1993: Family

November 30. 1993
Kyoto

Dear Friends:

This fall has been an unusually mild one, so we now have an abundance of both roses and camellias in full bloom. It has been an ideal year for the latter as the bushes everywhere are loaded with blooms and the ground is often covered in blankets of white. pink or red. Fall color in the maples has not been as dramatic, although my own observation is only from my neighborhood parks. But other signs common to late November can be seen in and about the city: flocks of gulls from nearby Lake Biwa have settled in the Kamo River in Kyoto, the winter gardens in my neighborhood are abundant with cabbages. green onions, broccoli, and daikon and the recent full moon has been shining brightly on cold evenings. I often take early morning walks in the nearby parks and have enjoyed watching the change of the seasons. The walks have been a great way to start the day and also offer a change from studio work in the afternoons.

The major event this year, prior to coming to Japan, was the birth of my grandson, LEE PAGE on March 15 in Sunnyvale, CA. I was able to visit the new family when Lee was about two weeks old, and we got along famously. Subsequently, Page, Jeanne and Lee moved to Atlanta in early May where Page continues to work for ES Consultants, Jeanne’s mother’s firm in Northlake. They built a house close to the office which, with the completion of a four-lane highway to Athens, is about an hour from my house. This delights me no end (except these months when I am in Japan) and I was able to spend every weekend with them before I left for Japan via Wisconsin and Michigan to attend my sister Karol’s wedding in the Upper Peninsula in late June. Lee grows and grows, as evidenced by the many photos that Jeanne has sent, and I eagerly look forward to re-establishing our relationship in mid-December when I return to Georgia.

My arrival in Kyoto on July 1 was later than usual, but I settled easily into my studio. The first project was a three-panel work based on photos I took of Okinawan architecture there last August. The roof tiles there are different from the mainland, giving a different pattern. My major self-imposed challenge was how to break up the grid with the resulting disorientation of the planes and illusionary space. In theory it seemed something I could readily accomplish but the reality proved to be quite the opposite. I finally won the struggle but not without spending many days in agony. The work was successful, I think, and I then quickly switched gears to BANGKOK and the photos I took there in the fall of 1992.

All of the photos I used for the subsequent Bangkok series this year were taken at Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) which dates to the late 18th C and features a variety of architectural styles. I was completely taken by the architectural forms and the incredible surface embellishment seen all over this large complex of buildings. So, I was motivated to convey this richness through the composition of my images and in the application of different colors of leaf in an individual work. For weeks every surface in the studio was covered with black and white copies of the photos. The worktable, floor and walls surrounded me with the spires, towers and exotic gable endings that arc skyward. The ground cloth I am using is a dark Thai silk plaid that incorporates a grid. Early on I decided on a standard panel size for the series of 16 “wide x 36” high. The smallest work consists of two panels and the largest of four. I have very recently completed the printing of the sixth work in the series and plan to complete one more next year before I show the works in a solo exhibit next August in Tokyo. Fortunately, I had the help of a student assistant again this year. (My right-hand man of the last two years, Koichi, is now in Athens studying English.) Hiroyuki, this year’s helper, is a 4th year ceramics student at Kyoto Seika University and was a great aide in driving me about the city on essential trips and making the plywood panels the work will be mounted on next year. He also plans to come to Athens in the spring for a year’s study of English.

Soon after my arrival in Kyoto I received an invitation from the US Information Service in Seoul to give a series of lectures on my own work and American Fiber Art in September. I usually leave Japan for a week or two at that time for visa renewal, as a break from the busy studio schedule, and a chance for new experiences and new images. This was my fourth trip to Korea so much of the territory there is familiar, and I had the chance to see the many friends I have there now as well as Jeanne’s relatives. I planned enough free time to do some traveling and have time in Seoul. I traveled by bus to the far south coast with a former UGA student to his father’s home village, Sirak. south of Masan. It is a small farming village located on a long narrow bay populated mostly by Kims who all are related in some way. We explored the local temple, walked the rice fields and orchards, talked with the local school kids who were excited to see a foreigner, and took a boat ride on the bay among the floats holding the fall oyster crop. Next, we traveled back toward Seoul to an area near Andong and the historic village of Hahoe, the ancestral home of the Ryu family, with many old homes, both grand and humble, some dating from the 1500s. It is a real historic village with few modernizations, except around the outskirts. We stayed overnight in one of the many guest houses in the village. We also visited a memorial shrine and academy built to honor one of the Ryu noteworthies. It was wonderfully isolated, well kept, and provided me with the kind of architectural experience that has great potential for future work.

After that sojourn I began my serious work of the visit with lectures at the American Centers in Taegu and Kwangju. Both centers have new, young, lively directors, and they hosted me in grand style. I was pleased to have standing room only crowds for my lectures, and subsequently have the chance to meet and talk with local artists and educators. Then it was back to Seoul for the two lectures there, one at the American Center and the other at Ewha Womans University. Both of these also had overflow audiences. The weekend allowed visits with Jeanne’s uncle and family, shopping, a Sunday hike and picnic in the mountains near Seoul, a tour of galleries, and throughout, many wonderful encounters with Korean food, which I thoroughly enjoy.

My final adventure in Korea was a four day stay in Pusan, the second largest city, that has been called the “San Francisco of Korea” because of its importance as a port city with mountains, rocky coastline and beautiful beaches. I was a guest of Dong-A University where my friend is a professor of textiles and, recently, dean of the college. He planned a perfect schedule with home base in the Hyatt Hotel on the beach north of the city center. I met informally with students, gave lectures, toured famous temples in the area, met many students and artists and was wined and dined in grand style. Pusan was the crowning experience of my visit, and I am anxious to return there. Plans are underway for solo shows next fall in Pusan, Taegu and Seoul.

Upon return to Kyoto, I closeted myself in my studio and was completely immersed in the Bangkok work until mid-November when I went to Tokyo for five days to visit the city and do a three-day workshop at Musashino Fine Art University. Although apprehensive about the workshop on concepts in textiles in English, all went well without a translator. I stayed with a former student who lived in my Athens house who is now an architect in Yokohama. After return to Kyoto, it was two busy weeks in the studio and my now annual Thanksgiving party with a roast turkey sans oven. It was a grand event enjoyed by all.

Next, I treat myself to a holiday in Hawaii where I will stay with friends in Honolulu and Hilo for a week. Then to the winter of Wisconsin for a short time before I return South with Mother who spends the holidays and winter quarter with me. Now I get very anxious to get back to my life in Georgia, more so with Lee there, and to reunite with family, friends and students.

The best of holiday cheer to all and good health and success in the NEW YEAR of the DOG.