The Pacific Rim project is an international cooperative educational project jointly implemented since 2006 by Tama Art University snd the Art Center College of Design in California, USA, with the aim of cultivating sophisticated creative environment. This theme for 2014 was "Light & Shadow : The Art of Illumination, " with the project conducted at the Tama Art University over a period of 14 weeks.  We created two works based on the concept "Echo of Light : The lights capture the life of a raindrop; the water drop falls and reverberations on the water touch your heart".  I was mainly responsible for the idea of the works and the phenomenon of light.

A beautiful Moment : From the field trip to Japanese garden teahouse and their surroundings, we could appreciate the delicate beauty expressed through imaginative design. The Japanese rock garden called "karesansui" in Kyoto shows a movement in the silence. A priest said, "You can imagine the ocean coming against the rock." It gives motion to rock and brings the silence to the moment. Everyone feels different scenery; however, everyone can see the illusion of water in the rock.

Touch Your Heart : A raindrop expresses a beautiful moment when it hits and disappears on the surface of water. This is a story of the raindrop's life. After the story ends, it leaves reverberation on your heart as memories. It's called "yoin" in Japanese which gives us a calm moment. We make the story of light that touches your heart and leaves you with the echo of raindrops.

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UTSUROI is a pendant light which captures a raindrop from start to finish hitting the water. This is the whole story of the raindrop. The raindrop is born as a shiny blue light and ends as a burning orange light. The color graduation gives the slow transition of time and invites people into the space.