Ru

Waiting...

2012-02-06T05:01:00.004-05:00

waiting...

... I didn't know it was this hard to wait for something to happen. Learning to be calm, be peaceful, and be patient...

９ヶ月　ー　9 months

2012-02-03T00:45:00.023-05:00

２０１１年、５月に妊娠がわかって、今日、明日にも産まれそうな我が子を思い、時を振り返ってみる。長かったようであっという間だったこの時間ももうすぐ終わりかと思うとちょっと寂しい感じもする。去年はいろんな意味で自分達の夢を叶えた年だったから妊娠が分かった時はとっても嬉しかった。”Gabe, you will be a father...”　Daddyに伝えた初めての知らせだよ。二人で長い間見つめ合って、ハグしたのを覚えてる。赤ちゃんが欲しいねって話してたことがとうとう現実になるんだって、不思議と不安がなくて信じられない喜びと期待でいっぱいになったよね。この９ヶ月の間は自分にとって今までの人生や美術、演劇の世界で頑張れた自分を見つめ直し、そして時間をかけて感謝するいい時をすごせたと思う。ありがとう。

Our baby boy is coming out in any minutes now. Today... or tomorrow? Instead of being too anxious, I thought it is a good time for me to look back my last 9 months with him in my tummy. I am so ready, yet a little sad that soon I won't be able to feel him side of my stomach.

We found out about my pregnancy in May 2011 at home. The year 2011 was a magical year for both me and Gabe. As an artist / creator, we have done so many different projects, and last year, for the first time we felt that we are living the life we dreamed when we were little. We felt so satisfied with our creative freedom, friends, achievements, quality of work etc... In all aspects, there are many things to improve, yet we felt so ready to share with a new member in our life.

"Gabe, you will be a father...” This was the first thing I told Gabe, when we discovered about our baby. We were just staring at each other for a long time, and hugged so tightly. That was the moment we both felt Wow... now everything we were just talking, wishing, hoping became REALITY!! For some reasons, there were no fear or anxiety. We felt so content and peaceful.

It was an amazing 9 months for me to re-think about my art/theater making, and what I want in my work, in my life. But most of all, I had a great time appreciating what I have. Thank you for this amazing time my little new buddy!

Heart beat

2012-02-03T00:45:00.022-05:00

photos by Steffan Jones

妊娠２ヶ月くらいだった頃、はじめてお腹の赤ちゃんの心臓の音を聞いた。その心臓のリズムの早さに驚きジーンときた。こんなにリズム早く小さいのに力強く動いているのかと思うと不思議な気持ちになった。生命ってすごいな。９ヶ月間もこの早さで大丈夫なのかと心配にさえなった。笑）　頑張っているんだな。

It was around two months in my pregnancy, I heard the baby's heartbeats for the first time. It was so incredible. It was almost twice as faster than our heart beats. The babies have such a small tiny body yet, their heartbeats were so strong and fast. I felt the power of LIFE. I remember almost wanted to warn him, "Hey my little buddy, you still have 9 months to go! Slow down a little! " :))

〔雨ニモマケズ〕宮沢賢治

2012-02-03T00:43:00.029-05:00

- photos by Natalie Lo Lai Lai -

妊娠が分かると良く聞く胎教。妊娠２０週目から、音楽を聞かせたり、お話したり、産まれてくる子に良いと周りから大切だよと勧められる。日本ではモーツアルトなどのクラシックを聞くのがいいってよく耳にするけど、音楽は別としてモーツアルト自身の生き様ってあまり好きじゃないかも。笑)　そんなことを考えていたとき、ふと最近気になっている宮沢賢治の書き残し、「雨ニモマケズ」を思い出した。東日本大震災の後、米首都のワシントン大聖堂で被災者のために祈りを捧げる機会があった際、宮沢賢治の「雨ニモマケズ」のほぼ全文などが読み上げられたとニュースサイトで見た。それをきっかけに宮沢賢治とこの文についていろいろ調べて学んだのだけれど、日本人、人としての心というか口に出して、覚えてみるとなぜだか勇気づけられ、考えさせられ、力を貰い、この妊娠中も何度も散歩道で暇さえあれば口づさんでいた。この書き下ろしの奥の深さを書くと長くなるけれど、仁もお腹の中で何か感じとっていてくれたらいいなと思う。

After around 20 weeks of pregnancy, listening to good music, reading some books, are said to have a good effect on an unborn baby. In Japan, all the classic music especially the compositions by Mozart are highly recommended! ( I am not sure why especially Mozart!? .. haha) Anyways, I do appreciate his music, but not so much fan of his lifestyle. :P I also came across a piece of writing "Amenimo Makezu" by Kenji Miyazawa around the same time. This piece of writing was shared after the special prayers for Tohoku Japan Earthquake and Tsunami victims at the Washington National Cathedral. "Amenimo Makezu" is a famous writing that all Japanese students were taught during their Japanese lessons. However, I remembered a very little about this writing. So I became very curious and researched about the writer and his piece. More I discovered the back stories and the depth of this writing, I was inspired by it a lot. It was a good encounter to re-evaluate my own life value. I recite "Amenimo Makezu" quite a lot when I went for a walk outside. On my way to MTR, down the mountain... Hope my little baby dragon in my tummy found it peaceful as much as I felt during my walk.

雨ニモマケズ　宮沢賢治

雨ニモマケズ

風ニモマケズ

雪ニモ夏の暑さにもマケヌ

丈夫ナカラダヲモチ

欲ハナク

決シテ瞋ラズ

イツモシヅカニワラッテヰル

一日ニ玄米四合ト

味噌ト少シノ野菜ヲタベ

アラユルコトヲ

ジブンヲカンジョウニ入レズニ

ヨクミキキシワカリ

ソシテワスレズ

野原ノ松ノ林ノ蔭ノ

小サナ萱ブキノ小屋ニヰテ

東ニ病気ノコドモアレバ

行ッテ看病シテヤリ

西ニツカレタ母アレバ

行ッテソノ稲ノ束ヲ負ヒ

南ニ死ニサウナ人アレバ

行ッテコハガラナクテモイゝトイヒ

北ニケンクワヤソショウガアレバ

ツマラナイカラヤメロトイヒ

ヒドリノトキハナミダヲナガシ

サムサノナツハオロオロアルキ

ミンナニデクノボートヨバレ

ホメラレモセズ

クニモサレズ

サウイフモノニ

ワタシハナリタイ

Miyazawa Kenji

not losing to the rain

not losing to the wind

not losing to the snow nor to summer's heat

with a strong body

unfettered by desire

never losing temper

cultivating a quiet joy

every day four bowls of brown rice

miso and some vegetables to eat

in everything

count yourself last and put others before you

watching and listening, and understanding

and never forgetting

in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields

being in a little thatched hut

if there is a sick child to the east

going and nursing over them

if there is a tired mother to the west

going and shouldering her sheaf of rice

if there is someone near death to the south

going and saying there's no need to be afraid

if there is a quarrel or a lawsuit to the north

telling them to leave off with such waste

when there's drought, shedding tears of sympathy

when the summer's cold, wandering upset

called a nobody by everyone

without being praised

without being blamed

such a person

I want to become

Ren 仁　：名の由来

2012-02-03T00:43:00.027-05:00

photo by Steffan Jones

産まれてくる子供の名前を考えるのって本当に大変。その子は一生その名と共に生きるのかと思うと責任を感じずにはいられない。やっぱりアメリカ国籍、日本国籍、香港生まれとなるとどこの国でも通用するような名前がいいかなと思うし、というわけでいろいろ候補があって何回変えたかな？笑　　Jad, Max, Jay, Ryu, Tak...

Ren に落ち着いたのはGabeが朝起きて、いきなり“レン”がいい！と言い出したから。短い音の響きから気に入った名前だったけど、漢字を“仁”と決めてから産まれてくる子にぴったりだと思った。仁：「他人に対する親愛の情、優しさ」を意味。日本語読みすると“じん”になるけど、あえて中国語読みの“れん”と読ませることで香港、アジアどこでも親しんでもらえるかな、と願いを込めて。

Naming a child is a difficult job. It is hard not to feel the responsibility of selecting a name for the child to live with it for the rest of his life. On top of that, we wanted to choose a name that sounds nice, and has no wired meaning attached and pronounced easily in at least three language Japanese, English and Chinese. How many different names have we called him? ... Jad, Max, Jay, Ryu, Tak...

Finally we decided to call him "Ren". Gabe woke up one day, and he said, how about "REN"？ He liked the sound of it. Short, unique and strong. As we researched for different Chinese/ Japanese Kanji character, I fell in love with the name REN = 仁. In Japanese WIKIPEDIA site the character 仁 was mentioned with description of the confucianism " The act of Love for others. Human-heartedness" In Japan, we would pronounce the character JIN, however, we like the uniqueness of calling him Ren as we like the sounds of it.

Of course, Gabe had to added, it like Ren from "Ren and Stimpy"!!

My New Year Resolution! 今年の意気込み。

2012-01-04T23:43:00.002-05:00

今年がんばりたいこと。出産一ヶ月後に控えていっぱいあるけど、まずは家庭での野菜作り！去年の終わり頃友達にバジルに種をもらいました。小学生のとき学校でジャガイモを育てて以来、野菜を育てるなんて経験がなかったので、種をもらったときはとっても新鮮な気分になりました。そっか、家でも食物を育てられるんだよね。なんでもスーパーのパッケージに頼っている今日このごろ。新たな気持ちて食べ物に感謝したい。

My new year's resolution!!!! There are many things that I want to accomplish. Not to mention, my baby is due next month Feb 9th! A friend of mine gave me some basil seeds at the end of last year. Last memory that I remember taking care of any vegetables were during my primary school years. We all grew potatoes in our school's back garden. It was so refreshing for me to see the seeds of plants! Nowadays, I don't think twice when I buy vegetables at the supermarket. But this year, I want to find more things that I can grow myself at home. I want to reconnect to appreciate the value of food.

Happy New Year 2012! 明けましておめでとうございます。

2012-01-02T23:07:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! I wish everyone to have a happy, loving, wonderful year of 2012 :) "39 more days to cook our baby in my tummy! "

明けましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。日本の家族、親戚とスカイプできたので、気分もやっとお正月。やっぱりおせち料理を食べたり、朝からお酒飲んで楽しそうな姿をみるとほっとする。今年一年もみんなにとって幸せな、充実したものになりますように。

はるか

Treasure Chest! なぞの宝箱。

2011-12-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

今年も終わり数日にせまったある日、思いもよらない贈り物に出会いました。うちの近くのゴミ捨て場に謎の宝箱が！とっても古く、中に何か住んでいそうな気配がある宝箱。ほかにも古い家具が捨ててあったので、引っ越しするひとが捨てていったよう。かなり汚れてはいたものの、木彫りでとても素敵だったので旦那と一緒に拾ってきてしまいました。笑）捨てられていたものでもまごころ込めてごしごしすること数時間、とっても奇麗に生まれ変わりました。：）

Few more days left till the end of the year! Today, we found a very mysterious... wonderfully surprising gift on the street. Well, there was this treasure chest thrown out by the dumpster!! It looked quite old, and dirty as if something is living inside. However, it had a beautiful wooden carving and details, we had to pick it up. My husband helped me carrying it home. :)) I gave it few hours of T.L.C. (Tender, Love and Care) and there it goes! A brand new Treasure Chest!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

2011-12-25T23:04:00.000-05:00

Circle Life 2011 《何必呢》

2011-12-09T00:52:00.003-05:00

On Dec 9th - 10th 2011 after 3 performances, Chords with Circle Life 2011, our piece "Why it? -何必呢？” was performed successfully. Through this project, I learned a lot from my fellow performers. I started to see the meaning of life...

I absorbed a lot of positive energy and the power of loving others. There are so many uncertainties, unfairness in our society. But at the end of the day, we have a choice to see how we see the world. My fellow performers taught me so much about how to connect to what is pure, and make us feel alive and beautiful.

因圓聚散，人生無常; 這也是圓，這也是緣!
每一個點，每一個人，連繫著，牽引著……
Circles bring us together and separate us.
Yet every dot and every person is interlinked…

- photo by Hofan Chau-

《何必呢?》

2011-10-30T00:32:00.000-04:00

My dear friend Hofan Chau invited me to work on a project with Symbiotic Dance Troupe. The title of the project was called "Chords with Circle of Life 2011". Symbiotic Dance Troupe include performers with different types of disabilities. Which now I see it as their beautiful individual abilities. Four out of five performers that I worked with are wheelchair users and all of them were intellectually different.

It was my first time working with other performers who has physical and mental challenges. I was already 6 month pregnant when we started the rehearsal. Every rehearsal, without a day of failure, they welcomed me with great smiles, cheers and big hugs. It was very strange to measure one's ability and disabilities. Because I do not speak their language, (Cantonese) so in a way, I had a disability in communicating. And as the time goes by, my physical ability was limited as well because of my big belly pregnancy! So in many ways, I did experience the same situations as they might have experiences in their everyday life. For example, having a difficulty in putting a socks on! or communicating what you really want to do or to say to the other person. We had a two months rehearsal time with them before the show.

Together with the collaboration of the musician Wong Hin Yan and the choreographer/ director Hofan, we created a piece that is unforgettable!

-working in progress photo by Hofan Chau-

New Baby's Room 未来少年コナン

2011-10-27T01:40:00.000-04:00

今年のはじめGabeが宮崎駿さんの初期作、テレビシリーズ『未来少年コナン』のアニメにはまって見始めてから私もすっかりまたコナンファンになりました。小さい頃みた記憶があって、でもまたもう一度見直してもすっごく楽しい作品。こんなの勇気、純粋さ、強さが大好き。というわけで来年産まれる赤ちゃんのお部屋もコナンをテーマに。

Beginning of this year, Gabe found Hayao Miyazaki's earlier TV anime series "Future Boy Connan". I got addicted to the show as well, and we finished watching the whole series together. I remember watching it when I was little, but it was still very much entertaining! I love Connan's courage, pure heart, and strength. So, we decided to have Connan theme for our new coming baby's room. It was just so perfect.

Hero Action Persons - Now available Online!!! :))

2011-09-13T22:48:00.003-04:00

HERO ACTION PERSONS - click here for FREE issue #1 comic online!

‎"HERO ACTION PERSONS" ! The graphic novel is now available to download online!!

I am very proud to take a part as a colorist for this project. Super lovable characters drawn by Gabe Ostley and written by Adam Barnett. The story.... it made me think: what is my super power? Victoire is definitely my favorite character but my question is, how come I had to color that talking chicken so many days!!?? After I finished reading the whole thing I was smiling and laughing so much. I am so proud and happy that now the story has a life of its own. Take a look, issue #1 is FREE to read! Love, Ru

Here are some sneak peek of my favorite scenes.

Victoire having a serious talk with his first encounter villain

Mad Scientist and talking chicken Deniss on a couch.

: "What does it takes to be a super Hero?"

Victoire gets rejected by COOL Super Heros.

Victoire fights in Mobster city in the Facepage world.

Meets many cool, tasty characters along the way!

( A scene from Farmburg in Facepage!)

Flashback of Victoire's unspoken past.

What's going to happen to Victoire!

Now, ENJOY the world of HERO ACTION PERSONS!!!

http://graphicly.com/chilly-villain-studios/hero-action-persons

Seeds of Hope - Art Project in Qing Dao/Hung Dao

2011-08-08T23:50:00.000-04:00

Gabe and I are commissioned to work on some art projects by the school in mainland China. It was our second time visiting and creating art work there in Qing Dao/ Hung Dao city. The theme of my project was "Seeds of Hope". I was not sure the final image when I first started this mosaic. We only had two weeks to complete this project! (excluding weekends!) So our creative radar was heightened to get inspirations from the city. The main thing that we notice about Hung Dao was that the city was growing so fast. There were so many construction works for new residence and attractions. The power of growth was undeniable. I chose to do mosaic tile art and Gabe worked with some wooden pieces. We were very happy with the outcome!

Offending the Audience

2011-04-29T23:36:00.000-04:00

It took me forever to come back to blog and organize my work from 2011. But, it's better than never... So, I decided to revisit my earlier work before the end of the year.

Working on "Offending the Audience" script was quite a journey. Meeting this project really made me think why I do what I do... Creating various experimental performances, taking a part in a play is one of my passion. However, encountering this project really made me think "Responsibility as a performer." and " Responsibility as an audience." I went to see a play yesterday, and my thought was... it was beautifully performed, but there wasn't much that grabbed my heart. In other words, I was entertained by visual stimulus, but came out feeling so... what was it all about? Then I thought about these two lines from Peter Handke script.

"Responsibility as a performer." and " Responsibility as an audience."

(Me -Director Vee - my co-performer Tuen!)

While I was in Taipei, I met a group of performer who is practicing the training in Suzuki Theater. Thank you for letting me join. It was wonderful meeting you guys!

aruku / 歩く

2011-04-04T11:50:00.015-04:00

Last week, I joined the workshop by the experimental art group from Tokyo. The workshop was two days intensive and I was totally warned out by the end of the workshop. The first day of the workshop was organized by Takumi Harada, who was the Butoh practitioner. His workshop begun with how to remain high energy inside the body while your physical body stays still. The second step was to empty your thought and mind and give yourself totally to the time and the space. In other words, any movement we make should be the reaction to our surroundings. It required listening, trust and "not doing". He began his workshop by showing us how he exercise his body and that was seriously.... boots camp! The detail of this body movements sometimes communicated pain, sorrow, and agony.

The second day of the workshop was ran by Hiroshi Ohashi who was the founder of the DA-M Theatre. He took us to the journey of walking. (Aruku) He took the universal human action of "walking" in ordinary life to another level. After several exercises of understanding the sense of gravity, we worked on improvisation of group walking. All of the sudden the simple action of walking became sense of building community. The participant had some choices of "stop" , "turn", "walk" with various speed. It was amazing how many stories or strong moments of human connection that we created by just responding to one another. We also had some opportunities to observe others and it was breath taking to watch the individual energy and collective energy. And it is a simple thing sometime we need to create a beautiful human drama on stage.

At the end of the workshop, we had a chance to be the audience to see DA-M Theatre's performance on stage. It is hard to describe with words, but I learned how important it is to be alert and willing, though we may feel our individual input in the world seems so small.

Ganbare Nippon! Fundraising 03/24 in HK

2011-03-19T23:42:00.008-04:00

It is hard to be away from home, when things like this happen. I spoke with my family in Japan on Skype, and they told me that they are all safe and well. There was no other time I felt so strongly that I wished I were there with them. On the other side of the screen, they were in the dark, saving their electricity for other regions in Japan that were more greatly effected by the earthquake.

Was there anything I could do from Hong Kong? So here is the poster I made for a fundraising event next week!

こんにちは to everyone in HONG KONG!

A group of Japanese residents in Hong Kong got together this past week to figure out how we can help the people back home after the series of disasters.

Please join us next Thursday for a drink at Joyce is not here in SOHO to support Japan.

What you can do:

1) DRINK : 50% of the proceeds from the night will be donated to Red Cross

2) DONATE: Simply donate your cash/chq into a donation box

**If you don't drink alcohol, they do have non-alcoholic drinks too!

We’ll be inviting some guest performers including

Japanese flamenco dancer Ms. Reiko Tamaki (http://www.fachk.com/)

and a popular acoustic singer Sherin (http://www.facebook.com/sherinmusic).

**Sherin will be performing around 10pm.

Special thanks to Joyce Baker

If you can’t attend the event we would appreciate your donation to the Red Cross through this website.

It ’s quick and easy! https://donation2.redcross.org.hk/onlinedonation/user_donation.asp

PLEASE LET ALL YOUR FRIENDS IN HONG KONG KNOW ABOUT THIS EVENT!

Thank you for your continuous support and I hope your family and friends in Japan are safe.

Please don’t hesitate to email one of the organizers

Yuko (yendo@hku.hk) & Kiriko (kiripoco@gmail.com) if you have any questions about the event

or ideas for future fund raising events.

Choi Yuen Village art festival -@ 菜園廢墟藝術節 Day 2

2011-02-08T12:24:00.007-05:00

The following day of the event, I enjoyed a mural painting jam with Hofan. No rules, no restrictions, paint, paint, and paint....

beautiful photos by: Janice Im

Highlight of the day! I adopted two cows! The cows were used as an installation piece by an artist at the festival.

Choi Yuen Village art festival -@ 菜園廢墟藝術節 Day 1

2011-02-08T11:57:00.023-05:00

Last weekend, ( Feb 5th and 6th- 2011) I had a great opportunity to be involved in an event at Choi Yuen Village. It was a spontaneous art festival/protest at the vegetable garden village near Kam Sheung Road MTR station. The village will soon be demolished completely to make a new high speed railway.

To know more: click here!

My friend Hofan 可凡, Leung Wai-Man and I got together to perform for the participants of the event. Our performance was purely improvisational. We reacted to the space, people, sounds, energy and our own impulses.

While I was waiting for the moment to arrive, I was breathing in such sadness and helplessness for being there. I felt helpless as a person, as a plant, as an element existing on this earth. My whole body felt heavier and heavier as I was breathing. I felt so little as I was feeling the size of this whole village.

Thank you Joanna Lee, Sukii So and Gary Lee for sharing your photos,!

Mother

2011-01-20T03:38:00.012-05:00

Mother, oil on board, 40"x60", 2010

"Mother"- where do they get that glow and strength?

Gabe and I spent our whole summer last year around our sister-in-law at our parents home in MN. This is a portrait of my sister-in-law, Liz, and her first son Issac. I knew Liz for almost 5 years before this summer but I was blown away by the energy and glow she had after she gave birth to Issac. I felt so happy and proud of her. The beauty and the power of a strong mother was so incredible. I immediately wanted to capture her moment in my painting.

My first attempt was painting on a small oval canvas, and give it to her as a gift. But as I was painting it, I felt that her strength and the essence that I wanted to capture was not enough in this small canvas. SO, for the 24 hour painting challenge in 2010, I started a new painting of her.

Since I was working at school for 24 hours, a student was critiquing my work.

After painting for 12 hours straight, I was thinking well... when you give birth, there is not such a thing as to stop and do over! So I wanted to try painting for all 24 hours straight, as much as I could! In the end, I couldn't finish my painting in 24 hours, so later I worked on it at home. It was a fun meditative journey and it is dedicated to all the mothers in the world.

Also the project was accompanied by two other crazy artists, Gabe Ostley (my love) and Mark Montgomery who worked on 24 hour comics on that day!

Dance at the Walled Villages

2011-01-02T22:29:00.018-05:00

新年、明けましておめでとうございます。

My friend Amy Ka Man Tam and I joined a dance festival called "Dance at the Walled Village - Hong Kong History Series II". The project was organized by (Community Cultural Ambassador) y-space .

The aim of the project was to introduce modern dance and site specific dance into the rural area of the New Territories. And also to use the narration of dance to explore the relationship between human and nature. The project hope to enhance the community's awareness of rural culture preservation, and arouse concern in the marginalized lifestyle of the walled village.

It was an amazing experience for me to just visit those villages in New Territories alone, to be able to perform on those sites were such blessing. We performed on Jan 2nd at Sheung Shui (Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall), which was a breath taking place. The temple was about 15 minutes away from MTR, right next to the village where each houses built one foot step away from each other. We wanted to narrate a simple story of two village fairies, who love people in the village and defeat any difficulties in life and are always there to share the happiness in life.

We invited some children in the audience to dance with us! When we picked them, their faces lit up! and it was sweet to see them smile so BIG!!

The music of the performance was composed by our dear friend Samrit Lwagun. He composed this music RADHEYA for his mother. When we heard his music, we thought it was a perfect fit for our dance because we thought the temple of the village is just like a mother to the land and their people.

photos by my dear love Gabe Ostley!

Say Hello to 2011 !!

2011-01-02T21:57:00.005-05:00

A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! What a wonderful way to spend the first day of the year! Gabe and I went to our friends wedding on Jan 1st :) It was our first time experiencing a full on Hong Kong wedding!! Gabe was Martin's best man and I was Wendy's bridesmaid! Playing games from the early morning (Gabe had to swallow a huge bugs!) , eating great food, watching their slide shows, the day was fantastic! The bride Wendy's speech put everyone in tears!! She spoke to hear parents in Cantonese, so I didn't understand everything what she said, but I was in tears! couldn't stop!! How amazing! the feeling of love for someone is a universal language. Love for our parents, love for each other, love for our friends.. love for our neighbors.

明けまして、おめでとうございます。２０１１年、世界中が愛に溢れた一年になりますように。

Say Good-bye to 2010...

2011-01-01T22:37:00.010-05:00

Say good bye to the year 2010. I honestly loved this year. The theme of 2010 was " Make it happen, God got your back." I tried my best and really enjoyed every single step of the journey. Starting from the No-rwegian Wood theatre production on Jan 1st, my year was full of creation after creation. I learned a lot from making theatre, film, dance and painting work. It was a fruitful year. In each project, I felt that if I give my all to the process, the outcome is beyond my control. I also learned that trying too hard or having unnecessary intentions can blind me from other amazing things that I can learn from it. So just let it be...

I also watched "Groundhog Day" for the first time this year. The movie made me re-analyze my own work and also my attitude towards life in general. Where am I trying to get to? And why am I doing what I do? Life is full of learning. It was a great movie :)))

And one more sharing from this last year 2010. I attended the acting workshop with Jeanne Harman for the second time. I had crazy busy days with work, but it was very important for me to become her student again and absorb every juicy wisdom that she always offers us. One thing that stood out this round for me was that I judge myself too much. Wanting to do my very best job gets in my way sometimes. And of course I feel bad when I don't do my best work. However, I need to be the character before I am "the actress". Everyone has their bad days and bad auditions, but the important thing is to commit and stay in the character in the moment, before my ego of wanting to do my very best job. Audition, cold reading is always the hard part, but "I should have done this", or "I couldn't do this"... is really a pointless. ENJOY and FOCUS on the detective work as an actress. Because that's what I love the most anyways :) It was also inspiring to meet many great talented, passionate people again :)

Next post will be, "Say Hello to 2011..." =D

Ordained by Heaven

2010-12-12T07:10:00.006-05:00

Super late updates as usual... finally I am uploading behind the scene production photos from November. "Ordained by Heaven" It was a performance that I joined by Not So Loud theatre company. I played a role of female general and second wife of Mr. Missing Something (clown-protagonist). It was an adaptation of Beijing Opera by Li Yu. How often do I get a chance to say I performed in a story from Qing dynasties! (1610-1680) Directed by Tom Hope and translated in English by Martin Merz, the story was presented with Jerry Springer style narration! It was a great experience to learn a little bit more about Beijing Opera from Ghaffar Pourazar who came to Hong Kong for this production. Ghaffar's workshop truly inspired me as a performer. His devotion and passion for Beijing Opera was so deep and it was amazing to hear his story of how he learned Beijing Opera being Iranian-British. (www.beijingopera.info)

I also helped them painting our original masks for the performance. I was a fun comedy performance where I made many great friends!!

Musicians: You guys were so awesome!!!!

Red Dragonflies screening in Tokyo!!!

2010-10-11T01:36:00.018-04:00

Last week, I recieved a great news from the director of Red Dragonflies Jiekai Liao. The featured film that I had a part in, will be screening at Tokyo International Film Festival on Oct 26th and the 29th!!!

The film has been getting a lot of great reviews!

Thanks again for the cast and crew for the amazing time in Singapore! I miss all the amazing food that I tried and warm friends that I met there.

Here is the link to one of the review for Red Dragonflies !!

To find more about Tokyo International Film Festival!

Thank you!

2010-10-11T00:56:00.016-04:00

From Portrait to Doodles

-photos from the opening night-

Thank you everyone so much for your continuous support :) The night was fun and it was good to share at last! Thank you EVENT for letting me speak about my work at SPEAK UP!

Sincerely,
Haruka

From Portrait to Doodles- ART EXHIBITION

2010-09-20T01:59:00.006-04:00

Hello everyone, Gabe and I are putting together a new exhibition "FROM PORTRAIT TO DOODLES" with our friend Jessica Tse. The exhibition includes watercolor portrait paintings, ink drawings and mix media art work by

Gabe Ostley (sequencial artist)
Haruka Ashida Ostley (painter/performer)
&
Jessica Tse (painter)

Opening!
This Friday Sep 24th 7:00pm
@philia lounge
4 arbuthnot rd
Central, Hong Kong
Tel:2147 2389

There will be free drinks and we will have special guests Peter Scheer and Ken Rose for great jazz music!

Please stop by and hope to have a good time and catch up with you all soon :)

Radheya by Samrit Lwagun

2010-07-03T11:45:00.013-04:00

Amazing original song "Radheya" by our friend Samrit. This song was dedicated to his mother. Gabe and I met him through our mutual friends. He was looking for a place to record and film his original song.

I always think how amazing God brings people in your life to inspire, share and support each other.

I love his story telling through his music. Thank you for sharing Samrit. You are truly inspirational. :)) I hope many people will listen to your music and bring happiness in their heart by thinking of their own mother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvqnI2RkaQA

Filmed by Hari Ravi

Recorded at Takumi Studio by Anthony Cheng

Produced by Gabe Ostley, Sunny Fan

Mural : "Effort, Courage, Strength, and Faith"

2010-06-14T02:19:00.011-04:00

This is a mural that I am working on in front of the gym area at the scondary school campus. I was moved by watching an interview with this year's Olympic Ice skater from Japan.

I admire their daily effort, courage, strength and faith in risking everything for their one big moment. As I was inpired by them, I wanted to paint a mural to inspire students to never give up and challenge themselve for their big dreams!

Amazing time at Jeanne's Acting Workshop

2010-06-06T09:39:00.005-04:00

Speechless... Jeanne Hartman's workshop really made me feel so alive as an actor.

Jeanne created an atmosphere that made everyone feel so safe and able to trust each other. I felt that within every scene study we gave our all because we trusted and witnessed that Jeanne would find the way to take us to the next level. She knew how to guide us to the truthful moments where we would feel so excited to explore more. And it was amazing to experience and see in others how her coaching made each scene so vibrant.

I AM READY, to work and work. I have to trust myself now and keep practicing just like any other professional athlete.

No more fears :))) I am very excited to think about the new possibilities.

Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain

Thank you so much Jeanne, and your words, the time I shared with great new friends, and this book will stay with me forever.

Antigone - bigger than life

2010-05-05T09:24:00.020-04:00

April 23rd, the revival of the Theatre du pif production, Antigone ended successfully. My role was Ismene, the sister of Antigone, who attempts to dissuade Antigone from her act of rebellion against the king (against the law). The moment I read the script, I was so struck with the story. It was a powerful story. It is so amazing to think that though it was an adaptation of ancient Greek tragedy, it still speak so strongly till this day. The power of classic... Antigone

Anything classical, Greek tragedy, or Shakespearean used to give me a heavy weight feeling just to think about them. But surprisingly I enjoyed the process more than anything. It was an intense, focused rehearsal time. Working with the director, Jovanni Sy, and the cast of Antigone, was an unforgettable experience. The more you chew on the text, it reveals so many layers to discover. It was a never ending exploration. Forget it is a classical play. The character of a sister who truly cares for her younger sister is timeless, especially when its talking about life and death.

Bonni Chan, who played Antigone was incredible. She was wonderful to work with, and learn from. Not just because she won the HK APA best Actress award for three consecutive years!! LOL , but because of her will to go all the way with the character and one's desire.

Watching her scene arguing with King Creon reminded me of one of Stella Adler's quotes.

"When you stand on the stage you must have a sense that you are addressing the whole world, and that what you say is so important the whole world must listen." - Stella Adler

The power of committing to the words and the will of the character is so striking.

Antigone was bigger than life.

With Nanny - Margaret

Antigone - Bonni Chan

Making of the film .. The Pink Elephant

2010-04-25T03:35:00.045-04:00

The Pink Elephant Blurb - (written by Crystal Koo)
A burned-out writer and an architecture student with manic-depression find each other in an apartment corridor of alienation and unfulfilled dreams. Set in the hyperreality of modern life, The Pink Elephant is a film about friendship, conviction, and the courage to hold on to what is truly real.

This was a short film project that I worked on during last Easter break, directed by my husband Gabe Ostley. Originally it was a short story, written by my writer friend Crystal Koo. She wrote this short story based on true event that happened during her college year. I was immediately intrigued by the story and the characters.

Jim Lee, the drummer of Good Fellas joined as the other lead character for this film.

It was amazing how everything came together from finding cast, crew, equipments, and locations under the pressure of "low.... almost no budget movie" making. Our crew friends, people who supported us with the locations and equipment, they were all there with this incredible understanding of the passion for making.

It was such a learning experience for me in every step as usual. There were many struggles and restless nights, but in the end, three days intense shooting were done almost like a dream. It was incredible...

The biggest learning?? yes....

I am not in this alone.

There were some moments I was judging myself as an actor, and kept thinking how I should have done differently. I was kept hoping that I wish I had more time to rehearse and prepare things etc.... However, I had such an eye opening moment when I read what Jeanne Hartman wrote on her Alive not Dead blog.

"Putting the focus on the desire and the want of this character more than your own personal feelings. "

In the end, it is not about how well I play the character or how well I prepare for the scene. It is about Sophie and her desire.

There were many discoveries, that were very different from theater work.

I am very excited.

New media, new discoveries...
I was so thankful for everyone who joined the team and made this all happen.

FAR AWAY Trailer

2010-04-08T11:04:00.008-04:00

I went to see the Far Away production opening tonight. Though I read the script and worked on their special trailer making project, I had no idea how my friend Vee would direct the play. I thought it was a very difficult script to direct and execute well. But Wow... she really nailed it. It was greatly shown that the actors and the director communicated very well and the whole set, light and costumes were supported the story very well. Congratulation Vee :))

Far Away trailer

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=299674371103

The World Premiere of Red Dragonflies

2010-03-26T02:32:00.014-04:00

It was a thrilling experience to see myself on the screen in a movie theatre. :) I was waiting to witness the mystery of how a director edits the film and how a story comes together in the end. Though I missed my first scene and several other scenes weren't in it for the sake of the story, I was happy to see something I experienced become something I can share. Yeah, Jiekai please edit it back to the 3 hour long movie ;D hahaha

After the sceening, it took me a while to ruminate on the whole film. It was definitely not a fast food type of movie, that you get what you expect. I left the audience with layers of emotions and uncertainty but also a feeling that was somewhat familiar.

The cinematography was so beautiful. There were many clever editing choices and interesting depictions of intertwined relationships between places and people. It was hard to say what it was about. However, if I think about it, my childhood memories don't come back to me in sequence or in detail. Sometimes, a certain smell, images, or even sounds remind me of my childhood. The film was personal yet had plenty of space and flow for the audience to project their own memories. There were two different time lines with one being when the characters were 17 and the other is what happens ten years later. I found it interesting that both of them were somewhat searching for their own destinations.

I was talking to the director Jiekai the next day, and we had a fun discussion. Why do we make the things that we make? For this film, he said it was "the sense of urgency". After coming back from the United States where he studied, he witnessed many rapid changes in his environment. Many familiar places were turning into more rail ways, or industrial spaces. So he felt like he had to make this film now, but not later. As an example, he mentioned on his flyers, "Upon the completion of our production, parts of the abandoned railway tracks were demolished to make way for the expansion of a Buddhist temple in the neighborhood; other segments were barricaded for redevelopment. - I wanted to capture and preserve the collective memories of generations of people embedded in them, and how they affect the characters in both profound and mundane ways. "

I do believe there are things that people need to do now, not later. Though it may bring the risk, sometimes it is important to catch the chance and be sensitive to its own universal timings.

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this, Jeikai :)))

The next screening

Date:	03 Apr 2010
Time:	7:15 PM
Venue:	Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall

Far Away trailer shoot at 西貢

2010-03-12T08:25:00.008-05:00

Far Away trailer shoot was a fun shooting project on a little island off of Sai Kun. It was an experimental film shoot spending one Sunday afternoon. The trailer was inspired by FAR AWAY By Caryl Churchill. The location was so amazing. The island had such a great characteristic. There were many abandoned houses and no one lives on the island. The atmosphere of the land was great for the story. Sense of lost, search, and unknown path...

photo by Felix Chan

The island was facing another much smaller island and during the flow tide hour, the little path way appeared between them. It was such a magical moment to see it happen. Breathing was all I could do.

Cannot wait to see the trailer :)

Red Dragonflies in HKIFF

2010-03-09T06:35:00.008-05:00

I am in the film called Red Dragonflies, which will be screening at HKIFF. :)) very exciting. The whole thing was a very interesting experience for me. It took me a while to figure out what my part meant to the story. The crazy thing was, the director had the story line, but not a script, which made me even more nervous to figure out if I am doing my part right... But Jie Kai wanted to get as naturalistic (conversations and reactions) with it as possible. Now I can see why he chose to do it the way he did.

I flew to Singapore for ten days, and though it was a short time, I met many warm great people there and experienced a bit of everyday Singapore life. They were some of the most surreal days of my life. I woke up, went to the Botanical Garden by myself, drew and painted. I hadn't had alone time for a long time, so it was funny and strange how I met many people on the street and had random conversations. An old gardener who told me his whole life story in Singapore, a lady in a restaurant, a group of sweet people who I met in the church,etc... Going to a place where I didn't know anyone, and working on a project that now will be screening in a theatre. I believe, anything can happen in life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Mtm-Eprmk

Red Dragonflies by Liao Jiekai

Along an abandoned railroad running through dense forest vegetation, housing backyards, and unseen settlements, three youths retrace a trail of iron and wood. At a different part of the island, Tienwei rekindles an old friendship with Rachel – a meeting littered with incongruence, absences and traces of childhood dreams. The title RED DRAGONFLIES is taken from an iconic song by The Little Tigers and uses the flight of the red dragonfly as a childhood icon, metaphor for the process of growing up and pursuit of dreams.

http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/film/title/34167-red-dragonflies.html

My Website

2010-02-22T22:43:00.003-05:00

I made this website last year. what do you think?

http://www.wix.com/harukaostley/harukaostley

So, I made a painting, dedicated to the watch-man who has his wooden-box stand near Hung Hom Station . He has no store, no roof, no set working hour posted, but yet everybody knew him in his neighborhood. Gabe and I were struggling to find a place to fix a simple watch problem. After getting rejected from number of watch stores, finally we were directed to him by several people in the neighborhood. Finally we got to this watchman. In the end, he only charged $5.... His dedication, old-style skills and his personality definately struck me. Thank you! Watch-man.

"YOU ARE HERE! "

(NO)REGIAN WOOD - Production photos

2010-01-10T08:37:00.015-05:00

It was a long journey to explore my character Naoko for (No)regianWood. Even though it was a revival of my last production, there were many things that I discovered as an actor. One thing I really learned from this experience was that I should not have any judgement for the character before I learn about them. I remember my acting teacher once told us we cannot act "feeling". A sad character or depressed character or to have any stereotyped impression of the character I thought was very dangerous. What do they believed in and the reason the way they act certain way, or say certain things are far more valuable things to explore. I used to carry my character in my personal life as well. So, I spoke less in my off time when my character was someone who hides her feelings. Subconsciously probably I was trying to get used to the type of personality. But from this production, I realized that I do not have to act like a person who is depressed or have a problems. So in other words they were just being in the moment thinking a specific things which made them become quiet or depressed. A super happy person can be depressed or speak less when they are upset, and thinking about a certain thing. But there are always reasoning behind.

I discovered many things that she believed in. In many ways it was not how I personally think in many things, but I understood her way of thinking as well. I learned her idea, "understanding" of moral, social norm, rightious, friendship, love, death and life. The rest was simple. I didn't have to "act". I was there in each scene, and I expressed what I believed in as the character, and reacted from the reaction of my partner. So many crazy emotional roller coaster happened because of how vulnerable I was as the character. Many times it suprised me a lot as well.

It was so blessing to have co-actors, director and the team who I could trust and get a lot of support and feedbacks from. In a way, ending the production is to say good bye to your best friend you share the time with, including my character. So a little bit sentimental.

However, I am excited to move on to the next character! haha~ yes, no more train of thought to kill myself. I had enough death experiences on stage now. Working on the film production next!!! Another exciting challenge ar~

will miss you all!

(No)rwegian Wood Opening This Friday Jan 1st - 2010

2009-12-29T00:18:00.007-05:00

(No)rwegian Wood

挪威沒有森林

Opening performance this coming Friday January 1st - 2010

8pm

at JCCAC (MRT: She Kip Mei)

Black box theatre

Jan 1~3rd - 8pm

Jan 2nd, 3rd - 3pm

Tickets available at www.urbtix.hk

2734 9009

http://www.norwegianwood.co.nr

Sneak Preview Dec 6th at Kubric Cafe

2009-12-04T08:37:00.006-05:00

村上春樹さんの新作「1Q84」が広東語訳され香港で出版されるにあたって、私たちの次の作品、"(No)rwegian Wood" のプロモをさせてもらえることになった。香港のBroadway Cinematheque の隣にある個性的はカフェで、とても雰囲気のある書店喫茶。村上春樹さんの「1Q84」私のこの冬休み、読みたい本ナンバーワン。

同場加演《挪威沒有森林》選段
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193287830932

挪威沒有森林 (No)rwegian Wood

(NO)REGIAN WOOD

2009-12-02T09:26:00.005-05:00

(NO) REGIAN WOOD is my next play which I will be playing the female lead Naoko. It is a revival play from Burnt Mango's last year's production. So the script is very much familiar, yet still its a challenging role for me. The play was based on, and hugely inspired by one of Murakami Haruki's best selling novel "Norwegian Wood". Hong Kong emerging director Adrian Yeung strives to tackle this difficult and visually tasty play through the eyes of modern society in Hong Kong. I will keep updating about the show until the performance :)) I am so excited to revisit Naoko's untouchable world.

挪威根本沒有森林。

這不過是村上先生的誤譯，然後大家就約定俗成了一個幻想。但一想到會在這個沒有存在過的森林裹再遇到他，跟他一邊聽著披頭四一邊喝啤酒，總覺得不可思議。村上先生微笑不語，注視著啤酒的泡沫，把耳筒除低將ipod關上還給我，說：這好像缺少了一點什麼。之後把啤酒喝完，摸著杯邊冰凍的水珠說：謝謝了，很好喝的啤酒。而我的那杯還是原封不動。

這是我想像中跟村上先生最坦誠的對話。

以村上常用的二元平行敘事手法，渡邊遊走於直子和綠兩個虛構世界，火紅年代的日本對照著後六四的香港，訴說著一個挪威沒有森林的故事。

導演楊振業
文本楊振業甄拔濤
形體周可凡
音樂黄衍仁
佈景設計徐碩朋
燈光設計施駿興
錄像設計張志佳
平面設計 kikiwong
演員梁遠光芦田悠齊釨湮李穎兒黄衍仁
舞台監督彭善紋
宣傳及票務楊一葦
監製梁曉端

1-3.1.2010, 8pm
2-3.1.2010, 3pm
賽馬會創意藝術中心黑盒劇場
票價：$120, $80*
*全日制學生、六十歲或以上高齡人士、殘疾人士及綜援受惠人
門票現於各城市電腦售票處發售
票務查詢及留座：2734 9009
信用卡電話訂票：2111 5999
網上訂票：www.urbtix.hk
節目查詢：6133 0901
折扣優惠：凡購買門票6至10張可獲九折；11張或以上可獲八折

http://www.norwegianwood.co.nr

《關於村上，我們想說的其實是……》分享會
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?invites&eid=205008712352

由《聽風的歌》到《1Q84》，三十年來村上不停的寫，我們不停的讀。他的文字，與他有關的音樂，電影，劇場，要談的話可謂多不勝數。這不是一個嚴肅的座談會。歡迎大家拿著啤酒，在隨和的爵士樂曲下，說說所謂關於村上的一點什麼。
同場加映《挪威沒有森林》選段。

6.12.2009 3pm
油麻地kubrick (油麻地眾坊街三號駿發花園第二期地下)
嘉賓朗天許樹寧甄拔濤
費用全免

5 more updates! from (Oct 3rd - 24/24)

2009-11-21T22:46:00.007-05:00

-CHALLENGE: To paint twenty four facebook friends portraits in twenty four hours-

James stopped by around 8pm, and brought us some coffee. So sweet. I received some quick high energy from the coffee for the last stretch of the marathon. I like hearing his traveling stories and see his photos on facebook. He goes everywhere.... I mean everywhere From North Korea, to a wild camp in Alaska, Israel to Cambodia, where next???

My friend from College Hon. I miss her so much. I still remember the conversation

we had on Savannah River Street about our future and here we are now. So

strange how time passes so quickly. I was not scared about the unknown in front of

us, since she was always so "zen"and grounded me. She is an amazing artist.

I realized I still had to finish 7 portrait paintings in 2 hours! ! ! ! ! ! ! Now I speeded up my brush and pencil drawing. 20 mins to paint

Kiriko san. It was a quick gesture drawing and water color but I was happy with it.

Wesley was also painting his awesome hair die piece that day. Always so interesting

the things he does. And look, he just commented on my wall, so he was the next target for me to paint. :) Cool tattoos on those digits!!

I had an hour break to get some dinner for myself and other fellow artists including

our students who joined the challenge to make art for 12 hours straight. They were a

very focused bunch. They were all around 12~15 yrs old. They did an awesome job.

Around 4 pm, at this point, I had been painting for more than 2o hours continuously. Hofan came to visit since she knew about my challenge and since she is sweet like that. It was very surprising because I was out of friends to paint since I made a strict rule to myself to paint only friends who I interacted with during the 24 hours. But Hofan was the first person who I started to paint against this "rule" that I created. Then all of sudden, she called and said I will come to visit you now! Whaaaa???? It was a magical moment. :)

5 more updates!

2009-11-15T04:19:00.011-05:00

-CHALLENGE: To paint twenty four facebook friends portraits in twenty four hours-

This challenge was initially provoked by my husband artist Gabe Ostley, who finished his 24 hour comic book on the same day. At 10 am, after 12 hours of my painting marathon, some fellow young artists also joined the club! ( Some students from Yew Chung International School. They also wanted to challenge themselves with a 12 hour art jam. There were no more time for me to be sleepy. My friends Wesley and Emily also joined to make some art.

Ashley... she was a hard one to paint. Well, Wesley already warned me that she is going to be a hard one to capture the essence. I guess, once again, what makes it hard is to fight against the time and watercolor.... cannot really erase or change. But I think over all, this medium allowed me to be bold with my painting. Quick, and no going back ! SUP !! Ashley! Loved your wedding photos.

Nikkie made my day! She responded to my facebook comments while I was updating the status through out the challenge. Sweet comments added some sugar energy to my work. So awesome that she scuba dives !

After having a lunch break, I painted Nell: my super photographer friend who lives in the Philippines. She took many crazy photos from the recent flood that happened in the Philippines. Cannot wait for her to visit Hong Kong again soon !

Hiroki kun was my first baby who I visited in the hospital when they were just born. He was born in Hong Kong and he was such a sweet baby. 　Tamieさん、貴重な経験をありがとうございました。すっかりひろき君も歩き始めているそうで。会いたいです。また遊びにいかせてください。How come babies grow so fast! Quite amazing to see my friends baby photos on facebook. They grow extremely fast! or am I not feeling the time passing? but their moms don't seem to age at all.

This was one of my favorite paintings. The moment I saw her photo, I knew how I wanted to paint her. Natalie, I hope you are doing well :))) When I was in college, it was only Myspace that was becoming very popular... You know, now that I think about it, it would have been so different experience if I could connected with my high school friends and family while I went to U.S. alone. Probably less home sick. But so cool how now I have more contact with many friends who I don't see in person my everyday life.

Five more updates from my 24 hours challengeFive more updates from my 24 hours challenge!

2009-11-10T07:16:00.005-05:00

-CHALLENGE: To paint twenty four facebook friends portraits in twenty four hours-

10th hour, 7:55 am... I like "Like this" click on facebook. It takes only a second but the simple click can make me happy. :)

Speir !!!! Yes, hopefully we can see you next year! So much to catch up. Are you back in east coast? You inspired me to do monochromatic painting... sort of... I wanted to try... sometimes it was so hard to draw free hand and painting with water color, fighting with heavy eye lids...

I was so sleepy at this point, but your facebook photo gave me such a warm feeling. And thank you for sending me "Of course!!!! :) good luck!! message. You kept me awake and helped me keep going during my peek time :))

It was so awesome chatting with you. So wired I used all my energy talking with you! as usual... hahah so inspiring and fun catching up with you my princess! we gotta go back to NY and order our usual Doncacino!! wait a second... I saw a comment on the facebook, "Are you back in NY?"

4 am- talking to Gabriela was my amazing moment. So much we shared in NY as a roommate. How could I know that you were in Israel!! I really treasure those days and many memories we shared. It was so nice to see your photos. Saudades de ti ! bjs

Three more updates from my 24 hours challenge!

2009-11-04T08:16:00.004-05:00

-CHALLENGE: To paint twenty four facebook friends portraits in twenty four hours-

3:09 am- The fifth hour of this challenge, my target was Jiekai ! I had a part in his feature film, which he directed few months ago. It was a wonderful experience working in Singapore and meeting many great people there. Wait a second.... I chatted with him online, and he was working on the post production. He was editing the end credits part. It was so strange typing to him while he was editing. Wow... I thought nobody would be awake from my time zone. 3am...

Zining chan!, 2 am I have so much to catch up with her!! Haven't seen her since I was 17? You were still pregnant that night! And now, you delivered a beautiful baby! Wow, so strange to keep finding out my high school friends are now having babies! So fast status change in facebook.

Cliff.. I haven't seen him for so long since my college graduation? , but so nice to see the updates of his current projects. I chat with him online for a little bit, and I asked him if I can paint him for this project. And he said "absolutely.." A story teller - photographer Cliff always has many inspirational works going. http://www.cliftonhenri.com/artiststatement.htm

Facebook 24 hours portrait challenge first 3 hours!

2009-11-02T08:42:00.006-05:00

Wendy Lai! She also came online while I was chatting with Aki chan. I didn't notice for a while and she went offline. I felt bad not responding to her. I hate when that happens.... ! I saw her yesterday and realized, nothing better than seeing your friend in person!

Aki chan is my friend from my childhood. I lost contact with her for a while and it was so wonderful to chat with her online while I was painting.

My friend Xuan Ming was the last one who wrote a message on my facebook. I met her in Singapore through a film shooting. Its even more impossible to keep in touch with people who you met for few times. Such a common phrase nowadays to ask " Do you have Facebook?" across the nation! I heard its banned in China though...

3 out of 24

Adam and Eve for the Tangled Hair Art Exhibition

2009-11-01T01:16:00.004-04:00

Adam and Eve

color pencil and graphite on canvas

14" x 20" and 12"x18"

Adam and Eve celebrates the beauty of hair, differences and togetherness of man and woman. I used the most simple materials, yet felt so satisfying in the end.

Tangled- from on going Art Exhibition at Hair Salon La Belle in Central, HK

2009-10-28T07:00:00.024-04:00

Harukita - Self Portrait

(oil on canvas- 36" x16" )

I have been painting one self portrait every year ever since... high school? Anyways, Emily invited us to collaborate on this Art Exhibition at La Belle salon in Central with several other fellow artists friend (Gabe Ostley, Wesley Terpstra, Ashley Blakely Terpstra and Rico Tsui). The theme was "Hair", I decided to have fun with this topic.

With my self portrait, I enjoyed painting the essence of my multi cultural back ground (born in Japan, raised in Spain, Brazil, Mexico, went to a college in U.S.A and now living in Hong Kong) , my fantasy for sweets, my passion for visual and performing art and my admiration for classic and traditional techniques. Took a long time to "braid" her hair!

Living in Hong Kong makes me think about my identity. Where do I belong? Well, ... anywhere... everywhere... I encountered many people who feel this way.

my next piece,

memories… since 19 years old

(graphite and conté crayon on canvas- 36" x48")

Bad photo of it, but I had a strong connection with this piece. I was recalling tangled experiences from my past... ups and downs. Relationships with hair, people, and loved ones. So much energy and full of passion. Sometimes it may include the ones you might want to cut them off or brush them away, but when you think about it, every bits of the tangled you made makes the whole you. No regrets.

Two more works to share, but for today,

Thank you so much for friends who came and hope you will have a chance to stop by :)!

Tangled - The Art of Hair

La Belle Salon

G/F, Shop No. 1 Glenealy Tower,

No. 1 Glenealy, Central, Hong Kong

(Opposite St. Paul's Church)

Featuring Work by :

Emily Eldridge

Gabe Ostley

Haruka Ashida Ostley

Wesley Terpstra

Ashley Blakely Terpstra

Rico Tsui

24/24

2009-10-11T09:57:00.008-04:00

-CHALLENGE: To paint twenty four facebook friends portraits in twenty four hours-

facebook

My best friend from college changed her profile photo and posted on her status, “ Just took this 2 min's ago. I'm in labor right now, literally!! Here comes my little girl! “ I congratulated her on the phone when she told me the news about her second baby. However, I was not ready to receive this news. It went by so quickly and I didn’t have much chance to share the process and ask her how things are going before this day has come… The most shocking fact was, I found out her big day online, on facebook!!!

No matter how much you care about your friend, the communication between friends become less and less possible when you have so much things going on in your present life. Since moving to Hong Kong, all my friends are not only living so far away, but they are living in different time zones and in different culture. I realized how occupied I was with my own world.

I do not use all the functions in facebook. Half of the time, I have no ideas what to do when I receive things from other people. There are pokes, flowers, wishes, quizes…etc. The list will go on. But because of this instance, I became so curious and wondered what facebook is to me, and what facebook is becoming in our modern life.

So, here comes 24 hours / 24 portraits challenge! I decided to challenge myself with painting 24 portraits of my facebook friends to reconnect with them in different level than usual beyond our time difference. I wanted to take some time to visit them and “facepaint” them through “facebook”. It was just like a marathon… challenge to accomplish, for whatever reasons and towards undefined goal if there is any.

Starting from Oct 2nd 10:00 pm to Oct 3rd 10:00 pm, the time I spent on painting and while I was communicating with friends through facebook, became something very unforgettable.

The first portrait was my friend who left her last comment on my wall. Then the selection of my friends came rather natural. I chose friends who I chat with on facebook chat line during the 24 hours of my challenge. Then I chose some friends who left the comments on my wall during that period. I wanted to respond naturally to my action through facebook. Why do people run marathon? Why do I paint? I don’t know. But my friends were all very supportive with the idea.

Being up all day all night, and the next day… the challenge was also how to stay awake and finish each portrait in good one hour each… However, since I was talking with some of them online while I was working on these painting, I felt some strange energy and high excitement from talking with friends which I haven’t seen for a long time or I would never see during my normal hours. These were my selected photo portrait from their profiles, but they were definitely something more. I received their support while I was painting them. Which was very unexplainable… warm feeling. I explained this to one of my friend, and he said, “Its just like a fasting. Bring people together for doing what is challenging to ones ability.” Many of these friends were my long time friend from high school or college...even my childhood.

I wanted to reconnect with friends that you only see on little square on the corner of your friends list on facebook. I wanted to feel their presence a little bit more. As much as I was against and hesitated to join the facebook in the beginning, I felt that facebook is becoming a part of my communication tool with my friends. Constantly getting new information, adding more friends, uploading some photos, I have no idea where this is going to go in the future. However, I felt little homey feeling, having a few minutes of my day opening my facebook page dropping a line to my long lost friends.

Hopefully I can find some space in Hong Kong and/or have facebook gallery opening to share all my 24 paintings!!

Tangled - The Art of Hair

2009-10-05T09:47:00.019-04:00

Dear friends,

I'd like to invite you to the opening reception for
TANGLED: The Art of Hair

Thursday, October 8
6:00-10:00PM
at La Belle Salon,

G/F, Shop No. 1 Glenealy Tower, No. 1 Glenealy

(Opposite St. Paul's Church), Central, Hong Kong.

TANGLED features a mix of five locally-based artists (friends and graduates of SCAD - the Savannah College of Art & Design) who have joined forces with La Belle Salon and photographer Rico Tsui to showcase artwork that celebrates hair - hair as a form of beauty, power, submission, politics and identity. The exhibition will continue through November 6, 2009.

Featured artists include:
Wesley Terpstra
Ashley Blakely Terpstra
Gabe Ostley
Haruka Ashida Ostley
Emily Eldridge
Rico Tsui

Please join us for the evening!

And, here is a little sneak peak on what I have been working on…working in progress! Hope to see you there :))

3 Days! at San Diego Comic Con!!

2009-08-10T08:11:00.016-04:00

Gabe promotes his collaborative web comic "THE HAMMER" at SD Comic Con! The comic is created and written by Sam Little, and is drawn by Gabe, with inks by Rob Berry, and coloring by Steve Steiner.

The Hammer is an on going comic series, which you can read online for free! The comic won the Feb web comic competition organized by Zuda Comics and DC comics.

You can become their fan today! at - http://www.zudacomics.com/the_hammer ;)

Gabe Ostley = mrgodon

Day 1 I heard, there were about 150,000 people showed up at the comic con this year! The event is getting bigger and bigger every year. Not only the comic books, but there are so many other interesting events and movie promotional gigs at the Comic Con.

Day 2

Since Gabe was busy drawing and signing at the Zuda booth, I decided to entertain myself by becoming my dream hero Bat Girl!! ha ha :))

Oh~! Captain Jack Sparrow!!!

He was awesome!

And I had a lunch with "Hunter" from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Aaaaand I found my other half!!!!!!! He was much professional looking! hahaha

DAY 3!

Summer 2009! ( Road trip to Grand Canyon )

2009-08-10T05:22:00.013-04:00

It was an amazing site. The word "breathtaking" exists for this place!

この夏、初めて訪れたグランドキャニオン。聞き覚えはあったものの、はっきりとしたイメージももたないままグランドキャニオンを訪れた。本当に壮大な景色を目の前に言葉を失うぐらい感動した。悩みとか、将来の不安とか、何もかもどうでもよくなるようなその景色。そんな場所にいると自分の存在のちっぽけさと、そんな私にも常に愛と幸福を注いでくれる大きな力を感じざるにはいられなかった。ほんとうに信じられないくらいどこまでもつづいているその景色に、たくさんのパワーをもらって、また１６時間という長旅のドライブをつづけた。

Sneak peak! from 3rd Annual Art Exhibition 2009

2009-07-15T00:52:00.009-04:00

Air.

We can't live without it; it completes the atmosphere; it is freedom, expression, room to move, space to breathe, openness, an aura - air.

Art.

It revitalizes the mind and heart; it is visual to our humanity. It is freedom, imagination, space to think, to feel - art.

A I R is the 3rd Annual Art Exhibition at Yew Chung International School, Hong Kong. The exhibition explores the unique concept of an artist-in-residence working in a school setting, showcasing the methods in which three working artist inspire and collaborate with students from a broad range of age groups. Sequential Artist Gabe Ostley, Illustrator Emily Eldridge, and Performing Artist and painter Haruka Ashida Ostley share the ways in which they utilize their specialized fields of study to work alongside students on projects that encourage learning as well as beautify the school environment.

Gabe Ostley, Emily Eldridge, Haruka Ashida Ostley

Artist-in-Residence

The exhibition is packed with fun and collaborative work, which Gabe, Emily and I worked through out the year. :) And here are some of my personal work displayed at the end of the exhibition space.

There are many other fun art to see! If you come near Kowloon Tong MTR, please feel free to stop by and sneak peak!

Walking in Singapore, Botanical Garden and etc..

2009-07-01T12:29:00.015-04:00

Thank you!!

2009-06-29T09:05:00.009-04:00

SOMETHING TO SAY!

Inspired by T-shirts in Hong Kong

Art Exhibition

Live music by Good Fellas

at Philia Lounge

Photos from the Opening night June 19th

and the art show ends in August 2009

GOOD FELLAS!

Love birds :)

Hofan, Josh, and Crystal. You guys make my heart melt!!!

with Kiriko san :)

My dear photographer friend Nell. She always takes awesome photos (including these)!

A bit late updates from the SOMETHING TO SAY night!!! For some reasons, there were many things to do after that night. Anyways, It was a lot of fun. Thank you so much fellow artists, friends :), family, and Hong Kong for making the night unforgettable. Our work will be up there until the end of summer. So please enjoy!

SOME THING TO SAY!

2009-06-04T21:04:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! T-shirts spotted in Hong Kong inspired exhibition SOME THING TO SAY! will have an opening reception on June 19th. Come and join us. There will be various medium fun art by ( Gabe Ostley, Haruka Ostley, Emily Eldridge, Ashley Terpstra and Westley Terpstra ) , great music by GoodFellas, and free drinks from 7 to 9 at Philia Lounge! See you there. :)

Ru

Waiting...

９ヶ月 ー 9 months

Heart beat

〔雨ニモマケズ〕 宮沢賢治

Ren 仁 ：名の由来

My New Year Resolution! 今年の意気込み。

Happy New Year 2012! 明けましておめでとうございます。

Treasure Chest! なぞの宝箱。

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Circle Life 2011 《何必呢》

《何必呢?》

New Baby's Room 未来少年コナン

Hero Action Persons - Now available Online!!! :))

Seeds of Hope - Art Project in Qing Dao/Hung Dao

Offending the Audience

aruku / 歩く

Ganbare Nippon! Fundraising 03/24 in HK

Choi Yuen Village art festival -@ 菜園廢墟藝術節 Day 2

Choi Yuen Village art festival -@ 菜園廢墟藝術節 Day 1

Mother

Dance at the Walled Villages

Say Hello to 2011 !!

Say Good-bye to 2010...

Ordained by Heaven

Red Dragonflies screening in Tokyo!!!

Thank you!

From Portrait to Doodles- ART EXHIBITION

Radheya by Samrit Lwagun

Mural : "Effort, Courage, Strength, and Faith"

Amazing time at Jeanne's Acting Workshop

Antigone - bigger than life

Making of the film .. The Pink Elephant

FAR AWAY Trailer

The World Premiere of Red Dragonflies

Far Away trailer shoot at 西貢

Red Dragonflies in HKIFF

My Website

YOU ARE HERE

(NO)REGIAN WOOD - Production photos

(No)rwegian Wood Opening This Friday Jan 1st - 2010

Sneak Preview Dec 6th at Kubric Cafe

(NO)REGIAN WOOD

5 more updates! from (Oct 3rd - 24/24)

5 more updates!

Five more updates from my 24 hours challengeFive more updates from my 24 hours challenge!

Three more updates from my 24 hours challenge!

Facebook 24 hours portrait challenge first 3 hours!

Adam and Eve for the Tangled Hair Art Exhibition

Tangled- from on going Art Exhibition at Hair Salon La Belle in Central, HK

24/24

Tangled - The Art of Hair

3 Days! at San Diego Comic Con!!

Summer 2009! ( Road trip to Grand Canyon )

Sneak peak! from 3rd Annual Art Exhibition 2009

Walking in Singapore, Botanical Garden and etc..

Thank you!!

SOME THING TO SAY!

９ヶ月　ー　9 months

〔雨ニモマケズ〕宮沢賢治

Ren 仁　：名の由来