Written on February 6, 1992 [Permalink]

February 3

I thought that I wouldn't have time to get to Akahito [4-1] today, and I was right. Spent the morning on 'thank you' letters, etc. and cleaning up the mess, both the workroom, and the house generally. Kaneko-san called in the morning and asked if she could drop by for a bit. Her daughters were my students a few years ago, and I thought that she wanted to look at some prints. I was wrong. She came with her husband, bringing an old wooden drawer full of small carved blocks which they had got from someone rebuilding their house. They are mostly little designs for being printed on food wrappers, and are not really of any use to anyone, but are kind of interesting. They thought that rather than throwing them away, that I would like to have them.

They had no sooner left than a Mr. and Mrs. Honda came over. They had made an appointment a month or so ago, and I thought that they too wanted to look at my prints. Wrong again! They brought some small New Year prints they had made together, and wanted pointers on how to improve them. We spent a couple of hours doing some printing together on some of the blocks that Kaneko-san had brought. Nice timing! I hadn't thought of it, but this is a perfect use for those old blocks - printing practice for beginners. I've been usually using some of my Hyakunin Isshu blocks for demonstrations with guests, but from now on I'll use these...

I'll also have to figure out what to do about these people who want advice with printmaking. A few people who came to the exhibition also inquired about getting some help, and if I have them come over one by one like today, it's going to start taking up a lot of time. I usually never get any printmaking work done on weekends anyway, and with Sunday set aside for the kids, perhaps Saturday mornings would be a good time to have people come over. Who knows, maybe it will become some kind of tradition ...

After the kids went to bed, tried to see if I could remember how to hold the carving knife, and did about an hour on Akahito. Not so bad ... but my shoulders and back started to ache fairly quickly. How long is it since I worked on the last print? About six weeks? Ito san has probably never had a six week layoff since he was 12 years old!

February 4

Determined to have a good carving day today, and sort of succeeded. I say sort of, because the day was full of interruptions, and I didn't get more than 15 minutes at a time at the desk. Ashida-san came over to talk about this month's work, and she'll be coming back tomorrow to pack the sets that were ordered last week. A call came in from a magazine publisher ('Sun Road' magazine?), and we set up an interview for a week Friday. The Mainichi also called to ask about referring a reader who saw the story a couple of weeks ago. Another call was from a group in Tachikawa who want me to give a speech in April (in English!). Every time the phone rings it breaks the work rhythm, and I have to dump Mimi-chan off my lap, get up and head for the phone. A couple of years ago we bought an answering machine (to use in the summer), but I think that was a mistake and I should have bought a cordless phone instead ...

Started thinking about the gallery for next January. If I want the Gallery Mon, I have to book it pretty soon, and if I want to get downtown, I'd better get moving. It's too late for most places, but perhaps if I start looking now, I'll find something for the year after, for the 'half-way' exhibition. Wrote a note to the woman who did the interview for the Shin Bijutsu Shimbun asking her to mention in her story that I'm looking for exhibition space. Presumably, every gallery owner in town reads her paper, and maybe something will come together... Next January 19th is the 200th anniversary of Shunsho's death, and that would be another good publicity point.

February 5, 1992

Ashida-san was here today to ship the six sets (I said earlier that there were seven new subscriptions plus seven set orders, but one of the sets was actually to be sent month by month, making it eight and six). She also brought back the blue customer log book that she has had for the last few days. She has reorganized the layout, making it easier to get the prints assembled each month at shipping time. I've always kept them in the same order that they originally joined us, but she's separated out the ones collecting back numbers. There's much less chance now of shipping the wrong print to somebody. We've never screwed up yet, but with all the different mix of orders for various sets now in the book, we want to minimize the chances ...

Forgot to mention yesterday that I emptied the Post Office account out and paid Yamaguchi-san for that last batch of paper. The bank is also run to the bottom with the rent and stuff out, and I just borrowed money from Himi-chan's 'Toshi-dama' box for the next few days. These six sets going out today are going to save the day until the next print is done. I also have to send some money to Canada soon or Michiyo won't be able to buy a plane ticket to get back here ...

Three phone calls today from people too late for the exhibition but who want to see the prints. Made a couple of appointments for later, but two ladies wanted to come right away. They spent an hour or so here, and left with pamphlets and newsletters. 'Maybe' they will call later with an order.

Kawahara-san also phoned to reply to my fax about mentioning next year's exhibition in her story in the Shin Bijutsu Shinbun. No go. I thought of it too late, and she has already filed the story. She did say though, that she would see what she could to find contacts for me who might have information on available locations...

Got in a good couple of hours carving while Ashida-san was working, and made good progress on the kimono pattern. I also remembered to call Shimano-san and get in an order for next month's blocks. He says 'in a couple of weeks', so it's a good thing I remembered to call this early. I'll need four pieces next time, and the print, Ise, is going to take about 15 or 16 impressions.

A nice letter from Mr. Tanaka, one of the new subscribers. He thanks for the exhibition, etc. and enclosed some photos of me working as well as some of his family. That is a good idea. If I can get everyone to send a picture, maybe I can avoid that problem of not recognizing people ...

February 6

Another guest today to see the work. He was very reluctant to 'bother' me, and only stayed about ten minutes. His main interest is just in seeing how the prints are made, and he is thinking about starting printmaking as a hobby.

A nice surprise in the mail today. A letter and order form from a Mrs. Iida, who had attended the exhibition last week. Quite a number of people had looked at the work and then said "I'll think about it and call you later.", but I doubted that I'd ever see any of them again. I was wrong on at least one ... She wants the first two sets together, and the third year month by month. That brings the exhibition total to nine subscriptions and eight sets.

Carving continues ...