Thank you, Great Meadows Foundation!!

Hello again!

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return to Japan for another 6 week residency. Again, I would like to thank Great Meadows Foundation for a generous Professional Development Grant. I am deeply grateful.

I am intrigued by the concept of wabi-sabi in the Japanese aesthetic in contemporary art. Qualities of aging, roughness, and disrepair denoting beauty are highly valued as representing a profound awareness of one’s self. The definition of wabi sabi is unclear, but experience through sensory perception is a way to begin to grasp it. An immersion in the Japanese culture will allow time and space to critically analyze my own sense of identity though diverse perspectives. Living with 7 international artists of varying disciplines we will explore and broaden our notions of contemporary art through connectivity, artistic immersion and critical discourse. I anticipate stimulating conversations about our art practices within a country that is rich in culture, steeped in tradition, yet facing possible existential threat because of an aging society, sinking economy and radiation. What will happen when we come together and customary social, personal and physical boundaries are traversed? 

This important and challenging journey will no doubt ignite a fresh response to my art, give me tools for critical analysis, and push my work further and deeper.

See you in Onishi!!!

 "Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is."  Jackson Pollock