Meeting the Ambassador

On Friday, I was invited to a special reception at the Oklahoma State Capitol (and later at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa... posh to the max) honoring the current ambassador of Japan to the US, Ichiro Fujisaki. It was an interesting event... there were suddenly a flurry of Japanese obachan (older ladies) chattering away all around me. It was surreal, considering that I know of hardly any other Japanese people here in OK. I felt like I was in Japan just for one tiny moment. I guess I was invited because someone Googled "Oklahoma" and "Japanese artist." In any case, after many speeches and hullabaloo, we got to meet the ambassador and shake hands very quickly. I gave him my newest painting "Moment -Setsuna-".







This little work was acrylic, collage, and gold leaf on a slab of wood with the bark still on the sides. Woops, I hope it's not banned at Narita airport because it's an agricultural product. O_o











I hope he liked it... I couldn't tell because we were rushed through so quickly. The chrysanthemum surrounding the girl is the traditional Japanese motif for the Emperor, so I thought it fitting to give it to a government official. Here we all are... and I'm looking so awesome with my shiny camera eyes that I am too lazy to fix in Photoshop. I hope the official photographer posts the photos soon so I can get a more decent shot.







Speaking of decent shots, the bathroom at the country club was gorgeous. It was like a dream bedroom, except it was the BATHROOM. My friend and I went a little too wild in there, as you can see.

Nicole Kidman :: "Stoker" role

Award winning actress Nicole Kidman has had quite the summer.

In addition to going peroxide blonde for her part in the upcoming thriller Paperboy, the 44-year-old Moulin Rouge star has been cast in the lead role for another spine-chiller – Stoker.

Stoker, a Park Chan-Wook directed film slated for release sometime in 2012, tells the story of an eccentric teen, India, whose enigmatic and estranged uncle returns to the family following the death of the girl’s father.

When people mysteriously start to go missing in her hometown at the same time, India begins to believe that her uncle may be the cause.

According to Indiewire, Kidman is set to play the role of the little girl’s mother and will be joined by a heavy hitting array of talent including Matthew Goode, Jacki Weaver, Lucas Till, and Mia Wasikowska.

While very few details are known about the film, we can expect that Chan-Wook – whose other films such as Oldboy and Thirst are famous for their immaculate framing, brutal subject matter, and epic twists – has more than a few surprises up his sleeve.

Watch Nicole kidman video ::