Peace bell in a rainforest

 

A number of people have asked what has happened to our Japanese peace bell that hung at our house and was gonged for people, events (joyful and sad) and anniversaries.

Our friends Sue and Steve have become the caretakers of the bell. We ceremoniously farewelled the bell from 601 and it was moved to our friends house in a small rainforest on the range. The photos below show the removal of the bell.

Sue and Steve commissioned the building of a beautiful new tori-like structure - they then created a zen like gavel and rock setting for the tori and bell - below. When gonging the bell one looks out into the rainforest and sends vibes through the forest.

Fiona and I attended Sue and Steve's place where we all gonged the bell for peace and other matters in its new setting to establish it in its new setting.

The bell will still be gonged for people, events and occasions. In fact we visited the bell to gong it on ANZAC Day and Hiroshima Day for peace; and asked Sue and Steve to gong it on the anniversary of Jane's death.

The spirit and message of the bell continues.

Assembling fish

©2017 Barry Smith - My homemade riveting tools were given a polish in readiness for the fish assembling

The title is right. Today I finished the components for the 10 Funky Fish assemblages I'm making. So I started the job of riveting the components together.

©2017 Barry Smith - Beautiful our copper rivets from Tatebayashi Japan

Each fish is made up of 6 components - all made from recycled metal from silver-plated trays; silver-plated coasters; and brass jardinieres.

©2017 Barry Smith - Flippers

©2017 Barry Smith - Fins under the tail

©2017 Barry Smith - Dorsal fins

©2017 Barry Smith - Tails

©2017 Barry Smith - Heads

©2017 Barry Smith - Bodies

I have managed to get 3 Funky Fish finished today.

©2017 Barry Smith - Cute baby fish - about 15-16cm long

©2017 Barry Smith - Larger chunky fish

©2017 Barry Smith - Skinny fish

©2017 Barry Smith - The beginning of a school of fish????

I'm hoping to get the rest completed over the weekend

Keeping waterways clean - library installation

©2016 Barry Smith - From rubbish to statement art - the rubbish in the photos above were collected by Ananda Marga River School students, cut up into smaller pieces and set in the resin

This morning Fiona and I set up an installation of about 240 small resin art pieces. The installation is in a display cabinet in our local Maleny Library for the month of December. The pieces were produced at the Amanda Marga River School workshops by 120 students on 21 November.

The photos below show that the installation tells an interesting story about water and rubbish.

©2016 Barry Smith - Installation curator!!!

The pieces were first exhibited along with the prints and weather grams produced at the workshops. The workshops works were part of the international collaborative exhibition with the Japanese environmental artist Shimokawa Sensi. Photos below show some of the Tatebayashi Sister Cities delegation checking out the students' artwork.

It is grand that the environmental artwork of the students has had the chance to tell their environmental story a couple of times now.

Environmental awareness art workshop tomorrow

©2016 Barry Smith - Almost looks too nice to be a plastic bag full of chopped up rubbish from our waterways

Fiona, Christine E and I will spend all day tomorrow offering three separate workshop activities for all (over 120) of the students at the Amanda Marga River School. The school has agreed to set aside the normal schedule and participate in six sessions where each student will create: resin pieces with me; weather grams with Fiona to go on a metal tree; and jelly-plate prints with Christine.

The art work will be installed on Tuesday afternoon (22/11) at the the Art& Ecology Centre Tanawha as part of the Water and the Environment Collaborative Exhibition. The key artist in the exhibition is Japanese environmental artist Maseru Shimokawa (Daily Walks Notebook); supported by Dr Leah Barclay (River Listening).

I finished my preparations for the resin workshops today. This included chopping up some of the rubbish the students had collected from waterways.

©2016 Barry Smith - Rubbish from the waterways

©2016 Barry Smith - More rubbish from the waterways

©2016 Barry Smith - Chopped up rubbish from the waterways

I checked to see that I had enough plastic bags and shot glasses for each student for resin moulds.

Getting the eight litres of resin out.

Cutting small pieces of paper for the students to put into the base of the resin moulds - they all want their work back.

©2016 Barry Smith - 300 pieces of paper for names

I did a final test run of the shot glasses and plastic bags.

©2016 Barry Smith - And that is what we drink????

So I'm all ready to go. I'm looking forward to seeing what gets created; should be about 250 resin pieces in the installation. Could be interesting photos for reporting on the installation of works.

Time in the presence of a Japanese Master Metalworker

A very engrossed student and patient Master Metalworker

Whilst in Tatebayashi, as part of the SCC-Tatebayashi Sister Cities art-culture exchange, I was given the opportunity to spend time with Japanese Master Metalworker Hariu Kiyoshi.

I first met Hariu-san at a Tatebayashi citizens' festival some six or so years ago. I was able to visit him in his workshop a few years ago when Fiona and I returned as part of the SC art-culture exchange group. When he knew we were again in town for the citizens' festival etc Hariu-san invited me to his workshop where he said he would teach me the Japanese technique of ibushi.

On our arrival we spent some time drinking tea, discussing metalwork techniques and studying some pieces and tools.

Discussing techniques - particularly patinas and colouring

Hariu-san and an older apprentice Kezuka-san

Many many stakes for different forms

Discussing which stake would be used on which section of the vessel

Discussing which hammer would be used at which stage of the forming of the vessel- the hand of Mizuho (aka Cathy) our fantastic interpreter

I was then given a lesson in ibushi - a traditional Japanese technique of adding patina and a tarnish resistant coating to metal using a concentrated smoking process. It was such an honour that a very esteemed master metal worker would personally teach me this process.

Small intense charcoal cooking fire with smoke cones in the background

Intense smoke after a smoking tray and pine needles (leaves) were added 

Hariu-san demonstrates the process with two smoke cones in place

The student has a go

The metal - coloured and sealed by heat and resin

Intent record keepers

After a successful lesson we enjoyed tea and sweets and an exchange of gifts including presenting Hariu-san with the silver stemless sake vessel from me and a print from Fiona on peace for Hariu-san's wife.

Hariu-san checks out the stemless sake vessel

We share a laugh about not being able to put the vessel down and spilling the sake

There were the formal photos to mark the visit.

Fiona, Barry, Osumi-san, Hariu-san and Kezuka-san

 Hariu-san said as his 'apprentice' I could return and he would teach me other traditional Japanese techniques - though he said I would need to spend a much longer time with him next time.

And Cathy made the lesson and the visit possible and rich through her interpreting.