Tea for Tohoku

I am done with OT school. I'm now spending my days studying for the licensing exam and unpacking boxes. I moved back to Albuquerque in January, but due to the intensity of my internships, I haven't had a chance to unpack until now.

I found this collage this morning, something I made a few years ago. It's a bowl of matcha tea and a Japanese tea sweet. A hand in a gesture of offering. Those familiar with Japanese sweets will recognize its jellied consistency. The collage is made entirely of Christian images, the hand belongs to Jesus and the sweet is made of the light from the Holy Spirit. I love collage, anything can happen!

I received an email today from my friend and Japanese Tea Ceremony teacher, Haruko. A tea group she belongs to in Japan donated tea to those affected by the tsunami. She included the following message, written by one of the tea store owners to the survivors.

"Thank you very much for allow us to send tea to you. these tea leaves were picked in 2010. The year, we had a big problem at the tea plantations. Because the freezing cold weather attacked right before picking tea leaves. All of the green good tea leaves were turned brown and seemed all of the tea bushes were dead. But few days after the weather warmed up, the tea bushes were growing and had nice green young tea leaves. We did not get much tea leaves, but the tea was wonderful. Please you, survivors and Japan will come back strong like this tea. We are thinking of you."

Art for Japan

I've donated three drawings to a fundraiser to assist those in Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami. You can bid on them at the Daily Paintworks Help Japan Challenge. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the images and place your bid. 100% of the proceeds of the sale will go to organizations in Japan to provide relief to evacuees. Shipping is on me. You can read more info on the description of each drawing and the organization the money will go to on the website. The artists have done a great job raising money so far, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. The auction for my drawings ends in just three days, on April 13th, so please take a look, and if you're interested, bid as soon as you can.

I adore Japan. I taught English on a tiny island in the Sea of Japan, years ago. I've been horrified and heartbroken about what happened there. The world feels very small and interconnected in some ways, but at the same time it's so hard that it's so far away, to not be able to go over there, to "do more." My part in this fundraiser is small, but do visit the site and pass the word along to as many as you can, so we can raise as much money as possible. Or if you have art work to donate, that would help too.

Arigatou gozaimashita.