3, 2, 1...Lift Off

This time, three weeks from now, I will be on a plane to Japan.

Returning to the land of the rising sun.

The land of green tea
and cherry blossoms
red maple leaves
and bamboo butterflies
cold soba
and hot sake
woodblock prints
and Astro Boy
painted ladies
and paper lanterns
tatami and tofu
miso and matcha
ponds and pondering
singing cicadas
and wind-up birds...

The land of my inspiration.

There Are Two L's in Lily, With 'i' in Between Them

My Peace Lily plant has bloomed once again, only this year, for the first time ever, it has two beautifully shaped white flowers.

I'll hold on tightly to the symbolism...to my interpretation. I am open to interpretation.

I am the space between. The 'i' between the L's. Tom Waits sings In Between Love. I am in between. A rock and a hard place? No! In between a great place and a potentially wonderful one.

I am just as nervous as I am excited about Japan. I can already see my work evolving in relation to emotion and potential experience. I am trying to figure out what I am going to take with me, in regards to art materials, or whether it is best to start from scratch once I am over there. I am envisaging a lot of works on paper.

I feel inspired today, so I paint...and I write.

There is so much to do whilst in between.

Poems and Palettes

As I sat painting on Tuesday morning my partner sat writing. It is nice to see him getting back into his world of words; his passion.

He wrote as he watched me paint and listened to me asking myself questions, at times directing them his way, not necessarily expecting any answers.

His response came in the form of prose as he read this to me...

She is painting
Mixing colours
Will I have pink lips or red lips?
Questions like these are such a pleasure
On a hot day
In January

Of course I don’t answer
Straight away
Give it time
My old head tells me
No sense jumping into anything
No sense making a mess
Of such a beautiful day

Well…
Are those ones pink?
I point to a completed piece
Yes…
With a hint of disbelief
Can’t you tell?

I ended up going with pink, but I am still not entirely sure they will stay that colour. They may change yet.

I dyed my hair black this morning, in order to closer resemble my image on canvas, well, partly...and partly because I enjoy having black hair. I have dyed it on a regular basis since the age of 14.

I was born with a mop of jet black hair, but it all fell out, then grew back much fairer.

I think I am happier with black hair.
Now I just have to decide on the lips.

Choice. It's all about choice.

Race Toward The Finish Line

Only to start a new cycle.

I did not fulfill my hope of painting for the best part of the day yesterday, the first of 2007. However, I am making up for it today, and as I realise just how quickly departure date is approaching, I am entering into a 'mild(?)' state of panic mode, which may become more and more chaotic and intense in the coming weeks.

Much to do...much to do.