AOI YAMAGUCHI CALLIGRAPHY

Author: admin

Autumn Equinox.

In Japan, it’s O-higan: 7 days period of Buddhist holidays, which is 3 days before and after the autumn equinox. O-higan (お彼岸) means “the other side of river: the world of enlightenment (nirvana).” There are Spring O-higan and Autumn O-higan in a year and each has different meaning; we praise nature and celebrate our lives on Spring equinox, and we honor the memories of ancestors on Autumn Equinox. Traditionally, people in Japan celebrate this period of O-higan visiting family grave, inviting Bhuddist monk home to have him read Heart Sutra to pray for ancestors, and eating O-hagi, a mochi rice cake covered in sweet azuki beans.

I made this black sesame O-hagi, decorated with my little brush strokes and fresh Morning Glory from the garden, and welcomed Bhuddist monk’s visit for his service.

Happy O-higan and silver week to you all!

September 23, 2015
“Departure for new life”

The meaning of Hoya Carnosa, Sakura-Ran (桜蘭) in Japanese, is a “departure for new life.”

I woke up this morning, and these pretty flowers like little candies were in full bloom.
I felt like they are cheering me up to try something new today.

Say hello to a brand-new day.
Good morning!

September 16, 2015
Work in Japan: Aug – Oct 2015

I will be working based in Japan from August until the end of October.

For those who are looking forward to our Fall calligraphy workshops in Berkeley & San Francisco, thank you so much for your patience!
I’ll come back to my Berkeley atelier with full energy, workshop program details to be announced soon!

For commission artworks and performance inquiries, please contact via email at info@aoiyamaguchi.
Stay tuned for the upcoming announcements! xoxo

-Aoi

* Ink well in the photo above used to belong to my deceased grandfather, who was also good at Japanese calligraphy. I inherited this recently, and been grinding sumi ink in this ink stone. It’s aged, but nicely aged – it has a strong presence, reminds me of my grandpa. I feel like this ink well is putting a spell on the ink as it’s made in it, making the brush strokes bloom like lively ume plum flowers that are inscribed on its surface. I feel that it must be the power of the art and craft that have been passed on through generations.

September 1, 2015
Good Try JAPAN Atelier Visit & Workshop

Hailing from Japan, I had a group of high school students with Good Try JAPAN program visit my atelier for a career-inspirational talk and a calligraphy workshop. Good Try JAPAN is a career education program in partnership with HIS, a Japanese travel agency, which aims to inspire young teenage students to see the world and think about their future careers. Participating students get to visit world-leading tech offices such as Google, Twitter, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, and Stanford University, meet employees there to hear about their life experiences and insights on how it’s like to step outside from own country and work in the United States. Then they visit Yosemite National Park for nature activities, interact with local high school students to broaden horizons, and think and communicate their ideas and thoughts between travel buddies. I was asked to meet the students to talk about my life journey, experiences and struggles working as an independent artist in foreign country.

It was exciting finally open the door to public and have them visit this newborn atelier space. It’s always fun to meet ambitious youngsters who are seeking who they are, what they want to achieve, and what they dream of. I was also around their age when I decided to study abroad. It was not an easy road, and still not is, but it is definitely an adventurous path that’s worth taking.

I love seeing various ideas and imaginations from students; everyone is unique. During the workshop, one of the students wrote “話” (conversation) in calligraphy, and put smily faces inside of the radical “口”; one smiling with its mouth opened, one closed. I asked her why, and she said, “one is talking, and another one is listening. I think that the conversation is very important, and I want to be able to have many good conversations in my life. ” I love that observation! I was happy to see that everyone was having a great time holding brushes and expressing themselves on paper.

Calligraphy is like a mirror of your inner self.

I hope everyone was able to have some time to focus on their inner self through this workshop, and re-evaluate their goals and beliefs. Wishing you all great success in your bright future ahead!

– Photo by Shinya Hirose

July 31, 2015
Momentum

I’m working on my new abstract tanboku 淡墨 calligraphy series called “Momentum,” inspired by fragmented images of movements found in nature.

『粼』（せせらぎ）川は粼ぎ “Streaming River” / 『舞』鳥は舞い “Dancing Birds” /『咲』華は咲き “Blooming Flower” / 『澄』空は澄み “Clear Sky”

『霧』霧立ち籠め “Fog Envelops” / 『霞』霞がかり “Mist”

『咲』華は咲き　 “Blooming Flower”

As I can hear the footsteps of my birthday which is only a week away (!!), I’d like to release some selected works from this series as limited edition giclée prints at ART MART at Ensoma Salon & Gallery in San Francisco, an evening market offering works of art from selected local Bay Area artists. Featured Artists include: Joseph Wood, Julia Lemke, Charles Papillo, Drew F Cameron, Sage Barlow and Maddie Todd.

Ensoma Salon & Gallery
352 6th Street, San Francisco CA 94103 | ART MART: Saturday June 13th, 2015 | 6-9pm

Please join us for this exciting evening! Light refreshments will be served.

June 11, 2015
"創造": Live calligraphy performance at Asia Society Northern California Annual Dinner 2015

I performed live calligraphy “創造” (sou・zou – ‘Creation’) for Asia Society Northern California 12th Annual Dinner at Ritz-Carlton San Francisco on Tuesday, May 12th, 2015.

Inspired by the theme “Art and Power of Transformation” in Asia, I chose “創造” (sou・zou), meaning “creation” in Japanese to write for the performance. “Creation,” the action or process of bringing something anew into existence, or that has been made or invented. Sou・zou embodies creativity and innovation, forces that pervade and inspire the Bay Area.

The artwork created on the stage was sold at silent auction during the event (thank you!), and the proceeds were donated to support Asia Society Northern California.

Thank you ASNC for inviting me to perform, it was such a pleasure to share my work with over 400 honorable members of the society and leaders in various fields in San Francisco Bay Area!

*Special* thanks to:
Stage Assistant: Sunjin Kim, Kelsey Williams
Music: Onpun
Costume Dress: Ryuji Hashimoto
Kimono Dress Accessories: Hand-painted and crafted by the artist
Photos: Benjamin Marx
Event coordination: Yang Wang, Lisa Wong
& Asia Society Northern California

May 13, 2015
Happiness

I wrote this for you.

*

“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.”

― Osho

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”

― Seneca

April 9, 2015
Featured in T’s Pool Magazine by Takara Leben

When I was back in Japan last year, I was interviewed by T’s Pool Magazine, issued by Takara Leben, a mansion developer company in based in Tokyo. I received a copy of the magazine in mail a few weeks ago, here in Berkeley. My article was spanned over the first 4 pages as well as the cover of the magazine on its January 2015 issue. Wow, I feel very flattered. I was also commissioned to write a kanji character for the New Year – something that symbolizes my wish for how I want my and everyone’s year of 2015 to be. I chose “耀”, which means “shine” in Japanese, wishing that your year to be flourishing and shining with full of creativity and energy.

As I was reading through the interview, revisiting memories of my past works, I realize how fortunate and thankful I am to be surrounded by many talented creative minds who I have collaborated with to create beautiful art, and broadened my horizons; who share passions to strive for the better and the world unseen.

I hope that sharing my work with people in the world also inspire others to create something new – like how others always do to me. I have been working on many new exciting projects and commission works since I moved into the new atelier, so hope to share them with you soon!

＊＊＊

As credited in the magazine,

Special thanks to:
T’s Pool / Takara Leben / Advans Works
Akko Terasawa
Tokio Kuniyoshi of Shooting Life LLC
Flower Couture / Aya Tanaka / Nanako Yano / Akira
Waylan Choy
Tomo Saito
DG717
Sacramento Taiko Dan
YBCA
Asian Art Museum
Caroline Wachsmuth
La Boutique
Sebastian Plano
Celine Parker
Yoram Savion
The New Republic / Erick Fletes
Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
Ikebana International
and always and forever Ben Marx and my family.

March 18, 2015
Live Japanese Calligraphy Demonstration at UC Davis

I was asked to demonstrate Japanese calligraphy live on campus at UC Davis for Contiki, a worldwide leading traveling agency in tours for 18-35s. This one-day event offers students to experience elements of various cultures from the world. (more…)

February 23, 2015
Interview by DMM Eikaiwa: DMM英会話ブログインタビュー掲載

DMM英会話ブログに、インタビューが掲載されました。

http://eikaiwa.dmm.com/blog/interview/aoi_yamaguchi/

私の海外生活での経験や、書家としてのアーティスト活動についてなど、いろいろお話しさせていただきました。 (more…)

February 20, 2015