I recently watched the DVD of Princess Mononoke twice, once in Japanese and once in German. The deep themes made me think about a lot of things. It made me want to watch other Ghibli films again. Übrigens, ich frage mich, wann wir uns wieder treffen können.
shingles disease
I’m glad to say that the shingles that I’ve been suffering from for the past year have finally been cured. In my case, I had red pustules on my face (especially the left side) and cold sores. The chickenpox virus that I had as a child still lies dormant in my nerves, and it seems that the virus is activated by stress and other factors. I bet I’ve always been too hard on myself. I think the reason I’ve recovered is that I now take proper breaks and am careful not to push myself too hard.
Publications
A book of haiku that I translated into Japanese will be released in July. Two of my Japanese paintings, commissioned by the author, will be included in the book. The works represent both his haiku and the music that is written in the haiku. The Japanese translation of this haiku is written in my calligraphy. It is available in Germany as a book and in other countries as an e-book. His book is not the kind of thing that many people read, so I do not expect my Japanese paintings in the book to be seen by many people. However, my activities to spread Japanese painting in Germany have been small and limited to me, but with his cooperation, it has become a publication, and my world will expand greatly. My ultimate goal is to distribute Japanese painting materials in Europe, but to achieve this, I will need the help of large companies and the Japanese government, and it is still a long way off. In order to achieve this goal, I am currently in the phase of getting more people to know about Japanese painting. In the second half of this year, a sound artist’s record will be completed, and an unspecified number of people will know the record cover that I drew. Little by little, that goal is taking shape. Even something that would be difficult to achieve alone can take shape when everyone cooperates in their own areas of expertise. That’s wonderful.
Harry Potter
I finally finished reading the final series of Harry Potter, “Deathly Hallows”. I was very moved. I had this book in my hands since I came to Germany, but I couldn’t read it for a long time. This is because I prioritized studying German and continued to paint Japanese paintings without taking a break. For the past three years, I put pressure on myself to produce some results as an artist. Painting is a joy for me, but it was painful when I didn’t get good results. Recently, I have finally started to see results little by little, which has made me feel better. And I have the mental space to read Harry Potter. It’s been almost a month since I moved to a new place. Now that I’m getting used to my new environment, I’m preparing to paint a new Japanese painting again.
New order
One of the customers ordered me to make an illustration. It’s been quite a while since I drew an illustration. The customer said that my work had given him hope and salvation. I was touched to know that my paintings had saved someone in that way.
New collaboration
I think it will probably be next year, but I will start a new collaboration project. It is a fusion of Japanese painting (traditional art) and sound art (new technology). We will participate in a residency program in a certain country and create this fusion work. This work will probably be the first of its kind in the world. I’m very excited about it, because it could be a good opportunity to spread Japanese painting in the other areas.
Additional order
A German haiku poet really liked the commissioned work (Goldberg variations) and asked me to create a new picture for him. What a delight!!
Collaboration
I met up with friends who are sound artists, from AIR Berlin for the first time in a long time. It looks like a collaboration between my art and their music will come true. This is something I promised them in 2020, and we can finally start this project. Little by little, my art activity is going well, and I’m excited right now.
Notice
Unfortunately, the solo exhibition scheduled for this month has been canceled due to venue restrictions. Instead, another organizer suddenly offered me to join an event on Sunday, and I will be exhibiting and selling my works. I think the solo exhibition will be held at a different location sometime in the future.
Mini art market and workshop
26.January. 2025(Son) 10-21h
Workshop14-16h or every time
