光希まさとの創造の世界へようこそ！

つれづれなるままに、硯にむかひて、心に移りゆくよしなし事を、そこはかとなく書きつくれば、あやしうこそものぐるほしけれ。

かのエミール・ガレが「私の根は深く土に潜りている」と言いし如く、わが魂もまた日本の地に根差しつつ、ガラスという西洋の技に魅せられたり。ガレが自然を深く観察して得たる「植物の秘密の言葉」を、わが身にも宿らせんと思う日々なり。

このたび、和服の女性をガラスに包み込む試みをなしたるが、これぞまさに東西の美の融合というべきか。ガレが「ガラスとは、光と熱と時間の産物である」と語りしように、この作にも光と熱と時間を注ぎこみぬ。

古き昔より日本人は、桜の花びらの儚さに美を見出だし、葉の間を透過する光に心を打たれ来たれり。今、そのまなざしをガラスの透明感に移し、儚きものに永遠の命を吹き込む試みとなりにけり。

ガレの愛でし「マルケトリー技法」と「アシッドエッチング」の精神を継承しつつも、デジタルの海に浮かぶ新たな表現を求めたり。幾重にも重なる花のガラス層は、まるで時間そのものが結晶化したかの如し。

女性の肌の柔らかさと、ガラスの硬質な輝きとの対比こそ、大和の心と西洋の技の出会いと言うべし。花々を永遠の時の中に封じ込め、それでいて生命の息吹が感じられる、この矛盾こそがガラス芸術の神髄なりけり。

ガレが「私の作品は、花々の美しさを永遠のものとするための、一つの挑戦である」と語りしことを思い出す。わが作品もまた、桜や梅の美しさを永遠に留めんとする挑戦の一部なり。

ガラスの透明感と女性の存在感が融合するとき、そこに生まれるは単なる美しさに非ず。ガレの言う「物質に宿る魂の表現」としての芸術なり。ガラスに閉じ込められし花々と女性の姿は、見る者の心に語りかけ、魂を揺さぶるなり。

目を閉じる女性の表情には、どこか物思いにふける静謐さあり。ガレが好みし「エングレービング」の精神に倣い、表面の向こう側にある深遠なる世界を表現せんと試みたり。

かくして、和と洋、柔と剛、有限と無限の境界に立ちて、新たなる美の追求を続けん。ガラスの持つ永遠性と、花の持つ儚さが交錯する世界こそ、わが求むる「ネオジャポネスク」の道なりけり。

つれづれなるままに　光希まさと

Essays in Idleness – Modern Edition “Enshrining the Soul of Flowers in Glass”

As I sit quietly with brush in hand, letting random thoughts flow through my mind and setting them down without particular purpose, I find myself in a curious state indeed.

Just as Émile Gallé once said, “My roots run deep into the soil,” so too does my soul remain rooted in Japanese soil while being enchanted by the Western art of glasswork. I strive to embody within myself the “secret language of plants” that Gallé discovered through his deep observation of nature.

Recently, I attempted to envelop a woman in kimono within glass—truly a fusion of Eastern and Western beauty. As Gallé proclaimed, “Glass is the product of light, heat, and time,” I too have poured light, heat, and time into this creation.

Since ancient times, Japanese people have found beauty in the ephemeral nature of cherry blossoms and have been moved by the light filtering through leaves. Now, I transfer that gaze to the transparency of glass, attempting to breathe eternal life into the transient.

While inheriting the spirit of Gallé’s beloved “marquetry technique” and “acid-etching,” I seek new expressions floating in the digital sea. The multiple layers of floral glass appear as if time itself has crystallized.

The contrast between the softness of the woman’s skin and the hard brilliance of glass represents the meeting of the Yamato spirit and Western technique. Enclosing flowers in eternal time, yet still feeling the breath of life—this contradiction is the essence of glass art.

I recall Gallé’s words: “My works are a challenge to immortalize the beauty of flowers.” My works too are part of this challenge to eternally preserve the beauty of cherry and plum blossoms.

When the transparency of glass merges with the presence of a woman, what emerges is not mere beauty. It is art as the “expression of the soul dwelling in matter,” as Gallé described. The flowers and female figure enclosed in glass speak to the viewer’s heart and stir the soul.

In the expression of the woman with closed eyes, there is a serene contemplation. Following the spirit of “engraving” that Gallé favored, I attempted to express the profound world that exists beyond the surface.

Thus, standing at the boundary between East and West, soft and hard, finite and infinite, I continue my pursuit of new beauty. The world where the eternity of glass intersects with the transience of flowers is indeed the path of “Neo-Japonesque” that I seek.

In idle moments – Masato Kouki