This week I spent some time with friends in lovely places, and managed to do a little sketching too: here's a watercolour of a quiet garden inside Regent's Park.
I also did a little drawing while I was having a tasty afternoon tea with scones at the Mock Turtle cafe in Brighton,
and here's an atmospheric shot of my sketchbook in the window of Kew Palace, the summer home of King George III, inside Kew Gardens, one of my very favourite places in London. 
I'm loving being here, seeing all the familiar places with new eyes and sketching every day...
things I've made
shop update
I've just added some peony teacup etching prints into my online shop, hurrah! 
Some are from my archive: they're small editions and very sweet... 
and there are two new hand-painted ones too. I love this one with the polka dots!
All the funds I raise are going towards my mokuhanga printmaking residency in Japan this summer. Please spread the word if you know anyone who might like to purchase a print, thank you!
my shop!
I've finally launched my own little online shop! I'm going to Japan this summer for a mokuhanga print residency, and to help with funding it I've decided to try and sell some prints. There's a new small cat + jug print, exclusively and for the first time on sale:
A new version of my Meyer Lemon print, this time with gold pigment in the lemons:
And a selection of my San Francisco Snowdome prints...
Please go and take a look and let me know what you think. Happy shopping!
Japan travels - food
I love sketching and photographing the wonderful, beautiful food and restaurants in Japan, but I have to be quick, before it all goes cold!
We ate all sorts of dishes, from udon to kushiage, and all of it was fantastic...
Here's a little watercolour sketch of a simple rice onigiri on a red wooden plate.
Japan Kyushu travels - week 2
After the mountains, we travelled to the coast, in the misty rain, ready to explore another side of Kyushu. We stayed in a hotel in Nango, and watched the changing mood of the sea and the sky...
We drove and drove, along winding roads, past smaller and smaller villages, watching the green around us get more tropical, and finally reached the southern-most tip of Japan. There's a little lighthouse and the sea was wild and it was wonderful.
We took a ferry across the Sakurajima bay to Ibusuki, and I sketched the misty views of the mountains on both sides.
We went to see the little volcano called Kaimondake, jutting out into the sea. It's somehow not as scary as Sakurajima, and both calming and beautiful.
I find rural Japan fascinating and special and worry that people are leaving for the cities, but am hopeful that there is a movement now for people to return and enjoy a slower pace of life. 
These are rice paddies in Miyazaki after the rains, when we could hear the frogs singing. Just thinking of the beauty there makes me happy.
wood paper box website
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!
kung hei fat choi
A very happy Chinese new year of the rooster to you all! 
women who draw
I'm very proud to be a part of the women who draw website, an open directory of female professional freelance illustrators, artists and cartoonists. It was created by a group of women artists in an effort to increase the visibility of female illustrators. You can read all about it here and in this VOGUE article and in this one in the Huffington Post.
This is my little lady illustration (recognise her from the Miss joker playing card?) that represents me on the site.
She was even featured on the BBC news website this week, in an interview with the women who set up the site. I hope it will be a huge success. Thank you Wendy and Julia!
osechi
in food, friends, japan, lifestyle, people, San Francisco, things I've made
Hope the year has started out well for you all. We had our Japanese New Year osechi meal at home...
and I made extra so we could have it again with a different set of friends...
Hope this year will be bountiful!
christmas cards
This year I splashed out and printed my Christmas cards properly. By that I mean they were offset litho printed (rather than digital) and included a shiny copper metallic foil stamped element. Hurrah!
For the design I wanted to create a pattern, but one that wasn't a straight repeat. 
To do this I sketched different types of trees you might find in a forest, and then all sorts of woodland animals. I then sprinkled the forest with twinkly stars, a moon and a greeting.
This man (and his dog) printed them for me in Hong Kong. I would thoroughly recommend him. New Hip Lik Co. in Central. tel: 2541 1992 (old school and no website!)
Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!
M x
BEYORG Christmas packaging
I drew a variety of cosmetic products for BEYORG's Christmas packaging in HK this year, creating a fun repeat pattern. It's been used on the website and shopping bags. There are 2 colourways...
... a very Christmassy red and green, and a more modern red and white...
If you see anyone carrying a bag with the design, do let me know!
Discovery magazine
I recently managed to get a copy of Cathay Pacific's inflight magazine featuring my HK toile bowl on the cover.
They even gave me a nice little write up inside...
I still love this toile so much, and am thinking of doing another...
christmas cards for sale
I designed a limited edition small batch of christmas cards for sale this year. They're bundled in packs of five, and there are still a few packs left if you haven't sent your cards out yet. You can purchase them from my shop here. 
There are two designs, both featuring a cheeky robin in some ivy and berries.
If you're interested, please contact me and I'll get them to you as fast as possible!
Caution May Be Hot
I made two pieces for this show of paper cup art in San Francisco. The brief was to turn this ordinary object into a work of art, and artists from all over the US were invited to participate.
I tried to create the effect of blue and white china, and used my collection of Chinese ceramics as reference for the design. I made a cup with separate decorated panels first, and then did another based on the famous willow pattern design. It was interesting to work in the round, after working flat for such a long time.
https://vimeo.com/192408212
The show was on simultaneously at Long Weekend store in Oakland...
and Fayes in the Mission...
Today was the last day to see the show at Long Weekend, but Fayes will still be open to visit this week. Hope you can make it!
BEYORG organic market
This weekend I visited the BEYORG organic market pop-up store in Pacific Place mall, Hong Kong, to see the bags I designed for them.
It's such a lovely idea, it was super fun to see! I love the way they animated my illustration in their instagram feed too:
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/BLix95mlS5n/?taken-by=beyorg[/embed]
The little market stands are just how I imagined them...
and I think I captured the atmosphere of the market quite well...
Hope you can pop down and see the market for yourself and buy a bag for charity!
open studios this weekend
My prints are all framed and up on the wall, and waiting for you to pop by!
Several new prints are available, including this mokuhanga print of clouds and rain.
and this etching of sewing tools...
Here are all the details. Hope to see you today or tomorrow!
open studios 2016
Yes, it's that time again! I'll be showing prints at my workshop in Dogpatch, San Francisco, as part of the City's ArtSpan openstudio weekends. 
I'll be showing a selection of framed works, ready to hang:
...and a variety of new unframed prints, such as these:
I'll have some new mokuhanga prints,
...and new playing cards:
I'll be showing with 7 of my studio-mates over the weekend of 22/23 October. 11-6pm both days. I hope to see you there!
Animals Asia products
I was recently asked to design some products for the charity Animals Asia. These products are sold here and the profits go towards their work saving animals.
I painted illustrations of wonderful moonbears, as I really love them and can't stand the way they are farmed and treated so cruelly. I tried to show them being curious and adorable, and most of all, hopeful.
I started the project by researching and sketching moonbears, and playing with ideas on how to bring some colour and fun into the images.
I then tried out different styles and media, and picked watercolour to give the illustrations a loose, free feeling.
There's a teatowel, a tote bag and a tshirt, with different illustrations, and all available from the Animals Asia online shop.
Buy them for all your friends! Please help save the bears!
Christmas cards
Something I've been thinking about for a long while is opening a little online shop to sell some exclusive Mariko products. I'm often designing for other brands and companies (which I love doing!) but I'd also like to start my own little personal brand. I'm going to start slowly, with paper products like greeting cards, and then try to develop in an organic way. 
I'm working on my shop, which I hope to launch later this year, but in the meanwhile, here are some pics of my very first specially designed Christmas cards for sale.
Please contact me directly if you're interested in ordering them, either for yourself, or wholesale! They are sold in packs of 5 cards with envelopes.