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This year we celebrated our holidays in Japan. We got a Japan Rail Pass and with our 2 oldest boys we traveled first to Koya-san, south of Osaka and about 5 hours of travel from Kamakura.

Mount Koya, set amid black cedars at an altitude of 1000 m., is Japan’s most venerated Shingon-Buddhist site, a major school of Japanese Buddhism and brought into Japan by the priest Kukai when he came back from China with many texts and art works in 804. He established this spiritual center  and monastic retreat in 816. There were almost a thousands temples on the mountain by the Edo period, but typhoons and fire have since reduced the number to 123.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going up the mountain by train.

 

And very steep cable car.
We stayed the night in the Shojo-jin temple, one of the 53 temple lodgings.
It was such a beautiful temple. It was very cold though and then you are glad to wear slippers on the very cold floor.

 

Delicious vegetarian prepared food in a warm room heated by a little gas stove.

 

 

 

 
Beautiful (sumie) paintings on sliding doors everywhere.

The next morning, Christmas morning, we got up at 6am to participate with a Buddhist service. They chanted all the way through their book with hitting the gong in between to be kept alert?!

After breakfast we packed up our things and got on the way through the necropolis of over 200,000 tombs to Kukai’s mausoleum, Okuki-in. Great status is attached to burial on Koya-san.

The stone-paved approach to the mausoleum is flanked with statues, monuments, and tombs housing the remains of Japan’s most powerful families.

 

 

In front of Kukai’s mausoleum is the Toro-do (Lantern Hall). Day and night 11,000 lanterns burn here, including two that are said to have remained lit since the 11th century.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, A Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year! Akemashita Omedeto Gozaimashita!!!

From the LIGTENBERGS

 

The year flew by and as always so many things happen.
We still have our little house in Japan and travel quite a bit. Adriaan works hard for his businesses and tries to make it work in this financial difficult time. Swanica is busy with her ceramics art and won this year two other major Japanese awards. Look on her website: www.swanceramics.com.
The boys are busy studying and working and getting ready for real adult life of becoming independent.
December 7, 2008, Arjan with his USC water polo team won another NCAA title. This is the best water polo you can get in the USA. We are very happy for him. He won 100 out of the 106 games in his water polo career at USC. So, this year is a perfect ending for him.
Arjan, as team captain, is holding the trophy.

In the summer, Roland worked for a painting company by making deals and managing painters. He will continue in real estate. Maarten started working on his thesis in virology.

This summer, Adriaan, Swanica, Maarten and Mindy went scuba diving in Egypt. It was so beautiful and fantastic!

We wish you all the very best in this coming year and we desperately hope that the Obama change will be in everybody’s interest!!
The best to you all,
Adriaan, Swanica, the boys and girlfriends.

Last Friday was the reception of the opening of the Holiday Show at the Gallery House. The show looks great and I made some new 2D Horsehair Wall Art. I had fun making the "Flying High Wings". They are made from one plate.

Some red war in the front room of the gallery.
 

My cubby with the horsehair ware and red ceramic ware.

Yesterday, I went to Fresno with Yonsoo Chung to go to the reception of the California Clay ‘08 exhibition with selected works from the Association of Clay and Glass Artists at the Fresno City College in the Art Space Gallery. They used my horsehair plate for the invitation.

It was quite a long drive of 6 hours forth and back, but being in each others company, sharing the driving and a good dinner, the time passed by quickly.

The exhibition was in a nice building and it was set-up beautifully.

Yonsoo’s artwork was hanging directly on the wall when you enter the gallery.

 

And my artwork was standing in the back on a table: a beautiful spot.

Some other artwork. Sorry, I don’t know all the names of the artists.

 

 

 

Fred Yokel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cynthia Siegel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exhibition was beautiful. Thanks to Edward Lund and Bob Kizziar.

Yonsoo and Swanica.

The last day we finished several projects and raku fired our glazed pots.

Steve explains how the procedure goes.

Steve starts the gas firing.The temperature will be at 900 Celsius in 1 hr.

Almost ready for take out.

Jennifer taking out pots.

You put the pots in a trash can. There was lots of paper in there. When it starts burning you quickly close the lid to get the reduction going, which affects the glazes.

 

 

 

Still some burning  and flames.

 

 

 

 

 

The pots were taken out, put in water and put on a ledge to cool of further and look at the beautiful colors!

We raku fired the big bowls and finished the workshop with a tea ceremony in our chawans and admired Tatsuo Shimaoka-san’s teabowl which Euan owns.

Thank you Steve, Euan and Kusakabe-san for the wonderful, interesting Art of Tea workshop!