kapok shop window displays

I recently designed an autumn window display theme for kapok in Hong Kong. I created watercolour illustrations in shades of reds and browns for their 'into the wild' theme, featuring foliage, berries, and cute woodland animals.

I created various layouts of the illustrations for the six different store locations.

Kapok has two stand alone stores in Wanchai, one large one in PMQ in Central, and several concession stores within department stores,so they all needed slightly different treatments. I love the cube stands and little details inside the stores too...Here's to a happy Autumn!

open studios this weekend

Today was the first day of our annual open studios at Graphic Arts Workshop. Here's the sunny studio all ready and waiting for the first visitors.I set up my portfolios, wrapped prints and picture wall, featuring most of my newest artwork in a variety of frames.I've been working on a new series of little prints based on the zodiac horoscope signs which are on show here for the first time.I hope you'll all pop in to visit tomorrow, I'll be there from 11-6. Thank you to everyone who came to see us today. Happy Halloween!

open studios in a week

Next weekend: 31 Oct and 1 Nov, I'll be showing my work at the annual San Francisco Open Studios event, in my print studio in Dogpatch. You can find all the info you need about the Graphic Art Workshop here. I'll be showing new work, like this hand-detailed mokuhanga print,and some new playing card prints like these.Of course I'll be showing a wide variety of ceramic etchings, like this popular blue peonies print,which you can also see at the preview show in SOMArts gallery in downtown San Francsico right now.I do hope you can make it to the open studios, I'll be there from 11-6 on saturday and sunday. It's always nice to buy art direct from the artists! Please do come and say hello.

Hong Kong traditional shops

I spent a bit of time in HK walking around the older parts of town, that haven't been developed, and took some photos of the traditional shops I love...This is the key-cutting man who works on my street,and this is the local corner shop where I used to live.I love the way the shops look, even when they're closed for business,especially their original exterior metal shutters... I really hope that all the places like these never disappear.

HK toile ceramics in tree

I went to tree interiors shop in HK this week, and loved their fantastic new display of my HK toile products.Apparently the noodle bowl two-piece set is a best-seller, hurrah! Here is a sign they have showing all the different products.I especially liked this way of showing the Chinese teacups...Hope you can fit even just a little piece into your kitchens!

winter night light

I designed this wintery forest scene for a new wooden light for Thinkgadgets in London. It's available to buy in stores across the UK, and from the Spirit of Christmas. It comes in a natural wood or painted white finish and is 15" wide.It's super cute and friendly when the starry lights are shining through it!Hmmm, wonder who might like it for Christmas this year...

mid-autumn festival

I'm in HK at the moment, for various projects, and loving the mid-autumn festival. It's a long holiday weekend, and even with the occasional rain (and thunder) it's a time for families to enjoy the evening, wonder at the moon, and carry bright lanterns...Happy festival everyone!

Kansas visit

I've just got back from a wonderful visit to Kansas. I spent a day doing a spot of teaching at Emporia State University and giving a presentation there. Here's a great poster one of the students made for my talk:I went to Lawrence, to set up a collaborative exhibition with my friends Yoonmi Nam and Katie Baldwin at the new Wonder Fair gallery downtown.We had our opening on saturday evening, which was super busy and fun!We showed our project wood + paper + box, along with a special silk-screened poster of our complete box (available to buy from Wonder Fair).We each also had space to show our own individual work. Here's mine, hung salon style.The show will be up until mid November, so please do pop in and take a look if you're nearby!

stationery set

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!

Marc's wedding

We attended our friends Marc & Liz's wedding at the weekend, which was a beautiful, sparkly, glamourous event in downtown Los Angeles.I sat to one side, and had a wonderful view of all the pretty bridesmaids, and loved the way they all had the same dress, and yet managed to look individual.My favourite sketch of the evening is this one of the bride and groom cutting the cake, it really makes me happy!We sat at a table full of wonderful people, surrounded by glittering glass and soft lights in the trees.Congratulations Marc & Liz! Happy days to follow...

coffee and jug print

I've been working on some Japanese woodblock prints recently, and thought I'd show a few process photos. Here's my initial sketch...I then carved and sanded the wood plate and did the printing in three colours.I wasn't happy with the line showing the rim of the jug, so I carved it out, and printed extra layers of a more brushy look on top of the original flat dark areas, to add some depth and texture.And voila, the finished print.

birthday!

It's my birthday weekend, yay! We had a picnic in the park......where we ate many tasty cakes and enjoyed the sunshine.So wonderful to spend time with friends. Thank you all!

Pluto

This week I've been super excited about Nasa's New Horizons mission to Pluto. I can't believe it's taken 10 years for the space probe to get there, and finally we get to see photos. Amazing! Here's a little watercolour I did to celebrate.I wonder what surprising things we'll discover...

Montana road trip - part 2

We drove from Missoula across the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains and along the edge of the Great Plains up to the Eastern entrance of Glacier National Park. The Park was beyond breathtaking. The mountains, the trees, and the wide vistas of lakes, they were all so beautiful, I think they'll fill my mind for a long time.I painted several of the lakes, loving the reflected colours of the skies. This is a huckleberry cobbler, keeping my watercolour company...This is Lake McDonald, where we tried to swim in the freezing water, brrr.And Holland Lake at sunset... ... and in the morning.We stayed in a beautiful ranch cabin surrounded by meadows,that also inspired me to paint...The sunsets and sunrises were bigger than I've ever seen, this is truly the Big Sky Country!We saw a mama bear and her cub in the forest, and I collected images of Montana bears:Yay Montana! Can't wait to visit again...

Montana road trip - part 1

We've just started our road trip in Montana and I'm already loving it. We landed in Missoula, and were greeted by this bear at the airport. We spent our first day wandering the town on the hottest day of the year so far (40C!) We tried huckleberry pancakes for breakfast, and huckleberry ice cream to cool down in the afternoon, what a delight!We browsed junk shops in the historical part of town, full of fascinating Americana and I bought a wonderful box of vintage pencils, hurrah!Who knows what wonderful things we'll see when we set off today, into the Great Plains...

Follow my trip on instagram @mariko.jesse

summer solstice

Today is the longest day of the year, the summer solstice (for us in the northern hemisphere). This is an illustration I made for the poet Dick Russell who commissioned a set of cards for his summer and winter solstice poems. I picked elements from the poem and did a watercolour painting in summer greens...Happy Midsummer everyone!

social media update

Hello! I'm finally upping my social media presence, and am now on twitter and instagram, as well as facebook. Tweet me, follow me, and let's all be online more together. Here's a sample of what you could be seeing on instagram every day... I'll still be blogging, I've grown to love this weekend ritual, but there'll be extra treats to see mid-week on other platforms, hurrah!

LOKL cafe

I painted this latte picture for LOKL cafe in Kuala Lumpur.It's in the entrance area, just inside the window. A nice contrast to the KL map I also did for them when they opened!I really hope to sit and relax there one day...

HK toile ceramics

Here are some lovely photos of my HK toile ceramics, showing the Chinese tea time set, with rice and soup bowls, dipping plates, chopstick holders and spoons! The ceramics are available in contemporary red or traditional blue, and feature little details like egg tarts and dim sum in the middle.You can buy them directly from faux and tree in HK, along with a few other retail outlets. Sik fan!

Connecticut magazines

I recently created some maps for a series of town guide magazines for Litchfield, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Bedford + Pound Ridge, and Wilton, in beautiful Connecticut, USA. The magazines are super nicely produced, and full of useful local information. I illustrated one map per magazine, like this:Small details from the maps were used throughout the articles to highlight various attractions and historical notes.You can see the town websites here. I hope I can go there one day!