Day 735: 50 Shades of Costco ...

junk mail & tissue collage

Is it scraping the bottom, to do a blog on Costco?

I don't think so. 
 I had to go anyway, and I needed something for #735.

I hate to shop ... so, I buy in quantity.

So what if I buy "tp" in a quantity to last the decade?

At least I don't have to shop very often.

I decided to take you shopping.

Stack and stacks ...

row and rows ...

of everything ...

stuff you didn't know you needed ...

 a lot of great images?

But, my favorite ...

Have a great day.

A smile for Thursday ...

Day 734: I hope he likes it?

journal collage

As part of a round-robin journal exchange,

 six artists are nearing the end.

We have all completed five entries...

and will finish the last journal during August.

Then ours will be returned ... filled with great art.

We each start with two full and four half pages, in each journal.

I decided to do graphics on mulberry paper ...

to collage, so that when the half pages turn ...

the images work together.

Adding collage papers to finish the composition.

Journal spread 1

Journal spread 2

A smile for Wednesday ...

Day 733: How did you get into that?

junk mail collage

A dear lady, who I greatly respect, asked ...

 "How did you get into that?"

That, meaning karate. 
And that has been asked a lot.

Me, always looking for the next blog, thought 

this may be in the TMI category, but okay?

Earliest memory ... at age 8 ... fascinated, 

seeing men in white suits doing something (?)

inside a store-front on Sunset Boulevard, 

as my Dad drove us to the Ontra Cafeteria.
I didn't know what they were doing or why ...
but I wanted to know more even then.

Each trip, I would perk up blocks ahead, ready to peek in.

This keen interest remained on the back burner
 for the next 22 years, with no option to discover more.

Later, living & teaching in Riverside, I took classes at UCR.

A strong karate program was growing ... and I was hooked.

I trained five nights a week, plus four hours on Saturday.

This was after teaching junior high school all day.

There weren't many women then, no concessions were made.

I wasn't skilled, but I loved it and I still do.

That's the how.

 The why is more important.

For forty three years I have studied traditional Japanese karate.

Originally, Shoto-Kan at UCR with Sensei Ray Dalke, then

Shito-Ryu Itosu-Kai, and Genbu-Kai with Demura Sensei.

Dojo kun, Demura Sensei's calligraphy

Yes, karate is physically demanding, pushing limits,
requiring self-discipline, bravery and endurance. 
But we work to conquer ourselves, not others.

But, even more important is the respect, manners, honor,
gentility, loyalty, and especially humility.
These are important to me.

A smile for Tuesday ...

Day 732: It's a summer tradition ...

It's a summer tradition ...

first we designate a hot summer weekend day...

then negotiate a large local gym, 

to host over 200 karate-ka, and ...

we meet for 4 hours of hard work.

Under the direction of Demura Sensei.

See the 4 minute preview of his documentary here.

We call it ... Super Summer Seminar.

Extensive training and  conditioning ...

in kata and kumite.

An annual summer tradition.

To prove it, here we were in 1991,  23 years ago ...

Racquetball World, Demura and Nishimura Sensei, 1991

and here we are today ...

Demura Sensei, Yudansha and juniors

too many to ...

Demura Sensei, Brown, Green Belts and juniors

fit in one photo ...

Demura Sensei and juniors

And when it's done ...

Mas

you sit on a rock and smile!

A smile for Monday ...