In my third week at Arts Itoya, I continued to spend a lot of time in the studio! Rainy season had officially commenced, so studio time was even more cozy. I also caught a cold, but it was a fast one - only lasting a few days. I was happy it had waited to strike until after my Yakushima visit, as that meant I didn’t have any issues with my scuba diving or intense hike.

One rainy afternoon, my bike hydroplaned atop some slick ground tiles and I hit the ground, so I had a number of scrapes and bruises from that. I was even more inclined to stick to the studio afterwards! We were also aware that our exhibition was coming up quickly. I designed my own show card as well as the poster for everyone’s shows within the multi-artist exhibition gallery. For my own show, I chose to title it Ikigai (生き甲斐). Ikigai is a Japanese concept/philosophy that has already made its way into English, much like zen, bonsai, and wabi-sabi. Ikigai is your reason for living; it combines passion, mission, and profession.

There were still a couple of new adventures! I had discovered that there is a lake with swan boats relatively nearby, so Emily and I went on a swan paddle boat outing. We also visited the Yoko Museum and Japanese Garden in Takeo. We observed that all the ceramics were wired down, and my theory is that this is an earthquake-damage-prevention measure.