A little "performance" art

The Demon who stole my face. 2006

   About 5 years ago as part of a first year project I created a kimono ensemble which reflected my deep interest in the Japanese spiritual world. Now I have been blessed with a job that gives me enough income to purchase a few pieces (more than a few actually).
    Fan Con is coming up and I am going in kimono. The one I decided to wear will be this beautiful wool blend hand made piece. The ensemble hopefully will come together this week as Saturday creeps closer. I have been praying that my new zori get here before then so that I can  wear them out.
         I just got my hair cut this weekend and my wig is not on hand. So I am not entirely sure what kind of character I will come up with or if I will change my kimono entirely for a different look.
   Bellow I have included a few pieces I am hoping to work with. Not all together but just pieces that made me think " I should wear that to the Con!".  Anyhow back to the sketch book to think some more. Id love to hear what you think!

Chanoyu and okashi

      For my past few classes I have been enjoying a dry sweet when I have my tea. To the left is what this sweet looks like. It melts in the mouth and is not as sweet as Canadian/America candies.
    These sweets come in other forms such as seasonal shapes (flowers, leaves etc) but this one can be used for any season it seems.
    This type of dry sweet is used for usucha or thin tea. Not many people have tried its other form koicha or thick tea. Thick tea, from my research, is served to all guest from the same bowl. It is passed from guest to guest till it is done. The sweets that accompany this tea is moist, like a jello consistency or almost cake like (fondant more so).

    The image I have used to show you this usucha sweet is from Rakuten, an online shop that in itself acts like a mall. I have found everything from food to kimono to even tobacco accessories (kiseru even which is traditionally used in tea ceremony if the guests smoke). The other three images are examples I found in google images of other types of sweets or Wagashi.  The pink one is my favourite that I look forward to every spring. It is a mochi rice sweet with red bean paste inside, warped with a salted sakura leaf. Truly a great sweet with any tea.
      Check out Rakuten, your local china town or even a local Japanese specialty shop to try out these sweets!!