Ryokan and Simplicity....

Hello All. The last week has brought two new pieces into the world. Since this past spring I have been reading poetry and verse from a Zen monk named Ryokan. He travelled through Niigata prefecture subsisting off what he could and living with the barest of essentials. I have become rather hooked with his prose and views. Not since Albert Camus have I sunk into something like this.

As is the case I became inspired to start working on a new set of silkscreens documenting his writings, time and travels. I suppose you could say creating impressions of his views on the world and how I see them. The templates for the screens were created by old fashioned hand drawn images with sumi ink and brush. These were then transferred to the screen. One stencil with multiple colors. Basically I am working in much simpler terms for creating the prints. With the previous works the compositions become very complex through the layering of multiple images. While this is fine for the previous work I am seeking a more austere path.

The intent here is to create a new set of prints on a weekly basis for the next year. So here are two in two weeks. The prints will continue to be on fabric and will be put out into the world as usual in random intervals and settings. I am not sure that people will find them as interesting as previous works but the idea is to move forward in artistic practices and see what the "void" might bring. In his travels Ryokan sought out the simplistic: the surrounding environments, calligraphy, and those who surrounded him. I am fortunate enough to find myself in a similar and good position in life and now wish to equate tem in this manner.

Please forgive the crappy shots. My camera needs to be replaced soon.

Coming up next month we are hosting a one night show and reception at the Blue Box. This is the "Brown Bag: Cheap and Elegant" show. A slew of us are creating works on brown bags for the show. August 17th it will be. Below are my contributions. They are woodblock on cheapo bags with a few surprises inside.

Drop on by if you have the time or are in the neighborhood.