2011: New Adventures

Late December 2011
Big Canoe, GA

S*now in November.
S*ome kind of first.
S*light but sweet.
S*till falling …….. 29^th

This was a note on the beginning of the winter season in the North Georgia Mountains at Big Canoe. The earliest anyone here could recall. But snow is not anything unusual here. The year began with a January storm that had me entrapped for 6 days but with plenty of food, firewood, electricity, reading and connection to the outside world. January saw visits from former students Lee Heidel and family plus John & Susan Powers prior to and after the snowstorm. I spend most of my time here with beautiful surroundings, cozy living, and huge studio with periodic and necessary visits to Athens. An old friend from early years in Japan, art critic and co-author of “Makers: A History of American Studio Craft”, Janet Koplos, visited me in the mountains prior to her stint as visiting critic at the UGA School of Art.

The Athens house @ 190 Harben Place is well cared for with a resident family of a former student Andrea, her musician husband Jerry and sweet toddler, Isabella Rose. I needed help with house and yard care, mail, bills, and domestic emergencies. So, inviting them to move in was the perfect solution, They have done a masterful job with all of these tasks including supervising a new air conditioner and heating system, new water heater and more while I was in Kyoto this fall. Plus, it is so rewarding to have the house occupied and full of joy, happiness, and hope. Talk of life and art, music, Woody Allen films and football (Jerry was a HS QB) with my 190 Family adds richness and depth to all of our lives.

This year was made especially noteworthy and so exceptional by the achievements of my grandson Lee that I must indulge in grandparental pride. He was captain of his cross-country team, which won the GA AAA championship for his Senior season. He was named Valedictorian of his class of 250 students which news came as a minor surprise to the family but pleased us no end. I returned from Japan for five days in May for his graduation and speech at Atlanta Symphony Hall before 1500 classmates and guests. This generally quiet and unassuming guy gave a most rousing talk with humor, force, and serious thought. Again, the family was bowled over. A day or so after the festivities, the two of us took to the air. Destination: Japan and Korea.

We spent one week touring around Kyoto hitting the top tourist spots, galleries, The Manga Museum, enjoying nature in and around the city and dining out with friends. Then off to Seoul where we were hosted by cousin Kiwan who had studied English at UGA, spent time at GM in Detroit and is well known by both of us. Kiwan, his wife and energetic 8-year-old son took over our schedule, drove us around Seoul, dined us on great Korean food, organized a party with aunt, cousins of several generations from both sides of Jeanne’s family. In addition, we traveled by car from one end of the country to the other, spending several days in the south at a beachside hotel in Busan while dining on seafood and visiting historic sites in the area. We visited several palaces, gardens, museums and shopping areas in Seoul on our own. I enjoyed the return to Korea after a number of years having visited 10 or more times in the past. Lee loved experiencing Korea and certainly enjoyed Kyoto as well. For a number of years Lee had apparently been thinking of the US Naval Academy as his choice of school and career and this became a major focus in his junior year. He passed all the hurdles and was accepted early in the fall of 2010. His destiny was set. In late June Page, Jeanne, her mom, and I traveled to Annapolis with Lee for Plebe Induction Day.

Page found a great rental house on one of the inlets of the Chesapeake Bay with fabulous water views and accommodations. Jeanne’s sister, brother-in-law and 3 nieces joined us there from CA. It was a total Family Fest and perfect sendoff for Lee into his life as a Navy Midshipman. Hair clipped, uniformed, shouted at, ceremony enwrapped he seemed to survive it all. We had one hour to relax with him after Induction before he was swallowed up in the huge and endless Bancroft Hall that houses all 4000+ midshipmen. He managed to get through the Plebe summer with care packages, letters and a few messages to the family and began classes in August. Page & Jeanne visited him several weekends this fall including the Air Force and Army football games with their formal parades, bagpipes and drums plus Bill the Goat. Lee was home briefly for Thanksgiving, and we all had dinner together in ATL and he seemed well adjusted and happy. He has three weeks off at the end of the semester. I hosted all the family here in the mountains for Christmas on a rainy day and when prompted, Lee revealed he had gotten all As and was ranked 29tn in his class of 1200 based on Order of Merit. A proud and happy grandpa? You Bet!

Kyoto, my spiritual home has not failed me at any time. The months spent there make it clear to me what the life of an artist can be: a beautiful and inspiring environment that feeds my focus and the direction of my creative efforts, a community of friends/artists that provides input and stimulation, galleries and museums, that are easily accessible on foot or reliable public transportation, showing contemporary, ethnic, historic or international art, a wide variety of performance art/dance events (especially this past fall) and last but not least a living and studio space that allows me to explore a wide variety of directions and media. This year I was there once again for cherry blossoms, a mild spring, 2 weeks with Lee, a bit of hot summer in September, a long and mild fall with rainy and sunny days. And through all of the total 4+ months split between spring and fall, ample studio time working toward my double solo shows scheduled for next October at GalleryGallery, Paradise? Yes, pretty close to it.

“Cherry Blossom 2011″ has been delayed and extended due to cool weather, Blooms are everywhere close to home … the small stream a stone’s throw away plus the larger Takano Gawa a short walk, both bursting forth. Full spectrum: white, palest pink, rose, pinkest pink, singles, doubles, tight ball clusters, weeping, full open, bulging buds. Pedals are ever falling, drifting, scattered, clustered in corners or floating in patterns on the still stream waters. Ancient trees planted near the roads, pruned and trimmed to spread toward the waters, form heavy, black, long-reaching arms that tunnel over the stream or arch protectively over the riverside pathways. The nearby streamside provides a botanical bonanza that includes maples in early leaf, camellias, flowering quince, forsythia, daffodils, tulips, violets and other spring flora.

1st Fall River Walk 7:30 AM, 81 degrees.
Tagano Gawa, low level, smooth as silk, liquid mirror.
East side (shade) or West (full sun)? East wins.
Retiree couple first with “Ohaiyo Gozaimasu”
(and a “good morning to you”). More couples,
Single walkers, dog walkers, cyclist ladies with parasols.
Jocks running. lnto the heat, drenched by sweat.
Sounds of multitudinous crickets overcome only by water
Roaring over the well-placed barrages.
Wading fowl, large and small, grey and white silently,
Search for breakfast. Perfect reflections, all.
Riverbanks above and below the path overgrown with
Weeds and grasses. Kudzu (kuzu) rampant.
Uncut since last seen in early June.
Scattered coreopsis add a touch of yellow to the
Riverside profusion while a trio of canna lilies offer up
Blooms of the most delicious shade of orange sherbet
With a glow of evening sunset. Yes, breathtaking orange.
The pace is slow, the brow and chest dampen. Summer yet lives.

Travel to Savannah ‘was on my agenda in February to visit cousin Mick who winters with her daughter and son-in-law Lisa and John Hall on a coastal island and I also spent time with former student Lee Heidel, his wife Ginger and 4 year old Camille in the city. Both locations have become regular destinations and both most enjoyable. August was an idea time to fly north to visit family in cooler WI and MI. Cousin Mick lives in our old hometown, Ft. Atkinson, WI and I spent time with her before heading to Kohler to visit nephew Kurk (a graduate of the Naval Academy so we had much to talk about) and his family, wife Paula, daughter Katie and sons Shane and Markus, with a final destination of Bark River, UP Ml where my sister Karol and husband John live in their cozy log house built with their own hands. My niece Kris, husband Rick and daughter Maya visited us there and we all spent an exciting day at the UP State Fair — the rides, the foods, the games of chance, crafts, arts, pies, etc. and the animals plus black clouds, thunder and rain.

Finally, a report on our collaborative event. “Kaunakes: Ghosts of Mesopotamia” an exhibition at The Lyndon House Art Center in Athens. This included dance performances within my installation at the opening and closing by Andrea Trombetta, my former fabric design student, dancer and chief steward of my Athens home. The concept incorporates ancient Mesopotamian garment forms (kaunakes) constructed from red plastic, floating ghost-like in space as an homage to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed in the last several decades both pre-war and post-Saddam. ~Andrea’s dance echoed this theme in a most dramatic and soul-searching way. The gallery was lined with viewers and responses were impressive and enthusiastic.

BEST WISHES FOR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS IN THE NEW YEAR OF THE DRAGON 2012.