I have just uploaded comics i am making for a book me and a fellow ALT are making for new JET's teaching in elementary schools. They look much better at this smaller size and I realize the humor is pretty specific to those working in Japanese elementary schools.My friends back home emailed back blank stares

I have been pretty good at making a small painting a week, although it is closer to one every two weeks. I have started studying for JLPT2 but am not very good at evenly dividing up my free time.

I am now also applying for the Monbukagakusyo Japanese government scholarship and have put a full Saturday into it, taking a day away from painting. This will be the trend for quite a few months I feel, although i have done much work in establishing a relationship with teachers at Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku already, who have urged me to apply for the scholarship before applying to the University.

In hopes of padding my application for grad school I started looking into art galleries in Akita City Japan, close to where I live. The gallery system here are all rental galleries, where the artist has to rent the space to host a show in. The costs I have seen so far are $100 a weekday, or $500 for a F, Sa, Sun package deal. I would have to print my own cards though.

I'm going to keep looking at a few more galleries, but my dream is having an art show in a coffee shop like establishment. Some place people can come, have a cup of coffee, and leisurely enjoy the art.

My dream gallery would be a coffee shop/dinner in the center of a large circle. The dinning area would be on a slow moving lazy Suzanne and surrounded by glass. Outside the circle of glass would be the gallery area where the art could be displayed and viewed from the slowly turning dinning area. I suppose access to the dinning area would be a stair case in the middle. The whole establishment would be underground with skylights helping light up the whole establishment.

Oh yea, my art. Anyways, the weekly paintings look good. Pattern, memory, nature, and figures are still playing a major role in what i enjoy painting.