Author: admin

  • Join Us for Calligraphy “Shodo” Workshops Summer 2018

    Join Us for Calligraphy “Shodo” Workshops Summer 2018

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][rs_special_text tag=”h3″ font_color=”#303030″ letter_spacing=”1px” font_size=”35px”]Japansese Calligraphy “Shodo” Workshops for Beginners:
    Summer 2018[/rs_special_text][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]Summer has arrived! Join us for the calligraphy workshop – we have three dates scheduled below. Each session is designed to work on and complete one selected character of your choice. You’re welcome to join just one session, or multiple sessions to practice more characters!

    Saturday, June 23rd | 11am – 1pm
    Saturday, July 7th | 11am – 1pm
    Sunday, July 22nd | 11am – 1pm 
    Saturday, August 18th | 11am – 1pm 
    Sunday, August 26th | 11am – 1pm 

    at Atelier Towa, Berkeley, CA
    1450 4th St #11 Berkeley, CA 94710

    In this 2 hour, hands-on workshop, get an intimate exploration of fundamental Japanese calligraphy writing techniques, and find balance within yourself through meditative calligraphy process. Learn how to use the calligraphy brush, proper posture and manners, unique characteristics of Japanese gasen-shi paper and sumi inks. After learning the basics, you will pick a character from selected words list, practice and make your own calligraphy artwork on “Hanshi”-sized calligraphy paper, while contemplating on the meaning of the chosen character. At the end of the session, you will have your own calligraphy artworks to take home.

    LECTURE & TEXTS
    This workshop will be instructed by Aoi Yamaguchi. Original worksheets and handouts will be provided. Lesson will be taught in English. Knowledge of Japanese language is a plus, but is not necessary.

    SUPPLIES & MATERIALS
    Basic supplies and materials will be provided for you to use during the workshop.

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_btn title=”MORE DETAILS & REGISTER” style=”flat” shape=”square” color=”black” size=”sm” align=”center” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-calendar” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2Fe%2Fjapanese-calligraphy-shodo-workshop-for-beginners-summer-2018-tickets-46041974786|||” el_class=”btn btn-mod btn-round product_type_simple” css=”.vc_custom_1529624025124{background-color: #ffffff !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][rs_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Talk & Workshops at -ING Creative Festival, Dubai 2018

    Talk & Workshops at -ING Creative Festival, Dubai 2018

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF5ZXIudmltZW8uY29tJTJGdmlkZW8lMkYyOTQwOTUxMzYlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjkwMCUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjUwNyUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYXV0b3BsYXklM0IlMjBmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNFJTBBJTNDcCUzRSUzQ2ElMjBocmVmJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ2aW1lby5jb20lMkYyOTQwOTUxMzYlMjIlM0UtaW5nJTIwQ3JlYXRpdmUlMjBGZXN0aXZhbCUyMCU3QyUyMDIwMTglM0MlMkZhJTNFJTNDJTJGcCUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    I’m excited to announce my upcoming talk and workshops at -ing Creative Featival in Dubai, UAE this April from the 11th – 13th, 2018.

    I will be teaching two workshop sessions, April 11th and 13th at 10:40am – 12:40pm.
    I will be giving a talk on April 11th at 13:50 – 14:10. For more details and registration, please visit here.

    In celebration of Internatinal Women’s Day, -ingcratives is having a special promotion on female-led workshops, with discount on tickets for 7 days from March 8th until the 14th. Get your tickets while the offer lasts at ingcreatives.com

    Looking forward to seeing you all in Dubai!

     

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  • Immersive & Interactive Installation at Artechouse, Washington DC

    Immersive & Interactive Installation at Artechouse, Washington DC

    Long-awaited Spring has come! This March, my calligraphy is going to be part of the Immersive & interactive digital art installation titled “SAKURA YUME” (Cherry Blossom Dream) at Artechouse, the first innovative art space in Washington DC. Artechouse created this new immersive & interactive art piece in collaboration with NOIRFLUX, StoryLab Inc., Nathan Solomon, Big Bright Monster, as part of the Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival. I’m excited to be part of and see how my calligraphy is going to play a role in this dreamy, immersive experience. Premiere on March 15th.

    SAKURA YUME / CHERRY BLOSSOM DREAM
    Immersive & Interactive Art
    Exhibition: March 15 – May 6+
    Daily 10am – 10pm
    Tickets: $8-15 for All Ages

    ARTECHOUSE
    1238 Maryland Ave AW, Washington, DC 20024
    artechouse.com

  • 風花 – Snow Flurries in the Wind

    風花 – Snow Flurries in the Wind

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    風花   kazahana
    – Flurries in the Wind –

    On the last night of January.
    In a slumber listening to the lullaby of the city lights, dreaming of the snow flurries in Munich.
    I wish flurries of words would fall like snowfall on a night like this.
    Snow flurries fell into my palms and melted, before I was able to remember the shapes of each one of them.
    And the snow crystals changed into the rain as I was reminiscing.
    Words all disappeared, while I was busy recording.
    I just had to feel the moment, and not remember the moment.

    睦月最後の夜
    都会の光に包まれて、微睡みながら思い出す
    ミュンヘンの風花

    無数の風花が降るのと同じ速度で
    無数の言葉が降ってきたらいいのに

    風花は手の中で溶けてなくなって
    形を思い出そうとすると雨に変わっていった
    書き留めた言葉は紙面から離れて消えていった[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][rs_gallery column=”2″ images=”6953,6954″][rs_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • beyond tellerrand München 2018

    beyond tellerrand München 2018

    [vc_row][vc_column][rs_special_text font_size=”55px” font_color=”#000000″]Talk at Beyond Tellerrand München 2018[/rs_special_text][rs_space height=”25px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][rs_gallery column=”3″ images=”6920,6918,6919″][rs_gallery column=”2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’ve had a pleasure to speak at beyond tellerrand, a Germany-based conference about web design, development, creativity, design and more, inviting speakers from around the world to educate and learn, share inspirations and ideas. Beyond Tellerrand takes place in Düsseldorf, Berlin, and for this winter, they embarked on a new adventure in Munich at for its first edition at Münchener Künstlerhaus, from January 16th – 17th. I spoke as one of the “inspiration” speakers on the last slot of the first day in the evening.

    The venue Münchener Künstlerhaus, literally translates as “Munich House of Artists”, was such a beautiful place with lots of historical charms throughout the building. The atmosphere of Beyond Tellerrand was very welcoming, exciting, upbeat (most definitely thanks to Baldower, who editing the mix live, with the quotes from the talks as samples that he just recorded – as he calls it “sound sketch notes”! Such a fun idea, it was something to look forward to after every talk, especially as a speaker ;)). Marc Thiele, the organizer of beyond tellerrand, has welcomed us to the stage with a little personal episode as an introduction. He made sure that everyone was feeling warmly welcomed and his love for connecting people really resonated with everyone – thank you your such hospitality, Marc!

    I’ve met wonderful creative minds through this conference / trip, including dina Amin, Simon Collison & Geri Coady, Stefan Sagmeister, Carla Diana, Vitaly Friedmann, Nadieh Bremer, Mark Robbins and Christian Heilmann. You can watch the vides of the talks here – if you are interested in or work in the field of stop motion animation, industrial design, graphic design, web design, data visualization, front-end design and coding, internet security… you’ll find these talks inspiring and there’s a lot you can learn. And you can get a glimpse of the conference and all behind-the-scenes stories here.

    I had a wonderful time in beautiful Munich. I very much enjoyed my stay, and hope to return again!

    You can watch the video of my talk below. Hope you enjoy, and learn something new about Japanese calligraphy :-)[/vc_column_text][rs_special_text tag=”h2″ font_style=”italic” font_size=”40px” font_color=”#000000″]

    書は人なり

    Sho Ha Hito Nari:
    Brushes, Strokes and Reflection of Self

    [/rs_special_text][vc_raw_html el_id=”video”]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF5ZXIudmltZW8uY29tJTJGdmlkZW8lMkYyNTE0MzM2NjklM0Z0aXRsZSUzRDAlMjZieWxpbmUlM0QwJTI2cG9ydHJhaXQlM0QwJTIyJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI5NDUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjI1MzElMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjB3ZWJraXRhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4lMjBtb3phbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4lMjBhbGxvd2Z1bGxzY3JlZW4lM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Photos by Andreas Danz
    View more photos by Stefan Nitzche

    Talk & speaker bio:
    beyondtellerrand.com/events/munich-2018/speakers/aoi-yamaguchi

    Information about beyond tellerrand:
    beyondtellerrand.com/
    twitter.com/btconf

    Special thanks to Marc Thiele for the warm invitation and organizing an amazing place to share and connect.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Hello Munich! Talk at Beyond Tellerrand Munich 2018

    Hello Munich! Talk at Beyond Tellerrand Munich 2018

    [vc_row][vc_column][rs_image_block align=”align-center” image_link=”yes” image=”6845″ link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fbeyondtellerrand.com%2Fevents%2Fmunich-2018|||”][rs_space height=”45px”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][rs_image_block align=”align-center” image_link=”yes” image=”6844″ link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fbeyondtellerrand.com%2Fevents%2Fmunich-2018|||”][rs_space height=”45px”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’m excited to announce that I was invited to give a talk at Beyond Tellerrand, a creative conference that brings diverse range of speakers together this year. Their events take place in Berlin, Düsseldorf and for the first time in Munich from this year, which I was invited to be part of. The Munich event is right around the corner, from January 15th to 17th in Munich with an exciting line-up of speakers from various fields: designers, scientists, authors, educators, artists in visual communication design, web design, data sciences, web architect and developers, and art like myself. You can check the line-up of speakers here.

    Looking forward to visit Munich for the first time, and share my stories about Japanese calligraphy![/vc_column_text][rs_space height=”25px”][symple_heading title=”EVENT DETAILS” type=”h3″ style=”dotted-line” font_size=”25px”][vc_column_text]Beyond Tellerrand
    January 15 – 17, 2018
    Website: beyondtellerrand.com

    Speakers include…:
    Dina Amin, Nadieh Bremer,
    Robin Christopherson, Simon Collison,
    Carla Diana, Vitaly Friedmann, Christian Heilmann,
    Mark Robbins, Harry Roberts,
    Stefan Sagmeister, Sara Soueidan,
    Marcy Sutton, Aoi Yamaguchi

    Workshops: Monday, January 15
    @ Microsoft Deutschland
    Walter-Gropius-Straße 5
    80807 München
    microsoft.com/de-de

    Talks: Tuesday, January 16 – 17
    @ Münchener Künstlerhaus
    Lenbachplatz 8
    80333 München
    kuenstlerhaus-muc.de

    >> My Talk: Tuesday, January 16 2018  19:30- <<

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  • 「織」-WEAVE- New Year’s Greetings 2018

    「織」-WEAVE- New Year’s Greetings 2018

     

    「織」-Weave-

    一本一本丁寧に心を込めて糸を織り込むように
    一人一人との繋がりをたいせつに
    一糸一糸が重なり合い、鮮やかな文様が描かれてゆく
    そうして織りなされるひとつの織物のように
    柔らかくしなやかに、強い芯を持って
    私らしい模様を織っていく。

    Incorporating the yarn with care one by one
    Is like connecting the paths with you, and new you
    Each line overlaps and a vivid pattern is drawn
    Like a fabric woven in an unique texture
    Soft and supple, but with strength
    I will weave my own pattern, with you.

    Wishing you and yours peace and light in 2018.

    一緒に素敵な模様を、織っていけますように。

     皆様に平穏と光ある幸多き一年となりますようお祈り申し上げます。
    本年もどうぞ宜しくお願いいたします。

  • New Year’s Calligraphy “Kakizome” Workshop 2018

    New Year’s Calligraphy “Kakizome” Workshop 2018

    [vc_row][vc_column][rs_image_block align=”align-center” image_link=”yes” image=”6810″ link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2Fe%2Fnew-years-japanese-calligraphy-kakizome-workshop-tickets-41146446128|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][rs_special_text]

    二〇一八年書き初め
    Kakizome Workshop 2018

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    Kakizome (書き初め) is the term for the first calligraphy writing of the new year,
    traditionally performed on the second day of January.
    This event is also called 吉書 (kissho), 初硯 (hatsu-suzuri) and 試筆 (shi-hitsu).
    People write auspicious words or a short Japanese or Chinese poetry, such as haiku or tanka,
    something that symbolizes one’s wishes for the New Year.
    In modern times, people simply prefer to choose kanji characters
    that have positive meanings and one’s resolution for the year.

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    During this workshop, you will be trying Kakizome with your choice of words for your wishes for the New Year on the large pieces of calligraphy paper. We will go over the basics from how to hold the brush to how to control the brush, the balance between the mind and body, understanding the structure and meaning of Japanese characters, basic brush techniques and possibilities of sumi ink.  First, we will practice on small scale, and then you will be writing with a large kakizome calligraphy brush on “hansetsu”* sized calligraphy paper! You don’t know what to write? Don’t worry, we will have a list of words and phrases for you to choose or be inspired from. This one-time workshop is designed for a small group of beginners and intermediate level of all ages. No prior art experience is necessary. Space is limited; early registration is encouraged!

    DATE & TIME
    Saturday January 6th
    11:00am – 1:30pm
    3:00pm – 5:30pm 

    LEVEL
    Beginners and intermediate level of all ages.
    (For those under 12 who wish to participate, please let us know in advance!)

    LECTURE & TEXTS
    This workshop will be instructed by Aoi Yamaguchi.Worksheets and handouts will be provided.
    Lesson will be taught in English. Knowledge of Japanese language is not necessary.

    SUPPLIES & MATERIALS
    Basic calligraphy tools and supplies will be provided for you to work on Kakizome during the workshop.

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_btn title=”VIEW CLASSES & REGISTER” shape=”square” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fnewyears_kakizome_2018.eventbrite.com||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][rs_space height=”25px”][rs_blockquote]

    Join us for the fresh start of the year with Kakizome!

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  • Featured interview in COURRIER JAPON

    Featured interview in COURRIER JAPON

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]courrier.jp aoi yamaguchi calligrapher

     

    COURRIER JAPON, a Japan-based international news magazine, featured my interview with 99U. The interview is translated into Japanese for this issue. Courrier Japon is one of the international magazines I used to read in Japan, around the time when I was starting to dream about studying abroad. It absolutely broaden my knowledge about the world. It is an honor to be in this magazine, thank you Courrier Japon for sharing my stories as a Japanese calligrapher.
    You can read the interview from here.

    日本で海外に視野を向け始めた高校時代に読んでいたCOURRIER JAPON に、インタビューが掲載されました。
    先日99Uに掲載されたインタビュー “Breaking from Tradition” の日本語訳版です。ぜひご一読いただけましたら幸いです。
    記事はこちらから。

    14歳の時に感じた「アートは言葉や文化の国境を超え、心は通じあうことができるんだ」という思いは、当時も今も変わっていません。毎日が試行錯誤で、日々が新たな発見で、失敗から学んで、自分に問いかけながら、表現し続けること。言葉も文化も超えたたくさんの素敵な出逢いがあって、思いがあって、支えがあって、私はここにいます。

    COURRiER Japonのスタッフの皆様、素敵なインタビュー翻訳記事を掲載してくださってどうもありがとうございます。[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_btn title=”READ THE INTERVIEW” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcourrier.jp%2Fnews%2Farchives%2F94317%2F|||”][rs_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Featured interview in CNN ENGLISH EXPRESS

    Featured interview in CNN ENGLISH EXPRESS

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    Excited to be featured in the latest December issue of CNN English Express (available in Japan). It is wonderful to be able to share stories about my work across the world through words. Thank you CNN EE for the lovely time in Tokyo!

    CNN English Express 12月号巻頭に、インタビューが掲載されました。海外での書家活動についてお話しさせていただきました。
    朝日出版社のスタッフの皆さま、素敵な記事を掲載していただいてどうもありがとうございます。
    ぜひお近くの書店にてお手に取っていただければ幸いです。
    日々、学びですね。[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][symple_button url=”http://ee.asahipress.com/latest-issue/2017/12/” title=”” color=”grey” size=”large” align=”aligninline”]ORDER DECEMBER ISSUE[/symple_button][rs_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]