Kookmin University’s Glass Program, Seoul, Korea

November 28th, 2008 | News

Kookmin University’s Graduate Glass Program is vibrant and active. Program Head Ki-Ra Kim one of Korea’s best and brightest educators is working with some of Korea’s most talented and experienced artists to educate the next generation of Korea’s artists working with glass. Kookmin instructors include Joon Yong Kim, Hyewook Huh, Kyou Hong Lee, Hag-Ju Lee, Sunho Lee, and Jung Sun Oh.

Korean Glass is on the rise!

Former Graduate Students include Kyoung Ryoung Kim, Dong Sun Kim, Myong Ho Kim, Seon Min Park, Jung-hun Yoon, Jiin Kim, JoonHo Hwang.

Currently Graduate Students are Seung Hee Jung and, Won Hee Cho.

The following is a visual introduction to the program.

Ki-Ra Kim

K Hyewook Huh

Joon-Yong Kim

Hagju-Lee

Kyou Hong Lee

Sunho Lee

Former Graduate Students at Kookmin University.

Dongsun Kim

Jiin Kim

Junghyun Yoon

Kyoungryoung Kim

Myongho Kim

Seounmin Park

Current Graduate Student at Kookmin U.

Seung Hee Jung

TAMA Art University Graduate Student’s Work

November 27th, 2008 | News

Here is an introduction to graduate student’s work from TAMA Art University in Tokyo. Tama has long been at the forefront of Japanese glass art education. Makato Ito, Japanese glass pioneer has headed the program for many years along with Kazumi Ikemoto who will be the next program head. Other noted faculty are Yoshihiko Takahashi and Michiko Miyake.

I must note here that Makoto Ito will retire this year from teaching at Tama! A milestone not only for him but for all of studio glass!

Recently I was invited to lecture and participate in a critique at Tama. I must say that to critique graduate student’s work with Makoto Ito was a great honor and a distinctly memorable experience for me. The following are works from Tama’s first and second year graduate students. The first two students are first year students and the rest second year students currently working towards thesis exhibitions.

Moe Hatanaka

Syogo Nakagawa

Hiroko Fujino

Kojima Natsumi

Sakiko Tsugawa

Akemi Kurita

Megumi Yoshida

Yasuhiko Tsuchida visits OUA from Venice

November 26th, 2008 | News

Yasuhiko Tsuchida is visiting Osaka University of Art from his home and studio in Venice, Italy. He is working on a large fused glass panel work with the help of OUA Faculty, Staff and Graduate Students. After fusing Tuschida will laminate the fused glass panels to a large sheet of plate glass for an architectural installation.

Tsuchida was born in Tennoji not far from the university. He has lived in Venice for the past 20 years where he maintains a studio for not only glass but also painting and multimedia. He will lecture tomorrow on his work and professional practices in Europe.

Here is documentation of his project.

Field Journal, Japan

November 25th, 2008 | Journal

Agricultural processes have always interested me. Such processes appear to me as seasonal rituals that sustain us as human beings. These processes bring us literally down to earth. The visual effects of plantings and harvests while connected logically with efficiency and production often result in what seems to me chance compositions. Often as not the visual effects are enhanced or thought out in such a way as to be visually pleasing and in harmony with the surroundings. I use similar strategies when thinking about installations or objects in relationship to each other in space, interior or exterior. I consider the following images “found compositions” or selected sketches for future projects. No matter where I traveled over the past 30 years I’ve taken such photos. I’m also interested in seasonal harvests and festivals as related to comparative mythology and religion. Works of mine like “The Keeper’s Lament”, “Offering” and “Neruda” are visually based and metaphorically connected to the idea of harvest and our connection with nature.

Osaka University of Art Faculty and Staff

November 25th, 2008 | News

There is Hiroshi Yamano, Yuki Uchimura, Etsuko Nishi at the top and Tsuyoshi Inoue, Kentaro Senuma, Toshikazu Kobayashi as part time instructors. The Staff here is phenomenal! Risako Yahagi, Ryo Sekino, Shohei Yokoyama and Misako Onishi facilitate everything and make sure the trains run on time! I feel fortunate to be working with such a talented group of artists. It’s an extremely serious pace they all set here but they somehow make it all fun and a really good time! Enjoy their works!

Yuki Uchimura

Etsuko Nishi

Toshikazu Kobayashi

Tsuyoshi Inoue

Kentaro Senuma

Risako Yahagi

Misako Onishi

Ryo Sekino

Shohei Yokoyama

A Day at Osaka Art University

November 23rd, 2008 | News

Hiroshi Yamano demonstrates glass blowing and hot glass techniques in this case how to make a stingray. Yuki Uchimura is holding court in the casting studios. Students are working hard and I’ve never before seen such a busy kiln forming studio.

Uchimura’s Court

Kookmin University and Korea National University of Arts

November 20th, 2008 | Journal

From November 15 to the 18th Ki-Ra Kim the Head of the Glass Program invited me to lecture and critique graduate students at Kookmin University. My demonstration happened at K’ArtsGlass Studio facilitated by Vice dean and Glass Professor Park Sung-won. The studio photos with glass work towards the end of this post are Professor Park’s work. I was fortunate to meet several alumni from The School For American Crafts at RIT who are now prominently involved with the glass art scene in Korea. Check out <glassartkorea.org>

Read the rest of this entry »

Hong Kong Baptist University’s Glass Program

November 19th, 2008 | Journal

November 11 to 15 I visited Hong Kong Baptist University’s Glass Program headed by my friend Sunny Wang. Sunny invited me to lecture and demonstrate for two days and then gave me an excellent tour of the city. I love any port city but found Hong Kong particularly fascinating. The mixture of different cultures adds to an already rich and diverse visual atmosphere.

Read the rest of this entry »

A Trip to Nagoya

November 5th, 2008 | Journal

I recently made a very nostalgic trip back to Nagoya where many past students of mine from Aichi University of Education’s Glass Program gathered for a reunion. It warmed my heart to meet with my past students and to see that so many are still actively involved in glass and art.

Read the rest of this entry »

Through Bamboo Groves and Temples, Kyoto, Arashiyama

November 5th, 2008 | Journal

I’ve just visited Kyoto for two days to enjoy the Fall scenery. Lucky for me it is only two hours from my country doorstep just outside Osaka to Kyoto by public transport. The first day I went to Kamigamo-jinja where Shichi-Go-San was in full swing, this is an event where kids of age 7, 5, and 3 dress in colorful kimono and visit shrines to pray for health and happiness. There were Maiko performing tea ceremony and dance as well. I particularly enjoyed the two large conical white sand mounds at the entry to the shrine said to represent mountains sculpted for gods to descend upon. Each mound has a singular pine needle stuck into it’s top. Kamigamo-jinja was established in 679 and dedicated to Raijin, the god of thunder. There is also a beautiful water basin. From Kamigamo-jinja I went to Jingo-ji a mountaintop temple that sits at the top of several long flights of stairs. After visiting the Kondo, (Gold Hall) I then went along a wooded path to an open area overlooking a deep valley. Here one tosses small ceramic discs over the railing into the chasm below. The discs are called kawarakenage and carry away one’s bad karma when thrown into the valley. The scenery there is breath taking.

It’s hard to believe that just yesterday morning I was taking a 4 hour long meandering walk in the mountains of Arashiyama, north of Kyoto. There was Tenru-ji a beautiful zen temple and garden, a stunning bamboo forest, the Okochi-Sanso Villa that overlooks the river and Kyoto, Jojakko-ji, Rakushisha a thatched roofed hut the haiku poet Basho stayed for a while. Then further along is Takiguchi-dera and Gio-ji with it’s fine moss garden, Adashino Nembutsu-ji with it’s thousands of stone statues and finally the way to Atago Torii lined with thatched roofed houses all evocative of another era and designating the end of the walk. All in all a beautiful Fall day with the leaves well on their way to turning every color of the rainbow.