misogi is a ritual, and a concept, that originated in the 8th century in Japan

one of the oldest forms of the ritual is to stand under a cold waterfall for a period of time as a way to cleanse and purify your body, mind, and soul

more recently, it has gained popularity as more of a challenge whereby a person attempts a task that is so difficult, or out of the norm, that they learn to appreciate their life

i spent many years as collegiate swim coach and ended up disliking the amount of time i had to spend on my phone due to work

around Thanksgiving of 2023, a friend put together a sip and paint night where i picked up a brush for the first time since childhood

over the next few hours i didnt look at—or even think of—my phone and i felt truly present in a way i hadnt felt in a long time

MISOGI STUDIOS is proudly based in Austin, TX

i found myself pondering some fun ways to align more with nature and the idea of having deadline that follow the seasons really appealed to me

the equinoxes (vernal and autumnal) and the solstices (summer and winter) represent change and transition

with each shift of the calendar, the plan is to offer some new prints that will be up only until the next season

the kanji for the word ‘misogi’ is made up of a few other kanji that represent different words or meanings

‘shimesu’ means to take out and show or exemplify

i liked the idea of using it as part of a signature so i made a slightly stylized version