I can thin it out,” she says, getting the transparency she wants simply by adding water. “I use watercolors and pastels too, whatever’s needed, but on silk or cloth, I like using acrylics. Using mostly acrylics on paper, silk or canvas, she also works with traditional Japanese pigments like the ones on her work table now, right beside Hoku Non-GMO Seed catalogue designs, a computer, correspondence and manuscript pages from a book she’s writing on thangkas, or prayer banners. Mixing tints on the surface to achieve unconventional effects, Mayumi may apply gold- and pearl-paint crystals to produce the sparkling effects that catch the light in her work. From her Japanese roots, uplifted by tradition and scarred by nuclear explosions, to the present moment in her Kona studio where she’s surrounded by loving family, an abundance of taro and turmeric, her art says everything and yet defies description.ĭrawing from the Rinpa School, one of the major historical approaches in Japanese painting, she often depicts nature abstractly, using abundant colors and hue gradations. Nourishing our collective vision with exotic, playful goddesses, bold beings and soothing creatures, her art reflects the war and peace of Mayumi Oda. “I thought that maybe if I show some positive vision, someone will say, ‘Oh, this is beautiful this is the way to live.’” “I want to show people what life can be like, what we can create,” Oda said. Moving to Hawaii, Oda started her family’s working organic farm called Ginger Hill where she paints, plants, writes, chants, plays and prays for the well-being of the planet. After almost a decade away from painting, her life seemed to be defined by what she was against, rather than what she was for. She founded Plutonium Free Future (PFF) in 1992 and lectured at the United Nations, in Washington, and in workshops, festivals and classrooms around the world to stop nuclear plants like Fukushima from being built. They played a part in her decision to trade in her dyes and drawings for the placards and pens of an anti-nuclear activist, and the screams of hurt and protest became her very own. She went to famous art schools, started meditating, traveled the world painting goddesses, and still, 45 years later, after her art was established in the permanent collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress and the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, the screams of those victims still haunted her. Oda heard echoes of their voices during her intense training in traditional Japanese kimono design and while studying the complex textiles, joyful lines and saturated colors of the native Yamato-e (“Japanese painting”) style. She could smell the death, hear the voices of survivors crying for help, water, and their mothers - anything to soothe their pain. ![]() ![]() There were the early years of struggle, the terror of being a 4-year-old child in Japan as atomic bombs detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the horror of seeing the shadow images of people imprinted on concrete, the with no trace of their flesh or recent lives in sight. This raw, heartfelt, and powerful memoir shares Mayumi's story of finding her place and her mission to transform the world.A profusion of lovable goddesses had already blossomed from the imagination and brushstrokes of Kealakekua resident Mayumi Oda when she realized it was time to become a goddess herself. Sarasvati's Gift explores her upbringing in Japan, her tumultuous marriage and the death of her son, her immigration to the country responsible for the destruction of her home, her inspiration for both her Buddhist practice and her art, and ultimately her commitment to the planet that gives her life both hope and meaning. Known as the Matisse of Japan, Mayumi Oda is a painter, environmental activist, and Buddhist practitioner whose life reflects both the brilliance and shadows of modernity. This book is the culmination of a life devoted to responding to Sarasvati's call to cultivate a path of peace, justice, and compassion. I'm only an artist, and Sarasvati answered, Help will be provided. ![]() Sitting in meditation in front of a statue of Goddess Sarasvati, Mayumi Oda heard her say in a loud voice, Stop the plutonium shipment! After taking a stunned breath, Mayumi replied, I can't do that. Description The inspiring life story of pioneering feminist artist, activist, and Buddhist teacher Mayumi Oda told through her own words and original thangka paintings.
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