he "Tokyo Park" sketch was a marker in a beautiful, well-populated park. I took a seat on the opposite side of the path across from this marker. The symbols were elegantly carved in the stone. The colors were not THAT strong but were in the stone. It was really beautiful and even though it as not several stories, it was monumental.
Tokyo Park by Allison L. Williams Hill
The park was clean. There were benches along the paths for people to rest. I watched Japanese families wheel their children in strollers and husbands carried their toddlers in their arms. The children were barefoot, never to walk on the ground. Trees were different for the New York flora I was used to. Many of the elements were new. Some were familiar - grass, water, and sky -like a continuous string separated by twenty-two hours of flight.
I wrote about my trip to Japan on the webpage Friend Barbara Carr. It was an on-site sketch tour that moved from Hong Kong and many cities and islands of Japan. The people were kind, I ate food in combinations I never had before. New York is a great place for international food but here, I was in their "home" as it were and they suggested homemade, traditional foods they would eat. When I find them, I will upload more images.
Holy Mother Mary and Angels by Allison L. Williams Hill
I expect to return. Speaking of images, one of mine was stolen - twice. It was a slooow exposure of the Eiffel Tower in Tokyo. I only saw the negative once after I got the prints from the first store. I submitted this negative again at another store. Not only did I not see the print again, but the negative was taken as well. I realized that it was missing when I returned to the office. I didn't
check in the store because I felt I would have been late in returning
to work. Had I gone to the store after leaving, they could claim that
I removed it. I could feel that this would be a reason for me to go
back to the same place, the Myako Hotel, and photograph the Tower again. And... there's Itoya, a fantastic 6 story store to visit again. Wow.
The above meditation mandala will be available soon.