Blog til you drop

You wouldn't know Japan was in financial crisis. Shopping is like a religion here. It's almost sexual to buy things. The smallest purchase has a hint of luxury, because of the attention they pay to each item that you buy. They bag and wrap things so beautifully, so you feel you're taking home some of the elegance of the inevitably well-presented stores. They take branding to an art form too, everything has a 'look' and conforms effortlessly to it. Many people's fashion sense is very thematised; they're 'summer of love' or 'victoriana' or 'ethnic baggy'. But this is probably how fashion works; it's just that they're good at it here.

It's raining a lot today. Only the second day that's lived up to my 'rainy season' expectations.

Did you know in Japan the year is 21? That's all I know about it.

Edit: I don't mean shopping is a religion. I mean it's very ritualistic as an action here.

Melange du chose au deux jours

Yesterday I tried to find fabric town, but got lost in 'normal people live here' town. It was lovely, actually. Lots of tiny narrow streets. I found a shopping street that I decided was functional and not uber consumerist and paradoxically went a bit buying things crazy. The ceramics they have here are to die for ... I still want to go back and buy the $50 red mug ... today I managed to only spend money on lunch and entry to a parky thing. What a star! Such restraint!

I've seen no art yet, I keep wandering on foot and getting lost in neighbourhoods or shops, or getting lost on a bike. Tomorrow I am totally going to see some art.

Today there were iris fields, which were frankly a little bit overrated (or perhaps it made me nostalgic for my Mum's garden). It was full of Japanese couples of a certain age, which is nice, and many were doing watercolours of the flowers. Yesterday I bought these dried banana things and they are so amazing that I've now looked up whether I'm allowed to bring them back to Aust (I think so, if I declare them) ... soooo goooooood.

What else happened in Tokyo? My charming host took me to a beautiful bookstore, full of gorgeous books on the twentieth century avant gardes. I can't tell you how pleasing a second-hand bookstore can be made to the eye in this country. I just can't. I exhibited great restraint in not buying the book of photographs of Morandi's studio in Bologna, or the Fluxus artist's book wherein all the contents of a table are described in great detail.

Oh, curry is ready! I'm being so well-looked after.

What a lovely day

Today's experiences included, but were not limited to, the following:
- ate raw chicken (chicken sashimi!)
- rode a bike through lots of places I can't name
- ate charcuterie
- withdrew cash (yay for functioning ATM card! - long boring story)
- bought a fancy pencil
- looked at seven floors of fabrics
- ordered udon from a machine, which was then served by a person
- drank a beer brewed in Brooklyn
- saw crickets for sale in a little cage box thingy (like guppies!)
- sat on a heated toilet seat (how can I ever go back??)

(no particular order)

Can barely keep my eyes open.

snotty

So I should post because I'm bad with the posting at the moment and my New Second Half of 2009's resolution is blog more. Give the people what they want, I say.

So, still, I am in Tokyo. I've been here just a day. Bliggedy-blogger, who I can't link to because for some reason things look DIFFERENT on computers here, took me out with her to a distant suburb where a lovely friend taught us how to do colographs in her gorgeously lovely Japanese apartment with her many many yen printing press. Which was a nice change to spending the first day shopping.

I think I am going to go and wander around now. Get some lovely things (that was spoken like Edina in Ab Fab when she goes to Morocco to acquire things for her shop. Lots of lovely *things*). Some of which may be photos or ramen.

Um ... arigato? No, wait, what I mean is sayonara, a bientot.

Post script: I forgot about the title. I have a rotten cold. Apparently you're not supposed to blow your nose on the street in Japan (you should use a tissue! har har har). Um, so, like, that explains the title, and allowed me to slip in a bad pun. Hooray!

It's 'another post' o'clock

I am striking while the posting energy iron is hot.

In a strange twist of deja-vu-esque 2007-2008 synchronicity, I am shortly to go on another residency.

I am going to this house in a small village for a month:


It's going to be beautiful, productive, peaceful, old, interesting, sometimes lonely and probably some other things that I cannot yet predict.

There, the posting iron will not only not be hot, it won't even exist. That's correct. No internetiendo! It's a gaspworthy thing, yessir.

I will, however, survive.

Long-awaited residency post

So I've just been on this artist residency? They give you a huge studio (and apartment) in the country, full of light and 20 minutes drive on a windy dirt road to the nearest crap town to encourage you to do lots of work.

When I arrived I was all 'what am I going to do with all this space?'


As much fun as it was skipping around while listening to loud music, I did feel that I should do some work. And much as I love naycha, I don't really wanna make art about this:

So I did some things like this:

this,

um, and this,

you know, and some other stuff ... some videos ... can't post 'em, they're not finished.

I felt like I got a lot done but now when I think about it I'm not so sure ...

Anyway. A month in the country is pretty good. Sorry this post is so anticlimactic but at least now we can all get on with our lives.

I don't know any more

Today has been pretty durn average.

How do you type the sound of a deep sigh with the air forced through the lips to make a kind of horsey exhaling sound? You know, like, audible resignation?

Next time I'm feeling GREAT I will force myself to blog, just for a bit of balance.

Good things:
* The place I'm staying at in Brisbane has a swimming pool and my work is paying. I will get to go to art openings as well as exhibitions while the office foots the accom/tansport tabs. This is a pretty good deal.
* I am out of debt. Long time coming. Soon as the tax bucks arrive I'll even be (gasp -) ahead.
* Christmas is coming and I will be going; to Thailand with my sister to drink cocktails and lie on the beach reading or drawing or staring snoozily into the middle distance (reputedly Margaret Thatcher's special skill, the staring bit I mean.)
* I am not Margaret Thatcher. The shame would be terrible.

I've run out. Note to self; collect list of good things to post on blog. I can do better than this, surely.

Average, average, average.

token something

I bought some new clothes today. Shit, they're good.

It's really fucken hot. No really.

I got a huge tax return and can buy a new computer. Yay!

I am going to Brisbane on the weekend. I suppose it'll be even hotter there.

Seems like a lot of effort to have a blog. I'm not short of projects, y'know. Wah, wah, wah (that's a self-mocking whingey tone in case you didn't realise).

Things I've eaten that grew in my garden recently: a cucumber. lots of beans. some strawberries. a few peas. countless mulberries. rocket. basil. sage.

who know where it will all end! probably with the golden shallots.

In other news, the ginger's finally coming up.