Photograph by Rick Deragon
East and West: Hakone Gardens artist-in-residence, Karen Nagano, will co-lead a creative workshop this weekend.
Workshop at Hakone marks a season of new beginnings
Two Bay Area artists demonstrate methods for inspiration and creative renewal
By Shari Kaplan
In celebration of the beginning of spring, a season of new beginnings that artists in Japan traditionally see as a time to recharge their artistic and life forces, the Hakone Foundation invites the community to attend "A Day in the Garden," a participatory art and meditation workshop on March 26 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Hakone Gardens' Cultural Exchange Center, 21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga.
The workshop leaders are Karen Nagano, a Salinas-based poet and writer and an artist in residence at Hakone; and Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi, a Buddhist priest of the Soto sect and practitioner of meditation living in Santa Cruz.
Nagano was raised on a farm in Morro Bay, where she was inspired by the beauty of the land and the changing of the seasons. She also grew up with a taste of her Japanese heritage from her grandparents, who immigrated to California and successfully started a new life here.
After receiving her art education at Stanford University and spending a year as an exchange student at the Kofukai Art Institute of Tokyo, she returned to California to pursue graduate studies in painting and printmaking at UC-Berkeley and UC-Santa Barbara.
The sensory experiences from childhood continue to affect her artwork today, such as the distinctive tempo of farm life, the weather, the plants, the family's Buddhist shrine, Japanese New Year celebrations and what she calls "the delicate balance of things East and West within the household." She is also a Zen Buddhist.
Roshi was born into a Buddhist temple family in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. After completing his master's degree in Buddhist Studies at Kyoto University, he received his priestly training at Eiheiji Temple in Japan's Fukui Prefecture. In the 1960s, he settled in California and helped establish the Tassajara Zen Mountain Temple in Carmel Valley. He is also the founder and abbot of Jikoji, a Buddhist temple on Skyline Boulevard in the Los Gatos/Saratoga area. He is a calligrapher, poet and painter.
During "A Day in the Garden," Nagano and Roshi will demonstrate various creative and spiritually centering activities. They will guide participants through meditation and show them how it can clear their minds and help them be more receptive to creative thought. They also will teach participants how the ambiance of springtime at Hakone can inspire them in the creation of paintings and poems.
Cost of the workshop is $65 for the general public or $55 for Hakone Foundation members. This includes a simple Japanese lunch and tea and cookies at the end of the day. For more information, call Shizue Tomlinson at 408.255.6345.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
