I was mulling around some ideas to promote my illustration during a slow work period when I noticed on the NY JET Alumni Association’s website that they were accepting entries for Japan Day in Central Park poster contest.

So I hunkered down for two days, hoping no paying work would come in and derail my plans.

A month later, to my surprise I received a phone call explaining that I had won the contest. It was a bit of a whirlwind. Within the New York City Japanese community I had my 15 minutes of fame.

I was interview on Japanese language TV and newspapers, interviewed on stage with at Japan Day this past Sunday, May 13. It was quite exciting to see posters of my work on display and people buying t-shirts for charity with my art work. It was also humbling to see the high quality of the honorable mention awards by Chris Dina, Keri Dodge, Ardith Ibanez Nishii, Ken Sheldon and my favorite entry being Sara Woolley’s Lady Japan.

Everything was capped off by attending a reception at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence.

The people at Gorgeous Entertainment who sponsor Japan Day held a wonderful event (as usual) and made me feel quite special. And thank you Megumi Sato-Shelly the designer who skillfully and somewhat anymously re-worked my art for the posters, flyers and multiple t-shirt designs while I received all of the credit.

Dear Japan Day 2012,

Arigatou Gozaimashita!

April 11, at a Cherry Tree planting ceremony in Central Park. The Japan Day 2012 poster contest winner was announced Pictured, left to right, Commissioner of the Dept. of Parks & Recreation, Adrian Benepe, Aaron Porter (poster contest winner), Kumiko Yoshii, Owner of Gorgeous Entertainment Inc., Japanese Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki and Central Park Conservancy President, Doug Blonsky. Photo by GION

Japan Day at Central Park 2012 Poster

I have been moved to tears while listening to the Gettysburg Address. And I have eaten beans and collard greens two nights straight after listening to a soldier in a letter home pine for his wife’s (or was it sister’s) beans and collard greens.

Below is an except from the documentary 1990 documentary of a letter a soldier wrote to his wife before battle. (Sullivan Ballou Letter)

As an adjunct instructor at a junior college I have been struggling find that right balance between demanding too much and demanding too little. And racking my brain to find ways to motivate my sometimes unmotivated students.

The premise of Multipliers is that some leaders drain intelligence and capabilities from the people around them and others amplify it.

When I arrived to class I had no direct intention of implementing any of what I had learned recently learned, when a student who has been struggling asked a question. I gave him leading questions to allow him to solve his problem rather than answering the question directly.

So on to the next student who is quite capable but also quite lazy. He asked how to do something and I flat out told him, he should have known how to do this since the second week of class (we are in week 10). So without thinking I called over the struggling student and asked him to explain the technique, which he did perfectly. And he walked away with his often shaky confidence thoroughly unshaky. The lazy student sat up a little straighter after being shown, not by me but by a student with apparent capabilities below his own, how to do something. He went on in that class to produce his best work of the semester.

In a class critique of of student work I simply asked students what grade would they give themselves. If they declared they deserved an A, I asked if it was their best work. That exercise clarified the fact that that my expectations for what they were capable of was perhaps a little low. It also made them more accountable for their work and they seemed to change the way they saw the work. It was no longer simply an assignment in a class they “had to take” but now an example of what they were capable of, which they seemed to suddenly take ownership of.

I’d been waiting for the Wacom Inkling to hit the shelves and already seen myself sitting in Bryant Park sketching the carousel. The product faded from my consciousness after numerous failed attempts for find them for sale after the scheduled release date. The concept . . . sketch on regular paper with a special ink filled pen and receiver, and the images are saved as vector based images to be uploaded to a computer.

The video demo by Wacom (the manufacturer) makes it look irresistible, but so far on Amazon.com there are 32 customer reviews with an average of 3 stars. A video demo by V. Hutson sealed the deal, or maybe that should be, sealed the no deal and has convinced me to wait for the next iteration. If there weren’t so many other electronic “toys” out there I might be more tempted to purchase the device which lists for $199. But I think I will wait for the model to be released.

The piece just looked to cartoony so I decided to try to introduce some textures into some of the flat colored areas. After doing an Google search I found a nice Yellow Velvet Fabric Texture offered up for free use by Enchantedgal-Stock on Deviantart.com (Thank you Enchanted Gal).

My goal was to incorporate the texture into the pink areas on the tree. But when I pasted the texture into my piece, the wonderful gold fabric reminded me of an Edo period gold leaf painted Japanese Screen. It was a pure accident but I felt it brought the piece up to a whole new level with the rich yet subdued color and texture. I was able to wrap it up quickly after my happy accident.

The contest is for Japan Day in Central Park where they will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Japan giving the gift of Cherry Trees to the U.S.

I thought the idea of placing the cherry tree in a bonsai pot was the perfect imagery, being that the bonsai captures the spirit of a full grown tree as a microcosm. And Japan Day in Central Park is a microcosm of Japan.

My serendipitous steps from being stuck to unstuck.

I recently did a little exploration and came up with the image below after watching a Lynda.com tutorial by Deke McClelland titled Photoshop CS5 Extended One-on-One: 3D Type Effects.

The image below was created using a few textures, an appropriated image of a zombie from a video game, and everything else was done directly in Photoshop Extended CS5.

I teach a beginning Photoshop class and this practice piece was inspired by students that I have caught Facebooking and texting during lectures.

3D text, shadows and light created all in Photoshop CS5 Extended.

Last night I watched the made for television movie “Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story” which I found a little disappointing but inspirational nonetheless, which reminded me to continue chasing my dreams in the face of those caring souls closest to me preaching the value of being practical and safe. And that brought to mind one of my favorite speeches. J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, delivered the commencement speech at Harvard University in June of 2008 where she extolled on the fringe benefits of failure. I find it well worth watching.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Recently I took part in that age old conversation about the which is better, seat up or seat down in a public unisex toilet.

I being a guy was, of course voted down when I suggested that leaving the seat up was best. And I stand by that especially if a toilet seat has been soiled prior to my use in a public restroom. I make sure to leave it up so that it is clear to the person entering after me that I was not the culprit to wet the seat.

That conversation brought some interesting toilet innovations to mind that stem from Port-a-Potties I have seen. A Portable toilet will often have a tiny urinal mounted on the wall with a tube that connects to the large disposal area. That little device tends to keep some of the messiness off of the toilet seat in a public, venue so why not at home. And what I feel the best advantage would be not having to remember to put the seat down or get yelled at for leaving the occasional mess. It would also be a great water saver.

Pictured is a sketch of my idea as well as a sketch of the very simple addition of a handle to a toilet set that I recently encountered in a restaurant restroom.

Michael Motaperto in Grand Central Terminal.

A good year has passed since I have worked on my Street Musician Project. That changed a few weeks ago while on my way to catch a train in Grand Central Terminal. I heard music that instantly transported me back to the time I spent in Japan.

Michael Montaperto played Romanza in the Graybar Passage. I was immediately drawn to the haunting music which transported me in my memories.

I taught English in several Kyoto Prefecture schools. At the end of the day at Otokoyama Junior High School, Romanza, a Classical Spanish guitar solo would be played after the final bell. It was where I was introduced to the song and I would wander out of the teachers’ room and gaze out across the rice fields. It was always a strange yet moving moment for me, gazing at the beautiful Japanese landscape while listening to the haunting Spanish music.

I was at that school for two weeks every two months, and everyday I was there I would listen to that wonderful music and memorize the landscape.

A few days ago I saw a similar image of the beautiful rice fields of Japan being washed away in an instant as a tsunami engulfed the land. Houses and cars washing over the rice fields, rice fields now incapable of nourishing anyone for a who knows how long. Many of the farmers and families also washed away.