printmaking

River Cottage veg everyday!

My new book is out! I say my new book, but of course it's Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's new book: the next River Cottage everyday cook book, all about vegetables. Yum. For this book, I created the illustrations out of the ingredients themselves: I printed with the actual vegetables in the recipes. Remember how you used to print with potatoes at school? Sort of like that, but in a slightly more professional way. I left some of the vegetable prints simple (like this globe artichoke) and with others I created narratives and patterns, to complement the recipes.The illustrations have the same relaxed 'home-made' feel to them as the ones in the last 'River Cottage every day' cookbook, but this time in full colour, and with texture. You can read what Hugh says about the book here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/26/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall-vegetables

It's the Guardian link, as he writes for them every weekend. The book is on their best-seller list!You can also go direct to River Cottage to watch several videos of Hugh talking about the book. He's so excited about vegetables...

I'd also like to say a little thank you to Lawrence Morton, who art directed the book, as he's been so wonderful to work with. Thank you!

launch party

Hi all, a big thank you to everyone who came to my opening party last night. It was crowded and cosy and wonderful! Many tea sets and etchings were sold, and I hope all my new patrons of the arts went home happy.

The show continues until the 24th September, with new pieces (rugs/cushions etc) being added next week. Bring your friends...This is me, my friend Alexis, and some of  my 'Peony Collection' silk cushions. The Peony Collection designs are created from details of the flowers in my etchings.

monsters illustration show

As you may know, I'm part of an illustration collective in London called monsters and we sometimes get together and do projects as a group. We've got a show launching on sunday at a cycling-themed cafe/bar in Old Street. Everyone (except me, unfortunately I'm still away) will be attending the private view, so if you fancy meeting us, please join us on thursday evening. Otherwise, pop in any time to have a look at the wonderful work!

Here's a sneak preview of one of my new pieces done especially. It's a digital archival print, in an edition of 10.

Hope you enjoy the show!

Peonies, Playing cards, & Teapots

I have a solo exhibition opening soon, in a gallery in Hong Kong, yay! It will feature my printmaking work, themed around Asia, tea, flowers and playing cards.

As well as my etchings, my HK toile teasets recently sold in Lane Crawford will be available to buy.There'll be new furnishing fabric in the pattern, which has been made into cushions, sofas, table napkins etc. I've also designed some unique Peony rugs, and this will be the first time they're available for sale! The teasets and fabric are produced by faux, and if you can't make it to the show, you can buy directly from them.

The exhibition will be at Amelia Johnson Contemporary, G/F, 6-10 Shin Hing Street, just off Hollywood Road in Central.

The opening party is from 6-9pm on Wednesday 7 September 2011, and the show continues until 24 September.

If you'd like any more information, please contact me!

Mariko

Japan trip

After the conference in Kyoto, I travelled for a week with some friends, and we went to Naoshima, an island in the Inland Sea that has been turned into a sort of 'art park'. It has several museums: my favourite was the 'Chichu Art Museum' with some amazing installations by James Turrell. You can get all the details of Naoshima here:

www.benesse-artsite.jp/en/naoshima/art/index.html

We stayed in a mongolian tent on the beach, and in the morning, we walked to Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin scuplture on the end of a jetty. It was beautiful. Serenely odd and perfect at the same time.

There were various scupltures and art pieces dotted around the island, so it made exploring really exciting!

We also spent a few days in Tokyo, visiting galleries and traditional shops to get printmaking supplies.

3331 in Tokyo is a new multi-use artspace in an old school, that has galleries, studios and workshops. I bought a print, and thought about having a show here one day.

I also ate tasty tasty tai yaki,

and had a restful day local style at Odaiba...

Kyoto exhibitions and print conference

Hi there, I've just had work in two exhibitions in Kyoto! Sorry for the late notice, but have to say they were both lovely. The first was a show of work by artists who attended the moku hanga (Japanese woodblock printing) residency in Nagasawa, Japan.

It was a Japanese style show, with all the work laid out on low tables, unframed, so you could see the subtleties of colour and texture. It was held at the Kyoto Arts Centre.

The second was a show of artists books, held in a specialist arts book shop. It was very very sweet. You could leaf through the books (after washing your hands, or putting on gloves), so it was possible to see all the pages.

I was in Kyoto for the 1st ever International Moku Hanga Conference, it was great! I attended several workshops...

and watched various demonstrations and presentations, by experts in the field, both local and from abroad.

I met  many interesting printmakers from around the world, and spent time with old friends I don't get to see often enough... and now I've definately got to work harder on my printmaking! Watch this space for new prints soon...

Royal Academy Summer Show

Stop press! I had a piece of work accepted to the annual Royal Academy show! It opens on June 7th, please go along and have a look. They've hung the show quite differently this year, I think it has a fresher look than usual. Also, it's got a piece by me in! I entered an artist's book called 'The Perfect Cup of Tea'. It's a small, delicate, Japanese-style folding book with wood covers. The images tell the story of the process of making a cup of tea, in Japanese woodblock printing. It's a hand-made edition of 25.

Here's a sneak preview...

my shop

So, my 'shop' is under construction and soon you'll be able to buy all sorts of lovely Mariko things direct from me. Hurrah! At the moment you can buy my teatins from Whittards, my books from all good booksellers internationally, and my ceramics from Tiffanys in New York.

My very own Mariko Shop will exclusively sell:

Limited edition signed glicee prints

And coming soon to the shop will be:

One special Christmas card  per year, pre-orderable in sets of 10, with envelopes

Mariko tape (for all your packaging needs)

Limited edition book art, printed and bound by hand

My HK range of ceramics and textiles...

introducing my portfolio

Today I'll be talking you through my portfolio: how I've divided and sub-divided the sections and why. The first section is 'editorial'. This features illustrations I've done for magazines and newspapers. I've split this into several themes: 'food', because I like doing work on this subject the most, 'lifestyle', because so much fits under its umbrella, 'people', because they’re always engaging and 'horoscopes', as every illustrator quite simply must have one.

The next section is 'special commissions'. This contains projects that are unique and don't necessarily fit easily into any fixed category. These are the projects I love best. Among them are ceramics for Tiffany & Co., backdrops for a photoshoot for Martha Stewart Weddings, and drawings on napkins for a charity exhibition.

'books' features all the large publishing projects I've worked on, from the detailed illustrations throughout the River Cottage everyday cookbook, to the many children's books I've illustrated, finishing with my book covers for various international novels.

I've been making maps for many years, almost from the beginning of my career, and the 'map' section shows a highlight of the various kinds: 'large scale' shows maps that are close-up and detailed, with road names and exact locations. 'small scale' tends to be maps of large areas, or whole countries, where capturing the atmosphere is most important. 'Penline' shows maps with a looser line, in a more graphic style, while 'concept' features more unusual maps, with a specific angle.

'editions' showcases my art prints: etchings (of ceramics and travel), Japanese woodblock prints, lithographs, and also a small selection of my medium-format photographs.

The section entitled 'personal work' shows the more intimate side of what I do. Sketchbooks are my constant companions, where all that I see and think are noted for future reference. 'things I've made' are objects I create, decorate and make interesting, 'greetings cards' is where I show the special cards I've designed, while 'exhibitions' contains photographs of the shows I've had of my work.

'about' tells you a little about me (you can see what I look like too), 'clients' is a list of some of the people I've worked for, and 'contact' tells you how you can find me to tell me, well, anything you'd like really. Or better still, that you'd like to commission me for something....

Oh, there's also a discreet 'links' button at the bottom of the page to let you know other websites I like.