"I learned when I was a boy to carve wood," Takimoto says. "Then I went into business and I forgot. So I changed my business again and now I work with the wood again, in the Japanese way, to feel the tender heart of nature." - Yo Takimoto
Japanese Wood Carving Class
Instructor: Yo TakimotoWhen: Saturday, July 9, from 1 to 4 pm
Fee: $20 per person
RSVP: Tom Ryu tomohiroryu@hotmail.com (323) 687-0777
or Yoshiko Loyd (805) 390-4462 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (805) 390-4462 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Maximum Attendees: 10
About the Class:
The class begins the minute the first student enters. Takimoto helps him select a piece of wood, hands over a knife and shows how to use it. A few quick strokes and, with the instruction to let the wood speak for itself, the student is launched. The courtyard quickly fills up, the wood carvers intent on the task at hand, the transformation taking place in their hands.
Good for all ages. No previous experience necessary.
- Experience greater peace and tranquility
- Learn new skills
- Connect with the inner essence of things
- Relieve stress
- Connect with your physical senses
"I want my students not to think about the final image or the final shape," Takimoto says. "I want them to study the wood, let the wood speak."
The USC-trained architect left a successful career as a city planner in Japan in order to devote himself to carving, and he makes sure the wood has the last word. One by one he joins each student, offers comments and suggestions, sometimes makes a few swift cuts to send a project on its way.
"Whenever I carve, for three hours I don't know the final shape of the wood, not until the end, when it appears," Takimoto says.
About Yo Takimoto:
I have been into the art of wood carving (kikezuri) for over 15 years now. One day, a friend of mine who is a furniture maker gave me a Japanese hand carving knife called "Kiridashi" as a way to deal with stress from office work. Carving wood allowed me to reconnect with my childhood in Kumano, where I played in the forests and swam in the river. When carving wood, I am often reminded of mother nature, that tends to be forgotten in urban environments. I can be in tune with nature while spending hours on end with the wood, paying attention to what the wood itself is doing. I call this "kikezuri," which is an act of whittling rather than carving.
Many pieces of wood that I bring to the workshops are from Japan, and some are from the US, where I have traveled, and collected along the way. Each has a different history, touch, scent, and character. At my woodcarving class, I encourage everyone to pick the material as you see it, and to find the character of the wood as you carve into it.
I was born in Kumano, Wakayam, Japan in 1949. I graduated from USC with a degree in architecture, and have worked in city planning in Tokyo for 22 years. Since 1998 the woodcarving (kikezuri) workshops have been held in Japan, as well as in the US at shops and schools in Los Angeles, the Gift & Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, Arcosanti in Arizona, in New York, and also in Hawaii.
Location:
Shumei America Hollywood Center
7406 Franklin Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 876-5528
(3 blocks west of La Brea Ave., 1 block north of Hollywood Blvd.)
A note about parking: If the driveway is full, please avoid streets with restricted parking signs and instead use Franklin Ave., Camino Palermo, Fuller, or Hollywood Blvd.
