Catastrophe/Bliss

Last weekend I visited Portland. Luckily I was able to hitch a ride with Tonya & Brant + touch base with Michelle & Toru. My friendships deepened during this time partly because of how the earthquake in Japan continues to resonate close to home.

Questions from our conversations:

· How do you respond to catastrophe?
· If you could follow your bliss, what would that be?

Thinking about responses to the devastation in Japan, I created this video slideshow of Ji Mo 寂寞: The Stillness of Solitude.

Perhaps it is old fashioned to think that art can bridge the place between distress and comfort. Nonetheless, I offer this slideshow as an initial response. The music is a remix from a live performance at Lincoln Hall in Portland. The photos are from an early morning at Kubota Garden in Seattle. This stillness of solitude is a reflective space to recompose.

放火 火の粉
hōka hinoko
fire sparks

放火 炎
hōka hono(o)
fire flames

放火 火事だ
hōka kajida
fire roars

Seattle-based artist Diem Chau responds by offering two crayon family portraits as part of a raffle on her blog. Chau will donate raffle proceeds to the Japanese Red Cross.

Have you found more responses worth noting?