Where’s the Cat?; The End of a Quilt Journey

Where’s the Cat?; The End of a Quilt Journey

by | Nov 22, 2023 | Classes & Events, Other News

Where’s the Cat: The End of a Quilt Journey

by Carolyn Hayashida

November 20, 2023 to January 12, 2024

Never claiming to be a quilter, Carolyn Hayashida has found her quilt journey’s end. From a young age, she was drawn to sewing and studied art and fashion design. Her first quilt was a gift to her husband for his 50th birthday, the Family Kamon quilt. 

She was invited to JASEB (now J-Sei) through Bess Kawachi Chin who invited her to share her Sashiko designs in her clothing creations. She later frequented JASEB when her mother was active. She was later asked to coordinate the JASEB Quilting Class. She learned from the talented quilters and began to incorporate her unique designs into her quilting projects. Carolyn has a keen eye for combining fabrics and personalizing each creation with her stitching talents.  Come visit the gallery to find the cat, rabbits, and to discover an array of Japanese cultural motifs in her work. Gallery Hours:  MWF 10-1, TuTh 1-5

Carolyn Hayashida will be at the J-Sei Artisan Faire: Sunday, December 3rd, 11 am to 4 pm.  Stop in to see her at the faire, then go upstairs to the gallery at J-Sei to see the quilt show.

J-Sei’s Harvest Day 2023

J-Sei’s Harvest Day 2023

by | Oct 26, 2023 | Classes & Events

J-Sei’s Harvest Celebration Luncheon

Friday, November 17th, 12 noon

Join us as we celebrate all that sustains us and share in the bounty of good food with friends at J-Sei. The special luncheon will feature roast turkey, stuffing, gravy and sides. Our special guest will be koto artist Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto. Trained in classical Japanese music, Shirley also composes and performs her own blend of jazz and rock with Murasaki Ensemble.

Join us for a traditional turkey meal with all the fixings. RSVP today.  Suggested donation: $12. See more info below on how to reserve your lunch.

About the Artist

Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto is known as a musician of traditional Japanese music and has studied classical Japanese koto music extensively with several masters, including Chikushi Katsuko, Kazue Kudo, Yoko Gates and her mother, Kazuko Muramoto. She also plays jazz koto and is the director of the Murasaki Ensemble which features music from traditional to contemporary to jazz and rock, established in 1998.

Harvest Lunch

Roast turkey with gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and spring mix salad

Suggested donation: $12

To reserve your lunch To-Go or Eat-In, please call (510) 654-4000 or email tara@j-sei.org

 

Pay Online

To pre-pay online, complete the form below. Check the box for “Write us a comment” , write Harvest Luncheon and let us know if it is “To-Go” or “Eat-In”, or any additional details.

TAISO: Exercise Movement

by | Sep 29, 2023 | Classes & Events

TAISO: Exercise Movement – new class

Thursdays, 10:30 to 11:15 am

Session: Oct 5 to Nov 9

Radio Taiso is a morning exercise routine that has been practiced in Japan for nearly 100 years to increase energy and bring people together. All ages and ability levels can participate together. It strengthens the core muscles, improves circulation and cardio. Learn this easy and fun calisthenic exercise at J-Sei.  Juliet Bost Yokoe has been teaching Taiso at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple over the past three years.  Suggested donation: $25/6 classes, or $5 drop-in.  RSVP to karol@j-sei.org with “Taiso” in the subject line.

Notecard Workshop with Lucy Arai

Notecard Workshop with Lucy Arai

by | Sep 29, 2023 | Classes & Events

Japanese Papers, Sashiko, and Creative Play!

Sunday, October 22, 1 to 3:30 pm OR  Friday, October 27, 9:30-12

Learn to make notecards using assorted patterned and Japanese handmade papers, embossing stencils, stamps, decorative scissors, pattern templates, and other common-place materials. Produce cards for the holiday, special occasions, birthdays, thank-you notes, stationary, gift sets and tags!

Fee: $35, includes card stock with envelopes, Japanese papers, and use of specialty tools. RSVP to karol@j-sei.org  Space is limited. 

Once you are confirmed for the workshop, you can pay using the donor box below. Each person is asked to bring scissors, colored pencils & pens, glue stick and paper scrap
(Colorful magazine pages, calendars, outdated maps, etc.)

 

Lucy Arai cards 2

Lucy Arai cards 3

Mine Okubo: A Life in Colors

Mine Okubo: A Life in Colors

by | Sep 29, 2023 | Classes & Events

Art Talk by scholar ShiPu Wang

Saturday, October 21, 2 pm

ShiPu Wang, curator of the Chiura Obata retrospective and professor of art history at UC Merced, returns to J-Sei to talk about his new exhibition, Miné Okubo’s Eyes: A Life in Colors, the first survey of Okubo’s seven-decade career for the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties in Riverside since 2012. This event presented by Friends of Topaz Museum is free of charge. RSVP on Eventbrite.

Desert Wind and Strings – a concert and gallery exhibit

Desert Wind and Strings – a concert and gallery exhibit

by | Sep 28, 2023 | Classes & Events, Other News

Saturday, November 4, 2 pm

A concert by koto musician Shirley Muramoto,her students, with guest artist Bando Hiroshichiro

To honor musicians held in Japanese American prison camps who performed traditional instruments, musician Shirley Muramoto and her students will perform. Hear the music of newly restored koto and shamisen instruments that have not been played since the family departed Topaz camp, and a restored shakuhachi whose owner was interned in the Fort Lincoln Internment Camp in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kabuki dancer and teacher Bando Hiroshichiro will perform a Nihon Buyo traditional dance that was well known to the Issei generation. Made possible in part by Alliance for California Traditional Arts, California Arts Council, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Walter and Elise Haas Foundation. Presented by Friends of Topaz Museum and J-Sei.

Suggested donation: $10-$15.  Limited seating available. RSVP at Eventbrite.

“Desert Winds & Strings: A Historical Exhibit” shares the story of Japanese traditional artists who performed in America’s concentration camps. The exhibit will be on display from November 1 to 17 in the J-Sei gallery. Gallery Hours:  MWF 10-1, TuTh 1-5, and by appointment.

 

Photo: Koto, shamisen and shakuhachi performance, Topaz concentration camp. ca. 1944 Courtesy of Kent Nakamoto.