As the months fly by and life refuses to slow down, I realize how difficult it is to stay on top of this blog but anyway, here’s a quick review of the past couple months………

The show in Kyoto this Spring was great! We had 7 days of pretty much non-stop activity, especially the first 5 days while the tea ceremony was being done alongside the gallery. So many new clients that it was hard to remember who came when.

Richado-Gama 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Kyoto Takashimaya, April 2010

With Hounsai Daisosho at Richado-Gama 25th Anniv. Exhibition, Kyoto Takashimaya Art Gallery, April 2010

That was followed up by a very busy May filled with lots of overseas visitors, chakai everywhere, and lots of preparations for getting back to the States in time for our daughter Toby’s Senior Exhibition and Graduation from Rhode Island School of Design in late May and early June.

She finished her 4 years with High Honors and received the Tiffany Scholarship her Senior year for outstanding achievement in the Dept. of Jewelry and Metalsmithing. What’s next?? Who knows? Perhaps she’ll be as fortunate as I was in being blessed to meet the right people at the right times who can help her along on the path to her true destiny.

A selection of Toby's work from the Best of RISD's Senior Exhibition

Toby in her Glorious Glue Custom Gown

The family gathered for Toby's graduation

Following Toby’s Graduation celebration we returned to Concord and got swept up in the Celtics fever as they battled with the Lakers for NBA supremacy only to lose in the final minutes of the 7th game in L.A., Another banner was not to be.

Mari’s birthday celebration happened the next day and a few days later it was time to re-enter Red Sox Nation as we were off to Fenway Park for the return of  the notorious Manny Ramirez in a Dodgers uniform. No Manny magic this day as Dustin Pedroia went nuts for the Sox, hitting, fielding and stealing bases, as he almost single-handedly helped Clay Bucholz beat the men in blue in a 2-0 shutout .

Spent the rest of the month and into July working furiously making  over 200 futaoki, (lid rests) used to support the cover of the iron kettle used for boiling hot water in the tea room. These futaoki were used as gifts for participants in the summer seminar held at the Urasenke Hawaii’s Branch in Honolulu mid-July in conjunction with the 40th reunion of the Midorikai, the school for foreign (non-native Japanese) students who studied at the headquarters of the Urasenke Tradition of Tea in Kyoto. I was a student there exactly 30 years ago on my 2nd trip to Japan, as a Watson Fellow during 1979-1980. For me a tremendously valuable period in my study of not only “The Way of Tea”, but all aspects of Japanese culture at the deepest levels. A crucial time that solidified my foundation in preparation for my career as a tea ceramics artist.

To be continued…………..