Cloud Diary

Cloud Diary is a series begun in 2013 as a deeper examination of my Hamon paintings, which I first created in 2003 after an apprenticeship with a master metalsmith in Japan. The Hamon paintings take their name from the cloud-like tempering patterns that appear along the edge of a Japanese sword during the tempering process. This poetic juxtaposition has been a core influence in my work.

The Cloud Diary works are based on photographs of clouds observed at specific moments and places. The titles record the exact date, time, and location and mark fixed coordinates in space-time. In this way, the series becomes a form of cloud cartography, mapping the fleeting topography of the sky. Each cloud becomes a marker through which I locate myself. Clouds function as a natural clock, their forms shifting by the millisecond.

Like much of my work, the titles in this series are bilingual. I intentionally use linguistic lacunae, or words without direct English equivalents, to highlight differences in cultural value systems and how language reveals what is present or absent in perception. The series includes several sub-groups with such titles, such as Unkai (a sea of clouds), Chou-un (clouds resembling a flock of birds), Unkan (exploring the spatial intervals, or ma, between clouds), and Night Clouds (formations appearing overhead in darkness). It also encompasses Evening Cloud (Yūgumo), Morning Cloud (Asagumo), Kumoriyo (a night when clouds obscure the moon and stars), Saiun (iridescent cloud), Seiun (bluish clouds), Ukigumo (floating cloud), and others.