Japan's beauty draws in an artist

HAVING a lifelong fascination with Japanese art and culture, Kate Gane couldn't pass up the opportunity to pack her bags and head off to immerse herself in the culture of Warrnambool's sister city, Miura.The Warrnambool artist and musician will jet off to Miura later this month to work as a cultural exchange teacher in Miura schools for a year.Miss Gane said she was looking forward to working with the students to develop their conversational English while learning more about their lifestyle and traditions."I have always been really fascinated by Japanese aesthetics as an artist," she said."I just thought it was a fantastic opportunity to enrich my artistic practice but I'm also really interested in further developing the relationship between the two cities."During Miss Gane's exchange she will be writing a monthly column about her experience of Japanese life which will be featured in The Standard."I hope to give Warrnambool an idea of what Japan and Miura is like," she said."It's a valuable opportunity to promote city awareness and understanding. Each article will focus on a particular aspect of Japanese culture including gardens, food, religion, fashion and art."Warrnambool City Council began its sister city ties with Miura in 1992.Miura is 50 kilometres south of Tokyo and has a population of 56,000.Fishing is the city's major industry but it also has a thriving rural produce industry of radishes, melons, cabbages, pumpkins and mandarins.