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David Bull's Scroll Print, 2006 |
So many people have been asking me if I've canceled my trip to Japan in June for the
Mokuhanga Conference. No! Absolutely not. I am SO going to Japan in June. First of all, the conference is in Kyoto, which is roughly 500 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake and maybe 450 miles from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Everything is fine in Kyoto.
And yes, I'm going to go to Tokyo first to meet my friend Mariko, who I will then be traveling to Kyoto with. And yes, Tokyo is much closer to all the earthquake and nuke plant action. But although that's the case, everything is OK in Tokyo, too. I'll be keeping track of the situation, of course, but I'm going to Japan.
Which brings me to
David Bull, an extraordinary ex-pat Canadian ukiyo-e printmaker who lives in the greater Tokyo area. That's his work at the top of this page, one of my favorite pieces. Dave has written
a beautiful and thoughtful piece about the situation in Japan from his perspective that I was really happy to read this morning. Thanks for posting your thoughts, Dave.
I can't wait to go to Japan. I can't wait to meet my moku hanga colleagues from all over the world, to share our love of the art, to meet papermakers and tool makers and to convert my American dollars into yen and spend them with wild abandon. I can't wait to see my Japanese friends and let them know, just by peering into their faces, that I love them and that I wish their beautiful country well with all my heart. I'm so lucky to be able to make this trip and wild horses couldn't drag me away! Please don't worry.