Happy New Year! With this piece, I shall send the joy of living to your 2025. I am back working on my dementia series. The first sculpture is of my 89-year-old mother, a dementia sufferer, who now resides in an assisted living facility in Japan. Two months ago shortly after her husband’s passing, she did not want to step out of her room, worrying about others’ opinions of her conduct. “I’m lonely. There is no one to talk to,” she said to me. Some people lose the will to live when their spouses have gone. I was concerned my mother might fall in the same trap. “I don’t want to die yet. I still have a lot I want to do,” Mother said to me one day. She has found a new purpose. She is now in charge of a karaoke machine for a women’s group. They sing every day. After my father’s passing 21 years ago, I noticed Mother’s cheerful resilience, which fascinated my stepfather. Despite her cognitive decline, she has bounced back again, spreading the joy of living. It is her gift she continues to share with the world.
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Prairie dog mothers are watching, so their pups will be safe in the burrows. These prairie dog jars are my would-be new product. I had fun trying to come up with the new designs. Now, it is time to experiment with stains and firing techniques. I am curious how they will turn out.
With two large shows back to back and then an urgent trip to my home country Japan, I was extremely busy in 2024. I am hoping to give myself the time to experiment in the coming new year. May you also have the time to create something uniquely yours and memorable in 2025! Happy Holidays to all of you! After a 4-month break, I returned to production. The first project was these greeting cards. Pondering what words would be the most appropriate for this year’s calligraphies, 慈愛 “jiai” leaped to mind. Its direct translation is affection, but I think its gentle lasting love can be interpreted as unconditional love and generosity with empathy. Having gone through political turmoil in this country and having dealt with pivotal changes in my family, my heart seeks “jiai” first of all for myself and then for my mother. I hope to be able to extend “jiai” to those whose points of view are different from mine.
The second card is with 希 from 希望 “kibo,” which means hope. However trivial my contributions may be, may my creations help generate hope! Belated, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! p.s. on 12/21/24 The 5x7" card is $4 each. Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in purchasing. Thank you. Last Thursday when I went to Sioux Falls to pick up my artworks, my friend kindly gave me the following article. It was published on Argus Leader 3 months ago.
Photographs are not the best way to show a newspaper article, but hope you will be able to read it by enlarging the writing on your phone or tablet. A pile of Southwest Art Magazines was in my booth at the Sculpture in the Park Show. I took them to the tent manager, saying, "Someone put these in my booth by mistake." Well, it was not a mistake. The show was in the show preview section of the magazine, and one of my works was selected, together with other 4 artists, to be featured. What an honor!
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About This Blog
This page is an window for you to see my creative process. I would like to encourage you to leave your comments here. What kind of thoughts did my art provoke you? What viewpoint do you agree/disagree to? Your feedback will feed my art going forward. Thank you.
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