Seasons mark time like nothing else. The visual signs all around us are unmistakable.
-the feel of the air in the morning and again in the evening. Sounds also turn the corner into fall.
And here at my desk I also must mark time. The time that orders must ship, the time that show prep begins and materials must be sent off. Schedules for next year are already filling in. I do that as if I know how things will be when that time rolls around. I laugh. Ha! What if? We don’t know at all but here we are making plans.
The world seems so uncertain.
Just in case, Richard and I are planning a new in-studio workshop (details coming), I’m planning dates for shows and other workshops in the new year. And also a couple of trips are in the works. I’ve been asked to coordinate two adventures in Japan next Spring. One is a private group of friends returning to the past in a way- sharing old memories and getting to know each other again in the present. A reunion tour. I hope to make it a very special time for all.
The other, is coordination of a short extension tour for Maggie Backman‘s Cross Culture Tour. I have to say, when and if I get to be Maggie’s age, I hope I have her enthusiasm, energy and spunk. This is an idea she has had for some time now. It grew out of her love for sharing Japan, silk, and learning with others. For quite a number of years now we have realized that while we are introducing gaijins (foreigners) to Japan through our own “Silk Road” via the Silk Study Tour to Japan, there were an equal number of Japanese who were interested in what we were doing. And while Maggie was bringing in teachers from Japan to teach in the Silk Experience classroom at the Houston Quilt Festival and while Japanese visitors to the show were signing up for silk classes…she wondered…
-what if…? What if she organized a tour that combined US teachers and Japanese teachers and included both Japanese and American/foreign students in a bilingual workshop in Japan. So here is what she has put together:
My job is to lead and coordinate the tour extension but I will also be around to lend a hand when needed during the workshop portion. The US teachers are Katrina Walker and June Colburn. Japanese instructors are Masako Wakayama and Noriko Endo.
So take a look and wonder…and imagine marking time between now and then.
Shibori Girl 