Film in TCR + few goodies

by aleks

Edit 11/11/13: SJG FILM BANK - For the last 2 years SJG film non-committee have been meeting and discussing films to be screened in TCR; last year we shared four movies, this year three… The link below goes to google-doc that contains suggestions and recommendations for the films discussed, but not yet shown - it was put together by non-committe member Joan K. and filled with ideas from YOU and non-committee members. If you have more suggestions, please email us and we will add them to the JAPANESE FILM BANK - happy winter viewing!

SJG • 10/22/13 - Only recently I became aware that some of our non-evergreen azaleas are more than one-pony trickers: here is a royal azalea along the second shortcut -  in spring it has very distinctive pale green leaves, then white to pink flowers, in late summer its leaves become pinkish, and in late fall the leaves turn golden yellow with pinkish tint.

•  All SJG volunteers received the note below, re-posting here as a reminder and for those also interested, but not notified (you can come as my friend)…. This is an offering from film non-commitee:

1 pm, THIS Thursday, November 14 – Film:  Hula Girls.   Join us in the Tateuchi Room to view the inspiring 1965 film, Hula Girls, based on the true story of how the people of a small coal mining town on the north east coast of Japan coped with economic decline by building a Hawaiian Village.  (They built it, and many came!) The two-hour film also portrays a touching tale of personal redemption.  A recent documentary on the village’s recovery from the tsunami in 2011 is available in DVD from the Japanese Consulate in Seattle and may be shown at another time if interest warrants it.

SJG • 10/22/13 - late afternoon sun on the East path

• Here is a contribution from a new guide, Victoria B. who just had last of the season tour 'with delightful 5th graders from a Waldorf school. […] One girl said she wanted to bring a tatami mat and put it under the wisteria arbor and live there!   Many said they wanted to come back in the spring when things were blooming.'  

Victoria shared this with me ( thank you, Victoria!), because I was nominally her mentor (she really didn't need one), and included this morsel, to share with all of you:

'A friend who sends me websites with funny or beautiful photos, sent me one with fall-foliage photos-- one photo from each state with the dates that the colors are best.   The one representing Washington State is in our garden!   It shows the kasuga lantern and the WPA bridge.  Here's the website-- I don't know if someone would send the link to the docents or if you could put it on your website but I think its a great honor that we have the most stunning fall foliage of anywhere in Washington.

http://www.lovethesepics.com/2013/10/american-the-beautiful-in-autumn-peak-fall-foliage-dates-for-48-states-50-pics/

Victoria'

SJG • 10/22/13 - A young visitor on the WPA bridge

• and this comes from our old, old  guide (well, not really, but she wasn't just trained, so i can joke - i'm an ancient guide judging by the year of training), Jeanne P:

'Aleks, I don't know if this is appropriate for the blog, since it is a commercial venture. On the other hand, it is about (mostly) local potters inspired by traditional Japanese pottery. Here is the link:

http://www.mingeipotteryshow.com/

Best,
Jeanne'

SJG - 10/22/13 - stripe bark maple's leaves

• And a reminder from cont. ed. committee - for volunteers only,  the rest of you just go ahead and get jealous, or  become SJG volunteers...

10:30 am, Thursday, November 21 - Special talk/Cont Ed,

Masa Mizuno will present a talk on the maintenance and history of Seattle Japanese Garden. Masa & Associates specializes in the continuity and refinement of established gardens, instruction/presentations, building, and consulting of commercial, private and public gardens in Canada and the U.S., including Seattle Japanese Garden and the Portland Japanese Garden. We are fortunate to have him with us.

• • • 

HULA GIRLS trailer:

P.S. The leaves are mostly gone now, just a few reminders in pics...

Maple Fest - some 10 days later...

by aleks

SJG • 10/22/13 - lace-leaf maple, leaf up-close

We showed the film 'Dream window' today in Tateuchi Community Room, to a very enthusiastic audience of guides. The film non-commitee is considering showing it at least once a year from now on, as it should probably be a 'required viewing' for all who guide in the Japanese Gardens  - not very many new guides had time to attend today, so we will try to reach them later with this.

The Maple Fest is continuing:  below some pics from last Tuesday:

SJG • 10/22/13 - our very old (past 100 years) lace-leaf maple, finally almost red

SJG • 10/22/13 - The Tea House Garden, seen from across the pond

SJG • 10/22/13 - Kathleen Smith beloved fern maple at ZZW
I didn't know it fades so fast: mere 10 days from  green to red, to fall on the ground...

SJG • 10/22/13 - Look at the Omato: it is all red, RED now!
Just a few posts below it was merely brownish...

SJG • 10/22/13 - don't even know what to call it.  Just out of this world. 

Maple Fest

by aleks
Maple Fest started October 13th, Sunday, this year, and is still going on:  16 maples have  tags, so you can learn their proper names, this time of the year only, as it is very un-Japanese to label plants in the Garden.  Due to the east coast travels I missed the show opening, but Allan Seidenverg kindly sent these photos taken by Paula last Sunday:

SJG •10/13/13 - Maple Fest celebration; photo by Paula

SJG •10/13/13 - Maple Fest celebration; photo by Paula

SJG •10/13/13 - Maple Fest celebration; photo by Paula

Today I went and photographed the maples as they are, now when the show is 10 days in progress:  some maples are still stubbornly not turning, like the habitually late in season shishigashira, some progressed to crimson red, like omato and osakazuki, and some are almost gone, like circinatum and full moon - pretty soon I'll post some of them here, and file ALL of them on the bloom blog (URL in the left column).

In the meantime, and for the contrast, maple turning on the east coast:

10/17/13 - leaves turning in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA.
Locals noted it is unusually orangey this year.

REMINDER:  Film 'Dream window' about gardens of Japan, this Thursday, 10/24/13 at 1 pm in Tateuchi Room - everybody welcome.

a few PSAs

by aleks

1.) Very sadly, our very loved and esteemed fellow guide, Mary Ann Wiley, is no longer with us. Her obituary is here....

SJG • 10/4/13 - Guides learning about maples from the Plant Committee;
here on the North Path, by the  Acer Palmatum 'shishigashira' or Lion's Mane Maple
(the last to turn its leaves in our season)

2.)  For everyone: Maple Fest is coming this Sunday, October 13; sixteen prominent maples will be labeled, and stay that way, till there are any leaves left on them this fall.  I'll be traveling to the east coast on the day of the Maple Fest and miss it, but perhaps some fellow bloggers would write and share about it here, please? I've been photographing  these maples for several years now, and will shortly include them in the bloom blog = photo album of SJG plants  (URL on the left side of this blog).

SJG • 10/4/13 - Guides learning about maples from the Plant Committee; here by 'Omato', on the East path

3.) For everyone: Our next film showing,  'Dream Window', 1992 - is at 1 pm Thursday, October 24. All interested invited.

4.) For everyone: 4th Annual Photography Workshop−Autumn at the Seattle Japanese Garden
with Ray Pfortner, educator & photographer starts Friday, Oct. 11 & 18, 6:30-9 pm (at Laurelhurst Community Center). Tuition: $220* ($200 for Garden members) Materials: $20. To register, contact Cheryl Brown at 206.386.9106 or cheryl.brown@seattle.gov

5.) For everyone: Tonight a fellow guide, Nat S. and I + our partners went to see 'Vermeer and Music' - streaming from The National Gallery, London, to our American movie theaters - very enjoyable:  to see more about the series check 'Exhibition on screen' here...

SJG • 10/4/13  - and this is just for you, Mary Ann Wiley! A maple turning on ZZW, or so called Service Road.

6.) For guides only: A reminder about our October 19th Fall Meeting (9:30 am start) followed by the Volunteer Luncheon.

Of interest in SAAM

by aleks
I haven't seen it yet, but plan to do so, and hope so are YOU :)

Now on View Poem Scroll with Deer (detail), 1610s, painting by Tawaraya Sotatsu A Fuller View of China, Japan and Korea  August 10, 2013–April 13, 2014 SAAM Foster Galleries Dr. Richard Fuller’s 40 years as the museum’s founding director are the bedrock of its history, and his passion for art resonates with collectors of his time and beyond. In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, this installation shows how Dr. Fuller, his family and friends, and several more recent Seattle collectors, built SAM’s celebrated Asian art collections. Featuring some of SAM’s best-loved works such as the Poem Scroll with Deer, the installation showcases the incredible quality and diversity that make SAM’s Asian art collection one of the finest in the country. The selected Chinese paintings and calligraphy also celebrate the launch of an innovative online scholarly catalogue, a multi-year project sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Foundation. –Xiaojin Wu, Associate Curator for Japanese and Korean Art

http://seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/exhibitDetail.asp?eventID=25712
I think my favorite poem scroll with deer (17th century) is on view, again! YAY!

SJG • 9/23/13 - Cotoneaster hybrid in area N, bearing fall fruits

3 films coming to TCR + butoh dance announcement

Harvest moon over Seattle - 9/17/13

by aleks

FILMS: 
The film non-committe (Shizue P., Joan K., Dewey W. and aleks) wants everyone to know about the great program  they have put together for you:  the fall film series for all garden volunteers and their friends (if you are NOT a volunteer and want to come, please show up and befriend me for a day, my pleasure). Please mark your calendars for these films:

•   opens with 'My neighbor Totoro' 1998, 1 pm Thursday, September 26, Tateuchi Room - a highly popular animated movie about the adventures of two sisters and magical creatures called Totoro.  Join us to watch this delightful film and discuss it afterward with refreshments.

• 'Dream Window', 1992 - 1 pm Thursday, October 24

• 'Hula Girls', 2006 - 1 pm Thursday, November 14


Also, while reviewing the many films before we chose the ones above, Joan K. put this FILM BANK feature for you - suggestions from all members of film non-commitee; it is residing on google docs here - check it out!

Harvest moon over Seattle - 9/17/13

* * * 

BUTOH dancing:

The Engendering Project: Casting Shadows
Butoh artist Joan Laage (one of our guides!) with Kaoru Okumura (video/photography) and Jackie An (music) - October 4 & 5, 2013, 8 pm  Ticket Prices: $12/$15  www.brownpapertickets.com/event/459485

Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave, Seattle WA 98122

Directed by Joan Laage (Kogut Butoh), The Engendering Project: Casting Shadows emerged out of investigating how gender fluidity and transformation have continued to shape the artist’s work over the past two decades. Joan’s collaborators are Kaoru Okumura (video and photography) and an electric string trio directed by Jackie An with Doris Bartha and Emily Price. The Engendering Project is supported in part by the CityArtist Projects 2013, City of Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

The Engendering Project: Ever Betweening
Velocity’s SPEAKEASY Series

October 6, 2013   5-6:30pm Donation

Join director/performer Joan Laage (Kogut Butoh), her project collaborators Kaoru Okumura and Jackie An, and invited guests Michelle Miller, Douglas Ridings, and Tanja Woloshen who recently wrote a thesis on queer identities and butoh (Canada) in a roundtable discussion hosted by Velocity’s Tonya Lockyer focused on gender fluidity and transformation in performance.
www.daipanbutoh.com

Harvest moon over Seattle - 9/19/13