video draft for the project

First draft: it's a video that I would like to project from the inside onto window so that it can be seen from the oustide.
My idea is creating a sort of reversed zen garden-like view.
When I went to Japan I was amazed by the beauty of zen gardens and the interesting way of framing the view of the garden by ising horizontal sliding doors or "windows"
I thought 'well, I could reverse the thing and see what happens...'

What we shared so far

So far I got many leaves from many friends from many different places in the world.
I didn't receive just leaves though, I received also letters, poems, stories, memories from childhood, words of encouragement, pictures, drawings, postcards and even some parmisan cheese from US
(I have to say that was the funniest thing ever: an italian cheese imported to US and then sent to Japan!).

The Momiji Project has been a beautiful experience and keeps giving me new stimuli. Everytime I looked at the leaves lying so fragile in my hands, I looked also at the friends who sent them to me.
There is something magical in a letter, in reading words written by hand on a page of a notebook, or on a postcard or behind a picture or on a fine letter paper, in touching the creases, in opening... creeeeaaaak....the envelope, in thinking of someone sitting at the table or standing in the post office and writing writing writing for you. And there is something magical in waiting for a letter and of course in sending one back.
I sent to everyone a card with a momiji leaf.



I hope you all received my autumn and my words

At the moment I'm working on the pictures of the momiji tree that I've been taking (almost) everyday since september. I'm preparing a video. More info later on!

Thank you all!

The 28th Leaf: Florent from Francoville in France

One year ago just after Xmas Florent and I were dragging a Xmas tree abandoned in Argyle Street, in Glasgow, all the way to Florent's flat.
I really wanted a xmas tree and Florent helped me in my weird plan. I think it was the 28th or something like that. The flat started smelling amazingly...fresh pinetree! of course twas quite difficult to find balls and all that sort of stuff that usually people put on such trees as xmas was already gone and people were "marketingly" thinking in terms of new year's eve.
But we made it and in one afternoon we tree was done and beautiful.
And this is Florent's autumn in a winter night




It's a leaf from Champs Elyseés, a memory of "Autumn's Leaves" a jazz song that Florent used to play with his dad.

The 27th Leaf, James from California

The train was full of people and really smelly. It was hot, and it was May I think, or end of April, on a train in India, when and where I met James. He made me smile and talked to me for the whole journey till Nepal. He offered me food, music and good feelings.
India is strange. It's so big but you keep meeting the same people everywhere you go or anyway you know that sooner or later you will bump into someone you like or you don't like again.
Well, after months I met James again, in Delhi this time. He was at the end of his adventure, while I was at the beginning of a new one, this time really on my own. He was going back home and I was going to the Himachal Pradesh and then Kinnaur and Spiti.
We had the weirdest dinner ever, in a mexican restaurant in new delhi with indians dressed up with weird clothes, american music in the background and loads of beer.
That was definetely a fun night. We haven't seen since then. But now I can see his autumn





just one last thing. Life is really really really strange. And Random I have to say. I was publishin this post and the radio (in Japan) started to play an indian song "Mundian to Bach Ke Punjabi". Synchronicities....

The 26th Leaf: Thommy from Edinburgh

I don't exactly remember the very first moment I saw Thommy, but I remember it was in Gagie at the castle where I was WWOOFing in summer 2006.
It's so amazing that it's been already more than 3 years since Scotland became a sort of second home for me and I danced with Thommy in a club in Dundee.
Thommy is my scottish mum's daughter. Aye, I have a scottish mum of course. She looked after me and taught me many things while I was working for her in the castle. While her daughters looked after me in Edinburgh where I spent I think the hottest summer Scotland ever had in ages. I went back the following year thinking it would be pretty the same...and indeed I was wrong.... Thommy is an amazing cook and a really sweet person. When I think of her the first things coming up are golden curly hair, honest smile, the color blue and pheasants.

these are her leaves from the Meadows

A projection on campus

Amy and I are doing some projections on campus.
I made a video using the pictures I've been taken everyday at "my" Momiji Tree and then projected it in onto a momiji tree -one on campus, now naked for the winter. The video, I have to say, is not one of the best but you can see my projection on the right.

The video shows the color of the leaves changing across the last 4 months...from green to red and then again from red to green in loop.
Amy projected a swimming man along the canal that goes across the whole campus (you can see her projection on the left)

The 25th Leaf: from Lucy and John, Glasgow

Autumn is over I think, just a few red leaves are still on the naked trees here in Japan. It's winter, hey! but still leaves keep coming to me. And memories too.

The last leaf is from Lucy and John, two of my students from the italian class I held last winter in Glasgow. I've never had such a great class. I loved the nice evenings in May and June spent drinking together before class in the beer garden next to the school or the big laugh we had all the time.
And I can't believe it: they ask me to come back and teach again. Thank you Lucy and John!
I'm looking forward to it!