Kyoto again

This morning at the end of our street

Snow on the mountain in the far distance looking up the river Kamu Gawa

A shrine 

Kyoto stuff

Prayers tied near the entrance

A good evening at the opening last night, lots of very interesting artists and several of the Japanese exhibitors live in England so there are plans to meet up in Blighty when we get back. We met up with the press today at the gallery along with Takazumi Uemura from Islington, an amazing photographer. We then headed off to the art gallery but as it was showing Czech film posters I decided to see the Heinan Shrine next door

I am managing to get by in Japanese, more by luck than judgement, I did get the word 'great' round the wrong way so that I was swearing at someone. I think I have been forgiven....

Handmade paper shop. 

Kyoto the first

Well this is all rather fab. Monks chanting in the street, geisha's emerging from the subway and heated toilet seats. The house is lovely, thankfully I have a quiet room at the back as the front door opens out straight onto the street market. The gallery is just round the corner from the house and the sculptures are up today.......and then kept on the floor overnight for fear of the earthquakes! My fellow artists are lovely and good fun. Raquel Carro Lopez is a photographer, Roger McNulty is a painter and the the creative director here, David Stetson is an other photographer who has had the privileged of being the first foreigner inside the emperors tomb. So, all rather surreal for the moment. As this page assumes I read Japanese, I am now unable to upload photos until I sort out either a translation or find a translator or learn to read. I suspect finding a translator will be the easiest, sorting out three alphabets is going to take some time

こんにちは日本

こんにちは日本 ……hello Japan! Please don't ask me to say this, I am really struggling with remembering anything. With 3 alphabets, and a counting system for flat things and another for rabbits, I suspect I shall be as fluent at the end as I am now. I shall try to get 'tea please' sorted before I land though I suspect it won't be a Yorkshire brew out there. Flight confirmed for Sunday evening when I fly off to Kyoto for a 3 week residency. The sculptures are already on their way if they haven't already got there. Below is 'Brennan' in progress-not my usual scale but now I have forgotten just how many hours I spent sanding, it was good making it. Installation shots when I get there

Creative colony exhibition

Massive thanks to the amazing Amy Mountney, http://amymountney.com one of the current AA2A artists at Chelmsford College, I shall be showing in the 'Creative Colonies' exhibition, a pop up gallery in the centre of Chelmsford, later this week along with staff from Chelmsford College and the other AA2A artists

A lack of Jimmy Carr

Channel 4 contacted me earlier in the week with an email which I misinterpreted, I got the impression that Jimmy Carr would be joining one of my classes but no, it turns out he will use a clay sculpture of Michelangelo's 'David'  that I make and then pass it off as his. I had several interesting and very pleasant chats with a lovely chap on the production team about the logistics of making and delivering said sculpture. I had the distinct feeling that he thought I had a series of differently sized 'Davids' suitably adapted with the faces of different celebrities already on my shelves, ready for when the TV companies phone in an order. I am sure he wanted to send someone round to collect that afternoon……….Alas, no sign of the contract