Ukishima Diary
2001
page 9
Jan. 2001
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Sasaki san from Iwate Town Office and Kata studying the latest plans and budgets for the new Ishimgami no Oka Museum and Michi No Eki for Iwate Town. Despite severe budget restraints Richard Murphy Architects from Edinburgh and Wakamatsu and Roppongi Architects from Morioka seem to have come up trumps - if all goes well should be an excellent precedent for international architectural collaboration in the Tohoku region. (KT) |
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Sean won second prize in the Maiinichi Newspaper`s National Children`s Picture Competition. His kindergarten teacher who entered paintings from her whole class was even more pleased than he was. I think Sean just thinks that he was the top in his kindergarten; he keeps asking me why everyone is making such a fuss about a little painting of a firework, but despite his bemusement he is rather pleased with the fuss - he has no conception of what a national competition is yet - probably just as well. (KT) |
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Ah the luxury of being spoilt by my mother - this gorgeous new flocati rug arrived from Scotland today. It has become the centre of everyones` attentions, from exercise mat, with Emily showing off by making me try to do the same things as her, to Kata keeping the dog of it by hogging the whole thing himself (he has been working through the night a few times lately so will be excused this for atleast one day). The only person who is not totally delighted with this new luxury is Cinamon who is banished to her old bath mat under pain of expulsion into the snow. Thank you Ann chan - it`s wonderful. (KT) |
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| Mori san & his 2 children arrived to give Kata a pair of old skiis and teach me how to teach the children to ski at the same time as learning myself. All 4 of us now have the full sets, so I no longer have the excuse not to brave the slopes - outside our house anyway, still think I will resist the steep ski resorts for a few years! Then while Mori, Kata and I were working out a schedule for Mori to photograph our sculpture for exhibition catalogues the children completed the `Kamakura` snow house. (KT) |
Kata had a meeting of the Ajiro Town Regeneration Committee all day (working out a strategy for this ski resort area, including Appi, to survive by creating several off season facilities, events & attractions). Kukida san persauded me to join them with the children after the meeting.
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The committe is a refreshingly constructive group with many good ideas and a healthy determination to enhance the natural environment of the area while creating new initiatives with a high educational & cultural level. We all had an animated discussion at `Winglight Pension`, where several of us spent the night before going cross country skiing the next morning. Cross country skiing is free (unless you need to hire the boots and skiis at a very reasonable price), none of that endless queing at ski lifts, and great fun - even for scaredy cats like me. Sean struggled bravely with his own ordinary skiis as no hire skiis were available in his size, but ended up being given a piggy back most of the way around by Kata; Emily did amazingly well after she realised that if her mother could do it anyone could!! (KT) |
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Relaxing with Caroline, Gael, Susan and Anthony after setting Kata`s second piece for the new sushi restaurant in the trendy Daikan Yama area of Tokyo. [Daikan Yama is famous for its amazing buidings by the great Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki - well worth a trip to see the architecture, trendy shops and restaurants, and ofcourse a couple of Kata`s sculptures in the stylish new restaurant and bar complex designed by Shiomi san in the new building opposite Daikan Yama `Address`, depending on your interests]. Many thanks to Susan and Anthony for a wonderful meal. And many thanks again to Gael and Caroline for putting us up and putting up with 2 artists invading them rather frequently this year! (KT) |
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Kata`s mother arrived in Ukishima to look after Emily and Sean while we drive to Tokyo to set another of Kata`s sculptures tomorrow. All 4 of them are eating icecream, to help warm Kata up after finishing polishing the sculpture in the freezing studio?!! (KT) |
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Sharon, Zara and Rene came out to stay for the weekend again. Sharon made us all delicious oatmeal pancakes for breakfast on Sunday morning Sharon you are welcome for sunday breakfast any time! Attempts at skiing proved the snow at Ukishima was too wet and heavy today; Sean and Zara struggled up the neighbouring hill with Sharon and I for a last try on the steeper slopes, but eventually gave up and joined Emily and Rene for more sedate activities in the house. (KT) |
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Visited our landscape architect friend Kamikado`s office. Then out to play in Tokyo with Caroline, Gael, Martine, Kata and I. Lovely I haven`t been out dancing for such a long time!! Drove back to Sendai to pick the children up from their grandparents the next day, and then to Morioka to stop off for coffee with Sharon who gave us second hand skiis & boots for Emily and Sean. Back to Ukishima just in time to defrost the water system before dark. (KT) |
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Kata and Yagi san catching their breath after heaving Kata`s stone sculpture out of our pick up, into the lift, through the corridors, and over a very elaborate piece of scaffolding (constructed specially to get it over the completed wooden sushi bar and into its predestined spot as a centre piece of the new sushi restaurant designed by the interior designer Shiomi san. Kata then collapsed at Caroline and Gael`s flat. Photos of the sculpture in its full glory with the water flowing out of it into the pond in front of the slate wall may appear on these pages in the near future. (KT) |
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Kata showing off that he has perfectly split the stone against all the odds and is still alive after an unbelievable day of struggling with endless obstacles to completing the sculpture on time - Murphy`s law that everthing decided to break down at the same time, from the air tools, to the rock drill to the yumbo/JCB, but he got them all working again. He worked solidly through the next 19 hours and finished in time for me to drive him and it down to Tokyo while he flaked out in the back seat. Despite the excitement of several last minute happenings, we got the work there in time and are extremely grateful for stamina! (KT) |
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Sean took pitty on Kata working with water in this freezing weather and helped me take him out some hot tea to the studio. Actually it is not too bad out there as we had to set up a stove to stop the water from freezing while polishing! (KT) |
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The snow is still the main attraction of the childrens` winter holidays. (KT) |
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No not the effects of too much holiday indulgence - Sean and Kata decided they needed cushions up their jumpers for a boxing session. (KT) |
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Sendai Grandpa delivered the children back to Morioka where we met them at the station. New coats and trousers, a very successful swimming course, an exciting train journey, too much chocolate, and generally totally hyper happy children. (KT) |
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Took advantage of the fact that the children are staying with their grandparents in Sendai for a few days (taking a swimming course and being thouroughly well spoiled) to go out with friends in Morioka for a celebration of the new millenium. From left: Nagai san; Hatamura san; Kumagai san; Yamamoto san; Roppongi san; Kumagai san; and me (KT) |
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It`s so cold these days that we have taken pitty on Cinamon who is now allowed inside the house - and gets very fed up when the stove is not on for her. (KT) |
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Mori san (our photographer friend) and his two children came to spend the day. Another feast of mochi with various sauces, fish, soup...and out onto the Uksihima piste again. Most of us were sledging, but Sean tried out Miku chan`s skiis - he did pretty well! Hours later we all flopped back into the house for hot chocolate and biscuits Emily could not fit into Miku`s tiny boots - we really must get to the re-cycle shop to buy skiis and boots for us all, the gentle slopes around the house and our neighbours` fields are perfect training grounds - might even get me back onto skiis for the first time since I was 15 years old! (KT) http://homepage.mac.com/ukishima/iMovieTheater.html http://homepage.mac.com/ukishima/iMovieTheater1.html |
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| The parking lot for the shrine had a tail back of 1km so we dropped in at Momose`s house to ask if we could park at his studio. Despite the fact that Momose is working flat out for an exhibition in Hamamatsu next week he made us promise to come back to see them on the way home. So we had a delicious feast at Momose`s house after a lovely afternoon at the shrine. But Emily and Sean had been so excited to see Ui and Momoko Momose that they ate nothing and declared that they were hungry on the way home, so we stopped at a hamburger shop: After the treats at the shrine and all the lovely food Momoko had made for us Kata & I looked on in disbelief. (KT) |
