my art show at Bentley's

On Monday evening, I put up my art show at Bentley's House of Coffee & Tea in Tucson, Arizona. It'll run from October 15th until November 15th and consists of 36 pieces of my original watercolors, cut paper collages, acrylics, and giclée prints from my first set of 100 teapots and some from the second set of 100 teapots.

All my teapot paintings, drawings, and prints are for sale, plus my boxed blank card sets with my teapot paintings (8 cards/8 envelopes for $15 plus $3 shipping within the USA). If you are reading this and cannot make it to my show but want one of my pieces, email me at kumotohi AT yahoo.com/

If you are in Tucson, go have a look and eat some of Bentley's tasty offerings.














Also, my cyber friend, illustrator/artist, Cindy Woods has had this video talk of illustrator Maira Kalman on her blog. I am putting it on my blog, too, because I am a big fan of Maira Kalman's art and the talk took place in Monterey. Enjoy!

teapots 45 and 46

What I like best is just doing the practice, the practice of painting and drawing the teapots. Shows, sales, framing, collecting, even posting to blog and flickr--that's all extra. Being with the teapot, the paint, the tea, the light streaming in, the changing conditions as I paint--that's the heart of the practice. Being and doing combine. When I do the practice, I am the paint, the teapot, the tea, the paper.

That said, here are teapots no. 45 and 46 of my 2nd set of 100 teapots.























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I've been enjoying the following piece on art, healing, and creativity that I watched from a video clip of last year's retreat for women at Upaya Zen Center in New Mexico. I've transcribed the part that speaks to me most, words spoken by Joan Halifax Roshi of Upaya.

Healing is the practice of art
It's painting, it's praying with
It's learning how to touch
It's learning how to write poetry--
to write out your heart

Learning to move beautifully in our lives
Bringing beauty to [your?] story of the world,
Bringing it forward

There's so much ugliness...
Let's love it
Let's love up this life
Let's let the creative come forward...

~ Roshi Joan Halifax

This year's retreat takes place at Upaya from July 11-15: In the Shelter of Each Other Women's Retreat: Women and Altruism--Compassion, Shadow, and Power.

I would love to go and I am fine not going. I know how to create retreat conditions for myself when I cannot actually go on retreat.

Yes, let's bring it forward.

Casa Libre en La Solana

This Saturday evening, June 23rd, is the Second Annual "Suite Sponsor Soirée" at Casa Libre en La Solana in Tucson. Five pieces of my art will be showing and for sale along with several other local artists' work. There will be poetry readings, live music, an art show, a raffle, an art auction, some yummy refreshments, and more. All for a good cause--to raise money for Casa Libre, the Southwest's only year-round retreat offering writers a place to write. So, if you are reading this and live in Tucson, come hear some excellent poets read from their work, enjoy live music, take a dip in the pool and jacuzzi (in case you're not hot enough already), and buy some local art. See you there!

Casa Libre en La Solana
228 N. 4th Avenue
Tucson, Arizona :)

6pm-Midnight

$15 advance/$20 at the door

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Here are Casa's fliers for the event--printed with detail from my painting Kameanji. The top picture shows three fliers lined up as a tryptich. Kameanji is one of my paintings for sale at the Soirée.
**Click**on pictures for a larger view.