Japantown San Jose: Changes in Winter

Early evening in Japantown San Jose.  Photo shoot inspired by the publication of 

San Jose Japantown: A Journey

Originally a Chinese restaurant, then a Cuban eatery.

Winter cold

Sycamore balls snagged on barbed wire.

Plywood on brick

Winter leaves at the Corporation Yard

Bright and Shiny Things

Beautiful morning at the brewery, taking shots of the shiny new equipment.  The light was good.  Here's Dean!

Apples, Light

Apples today; strawberries tomorrow.  Welcome to summer.

Communications HIll: The North Side

Construction on Montecito Vista Drive

Seeking Winter Texture: Guadalupe River Gardens, Late December 2013.

 

Cold winter morning at the park, lots of interesting layers and winter colors.  Heritage fruit tree orchard.

The Heritage Rose Garden

Lines.

California winter color.

Fallen leaves.

Lots of bright California light to use or contend with. 

A bit of BW; rose thorns & shadow.

Last leaves.

Ogier Ponds: Birding with SCVAS

Ogier Ponds, south of San Jose along 101, are former sand & gravel quarries.  They have an interlocking history with Coyote Creek and currently are the place to do a bit of fishing or birding on a late summer or early fall day.  Highlights today are American bittern, Red-necked phalarope, Green heron, Wood duck, and tons of Bushtits.

SCVAS fieldtrips are great because everyone is friendly and several experts with spotting scopes are generous with their knowledge and equipment.  The light was wonderfully golden this morning.

Late summer colors were subtly vibrant.  One of my favorite California landscapes is our rolling hills, whether green in spring or golden in summer.  

Rick Mahaffey: Offerings from the Spirit

Rick Mahaffey is an Art Instructor and Head of the Ceramics program at Tacoma Community College in the greater Seattle area. He has work in museums in the United Kingdom, Kenya, China, Japan, Turkey, Korea and Mexico. He has also taught workshops in Europe, Africa, and Asia. As you read this interview, you will be astonished by Rick’s varied interests, all connected by his humanitarian and artistic world view. He and I go far back, all the way to elementary school, and have recently reconnected on FB. When I began this interview series, I knew that Rick would be one of my must-haves.


tp: Please tell us about your own ceramic work, your style and what is inspiring you now.


RM: I am a potter; I make most of my work on the potter's wheel. My main inspiration comes from the work of potters done during the Momoyama period in Japan (the late 16th century). I find the work that is used for Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Ceremony, to be very interesting to me. It has been said that a good tea bowl (Chawan) can contain an entire universe.

 The aestheic of the Wabi tea as done by Sen no Rikyu is one of natural beauty as opposed to a mechanical perfection and one that I find to have lasting interest to me. The concepts of being completely present in the practice of tea: being aware of your surroundings, of others in the room with you and of the seasons, is something that we have gotten away from in modern life. What with texts, cell phones, being connected to the web and being insulated from the seasons, these are all things that make it harder to be in the "present" and aware of our surroundings in a complete way.

Tea Bowl

I do most of my firing in wood fueled kilns. I am part owner of an Anagama kiln which is a large single chamber kiln of ancient Japanese origin. An Anagama is not efficient with the use of fuel but it does give the opportunity for the fire to have a large say in how the work comes out. The firing over 5 to 6 days puts lots of fly ash onto the ware in the kiln and it combines with the clay to create a glaze or to alter a glaze that I have applied. This process requires 24 hour-a-day tending as well as lots of wood splitting and stacking prior to the firing. We usually have about 7 to 9 people on the crew. It requires that we work together and in a sense live together for the duration of the firing. We become a family for the time of the firing. Many of us are working other jobs so we end up putting in double shifts.

 6 cords of wood went into this firing over 5.5 days. We then waited a week for it to cool before we returned to see what the results were.

I like the fact that the firing and the actions of the crew contribute to the final outcome (unless someone breaks a piece while throwing wood into the kiln, but that too is part of the process) and that each piece is unique because of the type of wood, the weather, how the firing went, and so on. The fly ash can be heavy near the areas where we stoke the wood and lighter in other areas.  


tp: What else do you like about working with students?


RM: I love the fact that students from Turkiye feel comfortable asking me a question by email and that I have the freedom that their own professors don't have for various reasons. I am also honored that my colleagues overseas are comfortable with me giving advice and information to their students. I am very pleased that some of the students I helped over the last 15 years are now teachers themselves, sharing what they have learned from their teachers.

Huatulco, Oaxaca

At a community college a large part of what I do is help to build confidence in my students and help them see what they have done well and find ways to get to where they want to go. In my lecture class I try to help them become an "expert" in a small area of art hoping that they will carry that confidence with them into other classes. 


tp: You co-founded the International Society for Ceramic Art Education and Exchange which is based in Tokyo. Was that the beginning of your travels?

RM: Let me begin a bit earlier than that, with some background. I first went to Japan in 1982 with my wife and her grandmother who was returning to Tokyo after an extended visit. We were in Japan for three weeks on that trip and we spent 8 days visiting pottery sites and other sites like Kyoto (my wife tolerated so much clay stuff with good humor most of the time). It was a great adventure and I thought a once in a lifetime trip. Later in 1989 or 90 I was part of hosting summer workshops at the University of Puget Sound, where I was a part- time instructor, presented by the former First Lady of Japan, Miki Mutsuko san. Miki san invited the head of the ceramics department to do a project in Japan for one year. He decided that a full year was too much time away so he asked if I wanted to do the second half of the project -of course I said yes- that was in 1995. So Ken Stevens went to Japan to work at Naruto Education University in May of 1995. I went to Japan in December of that year and stayed until June 30. During the first month of living in Japan I was invited by Professor Shimada of Tokyo National University of Art to participate in a firing at the Tokyo U satellite campus in Ibaraki ken. It was during the three days of firing and spending time together that Professor Shimada

Crusty Jar

    asked about bringing students to Tacoma Community College where I was also teaching part-time for two or three weeks so that his students could experience the "open, American way of thinking about clay". I was all for that, having my students work alongside his for a couple of weeks influencing eachother and sharing so I emailed the Art Department Chair, Frank Dippolito and my dean Gael Tower who were both enthusiastic about the idea so we put it together for the following August.  

While hosting Tokyo U of art the second summer in a row I said that my students would like to come to Japan and work in a program like the one were to doing with Tokyo U some time. Professor Shimada said, "OK next summer you will come to Tokyo". I was stunned but recovered quickly enough to say yes. While in Tokyo in 1998 with my students Professor Zheng Ning of the Central Academy of Art in Beijing was there doing a summer residency and he joined with the Tokyo students and my students. He invited all of us to meet in Beijing the following year. Again I said yes. As our program was coming to an end Professor Zehra Cobanli and President Engin Atac of Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey arrived and saw what we were doing and wanted to join us in Beijing. That was the start of what is now called the International Society for Ceramic Art Education and Exchange or the ISCAEE. 

    I am now the International Vice President of the ISCAEE. We have member schools on five contenents and at our last meeting in Tokyo we had some 280 attendeess. Member institutions come from Japan, Korea, China, Turkey, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Australia, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, and the USA. All of the institutions are Universities with one community college _Tacoma Communuty College (my school).  We host lectures, exhibitions of faculty and student work, have specific activities for students, and demonstrations by the faculty.

tp: What meaning does this travel bring to your life?
RM: My opportunities to travel have been beyond my dreams as a kid growing up in the Upper Noe valley of San Francisco. I never had the idea that I would get to travel overseas let alone live in a foreign country and have the chance to make true friends in other countries. 

Potter in Sorkun, Turkey

The more I travel the more I realize that we have much more in common than we may think we do. I once talked to someone at a conference who had to walk for 24 hours to catch a bus for another day-long journey to get to that conference. That made me reconsider the difficulty I had getting from the Pacific Northwest to Nairobi. That same individual who needed 48 hours to travel from Tanzania to Kenya gave me a chance to share something that I could easily get (my pottery tools) with her - she acted like those tools were the most precious things she could have been given - and perhaps those tools would help her make more and better art and will allow her to take better care of her child. I always look to give my tools to the host school or to a student or two, hoping that they will make a difference in their work.


tp: Speaking of tools, you also like to work on old motorcycles and cars. What are some memorable experiences?


RM: Memorable experiences.......making an old vehicle come back to life after some time of dormancy, hearing it run and seeing it move again are some of the best parts. Also, learning about the engineering solutions that were devised and seeing what can be improved without changing the character of appearance of a vehicle. In a way I sometimes feel that by working on an old bike or car I am communicating with the designers and builders of the vehicle. Going to club events driving an old car or bike, sharing that interest with some great people. The sharing of knowledge and ideas is quite stimulating for me. Taking friends for a ride in an old car is like sharing a view to the past. The children of a friend were excited because when they were riding in one of my cars, if they waved, people would wave back at them. That was fun.

1946 Model 18 Norton. It is a pre-war bike made just after WWII was over with the tooling left from 1938 or 1939

With these old machines  I feel the need to preserve them and make sure that who ever is their care taker has something of history to work with. Since I started out in college in engineering I like to apply some of the things I learned in the engineering classes that I took before I changed majors to art in my senior year.


tp: You have so many strong interests: ceramics, teaching & working with students, and travel. Does one stand out, do they complement and strengthen each other, and how do you have the time and energy for them all?


RM: I always see lots of connections (that are not necessarily linear ) in my life and in the things that interest me. I like to be a connector, someone who helps others make connections and see things in a different way. I like sharing knowledge and love when I find a fact or story that helps me make connections in teaching my students. I really don't see my interests in ceramics, teaching, travel, and old motorcycles and cars as separate interests. It is about learning and sharing. Of course I try to learn while working with clay every time I set to make some things and then when I really understand something I can share it with my students.

I have great respect for my teachers in Ceramics and value what they taught me. I like that I can pass on what they shared with students and in a small way I am keeping their teaching and them alive by sharing the things that they taught and adding the things that I have discovered along the way. It is the same with travel and working on old machines. Sharing what I have been shown and what I have learned ensures that those ideas do not disappear.
Working in clay has taught me a patience and calmness that I bring to bear when I am in a foreign country or trying to figure out what made the car or motorcycle stop running. I am not always successful with the machines when it comes to patience. I am however better at using my patience overseas.  

Flower Vase

    While living in Japan my mantra became: "Everything will become apparent in the fullness of time" because I could not speak much Japanese and could not read it at all other than a few words and numbers so I had to be prepared to find out about things with only 15 or 20 minutes before they happened or I was to go somewhere. One example is when one of the people in the International section said are you ready to go to dinner with the University President? I asked when and he said in 20 or 30 minutes. I was covered in clay at the time so I had to stop what I was doing and rush to my apartment and change and get back to school. I was only 4 minutes late.


The time and energy part is the tough one. I use my breaks to work on making art and working on the other interests in my life. most of the time the motivation comes from small successes along the way but it often comes in the form of a deadline. With teaching I have tried to make sure that any work I do outside of class has a meaningful result for my students.


tp: This has been fun, both catching up and learning about the different parts of your committed life. Any last thoughts?


RM: Recently I read an article in the Washington Post  about a potter, Malcolm Davis, who said:  “What we do with the clay, what we create with our hands, what we offer from our spirits may not end racism or stop injustice, but it may just help keep our culture human.” 

Saggar Pot

In Art and in many other areas of our lives the things that are most precious are those that are most fragile. Usually people place painting at the top of the Art heap, in part because it is fragile and must be cared for but also because it is a visual representation of an idea or story. I think that ideas are our most precious commodity and I know that ideas are very fragile if we don't share them and make sure that other people learn about our knowledge.

Joe Peterson: All Aboard!

When Joe Peterson becomes interested in something, he rolls up his sleeves and gets involved. He’s a methodical and hands-on  kind of guy and loves to include his family and friends in his pursuits. I’ve known Joe all my life; he’s my cousin!   Here, he describes his passion for trains which started at an impressionable age.

tp: I know that you love trains; would you please describe when and how that started?

JP: Like many things we like and do, when the light went on is usually lost in a time fog! But, here's a photo of me at 10 months, sitting by the Christmas tree with some kind of toy train next to me.

Obviously, the seeds were sown at that time ;-) The next photo of me with a train is at Christmas when I was two years old. This was a wind-up metal train and I can actually remember it! From then on, it just grew and blossomed to the fanatical obsession that I currently have.






tp: How have your railroading activities changed over the years?


JP: I received a progression of toy trains at various Christmases until the arrival of the LIONEL TRAIN SET (I hope you heard the deep, resonant announcers voice there). Now I had an electric train that I could set-up on my bedroom floor and do all sorts of things with and to. And, someone gave this young kid a cannon that shot rubber tipped shells and the trains made great moving targets.


In the late '50's I was introduced to HO model trains because Dad built his own train set and was getting Model Railroader magazine. An especially great read on rainy nights with an active imagination. I even started building a layout but that ended quickly when we moved from San Francisco to Sunnyvale.


For high school and college years, model trains took a back seat to "normal" teenage life. During college I met some other fellows with an interest in trains and once we were graduated and earning money, we would drive to and photograph nearby working railroads.


tp: Did you travel around, chasing trains?

JP: One friend, John Whitmore, had a motorcycle so, in 1968, he and I rode our bikes on a two week pilgrimage to see steam railways still in operation in California. Since that trip, there have been many more with a core group of five who have recorded railroad operations on the west coast.  


In the late '70's, I learned about the Pacific Locomotive Association (PLA) and their Castro Point Railway. Many times we would go to Molate Beach, just north of the Richmond-San Rafael bridge, and ride and film the operation. At one point, when they were about to close, they had five steam engines up and running at the same time! Quite an achievement for a volunteer group.


They lost their lease in the early '80's but, at the same time, the Southern Pacific Railroad was pulling out of Niles Canyon and gave their land to Alameda County. The PLA was able to lease the old right-of-way from the county and the Niles Canyon Railway was born. Eventually, they re-laid the track from Niles to Sunol and began running trains for the public.


tp: Aren’t you involved in the Niles Canyon Railway Train-of-Lights?


JP: In the '90's, I came across the Niles operation and finally became a member. My first experiences were as a docent for the regular Sunday trains. I thought that this was a great way to learn about the railroad, it's equipment and environment. The next step was to study, pass the test and become a brakeman. Now I could actually help make the trains go and work with the public more directly.

At Christmas time, I joined the group of workers helping to decorate all the cars for use in the yearly Train-of-Lights and this operation is high in Christmas spirit. Look here, Niles Canyon Railway Train-of-Lights and you'll get to see some great videos. Each car is decorated inside and out with lights, garlands, presents and more.


Even Santa comes down from the North Pole to check things out.  

 If you would like to enjoy riding this train, keep an eye on the ncry.org website starting October 1st to see when tickets go on sale. They have sold out rather quickly in years past.


tp: Where are your current railroading activities taking you?


JP: About four or five years ago, I joined the Maintenance of Way group and started learning what it takes to keep the trains rolling along. Since then, I have learned about a variety of equipment and tools used to replace joint bars and old ties, lay new track, keep sight lines open and a lot about maintaining that very same equipment.

Now and then, with supervision, I have even run some of the larger locomotives and someday I will progress from brakeman to conductor and then into the cab as fireman and engineer.


I still go out and photograph and videotape other railroad operations but they are becoming fewer with each year that passes. It is nice to have the Niles Canyon Railway in "our back yard" so it is easy to work on and enjoy. In fact, every Wednesday, a small group of us get together to do some light track work to aid the railroad and the larger Saturday work party. Great experience, exercise and fun.

On another level, I get to share my love with my great nieces, Peyton and Daveigh, who just turned seven and show an interest in railroads both big and small. We've enjoyed the model railroad display of the Golden Gate Model Railroad Museum in the Josephine P. Randall, Jr. Museum in San Francisco and this photo is of us on the steps of the 1423 diesel locomotive run by the Niles Canyon Railroad. The birth of another spark?

So you can see that it has been a many year, multi-level love affair that continues to this day. Only now, I get to play with the real thing ;-)
All Aboard!!!


tp: Thank you cousin for telling us just how you became a railroading enthusiast; it sounds like you just can't help it!

Jessica Pryde: Her Life of Music

Jessica Pryde lives in Washington D.C. and sings with The Washington Chorus. I met Jessica when she worked in SJSU Library as she was completing her Masters’ degree in Library and Information Science. She was also one of my wonderful first interns. I was lucky enough to see her sing with Symphony Silicon Valley Singers, a madrigal chamber group based out of Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale. Jessica is currently a high school librarian in the District of Columbia. 


tp: Please tell us about your early singing experiences.


JP: I honestly have no idea when I started singing. Growing up (even before beginning school), both my grandmother and mother exposed me to numerous movie musicals, so much so that I probably knew the words to "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music before I knew the alphabet. I joined Glee Club the first moment I could (in third grade) and never turned back. I started taking piano around that time as well, and the girls that I went to lessons with taught me all the gospel songs of the time. So here I was, learning classical and gospel piano, and learning gospel songs. I knew a bit about classical singing, due to my grandmother--while my mother was a big Rodgers and Hammerstein girl, my grandmother had me watching Mario Lanza and Jeannette MacDonald from the age of four on--but I didn't get the same kind of exposure to it that I did gospel music. I also grew up going to church with my grandmother, which had a very musical atmosphere.


Fast forward three years. In fifth grade, my music teacher saw musical potential in me, and put me in sight singing lessons after school. Two years later, she suggested me for the District of Columbia All-City Honors Chorus and this began my extreme exposure to classical music. From there on it was chorus, opera (I got to sing a smallish part in Britten's Noye's Fludde in eighth grade), masterclasses, more chorus, etc., straight through college and on through adulthood.


tp: When you are singing and can see the audience, do you pay attention to your listeners? Do you ever make up stories about individuals in the audience?

The Washington Chorus' Candlelight Christmas, December 2010

Actually, seeing the faces of my listeners makes me really nervous, which makes my heart rate speed up and my singing choppy. So I try not to look at them. Since I am pretty much exclusively chorus, I try to keep my focus on the hands of my conductor. If I have to look at the audience for some reason (we're encouraged to be engaging when we do sing-alongs for Christmas and the like), I pick a few directions to look and occasionally meet someone's gaze. I just smile and keep moving. I never really make up stories about individuals, but sometimes, before or after concerts, or when the lights come up for a sing-along, I try to pick out who's actually happy to be there vs. who got dragged to the Symphony by their parents/date/other loved ones trying to get more culture in their lives. 


tp: What makes a good choral director and/or voice teacher?


JP: Hmm...what makes a good choral director or voice teacher? The most important part is engagement with their charges. If they act like they won't want to be there, none of us will want to be there either. My current choral director goes back and forth between New York and DC (and used to also work at McGill) every week, but he never makes us feel like the ugly stepchild. He's always engaged with us and with the music as well. He also pushes us towards more challenging music, and encourages us to make the effort to successfully present that music. It doesn't hurt that he's a musical genius and will make connections between two works or composers that none of us ever would have considered, let alone seen in in the music.


tp: What have you learned about singing that surprised you?

JP: I think the biggest thing that surprised me about my own singing, is that I'm still getting better at it. When my last choral conductor in San Jose told me at my audition (at age 22) that my voice was still maturing, I had no idea what that meant. But with every director, teacher, or even work of music, I can feel all of the things I've learned in the past come together and improve my sound (and I can hear my voice maturing--go figure!). And the funny thing is that no matter what their age, everyone can improve their sound. I also discovered that English is the easiest language to oversing in--you're not thinking about shaping your words, like you would be with a second or third language. So if I'm singing in English and start to feel scratchy-throat, I know to back off. It's really hard when you're excited about what you're singing, though. Or singing really high. 

Altos and Tenors of TWC, Candlelight Christmas, December 2010

tp: Jessica, who are your musical inspirations?


JP: My musical inspirations are so all over the place that I can't name all of them, but I can pinpoint exactly the moment I knew I wanted to be singing for the rest of my life.


When I was eight years old, my school was invited to a “Look In” with The Washington Opera. They were doing Carmen and Denyse Graves was singing the title role. I watched her move across the stage and listened to her sing the Habanera, and knew immediately I wanted to be her when I grew up. A few years later I discovered I had horrible stage fright, of course, so the opera career was out. I still pretend when I'm all by myself in my apartment, though.


tp: What kind of music do you listen to today? What embarrassing songs might we find on your MP3 player?


JP: Today, I listen to all kinds of music. If you were to look at my most played in iTunes, they're likely all choral songs, because I use professional recordings to help memorize music as I prepare for concerts. But beyond that, you'll find classical, jazz, standards, R&B from the 90s and 2000s, some Rock & Roll from all eras, movie soundtracks, broadway cast recordings, pop, a cappella, gospel, go-go (a local favorite), and probably a few things that don't have categories. So my shuffle might go from Rachmaninoff to Beyonce to Pirates of the Caribbean to the Beatles.


I'm not sure which is more embarrassing: the Looney Tunes "Kill the Wabbit" song or Britney Spears' "Email My Heart". I know all the words to both.


tp: What are you working on now and where can we hear you sing in 2011?


JP: I will be doing Mozart's Great Mass this Fall, along with the annual Candlelight Christmas Concert, and both are held in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in DC.


tp: Thank you Jessica for letting us get to know you and your singing life much better.  Here's to the Habanera, Jeannette MacDonald, the Beatles and to you!