit and kuuki (空気) which means atmosphere/mood/tone. He spoke about the importance and the difficulty of representing these qualities, the heart of the artist and the tone of a place, in a print.

As he spoke, I thought about the "kokoro" and "kuuki" in my own work. I thought about how I've been using mokuhanga to express my thoughts and feelings (kokoro) about Michigan, it's waters, environment and threatened beauty and wildness. I thought about how I often surround myself with the music of nature sounds and books and photographs about Michigan and water in an attempt to create the "kuuki" of a time and place in my studio while I work. I've always felt that somehow those feelings and songs and words and ideas that I'm immersed in, the emotional/mental/spiritual energy I use to create my work, become embedded within it and are readable by the viewer, however subtly.

It seemed to me that Fujisawa san was saying that something inherent in mokuhanga allows these invisible and ineffable qualities to be expressed, that something about the method itself allows this process of embedment to occur. My answer to what it is about mokuhanga that allows these ineffable qualities to appear would be the following list.


- The slowness of the method allows (or forces) one to go deeply into the work.

- The tradition and history attached to the techniques and tools give them an almost ritualistic quality.

- The deconstruction of an image required in separating the colors onto different pieces of wood and then putting them back together into a new form offers many opportunities for the artist to react and respond to the materials in the process, embedding new decisions in the "memory" of the printed image.

- A woodblock artist uses her whole body to make the work. There is a very physical wrestling with the resistance of the wood in order to carve an image, and printing with a baren instead of a press also requires a lot of physical energy. The artist's body is part of the print."

For you to see into my soul and how I feel about the waters and landscapes of our precious world is what keeps me going. My faith in and respect for the Creator and the creation, the using of former living things - the kozo (mulberry plant) of the paper, the wood that I carve - and asking them......pressing them, to give of themselves again to draw you in to a moment or a place - that is moku hanga to me.