Kyoto show

Yesterday I helped install our mokuhanga group show in hip bookstore/gallery Keibunsha in Kyoto.

It’s a group of five printmakers, and the work is eclectic, and I think it looks pretty good together!

I’m showing mokuhanga prints I made in the last couple of years, plus some greetings cards and postcards that feature my mokuhanga work.

Some mini cards carved and printed by Kitamura san’s apprentice carvers are also on display and available to purchase. Mine is the tiny blue teapot, I love it! I’ve never seen my work interpreted by someone else, so this was a great project to be involved with.

The show is up for a week, and I’ll be there on monday the 6th December for a few hours before taking the show down. Hope to see you there!

Ojika Island

From Shin-Kamigoto, we took a short ferry ride to Ojika, a smaller, less mountainy island with a peaceful fishing village vibe. We hired electric bikes for our stay, and with the help of the incredible staff (thank you Victoria!) at the tourist office, started our perfect three day visit.

We explored the whole island, cycling over the gentle slopes and having picnic lunches. We wandered in the main village near the port, sat on beaches with turquoise waters, and watched glorious sunsets…

We stayed in a restored kominka and I loved this particular room with the tatami floors and lovely view. I sketched in the house, and used the large table surrounded by windows as a temporary illustration studio.

There was so much inspiration everywhere, I felt like I could keep drawing forever. Here’s my first sketch in the town, drawn while sitting on the steps outside a temple.

I particularily loved doing the local pilgrimage ‘stamp rally’ where you collect stamps for specific locations. I love these Japanese location stamps, and doing the rally meant we found places we might not have done otherwise. We got lost, but loved it!

This was honestly one of the best and most enjoyable places we’ve ever stayed in Japan, with many, many years of Japan travelling under our belts. It wasn’t that the views were spectacular, or famous, but that the atmosphere was truly special, the local people so welcoming, and the feeling of experiencing a genuine rural Japanese life. They’ve really gone out of their way to preserve something unique, while keeping up with modern times. I loved that there were no convenience stores, only local shops, and that the pace of life was just that much slower. I miss it already…

You can find out everything you want to know about going to Ojika here. I wish I could share this place with everyone.

Goto Islands

After having cancelled our planned early 2020 Kyushu trip due to the pandemic, we finally made it to the Goto Islands a few weeks ago. It was magical, and everything we hoped it would be. We took the ferry from Nagasaki and arrived at Shin-Kamigoto, picked up a car, and started exploring the island.

First stop, the hidden and peaceful Kashiragashima church. It’s one of the twelve Hidden Christian monuments in Nagasaki recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can’t photograph inside the church, so I drew a sketch of the pretty ceiling structure and let the atmosphere sink in. We were the only visitors.

We spent the next few days visiting different sites around the island, watching sunrises and sunsets and sampling the local delicacies. The water was beautiful (but a bit too cold to swim in) and the views of the sea at any time of the day was spectacular.

I sketched the first sunrise we saw, the light was neon pink and orange over the sea…

This is one of the beaches we visited, we almost always had them to ourselves. The water was turquoise and the sand was soft. Incredible.

From here, we took another ferry to our next destination - Ojika Island…

Nagasaki visit

Last weekend we went to Nagasaki for one day and managed to do an amazing amount!

We visited Dejima, the island where the first Europeans who visited and traded with Japan lived. It’s in the process of being restored as a historic site, and the museum and buildings were fascinating.

And then we spent the rest of the day eating the local specialities (Turkish rice, champon, castella), wandering the streets, and riding the awesome old trams!

Nagasaki totally charmed me. One day was just not long enough. Can’t wait to visit again!

Art Biotop

I just got back from a wonderful week in Tochigiken, staying in an airbnb and working from home, but taking time out to go for walks in the mountain air and visit a few local spots. One of those spots was Art Biotop in Nasu.

It’s a water garden designed by Japanese architect Junya Ishigami. It was truly magical. I wandered around the pools, admiring the reflections of the trees and watching tiny frogs jumping and hiding in the mud at the bottom of each pool…

I sketched a little, sitting on one of the carefully placed rocks, and marvelled at the balance of everything.

A beautiful white heron flew in and walked right past me as I sketched, totally unafraid. If you’re ever in the area, I really recommend a visit!

a trip to the countryside

After a succession of grey rainy weeks in Tokyo, it was a pleasure to take a few days off and visit the countryside. We stayed in 2 cabins, the first near Karuizawa, the second in Gunma. I sketched a little…

…and spent the rest of the time walking, taking photographs, and eating many, many different kinds of apples.

I already can’t wait to go on another trip…

daily constitutional

It’s that funny time of year in Tokyo, as summer ends, when it’s occasionally sunny and hot, and then the next day it’s raining and cool. I’ve been walking every day since I got out of quarantine, taking photos of the local area. I love this mix of urban and green, and there are always so many interesting details to be found…

I love finding the growing things in the nooks and crannies of buildings, and the little pots of plants that line almost every narrow street.

Tokyo Summer exhibition

I showed three new mokuhanga prints in the Summer Mokuhanga Fair organised by MI-LAB in 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo last weekend. I wish I could’ve attended!

Everyone who exhibited was invited to try some new washi papers from Ozu Washi, and one of Holbein paints new seasonal paint palettes. I really enjoyed this part if it, trying materials that were new to me.

I’m hoping to make many new works with these materials and continue exploring the theme of gardens, flowers, and how we see them.

Bessho Onsen

A few weekends ago we took a trip to Bessho Onsen, a little town near Nagano, in a pretty little snowy valley. It's the last stop on the local train and has several ryokans and shrines. We stayed in a magnificent place called Ryokan Hanaya Nagano.

It used to be a Samurai residence, and has been a ryokan Since the Meiji era. Our room was sublime and we spent most of our time there tucked up cosily in the kotatsu!

I loved the rotemburo, the baths and the dining rooms and drew some of the beautiful dishes we were served.

We walked around the town in the freezing but beautiful sunny weather and admired Anrakuji where the wooden octagonal pagoda is a national treasure of Japan.

I wish there were more weekends I could spend in this luxury...

little bowls

Whenever I go out to eat here in Tokyo, there are so many ways the food is presented that takes my breath away...

snowy tokyo

It is the coldest winter in Tokyo so far in the Heisei period (the last 29 years) and last week it snowed; suddenly and violently and beautifully.I walked outside in the early evening to take a look...and found a little local shrine, glowing in the snowfall.So magical, just for a night.

sobachoko

This week I went to the Boroichi fleamarket in Tokyo. It has been held twice a year in the same place for over 430 years, and is an intangible folk cultural asset of Japan. I wandered, browsed and sketched, and bought a beautiful little sobachoko. When I got home, I did some watercolour sketches of it...I enjoyed it so much, I did a few more, looking at old sobachoko online for reference.And then made a little design of my own...

mokuhanga exhibition

Monday to Friday this week I have some prints on show in the CfSHE gallery in Tokyo. It's an exhibition of prints from all the artists who attended the mokuhanga residency in Kawaguchiko this summer.Let me know know if you'd like to meet up there! Date: From 15 to 19 January 2018 Venue: CfSHE Gallery B109, 6-11-14, Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, 1010021 Tokyo Hour: 13.00/17.00 Admission Free

2017年 MI-LAB アドバンス・プログラム参加アーティスト Artists who participated in 2017 MI-LAB Advanced Program

Kathleen(Kaite) Baldwin ケイティ・ボールドウィン (USA) Kate MacDonagh ケイト・マクドナー (Ireland) Mariko Jesse マリコ・ジェシー (UK) Melissa Schulenberg メリッサ・シューレンバーグ　(USA) Natasha Norman ナターシャ・ノーマン (South Africa) Patty Hudak パティ・フダック (USA) An Gee Chan アン・ジー・チャン (Hong Kong) Brenda Petays ブレンダ・ぺテイス (Canada) Fuko Ito フウコ・イトウ (Japan) Jon Lee ジョン・リー (USA) Sarah Hulsey サラ・ハルシー (USA)

You can see more information here.

juri's tea rooms

While I was in Tokyo a few weeks ago I managed a quick visit to Juri's Tearooms in the food hall of the flagship store of the Japanese department store Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi.I designed the logo for Juri when she had her tearooms in the Cotswolds in England, and now she has a new branch in Japan!I also did several afternoon tea illustrations for the packaging of Juri's own blends of tea, which have now been updated with new paper packing around the foil packets.The scones were delicious, and I can't wait to try the full high tea...If you're ever in the area, do pop in and say hello from me!

tokyo meal

On a quick visit to Tokyo recently, I managed a little sketch of the desserts during a very pretty meal at Hannariya.It is a Kyoto style place and the dishes were as beautiful as they were delicious...

mokuhanga print

I completed one large-ish print while I was on the mokuhanga residency in Japan: one that features plants in a garden. I was inspired by the abundant greenery all around the house, and in the surrounding gardens.I did some initial pencil sketches and arranged them in a wide landscape.Then did a painted version to work out solid areas of colour.I then started carving a long block of shina wood. And then carved, and carved some more...When the block was fully carved, I set up, ready to print.It's the largest mokuhanga print I've ever made, and was extremely challenging. But I learnt alot, and really pushed myself. I had only meant to do a pink and green version, but felt that blues might work too. I'm now fond of them both!I intend to take the print further, and create an artists book out of it. It'll be shown in Hawaii in a few month's time, and I'll blog again when it's all done...

tokyo

This week I spent a few days in Tokyo, visiting friends, art stores and exhibitions. First stop the Ota Museum in Harajuku, to a ukiyoe exhibition of Edo from the water, and then the Nezu Museum, to a ceramics one. Both were wonderful, and highly recommended!Then on to Pigment, a store with paints and paraphanelia, and more brushes than I've ever seen in my life. So. Many. Brushes. And all of them gorgeous.I love the city, well, cities generally, but in particular Tokyo, and I find the everyday urban views beautiful. Even just the railways at dusk, walking home after an exhausting day.Can't wait to visit again soon!

Kawaguchiko

This weekend I did a little sightseeing around where I'm staying, in Kawaguchiko, Japan. There are a series of caves you can visit at the foot of Mt Fuji, formed from lava from the last eruption. The Narusawa Ice Cave is one of them, and is a National Monument. And also a little bit scary to get through due to the extremely low ceilings. The entrance is fascinating, as you go down under the floor of the forest, and suddenly it's literally ice cold, like you've walked into a fridge. The haze you can see in the photo is the air condensating between hot + humid and freezing! A walk in the sea of trees, along lava strewn paths, was also truly beautiful: it had my favourite combo of moss and ferns.I visited a site called Saiko Iyashi no sato NENBA, a recreation of a thatched village that was destroyed by a typhoon in the 60s. Each lovely building had examples of local crafts.And of course, a visit to the opposite side of Lake Kawaguchiko, to get a magnificent view of the sacred mountain, looking just like a Hokusai print.

mokuhanga peony

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.

mi-lab

I'm in Kawaguchiko, Japan, for the next few weeks, on a mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock) printmaking artists residency with mi-lab. It's in a beautiful location in a small town on the edge of the lake at the foot of Mt Fuji. I'm working on a series of prints, but in the meantime, here are some little sketches of the famous mountain.The views all around are beautiful, surrounded by mountains, wildflower meadows, and small farm plots, but it's Mt Fuji that dominates the landscape, whenever it appears from behind the clouds...