sending our hope to Minamisanriku-Cho

Minamisanriku’s beautiful sea view before sunrise

Hello all. Some of you might remember last year's HELP JAPAN PROJECT. It was my fundraising project to support Japan’s recovery from the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Although news has completely faded away today, their recovery is only starting and in fact they’re facing a long journey. 

I am currently preparing for the second fundraising project. This August my husband and I will be visiting a town called Minamisanriku-Cho to deliver our HELP JAPAN donation directly. We are also aiming to do some voluntary work during our visit. Today I would like to write about Minamisanriku Cho prior to launching HELP JAPAN PROJECT 2. 

So why this town? 

Well, this is my thinking. Last year all the donation was sent to Japanese Red Cross, but I was rather frustrated after hearing the fact that lots of donations were pooled without distributing soon enough because of the slow administration of the authority and the government. How typical! So this time, I have decided to choose one affected area and donate directly. Minamisanriku-Cho is one of the most damaged areas and the majority of this town was washed away by the tsunami. (click images to enlarge or you can view some videos of 3.11. here)

peaceful minamisanriku-cho before the tsunami

Tsunami reaching to the centre of town and sweeping houses and evacuees on the roof. 

Building behind is the 5 storey hospital I visited last September,

 tsunami reached to its forth floor and many lives have lost.

Town after the tsunami on 11th March last year

Who had imagined this view...

Do you remember I visited this town last September (view here)? I cannot forget the face of tsunami surviver who told me he could not imagine living somewhere he cannot see the sea with a tear on his cheek. I have been researching about this town since then, their beautiful land, people and community that used to exist. The sight of town has totally changed and many people have lost almost everything, I mean 'everything'. But people haven’t lost their heart. Despite the unimaginable damage and sorrow, they are now striving to live and move forward from ‘literally’ zero. Their strength, spirit and smile. I admire and respect their humbleness. I know my donation will be tiny comparing to what the town needs for the recovery and what I can do may be small, but I also know it is worth doing what I can do, which is to continue support, to spread the message to as many people as possible and to deliver the light of hope to them and the next generation. This is what HELP JAPAN PROJECT 2 is all about. 

Before I go, I would like to share a part of written message from the town. If you are blogger and are happy to share this in your site, please do. Every Little Helps! 

‘Minami-sanriku in our hearts’

….. We overcame tsunami disasters in the Meiji and Showa eras. 
Even when the tsunami caused great damage, we were able to raise up time and again to return our former lives. 
We put together our heads and strength, never giving up. 
Always keeping a smile on our faces, we built our town. 
We have shown our children how to live our lives and they will follow in our footsteps. 

town before 3.11.

The mountains provide us with rice, beans and apples. 
In anticipation of the harvest season, the sounds of drums from the Harvest Festival echo throughout the mountainside. 

surrounded by beautiful nature

Everyone is excitedly awaiting the mikoshi portable shrine decked with flowers and marchers dressed in colourful costumes. 
Our fishermen plant trees in the mountains and cultivate the sea. 
At the end of a long trip covering great distances, the salmon come all the way back to the sea of Minamisanriku. 
Other sea creatures that call this sea their home are the smooth lumpfish, grant sculpin and a new type of starfish. 
You can actually feel the people and fish living together in harmony. 
This indeed is Minamisanriku!

town with full of community life, culture and spirit before the earthquake

Memories of our town remain vivid in our hearts. 
Will these memories someday fade? 
Such fears sometimes cross the back of our minds. 

We know the dangers as well as the bounties of nature. 
This is why we are always humble because we realise that we are alive only through the generosity of Mother Nature, in the same way our ancestors did. 
Always believing in tomorrow, we will never give up. 
If we walk together hand-in-hand, we can achieve anything. 
Our sea will surely be blessed again. 
Our town will surely become happy and vibrant again. 

No matter what trails or tribulations we face in the future, we will tackle them head on with a strength and vitality equal to the sea. 
We will create new ties with people who visit this town and add their strength to ours. 

The tide rises and tide falls in an endless cycle. 
With this in mind, we live in this town today, looking at the sea with pride in our hearts. 

all images were referenced from 

photo letter from minamisanriku by Shinichi Sato (view his wonderful video on this!) 

minamisanriku kiokuno tamatebako 

tsunami

HELP JAPAN PROJECT 2 
will be on next post! 

See you all very soon. xm 

washout uk

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Back Another Day… (DID NOT!)

It’s June and supposed to be summer in England, but it was another washout! Nevertheless, thanks to all those visitors who generously turned up to the craft fair despite this bad weather, we raised £300 for HELP JAPAN today. Thank you so much for your contribution. 

We’re 

really 

sereously 

missing 

the weather 

like 

↓ 

(The image this time round last year. Where the heck is our sunshine??)

Next post, I will come back with more information about Minami Sanriku, the town I will donate to, then hopefully kick off HELP JAPAN PROJECT 2 ONLINE!! See you all soon. Bye for now. xm 

This Saturday...

I will be holding a stall at CRAFT FAIR at Henshaw’s Arts & Craft Centre, Knaresborough, at 10am - 4pm. A MASSIVE discount on my stock, so if you are local don’t miss this chance! Plus, HELP JAPAN Birds are back on sale. Did you miss last year? Why not come and get your birdie for a great cause? Looking forward to seeing you there. 

View last weekend’s press release, click here. 

Dear bloggers, 

HELP JAPAN Project 2 will be starting online shortly after the fair. All information will be followed, so please do pop back. xm 

making and moving

I cannot believe it’s June already! The summer is only around the corner, which means there are lots coming up that I would like to tell you about, but firstly...
thank you so so much everyone for viewing the final show work and leaving positive comments here and via email. A few people on emails mentioned that they want to see more details and the construction of The Light of Hope, so today I would like to share some images of ‘making’ the light of hope. (please click the image to enlarge)

The background collage was made with Japanese newspaper cutouts. A huge thanks to my folks for collecting them since March 11th last year. I originally wanted them for researching appropriate donation information. As the final show approached, I thought I could use them to raise people’s awareness precisely because of the fact we don’t see or hear anything about it today over here. My biggest concern was the potential impact on Japanese people, especially for those who were directly affected, because I never wished to offend them by using those images that may be shocking as part of my art piece. I have mixed striving words and the images of people, particularly children (the next generation), who are shining despite the devastation, trying to focus on their humbleness, which I so admire and respect. Although those Japanese words may not be understood but hopefully you can get the gist of it. 

*  *  *  *  *

For those who may like this work… here is a good news. I am currently working on the smaller version of the light of hope (limited edition) for the next fundraising project. Plus...

T H E    B I R D S    A R E    B A C K ! 

Yes, my HELP JAPAN birds are on their way to fly for new homes.

Those who missed out last year, this will be the last chance to get your bird for a good cause. HELP JAPAN PROJECT 2 will be starting from this blog really soon. This time I will be donating Minami Sanriku-cho, the town I visited last September (click here to view), one of the most devastated areas. So please stay tuned. 

Another wonderful news. I will be setting off to POTFEST in Pens this summer. Remember how much I wanted to join this ceramic festival from this post? My dream will become real soon. Many ranges of my work that have been showcased here for the last two years (yes my blog has just had a second anniversary this week!) will be available.  

So that’s that! Back to more work now… Thank you for visiting my blog. See you very soon. xm 

a new start

Lately I visited Gordon Baldwin’s exhibition and joined Jackie Lunn’s felt workshop.

It was rather luxurious and relaxed time that I haven’t had for a long time, without thinking about the assignment in the back of my head! Great feeling. Good break. Totally refleshed. Now back to work in the studio. A new start has just begun. xm

BA Final Show is up and running!

A three year madness of juggling degree study and work has finally come to an end. The BA Final Show last night was absolutely brilliant with lots of people turning up. Thank you for those who came along (some came quite a long way so thank you!) and it was lovely to see you all. Here are images of my work prior to the opening night. Hope you enjoy! 

I have displayed three themed pieces. 

Firstly my hand-thrown porcelain lights and collage, The Light of Hope. 

The Light of Hope

Since Japan’s earthquake and Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, my mind kept coming back to the issue of the devastation and struggle to recovery. I wanted to reflect through my work, how to send my message to the people over here as well as to the next generation in Japan. The application of collage was aimed to raise awareness but in a positive way to strive toward the future. (You can see the process here) The detail of light indicates thousand of tear drops shed last year echoing the typographical message behind. Alongside with this display, I have introduced my forthcoming fundraising HELP JAPAN PROJECT 2, which will be starting from this blog soon. (the previous one can be viewed on a video from here)

* * * * * * *

Next display is Mazekoze, my newest series of thrown and hand-built tableware. 

mazekoze

I worked on this for quite a long time, particularly researching and testing a huge number of glazes to get this opacity, texture and colours, without relying on commercial colourants but purely natural oxides. Mazekoze means “mixing up” in Japanese, which I focused on the sense of joy by mixing different shapes, sizes, surface design and colours as if they can create new patterns on the table. Also in order to present my view point of domestic ware, I have provided promotional posters in screen print and portfolio. (you can see the process here) Hope people can enjoy domestic ware more!?

* * * * * * *

Finally my porcelain lilypad installation. These were showcased back in February elsewhere. (you can view more here)

The show is up until 20th June. If you’re coming to Yorkshire, please do call at Harrogate College. xm 

final show prep #2

Doodle. Cook. Style and Shoot. These activities are fun but time consuming. Hopefully it would be worth having this promotional portfolio done to go with my display. 2 days to go!  xm

final show prep #1

It’s been busy preparing for the final show this week. I have provided three series of work and these images are one of them… 

The show starts next Monday. If you are local and would like to come for the open night, please contact me. I will email you an invite. xm 

keep calm (if you can)

Are you calm and collective? I am not and was certainly not last night. 

The final show is only a week away and I was about to do last firing… then a kiln element has snapped whilst I was stupidly trying to fix it! 

OH NO, NOT NOW! (not now, not now, not now….. (echoing) 

Could not get through to the kiln man in the evening or no time to carry fragile glazed work to college, and show prep is next week... so I just panicked. Never touch the element. I then remembered that someone told me so a long ago... After some time of manic period, found this useful site (here) and managed to fix it temporarily. Yet having concerned of the accuracy of the temperature when firing with this state, had to ring the kiln man today for his advice. Back home from work, managed to pack the kiln and on baking now with fingers crossed. Phew...

Since my neighbours must have heard my scream so much last night, I can't no longer hide my nature. That famous slogan has to be altered. Thank god for vanilla slice, my fav sweet darling helps me keep calm and stable!? xm

grey and ochre

final show prep… nearly there xm 

smile maker of the week #6

It’s been a while to show my 'smile maker of the week' series here, but this is so worth waiting. Beautiful Blackbird and Rose Nest print by Angela Harding. (Thank you so much Angela!) This print is one of the limited special edition of 100 that Angela kindly offered to Country Living magazine readers. The current issue features an article about her work and studio, which is also a joy to see! Whether you are birdie-minded person (like me!) or not, do pop over to Angela’s world here. It will make your heart sing for sure. x m 

Lilypad gone to the show and back home with a pair of blackbirds

BCTF is always overwhelming having a mixture of excitement, nerves and fatigue. Nevertheless, thanks to all the visitors to our stand, I have received many positive comments from galleries, which I must follow up soon. 

The show is good opportunity to meet artists in person too. Here are wonderful people who I met at the show. Phiona Richards creates amazing paper sculptures and jewellery out of books. Samantha Robinson’s unique porcelain work are so tiny and adorable. (click their name to view the site) They were both very energetic and great to speak to. It was lovely to meet you both. Today was ended with a bit of hunting goodies, including these gorgeous glass earrings handmade by Catherine Keenan. So ace to see you again, Catherine. And must not forget, always a joy to see Adam Frew’s work. xm 

BCTF

Some of my lilypads will be showcased at BCTF from 15th to 17th April at Yorkshire Show Ground, Harrogate. For more info, please click here. (see Harrogate College stand 177) xm 

April

It has started with the summer-like scorching hot days followed by snow. What’s going on? Cannot pack up my woolly jumper yet. Nevertheless, seeing those tulips from our garden blooming so big makes me feel it is April. Which means that the deadline of my final assignment is creeping up. Must crack on with work. 

Have a nice Easter everyone! xm