Review by Serena Kovalosky

"Art and Artists' Mind" is a 365 day project on the Artful Vagabond website by Serena Kovalosky.  Serena is an artist, curator, and cultural project developer in New York.  My work is included in this project for the 348th day.  She wrote a beautiful article about my work.  Thank you so much, Serena!
Check out the article at the link below.

Creating with a Sojourner's Heart - Day 348

The Bomb Shelter Show

I enjoyed seeing a lot of artworks by many local artists and meeting people at the Bomb Shelter Show yesterday. Here are some photos, so you can get a glimpse of it.  I checked the streaming video after I came back home and had a fun watching me and my works shown in the video.

 Live music was going on...

I took some photos from the recorded streaming video on YouTube.

This is one of my works.

 This beautiful lady seems to be looking at my work.

Thanks to the people who organized it!  I am so grateful to be invited to participate in the show and to be a part of such an lively art scene in Wichita.  The show will be up for one month.

The Bomb Shelter Show
R Coffeehouse, 1144, N. Bitting, Wichtia, KS

Upcoming... The Bomb Shelter Show

My drawings are included in this show.
This is an eclectic salon style show with many local artists.

The Bomb Shelter Show
Date: For a month from Nov. 30th, 2012
Opening Reception: Nov. 30th, 7:00pm - 12:00am
Place: R Coffeehouse, 1144 N. Bitting, Wichita, KS

The opening reception will be streaming live online.
Artist interviews, music, and artworks will be seen.  The streaming will start at 7:00pm.

http://www.youtube.com/user/yenracm

B & A + C 2012 Show in Yokohama, Japan

     I just received the photos of the show in Yokohama, Japan. I am going to post these photos here with their permission.  I am so grateful to be able to participate in this show!  Big thanks to Rev. Machida, the representative from Bible & Art Ministries, and many people who were involved with the show.  

  'Sojourning #12' exhibited at the show  (photo: B & A Ministries)

   The members and the artists at the show (photo: B & A Ministries)

     About 70 postcards with printed images of my paintings for sale were sold out.  The profits will be used to support the recovery efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake.  It was a blessing for me to be a small part of these efforts through my art even though I am many miles away.  My prayer is that people in this area are protected and the day will come that they will fully have their lives back.

　横浜での展示会の写真を受け取りました。許可を得て、写真をこちらで掲載させていただきます。このように今回の展示会に参加できて、感謝でした。B & A ミニストリーズ代表の町田先生はじめ、お働きに携わった多くの方々に感謝します。

　販売用として置かせて頂いた私の絵を印刷した約７０枚のポストカードは完売したそうです。収益金は東日本大震災の復興支援として用いられます。アートを通して、このような支援にささやかながらも協力させて頂けたことを感謝しています。この地域の人達が守られ、日常の生活が戻ってくる日が一日も早く来ますように、お祈りします。

B&A 2012 + C Show in Yokohama, Japan

My painting is included in  'B&A 2012 + C Show' in Yokohama, Japan this week.

Place:  Mission Hall, Shimizugaoka-kyokai, 1-37-10, Minami Ota, Minami-ku, Yokohama, Japan
Date:   Oct. 22 - 27, 2012
           11:00am - 6:00pm
           The final day 11:00am - 4:00pm

This is the annual show organized by B&A (Bible & Art) Ministries in Japan.
At this show, the artworks by 42 artists are exhibited.  My painting 'Sojourning #12' is exhibited and the postcards of my paintings are available to purchase.  All the profits will go to support the recovery efforts for the Great East Japan Earthquake.

I hope you can enjoy the show if you are in this area.

バイブル＆アート　２０１２ ＋ チャリティー展
日時　１０月２２日（月）－　１０月２７日（土）
　　　１１:００－１８:００
　　　最終日は１３:００－１６:００

場所　横浜市南区南太田１－３７－１０
京浜急行「南太田」駅下車改札を出てすぐ左山側へ徒歩約３分

バイブル・アンド・アートミニストリーズによる定期展示会です。すべての収益金は東日本大震災の復興支援として用いられます。
私は油絵一点の展示とポストカードの販売をさせてもらっています。
お近くの方は是非、ご来場ください。

Trish Higgins Fine Art 'Artist Spotlight Interview'

From the October 2011 issue of News from Trish Higgins Fine Art

Studio Visit with Chiyoko Myose

1. Tell me about your latest project.

     I have been working on a series of paintings with the title of ‘Sojourning’.  I am expressing my longing for a place to fully call home, suggesting aspects like place, memory, and seeking.  I am also exploring installation art which I will mention later.

2.  Give me three adjectives that sum up your current work or studio experiences.

      Evocative, Close to my heart, Contemplative.

3. How does this relate to your earlier work?

     All the paintings of this body of work have the same system of three layers. Each layer expresses a different facet of the reality of my life as a sojourner.  The overall image is a conceptual landscape reflecting the map of my own journey.  Although I keep the specific meanings of the elements enigmatic, I hope the viewers relate to the broader theme, interpret the images themselves and make their own journey, or enjoy the images just like listening to their own favorite music.

4. What artists are currently influencing your work?

     I am influenced by different types of artists for this current work.  They include Hiroshi Sugito with stage-like landscape, Reed Danziger with decorative motifs, and Thomas Nozkowski with inventive and enigmatic abstraction.  I always like Paul Klee.  Also, I don’t want to forget basic color theory such as Hans Hofmann’s color push and pull, and Joseph Albers’ color relativity / interaction.  These color effects remind me of some personal meanings to me.  I love color, and am fascinated by the mystery of color every time I paint.

5. What other (visual, conceptual, technical) influences inform your artistic practice?

     My everyday experiences as a ‘sojourner’ inspire the concept of this work.  Also, conversations with other people who share a similar situation inspire me, too. 

     I am also exploring installation art for the same theme.  With my installation art, rather than deciding on a specific concept beforehand, I try to be responsive to the site and the materials first.  I sometimes start working without knowing what the finished image will be like.  While I am executing, I often gain insight into the life of a sojourner, which can be eye-opening and rewarding.

6.   If you were not maintaining your artistic practice, what would you be doing instead?

     I would be doing blogging heavily.

Yarn Bombing at Wichita State University

I graduated from Wichita State University (WSU), Wichita, KS in 2011, but I am still involved in some art activities on campus.  The WSU Ulrich Museum of Art organized "yarn bombing", and dozens of sculpture on campus were covered in yarn this week.  The Ulrich Museum has a great outdoor sculpture collection and it is rated one of the top ten campus sculpture collections in the U.S.  There are more than 75 pieces of sculpture on the 330-acre campus.  These pages introduce the sculpture collection:  

http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=MARK2&p=/millipede/

The yarn bombing makes people take a second look at these sculptures.  More than 100 local knitters, crocheters, and artists worked on this project since May.  I was involved in it, too, by contributing some crochet and helping to install them. 

These are the  squares and  the circles that I contributed.    It was a good color study, and it reminded me of Josef Albers' "Homeage to Squrare" series when I was making them.  

Among many sculptures that they worked on,  I will post photos of eleven of them. 

Yarn bombed Andy Goldsworthy's 'Wichita Arch'

     The three columns, the remnant of the Carnegie Library building is now yarn bombed.

Yarn bombed Tom Otterness' 'Millipede'

Detail

Yarn bombed Francisco Zuniga's 'Tres Mujeres Caminando'

Yarn bombed Auguste Rodin's 'La Cathedrale'

 Yarn bombed Fernando Botero's 'Man with Cane, Woman with Umbrella'

 Yarn bombed Dame Barbara Hepworth's 'Figure'

 Yarn bombed William Zorach's 'Kneeling Figure'

Luis Jimenez, Jr. 's 'Howl' is yarn bombed.  I think this is my favorite!

Yarn bombed Charles Grafly's sculptures

'Thomas Jefferson' by Donald De Lue is yarn bombed.

Many of them make me gasp and giggle.  I am amazed by creativity and playfulness of the people here.  They are going to stay up there till 5:00pm, September 23rd.  Hope you can check them out!  For more information, go to:  http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=ulrichmuseum&p=/Art/Exhibitions/YarnBombing/