craft
This week I've been busy carving and printing, and trying out all sorts of new things. Here's a picture of my little peony print with some experimental paper cutting...
This week I carved a small block from cherrywood (my first) to do some paper-testing.
I printed two versions of my peony design onto many different types of washi paper to decide what sort I would use for my big project.
I'm hoping to do some bokashi printing, and wanted a paper that would show the gentle gradations well, as well as printing black sumi ink sharply. 
The collaborative printmaking and book arts project I've been working on with my friends Katie Baldwin and Yoonmi Nam has finally got its own website!
It chronicles our two complete projects, the titular 'wood paper box', our most recent endeavour 'alabama california kansas', and our brand new project '(un)fold'.
There are links to process blogs for each project,
where you can read in depth about each artwork, and see photographs of shows we've put together and the meetings we've held. The chapter illustrations are my very own pen drawings, of our work and our portraits. 
Hope you'll take the time to visit and let us know what you think!
I recently packaged my mokuhanga lemon print for my collaborative project with Yoomni Nam and Katie Baldwin. I made an etching of a seed packet, and folded up the lemon print to fit inside: a print inside a print.
The seed packet design is based on vintage references I found while researching my part of the project, which is about California.
More news about this project, called Alabama + California + Kansas soon!
Hope you're having a fun weekend, wherever you are! Here's a little collage I made while I was at art school, a long long time ago...
I've collaborated with my friends Katie Baldwin and Yoomni Nam on a hand-printed paper stationery set for Wonderfair's Letter Writing Club, in Lawrence, Kansas. 
This is a photo of all the elements before they're packed together. I made the letter sheets with envelope, and also did the calligraphy for the top label (which Katie then screenprinted). The letter sheets are relief printed in green/gold. Here's the gold block,
and the tests I printed to choose exactly the colour that would work.
Here's the final set all put together. They'll be for sale at the club, and then afterwards at Wonderfair. 
The club meetings are held regularly, to encourage good ol' fashioned writing letters, and we'll all be attending the next one on Sunday 20th September. Hope to see you there!
The Huntington Library, near LA, is a beautiful botanical gardens and art gallery/museum. I recently designed an exclusive toile pattern for them, to use on a variety of products to sell in their new museum store, which has just opened. This lovely paper parasol, with wooden handle, is available now!
When I was commissioned for this project, I visited the gardens, took photographs and did sketches...
and then designed this repeat toile featuring many of the elements I saw there. I especially loved the Japanese bridge, the rose gardens and the cactus gardens.
The parasol has been featured in Romantic Homes magazine.
It's available to buy in the museum store or online here. Look out for more products with this pattern, coming soon!
I visited the Victoria and Albert museum this week, and pottered about the ceramics galleries thinking of ideas and doing little sketches.
If I could only go to one museum in London per visit, it would definately be this one. My head is filled with teapots, birds and butterflies...
I got myself a little eco fabric bag to keep my computer cables in while I travel, and it seemed a bit plain, so I drew a cable monster on it.
Hope he'll be able to keep my cables in order!
I recently designed the logo for new lifestyle store Pyaar in Hong Kong. It features hand-made and eco-friendly products from around the world, with a relaxed and modern aesthetic, and I tried to show this in the logo. 
I hope you'll all drop by! Totally loving the house-shaped cookies...
Today is our first wedding anniversary, hurrah us! It's represented by 'cotton' or 'paper', depending on where you live, so I made this little etching on cotton paper...
As part of the SGCI conference last week, I went to visit several local print workshops. It was amazing to get a tour of their facilities and wander around. I have a bit of a thing for paper (can you tell?) so here are my photos of the various studios' paper storage areas. The first is Crown Point Press,
and I also loved this huge roll there... 
and the flat and roll combo at Kala in Berkeley ...
I have to say these tape dispensers at the Compound Studios also tickled my fancy...
One day I will have my very own paper shelves!
We went to a friend's pizza party last week and made these amazing dessert pizza cakes!
The bases are sponge cakes, with coloured buttercream for the tomato sauce, white chocolate ganache for the melted cheese, fruit leather pepperoni, hollowed-out liquorice allsort olives, dried pineapple, gummy pepper pieces, and grated white chocolate for the parmesan. We used real pizza boxes from Pizza my Heart et voila!
Kind of messes with your mind when you bite into it, but super sweet and tasty!
I've been watching the fog rolling over the San Francisco hills for a while now, and so I decided that for my halloween costume I would be the fog! I made a headpiece with a cardboard model of the Sutro Tower and added some birds and finally a wave of felt fog rolling over it all, and then I dressed all in grey.
This is how the tower in the fog really looks...
I especially loved making the little pelican and seagull.
Boo!
I did some line illustrations for this fun knitting book in the US recently.
I drew several different frames that were used for chapter headings throughout the book:
and created little background scenes for the knitted creatures to feature in, some as double pages, some as single.
I've never been that good at sewing or knitting, but I may just give these a go! The book is available on amazon.
There are so many things I'd like to show from my wedding, but for now, here's a photo of the ceramic wedding cake topper that my friend Aude made for us. I love it so much!
I'm away on honeymoon for two weeks, and when I get back, I'll blog lots of gorgeous wedding stuff...
I painted this rubber ducky for my niece. 'Duck' is her first proper word, and this one is covered with clouds and stars...
I've decided to make one special limited edition Mariko Jesse product collection every year. Welcome to the very first! I've designed and made some fabric lavender sachets that feature two of my ceramic etchings printed on the front. The reverse sides are made from a selection of pretty vintage materials. 
This sachet is 14 x 11cm, with a dark purpley-brown etching of a white jug on a floral background. As well as the lavender, it contains rosemary hand-picked from our garden.
This sachet is about 11cm square, and has a specially created image of a Chinese teacup decorated with lavender flowers. The lavender inside is from Provence, and both sachets contain some rice to give them a bit of weight. 
I've used vintage fabrics and ribbons that I've collected over the years for the reverse side. Most are cotton, though there are also some linens and silks. Thank you to my friend Karen for helping me with the actual sewing!
They're packaged in a little card box with my new shiny gold sticker, and a paper description inside.
They're available exclusively in Hong Kong from Mingei Antiques in Central, or online directly from me. E-mail me if you'd like to buy one, or pop to my etsy shop here.
My US agents Marlena Agency made this pack of postcards to say thank you to all their clients. The cards are printed in 2 colours, and letterpressed on lovely thick paper. Here's a photo of the pack (I did the cover lettering) and my card in the pack. Hope you like!
