Takao |
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 Haiku: Gazing outward at My ceramic dish in flight I burped deep-fried leaves. |
36" square Mostly Japanese and some American commercial cottons, also hand-dyed cottons; 1995. Machine pieced, hand quilted, and embellished with threads and beads. Tucked away at the top of Mt. Takao northwest of Kyoto is the temple Jingoji, a place known mostly to the Japanese for its fabulous red maple leaves of November. It is also the sacred place where the monk Kukai, founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, conducted the first abhiseka (sanskrit for: trans-mission of the secret doctrines) in 805. On the late-October day that I made my pilgrimage, the maple trees were still holding tight to their summer greenness. As we made the arduous ascent up the stone-step-path, we snacked on the local delicacy: deep fried maple leaves cooked tempura style. At the top, according to the custom, we purchased small unglazed ceramic dishes, tossing them (and all our troubles) into the magnificent open sky and beautiful valley below. Watching my dishÐ or was it my self? Ð on its life path, I was drawn into an extended moment where I felt connected to the universe and totally happy. This quilt has been sold. For a detail of the quilt here. (Photo by Karen Bell) |
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