Spring flowers are blooming every day in Yakushima South.
The beginning of the tropical season is full of life.
Strong winds and rain gradually bring warmer, calmer days.
I visited Shakunage Park to see the rhododendrons in bloom.
It had been nearly two years.
They brought me a clear and focused mind before I began the new work.
Listening to the gentle flow of the river in the spring light,
I was thinking about the couple I’ll be meeting next month in Yakushima.
This is a story of making wedding rings, woven from their time together and flowers.
I feel that the seasons on Yakushima are always with us.
I began with 4.0mm wide platinum and 18K pink gold.
As the first step, I put them into the flame of a gas torch.
This process softens the platinum and pink gold, making them easier to work with.
Still, they feel quite heavy and have a strong presence.
There is a sense of something like the resonance of metal born from the earth, quietly coming through.
After heating, I shaped them into rounds with a hammer.
I had to apply a strong force to work that hard, solid metal.
Again and again, I worked it until it forms into a circle.
After soldering the two ends, the platinum and pink gold had unmistakably become rings.
They had taken on an unwavering strength.
This marks the beginning of a long process, leading to the day we meet in Yakushima.
And it already feels like a meaningful step forward.
I hope to take my time making the two rings.
I was thinking of a morning, filled with spring light and the fragrance of blossoms.