第18回：『妻とのアートセラピー ＆ 大屋根スタイル、外観決定？』
（最終決定稿ではなく、『大屋根』が特徴的な、あくまで暫定的な外観提案のひとつとなります。）
第17回の今回は『迷子のフランス製・折り紙ランプと【用の美/建築】とは？ Part3』夏の平安編と題しまして、2025年８月、９月中の『夏のひと時』を中心にお話ししてみたいです。
以下の要領で進めていきます。
今回は後半の3項目についてのお話です。
【8月&9月、泣き笑いの夏・秋】
＊建築家SVさんからの再建案ｘ2案ーーテーマは『風通しの改善』他
＊フランスｘアメリカ間で迷子？ 『折り紙ランプ』の行方、、、
＊義理の母の『95歳の誕生パーティー』に出席
＊アメリカ式『老後の両親との付き合い方』を経験
＊血圧上昇、己の健康に赤信号!! 運動不足と食べ過ぎが原因？
＊妻とのアートセラピー、慣れないダンスのように、、、、（笑）
＊『大屋根＆格子スクリーン』追加で外観デザイン決定⁈
＊SVさんから住宅建築の経験談を聞き安堵：【用の美】
【10月&11月、怒涛の出来事】
＊救世主現る!! PLT、公共土地買い上げトラスト（PTO)とは？
＊建築許可用の提出物が『ほぼ』出そろいました。
＊高いアパート家賃の解決策：ガレージ2階の賃貸物件に引っ越す？
＊土壇場で立ちはだかる難題、『オーク（樹木）保護令』とは？
＊樹木の医者【アーボレスト＝樹護士】とは？
＊もう一つの資金源？:南カ・エジソンを相手取った訴訟に参加、、、
＊与えられた:コミュニティーと個人【奇人】主義を考える機会？
＊困難の中にいる友人に私が出来ること、、、？
＊病床の母（名古屋在住）に出来ること、、、、、？
＊妻とアートセラピーを受講、慣れないダンスのように、、、、（笑）
妻が既に、火災からの避難時に居候させていただいた友人『J』さんの紹介で、災難時のトラウマを和らげるためのアートセラピーを受けていて、その効果に驚いていた関係で、
結婚25周年を記念するイベントの一環として、
アートセラピーをペアで受講することになりました。
カウンセラーはすでに妻が5回ほど受講した『A』さんで、彼女のお母様宅の裏庭にあるアトリエ件アート製作机の周りで行われます。
セラピー内容は、
＊毎回『遊び心』『悲しみ』『心の開放』など『A』さんからのテーマに従い、
＊90分を前半、シェアリングタイム、後半の３つに分け、
＊前半は個人的に妻と私は別々にアート制作に向かい、
＊お互いの作品を説明したり、質問したり、話し合いの時間を持ち、
＊後半は、二人で共同制作・合作します。
＊その後『A』さんのリードで、簡単にテーマについて作品を見ながら
＊感想を言い合ったり、お互いの近況をシェアーしたりで終了となります。
これまでの３−４回のセラピーを通じまして、
ｎ
ｎ
火事の後、必死でなんとか通常生活に戻らねばと押し殺していた、逼迫した感情や
言葉になりにくい心の葛藤などが妻と一緒に絵を描いたり、
粘土細工を作ったりすることで、表に吐き出せた感じで、
なんだか気分がスッキリと軽くなった気がします。
大変な状況を2人で何とか乗り越えていく過程を通じて、
今まで使っていなかった心の筋肉を運動音痴なりに使えるようになり、出来なかったはずの『妻との心のダンス』が徐々に踊れるような感じです。
＊更にお互いの予想外の特徴を発見する機会にもなりました。
＊アーティストの私のほうがかえって、絵をかくときに冒険できなかったり、
＊普段から子供に図画工作を教えているつの絵心に気づいたり、
＊長年使っていなかった水彩画に再び目覚めるきっかけが出来たり、と
予想以上の成果に2人で毎回喜んでおります。
＊『大屋根＆格子スクリーン』追加で外観デザイン完成⁈
9月に入り、
SV事務所さんからメールにて、
LAカウンティーに提出用の必要書類がそろってきたとの知らせを受け、
そこには、待ちに待った
立面図と平面図からなる設計書類
が添付されていました。
LA群役場に
再建認可のために提出用の設計書類（草稿）
＊立面図（西）
＊立面図（東）
＊立面図（北）
＊立面図（南）
＊建て増し部分の詳細を顕わした平面図
＊新築住宅の平面図
＊新築住宅の屋根配置図
そこには私たち夫婦が熱望していた、
大屋根と、西側入り口付近にスライド式の格子スクリーンの姿も
はっきりと現れていました！！
＊建築家、SVさんから住宅建築の経験談を聞き安堵：【用の美】
ｎ
建築家のSVさんと再建プロジェクト全工程の工程確認ミーティングを
ズームを通じて行いました。
ｎ
ｎ
再建プロジェクト全体に対する不安に襲われ、
ｎ
プレハブ式の小さ
と妻を説得し始める始末でした…泣
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
N
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Translation in English !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Record of Home Destroyed by Wildfire———Part 18: ‘Art Therapy with My Wife & Sloped Roof Style, Exterior Decided?’ Summer Peace Edition
December 2, 2025 / December 8, 2025
Episode 18: ‘Art Therapy with My Wife & Sloped Roof Style, Exterior Design Decided?’
(This is not the final design, but one of several tentative exterior proposals featuring a ‘sloped roof’ as a key characteristic.)
This 17th installment, titled ‘Lost French Origami Lamp & What is [Functional Beauty/Architecture]? Part 3: Summer Peace Edition’, focuses on sharing moments from the ‘Summer Interlude’ during August and September 2025.
We’ll proceed as follows.
This time covers the last three items.
【August & September: A Summer/Autumn of Laughter and Tears】
＊Two reconstruction proposals from Architect SV—Theme: ‘Improving Airflow’ and more
＊Lost between France and America? The whereabouts of the ‘Origami Lamp’…
＊Attending my mother-in-law’s ‘95th Birthday Party’
＊Experiencing the American way of ‘Dealing with Aging Parents’
＊Blood pressure spikes, red flag for my health!! Caused by lack of exercise and overeating?
＊Art therapy with my wife, like awkward dancing… (lol)
＊Exterior design finalized with additions: ‘Large Roof & Lattice Screen’?!
＊Relieved hearing SV’s home-building experience: [Functional Beauty]
【October & November: A Torrent of Events】
＊A savior appears!! What is PLT, the Public Land Trust (PTO)?
＊Documents for the building permit are ‘almost’ all submitted.
＊Solution to high apartment rent: Move to a rental unit on the second floor of the garage?
＊A last-minute hurdle: What is an ‘Oak Tree Protection Order’?
＊What is an Arborist?
＊Another Funding Source?: Joining a Lawsuit Against Southern California Edison…
＊Given: An Opportunity to Consider Community vs. Individual [Eccentric]ism?
＊What Can I Do for a Friend in Trouble…?
＊What Can I Do for My Mother in the Hospital (Living in Nagoya)…?
＊Taking art therapy with my wife, like an unfamiliar dance… (laugh)
My wife had already been receiving art therapy to ease trauma from the disaster, introduced by our friend ‘J’ who let us stay during the evacuation from the fire. She was amazed by its effects.
As part of our 25th wedding anniversary celebration,
we decided to take a pair art therapy session together.
The counselor is Ms. A, whom my wife has seen about five times already. The sessions take place around the art desk in the studio located in the backyard of her mother’s house.
The therapy structure is as follows:
* Each session follows a theme provided by Ms. A, such as ‘playfulness,’ ‘sadness,‘ or ‘emotional release.’
* The 90-minute session is divided into three parts:
* A sharing time at the beginning,
* A separate art creation period for my wife and me in the first half,
* A time to explain, ask questions about, and discuss each other’s work,
* And a collaborative creation or joint piece in the second half.
＊Afterwards, guided by Ms. A, we briefly discuss our impressions while looking at the works related to the theme,
＊share updates on each other’s lives, and conclude.
Through the past three or four therapy sessions,
n
n
After the fire, we desperately tried to return to normal life, suppressing intense emotions and inner conflicts that were hard to put into words.
By painting together and making clay sculptures,
we felt like we could finally express those feelings outwardly.
Somehow, it feels refreshingly lighter.
Through the process of us two somehow overcoming this difficult situation together,
I feel like I’ve learned to use mental muscles I hadn’t exercised before—clumsy as I am—and gradually, I’m able to dance this ‘emotional dance with my wife’ that I never thought possible.
＊It also became an opportunity to discover unexpected traits in each other.
* Surprisingly, I, the artist, found myself hesitating to take risks when painting,
* While my wife, who regularly teaches art and crafts to children, revealed her own artistic talent,
* And I found myself rediscovering watercolor painting, which I hadn’t touched in years.
We both rejoice each time at these unexpected outcomes.
* ‘Large Roof & Lattice Screen’ Added – Exterior Design Complete?!
In September,
we received an email from SV Architects
informing us that the necessary documents for submission to LA County were ready.
Attached were the long-awaited
design documents consisting of elevations and floor plans.
Design documents (draft) for submission to LA County
for reconstruction approval
＊Elevation (West)
* Elevation (East)
* Elevation (North)
* Elevation (South)
* Floor plan detailing the addition
* Floor plan of the new house
* Roof layout plan for the new house
There, clearly visible,
were the large roof and the sliding lattice screen near the west entrance—
exactly what my husband and I had been hoping for!!
＊Relieved after hearing architect SV’s homebuilding experience: 【Beauty in Function】
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
On a late summer evening still sweltering,
ｎ
we held a Zoom meeting with architect SV to confirm the entire reconstruction project schedule.
ｎ
ｎ
Just 2-3 days before the meeting,
ｎ
ｎ
I was overcome with anxiety about the entire reconstruction project,
ｎ
ｎ
and even started trying to convince my wife…
to change plans and build a small prefab house instead,
n something that could be completed reliably and quickly within the insurance payout…
…I was at my wits’ end… sob
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
Here are my main concerns:
* The cost of rebuilding from scratch is staggering due to the rise in construction materials over the past decade in the US and the abnormal increase in carpenter labor rates.
* Meanwhile, the amount the insurance company will pay for rebuilding costs is inherently limited. Even if the optional reserve fund (50%) I happened to purchase is paid out in full, it still won’t be nearly enough.
* Furthermore, the FIMA federal disaster relief budget has been shrinking since the Trump administration, leaving little hope beyond rental assistance programs.
* Adding to this, the ongoing US-China tariff war threatens to cause unlimited inflation in the costs of necessary rebuilding materials like fixtures, building materials, hardware, and electrical equipment.
ｎ
* Consequently, even if reconstruction were possible, I couldn’t shake the fear that we’d be forced into significant compromises, ending up living in a shabby house far beyond what we’d envisioned during the design phase.
(For someone like me, a so-called ‘tactile perfectionist’ who obsesses over texture, feel, and tactile quality more than appearance, this is a matter of life and death.)
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
N
Until four months ago, I was actually starting to wind down my collection and vaguely contemplating end-of-life preparations. So, I began seriously questioning whether it was worth all this money and mental anguish just to regain my old life.
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
Every time I brought it up with my wife,
she’d just laugh it off, saying, “Here we go again with your ‘depressive phase’!”
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ｎ
ん
Amidst this, after talking with SV for two and a half hours,
I truly felt relieved that I had entrusted the architect to this person.
ｎ
ｎ
Steve heard about my slump from Barbie,
and encouraged me in a way that resonated deeply with me,
ultimately lifting my spirits instead.
n
n
n
n
We covered many topics,
but what resonated most deeply was when he said:
n
“I haven’t spent nearly 30 years designing homes in LA (where building material quality and carpentry skills keep declining) for nothing.”
“Despite the materials and craftsmanship, I’ve always found ways to make something good. So don’t worry—let’s enjoy the process of creating something wonderful.”
n
n
n
n
n
“Kyoto craftsmen have used simple, locally sourced wood for generations, devising solutions with their minds and creating practical masterpieces with their hands. Inspired by that wisdom of ‘utility-based beauty,’ let’s use cheap Home Depot materials to build wonderful, ‘functional masterpiece homes’.”
n
n
n
Hearing this,
I felt so happy I couldn’t sit still.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
It was a night that gave me tremendous energy,
so I wanted to share this, even if it’s just rambling.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Next time, I want to talk about the savior who suddenly appeared
to supplement the reconstruction budget.
n
Stay tuned―
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
これはCTAサンプルです。
内容を編集するか削除してください。
