Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu

明けましておめでとうございます　or, in other words, Happy New Year! A big Thank You goes out to everyone who read Papercuts and and enjoyed my artwork this past year. I hope that you all had a great holiday season, and are looking forward to another year of funky papery goodness.

This was my second Christmas here in Tokyo with my wife, and it just keeps getting better. I’m figuring out new and exciting ways to place all the gifts under our eighteen inch tree, which sits on top of our kotatsu, dwarfed by the poinsettia. My wife went back to the islands to celebrate New Year’s with her family and, more importantly, take part in the Oosouji (大掃除), which translates literally as “The BIG Clean”. We broke tradition in our household by cleaning in October. Because leaving all the doors and windows in an already-porous Japanese apartment open for three days while scrubbing at floors, walls and ceilings is cold. Very, very cold. In the spirit of the season, I dove into a task I’ve been meaning to do for ages now and cataloged my artwork in a big ol’ database. Just in case future generations of art historians need to know when I cut out my first boar (I had no idea that I’d done 4 pig pieces this past year!) or which piece I consider the worst I’ve ever done (and why I haven’t thrown it into a bonfire yet). Indispensable knowledge with which to build a better world.

2008 is looking to be an eventful one. One of my pieces will be in the Under the Influence Show at Gallery 1988 LA. And I’ve already got two other shows lined up. Hopefully there will be more as time goes on. The 1988 Calendar is nearly ready (just waiting for the printer to iron out a glitch or two); I’m very happy with the way it looks. With a little luck, the shop should reopen, and I’m looking at getting a mailing list started as well. And that’s just January. Somewhere in there, I’ll be trying to get some art done too.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by, read the posts, looked at the art, and dropped me an email or comment! I can’t express how much you all are appreciated. Have a great year!