Wordless Wednesday - Yasaka Shrine with Fortunes

Yasaka Shrine photograph © 2009 Jaime Lyerly

~ Jaime Lyerly

Wordless Wednesday - Toyko Panda

~ Jaime Lyerly

Out with the Old! Bringing in new energy by cleaning

I am feeling hyper, motivated and inspired to do the unthinkable - CLEAN and GET RID OF STUFF - Including ART SUPPLIES!

This feeling hardly ever comes. And when it does, it usually lasts only for a hour or two. Then I get overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes and I avoid it again for another year or so.

But all the energy in my life is telling me that it is time for a change.

I need to LET OUT THE OLD TO ACCEPT THE NEW!

There are so many examples and descriptions that I could go into for why this is resonating with me that I would end up spending the whole day writing blog posts about it. But there is cleaning, returning and organizing to do and I have to strike while the iron is hot. Iron...encaustic...painting...mmm...oh, distractions.. how I miss you already. No! Focus! Okay, one quick example.

In my Japanese class, we talked about traditional activities surrounding the New Year. (I am just going by memory here, so if I get it wrong, please forgive and correct me!) Each year has a specific animal sign (adapted from Chinese Zodiac), and a new deity that is welcomed into the home by cleaning every inch of it. Getting rid of old things, cleaning, writing New years' cards, and putting up decorations is necessary. The first three days of the new year, everyone has off (with one exception). New years' cards are sent to everyone you know and are delivered on New Years day by mailmen who are the only ones that work. New years eve at the Shinto shrine, the monks ring the gigantic bell 108 times to release the 108 sins or demons inside every person. More about Shinto New Year bell ringing here. Going to the Shinto temple for blessing is common within the first few days of the year. Bathing and cleansing are very important for the house and the body. To the left is a picture of Chris and my friend Joyce cleansing their hands and mouths before going into the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo during our Japan and China Study Tour. They even wear new clothes on New Years' day. It looks like an amazing tradition, and one that I am going to adopt and modify to fit my own life this year.

So back to what has been occupying me for the last few days - cleaning out the old. I am getting rid of all the clothes, items and even art stuff that no longer fits me. This includes lots of watercolor stuff, acrylic paintings and maybe even art books (although those are harder to part with). And as I get a notice from my health insurance company that starting January 2010, my health insurance per month will be raised to $295, I am thinking about the barter system. Maybe I need to trade some of my art supplies for other services? Maybe trade art for something more practical? Maybe trade of acrylic supplies for encaustic wax that I need to continue my projects for the new year? I am already making a trade with my friend Starry to help me regain my sewing skills, but we haven't worked out the details. I am looking for options in the new year, and I believe that this new energy will not do me harm. Anyone looking for a trade of art supplies? Email me and we can work out a deal!

I have spent too long on this post, but I am still energized to make room in my life for more abundance! So if you don't see my posts as often as I usually do, trust me, I am still here and working away on my art and life. I look forward to sharing more of my life and art with you in the new year!

Happy cleaning and Welcoming the New Year! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Wordless Wednesday - Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto at Night

~ Jaime Lyerly

Wordless Wednesday - Shinto Torii Gate and "Shrine Virgins"

~Jaime Lyerly

Musings and My Obsession with Japan

I have been brooding over where to start with the blog posts of my study tour to China and Japan. My partner, Chris Miner, has been doing a great job writing about the trip from his point of view.

He has been diligently resizing photos, photographing and scanning mementos and taking text from his journals. He has been blogging about each day and you can see in his blog, the Raw Materials of Music Making, that he has been trying to capture the long and complicated days with pictures and words.

What have I been doing? Not a whole lot!

I definitely feel like I'm having a harder time adjusting back to my normal life. It just seems so boring compared to two weeks of exploring new places. My mind has been processing all that I experienced and how it is going to change my life. I am feeling restless in my normal routine and am ready to shake it up again. But how?

Our sensei planted a seed in my head while we were in Hangzhou, China. She said something along the line of "You should do the exchange program for a semester or year. Take the whole family." She then pointed out the China Academy of Art which nestled into green trees, just down the street from the beautiful West Lake. She said something about how both the schools that SDSU had an exchange program with for art majors in China and Japan were excellent and that I would learn a lot. It would definitely be an experience.

I fell in love Hangzhou, China and could see myself studying there: riding my bike around the West Lake, and learning how to sculpt in traditional ways that my university has forgotten how to teach. The language would be a barrier, but it is so inexpensive there, I could afford to live. The idea of study abroad in China buzzed in my head as we left Shanghai. And then I went to Japan.

Japan is much more Americanized and super modern compared to China. Since we didn't have Miranda (our tour guide), sensei was to be our guide. This led to a whole different experience of Japan than in China. Sensei did not gather the group by yelling out "S.D.S.U!" like Miranda did. She would just take off and we had to follow her. Most of the trip was spent making sure that sensei was close by, and counting people. She had a tendency to want to leave people instead of waiting for them. It would be comical if most of the group spoke Japanese. But since most of us knew no or little Japanese, we would be very lost without sensei.

Sensei at Meiji Shrine (Shinto)

Long story short, this lack of a tour guide telling us information and a comfy tour bus to ride in led to us having to integrate with the culture more. I had to pay attention while I rode the bus or train to make sure I got off in time. I listened and recognized names, especially in Tokyo - Shinjuku, Harajuku, Ueno, Yoyogi, Ginza and Shibuya. I not only knew where they were on a map, but also how to get to them by train and what was there when you got there. I yearned to be able to read the signs that were around me, and to say more than just "Arigato" to others.

Add to this my absolute fascination with the native religion of Japan - Shinto. The first night in Kyoto we came across a Shinto shrine at night and it was luminous and mysterious. I won't go to far into Shinto now because I am going to devote an entire post to it soon. It is more than love with Japan now. It is almost an obsession to find out more about this magical place.

Sensei's talks with me about studying in Japan became more real as I imagined myself studying the traditional arts and their relationship to the native religion of Shinto. There are many more details that I would need to work out and to consider before a decision is made.

So the next blog posts about my trip will be focused specifically on the parts of Japan and China that moved me. Just the images that are blazed into my brain and the art ideas that have sprung from that. I may add some pictures of experiences that were just fun and unique, such as "Geisha Hunting." Hopefully you will understand why I am now obsessed with Japan.

Until then, Happy Art-Making! ~ Jaime Lyerly

China and Japan - Chris Style

Chris in Tienanmen Square, May 2009
photo by Jaime Lyerly

For anyone who is not aware, my partner, experimental musician Chris Miner, has his own blog where he writes about the process of his music and other experiences. We have a different niche of blog readers, but it is wonderful when they can cross-pollinate.

Chris has been so great as to start sharing his experience on our study tour to China and Japan. Since I have been holding out on you and not sharing my experiences, I now offer you China and Japan - Chris Style!

Promise to share some of my own experiences soon.

Update 6/22/09: Chris is doing a great job on his blog of showing a visual summary of our experiences. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, it is worth it!

Until then, happy art-making! ~ Jaime Lyerly

Back from China and Japan! Now what?

Dragon Well Green Spring Tea from the Tea Plantation in Hangzhou, China
photo by Jaime Lyerly, May 2009

Back home from our long, exhausting and exhilarating study tour to China and Japan. It was a wonderful experience to say the least. It was the first time in over a year that I was completely taking in visual and auditory information instead of producing art work and ideas. Only during the last few days of the trip did I start to get ideas of ways to incorporate what I was seeing and experiencing into visual art. More about these ideas to come in later blog posts.

I had no access to a computer or even a phone most of the time while we were way. For someone who is on the computer hours and hours a day - this was a huge change! I learned I can live without the computer, Facebook, Twitter and all that jazz. But coming back....yikes! Lots to catch up on. I also feel like I neglected all my duties as an artist and blogger, so I will try to get connected again.

Coming back from such a huge, life-altering trip I am having a hard time dealing with the reality of my normal work and mom schedule (luckily no college classes for a month). Two of our four cats hissed and growled at us when we came home. I missed my kitties so bad when I was on the trip because they are such a part of daily life. Coming home to have them mad at me was hard. Also, two days after I got off a plane after 24 hours with very little sleep, I had to go to work at my clerical job and later that night a middle school band concert to watch/listen to my 12-year-old son Xenneth play the baritone. This does not sound like much, but add it to a pile of bills, correspondence and a messy house and you have quite a lot to deal with. How does my body deal with this stress? It gets sick - which is where I am at now.

So please bear with me as connect back to the real world again. The only thing from our trip that has easily integrated with my normal routine is the drinking of green tea. The picture above is from the Tea Plantation in Hangzhou, China where they teach you about the qualities, customs and benefits of green tea. This is spring tea, which is picked the first week in April when it is most fresh. The tea is mild but invigorating, and I love it. The only big purchase I made in China was the tea. Therefore, I have been enjoying pots of green tea each day since I returned home.

Sorry to give you such little information, but I am still figuring out how best to blog about my experiences. I did keep a travel journal for each country and wrote about my experiences daily. I did not do any art while I was there. This is mainly because we were in a group setting and running non-stop all day. The time it takes to sketch never seemed to fit into the agenda. While I am disappointed about that part, I do feel that my travel journals and photographs will provide me lots of inspiration for years to come.

Thanks to everyone for the well-wishing on my trip. It was great! Looking forward to sharing my stories and pictures as soon as I recuperate.

To your health and fantastic journey! ~ Jaime Lyerly

China and Japan here we come!

Tomorrow we leave for China and Japan for my two week study abroad tour and I am so excited! Chris and I have been shopping and packing for days now and the time is finally here.

So before I leave you for two weeks worth of quietness (I don't have a laptop), here is a peek into the journey we will be taking.

Day 1
Leave Los Angeles Airport

Day 2
Arrive in Beijing, China

Day 3 Beijing, China
-Tiananmen Square
-Forbidden City
-Palace Museum

Day 4
Beijing, China to Hangzhou
-Visit to China Academy of Art - Canceled

Day 5
Hangzhou to Shanghai, China
Hangzhou
-West Lake Cruise
-Tea Plantation
-Tiger Hill
Shanghai
-Yu Garden

Day 6
Shanghai, China to Kyoto, Japan
Shanghai
-Shanghai Museum
-Bund
Kyoto, Japan

Day 7
Kyoto, Japan

Day 8
Kyoto, Japan
-Geidai

Day 9
Kyoto to Tokyo, Japan

Days 10 - 13 Tokyo, Japan

Day 14 Leave Tokyo for Los Angeles Airport, Drive to San Diego

So that is our tour itinerary. I have not included any of the extra things that we want to do, since I am not sure when they will be squeezed in the schedule. Chris's goal is to pick up a musical instrument, preferably something inexpensive from each country. I am looking for art supplies, special papers and maybe some fabrics. We are taking a small dragon doll which will be the spirit of my 12-year-old son, Xen, with us on the tour. Xen made a "Dragon List" of the places he wants me to take a picture of the dragon in front of. His only souvenir request is for a set of chopsticks. Simple and affordable - I like that!

The visits to the colleges have been canceled because of flu health concerns, so I am not sure what will will do in place of that. I am disappointed because that means I will not get to do the presentation on my art in Japan as planned. I had a wonderful presentation of my art completed, using tips from Alyson Stanfield's blog post. Learn more about presentations for artists here.

Even though I will not be blogging on my trip, I will be writing, drawing, taking photos and thinking about all the great stuff I am going to share with you when I get back.

Wish us luck on this fantastic journey!

To your health, creativity and traveling adventures! ~Jaime Lyerly

Counting the days and thinking of a Fulbright future

11 more days to go...

Counting the days until my trip to Japan and China! It will be so fun, I can hardly wait. Will write more about it in the week to come.

All this thinking about and planning for visiting overseas got me thinking about what it would be like to live or study overseas. And that leads me to the Fulbright.

Since I will be graduating in 1 year, I am eligible to apply for a Fulbright. The Fulbright is a government run program that sends recent graduates and people with BA or higher degrees to study, research or teach English in another country for up to a year. And they pay you a living stipend to do it!

This is one of my dreams. To live and study in another country, and totally integrate into a foreign culture. Specifically, I want to make art and learn art techniques from masters in their specialties. There is a problem though - I only speak English!

This language requirement is really putting a downer on my search for a country to go live in. Countries like Japan, Italy, France and Spain all require about two years of foreign language study. My partner is interested in moving to India. India does not have a foreign language requirement, but I am not sure I would be able to find someone to teach a woman sculpture. Maybe I am mistaken, but isn't there still a gender bias for occupations of women in India? So what do I do if I want to learn art in another country? Help me figure this one out!

Your turn: Anyone receive a Fulbright? If so, what was your experience? What about any artists - did you go to study art? I would love to hear about your journey!

Artists - Design your PowerPoint presentation

photo (c) Freefoto.com

Isn't great when the information you need falls into your lap right when you need it? Talk about synchronicity, energy, attraction or whatever - it happens all the time.

My connection today is has to do with my Japan and China Study Tour scheduled for this summer. Although the trip is not going to include studio time like I had originally thought, we are still going to visit two art colleges, one in China and one in Japan. Now to the exciting news...

I have volunteered to give a presentation of my art a group of about 50 students at a university in Japan! It is a great opportunity for me.

I am so excited to present my art to a captive and international audience. Public speaking is hard for me, and I am not sure how the language barrier will be addressed. Will there be an interpreter? Do I need to calculate my presentation time and speech to include this interpretation? Are they going to be culturally offended by my artistic nudes? Are all the students going to be studio art majors? Will there be time for questions? These questions lead back to presentation itself.

Enter the synchronicity! The article waiting for me in my inbox today is called Design your PowerPoint presentation from Alyson Stanfield, the Art Biz Coach. This post reminded me that 1. Start working on my presentation NOW, 2. Text on the slides will just distract them from my art, and 3. Practice, practice, practice my speech so I won't be so nervous. Wonderful! Please check it out.

For artists who are not in the know yet, let me enlighten you to the power of the Art Biz Coach. Alyson Stanfield's Art Biz Coach newsletter, blog, and book "I'd rather be in the studio!" are amazing resources for artists who are marketing themselves. The newsletter comes every Monday and is brilliant start your week. It will help you promote your art, figure out why you need to blog, and help you make your time out of the studio more productive. It kicks me into gear to promote myself, and reminds me why I started my blog - to connect with other artists! If you haven't noticed, most of my blog posts are written on Monday. Guess why? You got it!

So now that I have turned you on to the Art Biz Coach's fabulousness, you can help me with my "Your turn" section! I love hearing from you super-talented and super-helpful artists!

Your Turn: What do you do to prepare for a presentation of your art via PowerPoint? Is there something in Alyson's article that you don't agree with (bullet points, perhaps)? Anyone ever had to deal with a language and cultural barrier when preparing and giving a presentation?

Until next time, happy art-making! Enjoy the journey! ~ Jaime

Closer to my journey - China and Japan Prep

More good news was delivered to be via email today, with the disclaimer of pending final approval from SDSU...

I have been selected as the 2009 Fu Scholar!

What does that mean? It means I win a scholarship for $1000 from Scholars Without Borders donated by the Charles Wei-Sun Fu Foundation to help fund my upcoming study tour of Japan and China. To read more about my special trip, check out this post.

I am, again, humbled and honored to receive something so special. Add this to my Mortar Board acceptance, and we have a super start to the week! I cannot wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me.

Speaking of tomorrow, we have the meeting for the Japan and China study tour tomorrow, which should be fun. I hope we will get the itinerary, since I am dying to plan my art making accordingly.

In preparation for my adventure, I was thinking of preparing some travel-friendly substrates and/or journals to write and collage in, but I am not sure where to start. Maybe I can print out maps of where we are going and glue them into the pages to have an instant background. Nothing is scarier than a blank page. Any suggestions on what I should bring to create on-the-spot art and memories?

Thanks again for letting me share my accomplishments with you. For all of you who are waiting patiently for me to get back to talking about art, I have a new encaustic painting series completed and I am working on getting photos up for it. They are not your typical encaustic paintings, but I hope you will find them intriguing. Until then, help me out with answering my "Your Turn" challenge question.

Your turn: How do you get prepared for an art related trip? Do you prepare substrates before hand so they are ready? What are the bare minimum supplies you would take for this kind of adventure? Love to hear your ideas!

Keep creating and leaping for your creative dreams! ~ Jaime

Preparing for the Creative Journey - Haiku

Forbidden Palace, pic from Wikipedia

My big news that I have been bubbling to write about....

My partner Chris and I are going on a two-week cultural study tour to Japan and China!!!

It is through San Diego State University's Art Department, led by Associate Art History Professor Dr. Johnson. The focus is the traditional culture of Japan and China. We will be going to four different Art colleges, two in each country and interacting with former SDSU international students who live in these countries. We will also be hitting a few of the major tourist highlights such as the Great Wall and The Forbidden Palace.

We are so excited to start this journey, which begins at the end of May. It will be jam packed with learning and a condensed adventure.

I have been waiting to blog about it until I had some real exciting way of putting it, but gave up. So this is what you get. Words and exclamation points!!

In addition to studying the language and culture, I am working on how to get the most creativity out of this adventure. I found an e-book online today through the Art Biz Coach called "Creative Toolkit for the Traveler" by Cynthia Morris. Cynthia's blog is very inspirational for those of us looking to explore creativity where ever it goes. She writes a blog called "Journey Juju" about her creative travels. I am in love and envious of all her adventures. But since my blog is also focused on the JOURNEY of making art, I can explore that journey even when I stay close to home.

Through Cynthia's Toolkit, I was reminded of ways to express creativity even while I am stuck in my hometown. So for the next week, I am going to post some very Americanized Haiku to gear me up for my creative journey.

Here are today's Haiku
1.
Stuck at my work desk
Body's here, but Mind is not
Need an Adventure!

2.
Computers all day
Type, print, daydream & know that
Art won't wait till 5

3.
Buddha on my desk
Blessing me in hopes I will
Take him to Japan

Creativity won't wait! Get started on the journey now!

Your Turn: Do you have some adventures planned for the summer or near future? What are you doing to get the creative juices flowing so you can be (as from the Toolkit) "transformed from ordinary tourist to traveling artist?" I would love to hear about your creative journeys!

Creatively yours! ~ Jaime