2018: Crafting Legends

December 2018
Big Canoe, GA

Dear Friends,

Returning to Georgia from Japan in November, once again, allowed me to enjoy the final chapter of the fall color story here.  Many leaves were down covering the driveway at my house in the North Georgia Mountains at Big Canoe. However a palette of yellows, golds and a sprinkling of reds remained.  It was a perfect welcome home.  I enjoyed Thanksgiving with Page and Jeanne at their “Estate” (home and business combo) on Lake Lanier.  Grandson Naval Officer Lee was on duty at his base near Seattle.

“CRAFTING HISTORY Textiles, Metals, and Ceramics at the University of Georgia” was the title of an exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art on the UGA Campus and the title of a 370-page book documenting this history.  The exhibition opened on February 1 and in anticipation of that event my former student, Andrea Trombetta, spearheaded a weekend event that brought together Fabric Design alums from around the country.  This included the GMOA Opening, a professional roundtable of artists and designers in the field, sharing of examples from the Charlene Page Kaufman Textile Collection and a grand Italian Feast surrounding me with a devoted group.  The development of the Fabric Design Program, which I began in 1967, is well documented in the book with a chapter titled, “Fabric Design: From the Far East and Hollywood”.  The exhibition included examples of my work from those early years to the present including photos of installations with performance.  In addition to the events of the opening weekend I also gave a gallery talk to the Athens Fiber Guild.  The exhibition was beautifully installed and the book added a solid grounding to the entire effort.  All in all, it was a very rewarding event celebrating my 41 years of teaching at UGA.

I was back in Kyoto by mid-March and with the guidance of my dear friend of many years, Kiyoji Tsuji. We attended many solo shows in galleries and openings in museums in Kyoto and beyond throughout my spring and fall visits.  He and his wife Yuko are now the grandparents of two boys and a girl.  I am often included in grand dinners with the whole family  — always a lively event.

Exhibitions seen in the spring and fall include solo shows of Shigeo Kubota (woven relief panels shown on the wall and on the floor), Hisako Sekijima (basket forms in natural materials), Kyoko Kumai (stainless steel wire constructions), Shihoko Fukumoto (shibori works) and Tetsuo Kusama (sculptural works with wrapped elements).  At the Museum of Kyoto, “Otto Neber and His Contemporaries” focusing on the influence of The Bauhaus was on view.  In Osaka we saw “Portraits from the Louvre”, a winner.

I saw my friend, Butoh dancer and collaborator, Ima Tenko, in a solo performances at Urban Guild live house and in her own space, Butoh Kan (a former storage kura that accommodates 8 persons).  The Urban Guild event was also in an intimate setting with the collaboration of a multi-talented musician.

I returned to Georgia I mid-June and settled into summer life at Big Canoe.  One small frustration is missing the spring transition from barren trees to the “full in leaf” canopy of dense green.  I kept busy with visits of the Fitness Center and adjacent Swim Club. 

I was off to Wisconsin and Michigan earlier in 2018 in order to attend the wedding of my nephew Kurk’s daughter, Katie, in Kohler, WI, in early July.  The family was together for that sweet event followed by a ‘vacation’ in Door County, WI, with my niece Kris and her daughter Maya.  Door County is a peninsula surrounded by the waters of Lake Michigan and an ultimate WI experience (although I had never before been there) with quaint villages, beaches of various sorts, a variety of restaurants, beautiful views and several theatrical groups.  Kris scouted out a great location and we spent delightful days there.  Then we were off north to reconnect (after the wedding) with my sister Karol and husband John near Escanaba, MI, where they have a summer camper, with a permanent home now in Texas.  We spent a relaxed time with shopping excursions and lots of time on the shaded deck.  My last stop was to see cousin Mick at her retirement community in Whitewater, WI.  I found a historic house nearby on Airbnb that was a treasure.  The owner has gone total Victorian overkill with nary a surface on walls or floors not covered with art works, textiles, draperies or rugs galore.  There was just one guest room so I had the whole house to myself as the owner lived elsewhere.  I did have problems either being locked in or locked out but we worked it all out.  What a hoot it was!

I was back in Japan in early September in the midst of typhoon season.  The strongest one did its damage prior to my arrival putting the Osaka KIX airport out of use with extensive flooding and damage to the bridge connecting the airport to the mainland.  I was aware of this prior to departure so planned to use express train to Tokyo and jump on the Shinkansen to Kyoto.  I sent my large luggage via overnight service so I didn’t have to deal with that challenge.  There was not too much serious damage in Kyoto but the back fence in my rental house yard was blown down and eventually replaced with a less charming version.  Soon after arrival I met Kiyoji in Kanazawa, a 2-hour trip from Kyoto.  There were ‘must see’ shows at the 21^st Century Museum including “Japanese Art of the 1980s” and several exhibits by Chinese artists.  It is an outstanding museum with interesting architectural features — various box-like spaces and a central atrium all enclosed in a grand circle.  In addition, there were installations by Asian artists in various neighborhoods all over the city outdoors and in new and older buildings.  It was a grand 2-day event!   

The remaining weeks in the fall were exciting as always with shows and performance events that had me in constant motion.  Kyoto Experiment, presented each fall, includes international groups offering music, dance and drama events.  I have enjoyed some of these offerings over the last 6 years performed in various venues around Kyoto.  These experiences are always rewarding as performances.

Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORS is currently at the High Museum in Atlanta and we deemed it a pilgrimage destination.  This includes my “Athens Family”, Andrea Trombetta, her daughter Isabella age 8 and Isabella’s dad, Gershone.  I have been familiar with Kusama’s work for many years including the dot and net paintings plus sculpture (especially the pumpkins) and an earlier version of the Infinity Mirrors seen at the National Museum of Art Osaka 5 or 6 years ago.  Andrea teaches art appreciation at UGA and gives a big push to Kusama’s work.  I made the online reservations from Japan and with 4 members’ tickets of those 28,000 sold the first day we were set for the adventure on December 15.  There were 5 “Infinity Rooms” of modest size and thus considerable wait time.  Just three persons allowed in for 30 seconds but the impact was immediate and dramatic. Wow!  In addition there were gallery walls filled with large paintings, works on paper and photos documenting her time spent in New York in the days of happenings.  Also sculpture of various forms often decorated with her dot patterns.  It was that kind of ‘blown away ’sort of day.

Christmas was a week-long event with former student Lee Heidel, wife Ginger and daughter Camille at BC for a few days, then off to former student Ben Landers and family in Adairsville, GA, Christmas Day with Page and Jeanne and Jeanne’s mom followed by the “Athens Family” on 26 & 27.  Grandson Lee was on a ski trip in WA.  He is now a Naval Nuclear Power Officer waiting for his sub to be ready to cruise.  As a part our Holiday celebration Isabella wrote this haiku: 

Merry days of life
Swift blowing wind in the grass
Life begins today

I wish great success and robust health to all in 2019, The Year of the Wild Boar (inoshishi in Japanese).