Taking Flight: Thoughts on the Art of Hayao Miyazaki on His 70th Birthday
by Gregg Chadwick Celluloid Dreams at the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan I woke up from a dream this morning that seemed to have been pulled from a Hayao Miyazaki film. In my dream a tender sapling reached towards the light as it sprouted from my wrist. Above, russet clouds moved in a cerulean sky. I look to my dreams as openings rather than fortunes. Yet, since I recently returned from Tokyo, I should remember that in Japan the first dreams of the New Year, hatsu-yume 初夢, traditionally provide markers for the dreamer's upcoming year. Hayao Miyazaki Sketch for Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) pencil and watercolor on paper 2001 (Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan) The vision and mystery of Hayao Miyazaki's work will surely provide inspiration for me throughout 2011. In December, I was fortunate to visit the Ghibli Museum which was created to feature the art and films of Hayao Miyazaki and also the breadth of animation done by Studio Ghibli since its founding in 1985 by fil...