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For IF:

For me, this painting is a warning about keeping the home and heart safe while controlling influences that come into our lives through all kinds of technology in the global community.

You Are Invited

The great film maker Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) said,"In an era of no borders, people who do not have a place to stand will be treated unseriously. A place is the past and history. A person with no history, a people who have forgotten their past, will vanish like snow, or be turned into chickens to keep laying eggs until they are eaten." (www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/sen/proposal.html)
Miyazaki seems to be celebrating the role of myths and narratives in the survival and growth of culture, especially in cultures where the boundaries are blurring with each global advancement, like our is now. Myths and narratives that have roots in ancient tales will help us retain the integrity of our cultures while branching into the global stories that are being created moment by moment.
One of the jobs of the artist is to observe and convey the flavor of a culture. This can be done through many different types of work, but I do it through the form of visual stories. All of my pieces can be thought of as visual stories, and though I have a story in mind when I make a piece of work, I feel that my version is by no means the only possible one. I think it is quite likely that each viewer could make a unique version that expresses the image. Viewed together, these stories might begin to tell us something about who we are and where we stand in our global village.
I would like to invite everyone who reads this blog to record a story about any of the pieces shown here by posting a comment about these paintings and drawings. These stories could be any length. One sentence could be enough as long as it conveys the meaning that the viewer experiences, and the posts can be anonymous. I hope you will consider participating in this project. Maybe it will keep us from being turned into chickens.

Green Willow 4

In this story, the beautiful Green Willow goes Poof! when her tree is cut down.

The old couple had a beautiful young daughter named Green Willow. Tomodata fell in love with her at once and spent a sleepless night thinking of her. Remembering his Lord's warnings, he left in the morning before the family awoke. By the old man he left a purse with money. Green Willow followed him and, his quest forgotten, they found a little house to live in. For three years, the couple lived very happily in love. One day they were in the garden when Green Willow fell very ill and told Tomodata that she was about to die. He asked what was the matter and she moaned, "The tree..they have cut down my tree." Then she slipped from his arms to the ground, where he found only her clothes, still warm and sweet from he body.
In his old age, Tomodata became a holy man and travelled from shrine to shrine. One day he looked up and saw a little battered house on a hill. In front of the house stood three willow stumps. Tomodata stood for a long time looking at the stumps, singing a song to Green Willow.

Green Willow 3

'Before the fire sat the good old man of the house, and the two old people didthe very best they could for Tomodata."

Green Willow 2

For IF: imperfect

Ha! This image is certainly that! One of these days I'll fix this poor old girl's face so that it doesn't look smashed in on one side.

The story continues:

On the third day of Tomodata's journey, he encountered a fierce storm. Tomodata became lost and just when he was in despair, the clouds parted and the moon shone on a tiny cottage on a hill. In front of the cottage stood three green weeping-willow trees. Tomodata called out at the door and at once the door was opened by an old woman, who was dressed poorly but neatly. The old woman welcomed him in to rest and eat.

Green Willow 1

There is a Japanese folktale called Green Willow in which a young samurai named Tomodata is sent on a misson by his daimyo, the Lord of Noto, to deliver a message. The daimyo ordered him to ride without fear of enemies, weather or terrain. "Above all, do not look any maid between the eyes. Ride, and bring me word again quickly." This is a portrait of Tomodata. It is an erased charcoal drawing.

The Lesson

For IF: Sneaky

This came about because of having to be Sneaky in teaching my son about nature and the world.

This drawing is done in graphite on coquille paper. This piece is part of the nature/technology relationship thread I am developing. I wonder, if you had to draw a picture of the internet, what would it look like?