Happy New Year! I'm back in Brisbane and part two of my arts residency is complete. I would like to thank Asialink and Arts Queensland for giving me the special opportunity to spend time in Arita in Saga Prefecture, Japan. The residency was a very meaningful time, full of learning and discovering and finding new friends. This opportunity gave me the basis of a long-term relationship and ongoing collaboration with Arita manufacturers and local artists.
The first two images below are the very first results of my collaboration with Kourakugama, my host for the residency. I used vintage decals of plants including pine, bamboo and plum and designed clouds, rain, flags and cranes with them. Getting through the process of making decals is very hard and I have a huge respect for people who are working in this area in the kiln. I've also included a number of images of people I met, things I made and places I visited during part two of the residency - I hope you enjoy them and if you're going to be at the Stepping Up conference in Canberra in July, I'll look forward to sharing with you about my experiences along with fellow Arita-lovers Shin Koyama, Vipoo Srivilasa and Kirsten Coelho in a panel moderated by Cory Taylor.
This Asialink Arts Residency Project was supported by Arts Queensland.
