1991: Perspectives

July 15, 1991
Pasadena, CA

Dear Friends:

My feeling of truly returning to Japan this year was triggered by seeing the fresh green of the newly planted rice fields on the ride via the new express train from Narita airport to Tokyo Station in mid-June. Only then did I really know that my life in Japan had begun. My few days in Tokyo, shopping for obi and kimono, visiting museums and Kabuki were clear, pleasant, and bright: However, upon departure for Kyoto, tsuyu (rainy season) arrived and remained faithfully with us for the next three weeks. Days of constant rain alternated with those of sunshine and broken clouds.

The early weeks were occupied by settling into my new rental house in Fushimi-Ku in the southeastern sector of the city almost directly across the broad flat plain, south of Kyoto Station, from my previous location in Nagaokakyo. This time, instead of a rice field and bamboo forest valley location, I am high on a mountain with occasional views over the city. Open space is limited in my new neighborhood of single-family dwellings and apartment houses.

The new living and working space, however, is quite ideal, except for a dearth of storage space, but everything is now in its place. A separate studio room with a small “living” space at one end will be ideal for working. It has good natural light from two directions, stereo, air conditioning and a traditional garden just out the door. The other main room is completely traditional with tatami mat floor, shoji screens at the windows and a large tokonoma (alcove for hanging scroll, flowers, etc.) and a wonderful narrow garden just beyond the veranda. I revel in its simplicity and early morning quietude and will often escape to its peaceful atmosphere when necessary.

I have recently returned briefly to the US to participate as keynote speaker and panelist for the National Surface Design Conference, “Perspectives from the Rim”, at the University of Washington in Seattle. As an added plus I had a chance to visit Bellingham and Vancouver, BC with Lloyd Herman. I also had a solo show at the Henry Gallery on the campus. The “keynote” went very well, and I was quite overwhelmed by the favorable response and comments received. Some of my close friends from Kyoto where there as well as other Japanese and many friends and colleagues from the US. The beautiful setting, the theme focusing on cultural interchange with Japan and personal contacts all melded into a memorable event.

I am now spending a few days with Page and Jeanne in their new trilevel apartment in Pasadena and really enjoying this first get together since last Christmas. Page has taken time off from his law office and Jeanne from her dissertation to explore more of this area together.

I will return to Japan on July 19 and will install my solo show at the Itami Craft Center on the 21st with the opening on the 23rd. I’m looking forward to this retrospective of my Japan years 1985-90. During my initial three weeks in Kyoto, in addition to unpacking, I was busy getting the enclosed announcement printed and completing details for a 48-page color catalog that will document the solo shows here and eventually at the Dodd Center in LaGrange, GA in 1992. The card shows a detail of a large panel that is 2′ high and a total of 18′ in width and which documents in a photocollage the Itami Center and its surroundings of traditional sake warehouses.

Please note my new address on the card and the envelope. I would be so pleased to hear from you in the months ahead.