I had the great good fortune to live in Japan and study art and literature. It was a revelation: in Japan there was a rich tradition of art and Sensei - meaning somebody who'd been there before - passing down the knowledge of the techniques and philosophy of an art.

I was a surprise that one could even be an artist!

As a college student, I studied ceramics in Kyoto. I fell in love with the ceramics and philosophy of Kawai Kanjiro, Shoji Hamada and the Mingei (people's art) movement focusing on keeping traditional arts
alive in the face of industrialization (ironically, much like today with AI).

I was fortunate to meet a vigorous shodo (calligraphy) teacher named Yamazaki Sensei. I had true "beginner's mind," not knowing how to hold a brush or make "sumi" or black ink. She taught me how to breath and let the life energy flow easily through each brush stroke. She laughed when my strokes were herky-jerky. "Get into the flow, Filipu!"

Most calligraphy teachers painted a short haiku (5-7-5 syllable poem). She painted multi-screen novellas! Each brush stroke alive, true, and naturally flowed into the next kanji character.

Later, I moved to Takaoka and became a student of Osawa Sensei. He taught me how to be the "Shite" or "doer" or "performer" of Noh theater using dance to express the poem the chorus chanted. Under his watchful eye, I learned how to gracefully move in fluid, concise movements to the chanting. As a part of the "Ho-Sho-Ryo" or "Five Cloud" Noh troup, I was the first American to perform at the Japanese National Noh Theater.

A key aspect of the teacher-student relationship in Japanese tradition is for the teacher to provide the foundation of understanding AND for the student to further expand the art in new ways.

I believe that part of the obligation of being an artist is sharing lessons, coaching, helping the next generation to create the next era's great art.