UNLV BFA opening reception

UNLV's 2012 BFA candidates have a show up in the Donna Beam Gallery  running until May 16th.
Pictures from their opening reception.

Mai Ueda: Surprise Tea Ceremony

Mai Ueda conducted Tea Ceremonies as the artist in residence at the P3 Studio at the Cosmopolitan.

I was able to meet Mai Ueda on Friday the 27th for what was billed as a Surprise Tea Ceremony.  The experience was a modern interpretation of the Ancient Tea Ceremony.  It was very intimate with only Mai and her assistant Daniel meeting me and escorting me up to the Bamboo Pool.  On the way up Mai asked me if I thought of Las Vegas as a place where Zen exists, so I asked her to explain to me what the concept of Zen was, because I never really associated it with Las Vegas.  She reminded me of the Kofun Period and the Shrine to Amaterusa and how it is rebuilt every 20 years.  She told me that death and rebirth are core Zen principals.  In that I had to agree and I began to see the very Zen nature of Las Vegas, it is constantly in flux of death and rebirth.

I started to meditate on this as we walked through the pool area, and as I snapped shots of Mai as she enjoyed the moment we were in.  She reminded us that each moment is our to appreciate, reiterating that each moment is unique unto itself and will never again exist, Zen.  I allowed myself to be taken in by that notion and suddenly my thought pattern switched from thinking about our destination to appreciating the moment I was experiencing.

When we did settle onto the mats at the designated tea ceremony area Mai invited he Aunt to join her, then they invited me to sit, and next invited Daniel to join.  We sat and took in the moments while enjoying bites of cold watermelon.  We talked about the beauty of the day, and thought of the spirits of humans who once were.  The tradition of the ancient ceremony asked that to happen.  It was sheer beauty to consider the souls who experienced tea ceremonies throughout history and how we were in touch with them through our acts.  Time travel.

Mai prepared green tea with the juice of the melon, Auntie showed us how to accept the offered tea by turning the bowl twice, and drinking the contents in 3 sips, and then rotating it with our thumb against the lip residue to return it to our host.  We bowed in front of the bowl to thank our host.  Mai let us in the knowledge that we had just experienced a Geisha Tea Ceremony.

The whole experience drew me in and left me open to the possibilities of death and rebirth.  What an appropriate ceremony for Las Vegas, the very Zen Las Vegas.

Dreamhouse

Dreamhouse is a show currently running through June 1st at the Winchester Cultural Center Gallery  it features the artists Mary Warner, Mark Brandvik, and Emily Kennerk.  It is an exploration into some of the notions contained within the 'American Dream'.  Pictures from the opening reception.