ICON 8

I attended ICON 8 the illustration conference in Portland last week, and had a wonderful time. I met some amazing and inspirational illustrators, and learned alot about things every illustrator should know. I especially enjoyed meeting Carson Ellis, Jon Klassen (who did 'This is not my hat'), Leo Espinosa, and Vivienne Flesher (a true illustration icon!)all of whose work I totally adore. There were just so many great speakers...I visited the animation studios of Laika, and got to play with some of the characters and props used in the Boxtrolls movie. I especially liked Coraline... ... and of course Portland itself was super to explore.I especially enjoyed the doughnuts!

zoo & penguins

This weekend we went to the San Francisco zoo. We were given an adoption of a penguin as a gift, so we popped along to take a look. I love penguins! They were Magellanic penguins, several of them rescued when they swam too far north inland and were starving, and now they look very happy and healthy...We watched them floating, waddling, and swimming and my very favourite pose: just standing and thinking!We saw many  of the other animals, and I loved the golden eagle (a broken wing meant she couldn't fly any more) and the rescued grizzly bears, but my special favourite was the capybara!

HOKK fabrica interview

I was interviewed for the online fashion & lifestyle magazine Hokk fabrica this month. You can see the full interview here. This month's issue is about the concept of 'local', and they sent me questions which I was asked to answer by hand, like this... I was asked about my first memorable piece of artwork... It's a print I did in Japan. I really love it.Take a look at the full interview and hope you enjoy!

Chicago Magazine

I've illustrated a fun map in the current issue of Chicago magazine, about places to day-trip around Chicago. It features all sorts of interesting stuff, like lighthouses and famous ice-cream parlours!I also created some little icons that were used throughout the whole road-trip article...

Art in Chicago

This weekend I'm in Chicago. The weather's perfect, and I'm loving it. I've always thought that Chicago is a wonderful secret that nobody tells outsiders, and I feel lucky to have discovered it. And I finally got to see 'the bean', aka 'cloud gate' by Anish Kapoor......on my way to the Art Institute of Chicago, one of my favourite museums in the world. It's just so full of famous paintings that take your breath away.Seurat's 'A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte' has a special place in my heart. I can't quite explain why it moves me so much, but it's like visiting an old friend. The monkey is the cherry on the cake, it's just so delightful.This beautiful Georgia O'Keefe painting of clouds was a lovely surprise.There was also a wonderful little show of Utamaro mokuhanga prints, which crowned an inspiring day.

Alabama

I recently visited Huntsville, Alabama as part of 'wood paper box', and was fascinated by the skies that were the remnants of some scary local tornadoes...It's been a while since I've been to the south, so it was lovely to see those wooden houses and porches again. Something about this style is just so appealing.

happy Easter!

Hope you're enjoying some tasty chocolates this weekend. I saw these in the window of Woodhouse Chocolate in Napa Valley. Such chocolatey goodness!

Yosemite

Last weekend, we went to Yosemite National Park. It was awesome. All the views were glorious, with constant unbelievably blue skies.We explored the valley and watched the clouds, and marvelled at the incredible waterfalls and towering rocks.I did some sketches, but mostly gawped!We walked amongst the giant sequoias at Mariposa Grove and I admired the structure of the trees and their sideways branches. I loved the sculptural roots of this fallen giant...We also drove through the Stanislaus National Forest, where there had been the fire last year, and it was eerily all brown and burnt, but still strangely beautiful.I can't wait to go back and experience a different season...

slice of pear

This year I'm working on a collaborative mokuhanga project with my friends Yoonmi Nam and Katie Baldwin. We're going to give a presentation and hold an exhibition of the work we produce at the International Mokuhanga Conference in Tokyo in September. It's very exciting! Here's a preparatory sketch for my first piece of work for the project...and a test print of the colours.You can follow the group's progress on our blog woodpaperbox.

cactii

On a very sunny day (before all this rain!), we went to Sunset in San Francisco to see the sea, and visited the General Store. I adored their relaxed vibe and especially the garden filled with cactii and succulents...I also have a bit of thing for watering cans. OK, any gardening tools at all really...

Morocco

I've just spent a wonderful five days in Morocco with my best friend, relaxing and seeing the countryside. We arrived in Marrakech, and stayed in a beautiful riad to the NW of the Medina. It was calm and soothing, and even had a hammam.We wandered around the souks, buying babouches and a rug, admiring the wonderful details of life in the bustling city.We then went on a three day trip into the mountains, with Desert Majesty. They were super helpful, and our guide Said was very sweet. Here's a map showing where we went.We drove up into the Atlas mountains and down into the valleys. Our first notable stop was at Ait Ben Haddou, a stunning UNESCO world heritage site. It was exciting to find that it has been used as a location for quite a few movies and TV shows, including Gladiator and Game of Thrones.We drove and drove, past huge vistas of mountains...and into an endlessly blue, blue sky...We explored an ancient Kasbah, and found an old display in one of the courtyards, like a lost moment in time...We stayed the second night in a Berber tented camp, and rode camels into the sunset, and in the evening, sat around a campfire listening to songs and drumming.And then on again, into the dusty, red and pink landscape.We drove through Rissani, where the Moroccan king's family comes from,and back again to Marrakech, to get the Saharan sand out of our shoes...All through the trip we were welcomed everywhere with hot, sweet Moroccan mint tea in beautiful little glasses, and invariably, a pretty silver teapot. Yum.

Kansas

This week I'm in Lawrence, Kansas. Yesterday I gave an artist's talk at University of Kansas about my work, with an emphasis on my printmaking and sketchbooks. The students were very responsive and I really enjoyed discussing my work with them. It's nice to feel I may even have inspired them a little. I also visited Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri. It was a little creepy, but in a fascinating can't-look-away sort of way. There were old photographs with real hair glued on, as mementos. There were pictures in little frames with hair inside...There were large ornate gilded frames with decorative flowers made entirely of hair...There were even simple delicate snippets of hair...I enjoyed it, as a truly unusual obsessive collection. I recommend it!

happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Hope all of you in the States have had a great Thanksgiving! I went to celebrate with friends in Santa Barbara, on a ranch in the mountains... and in LA, by the beach in Santa Monica...I'm thankful for all the wonderful people in my life, and for the opportunities I've had to create the beautiful things I've always wanted to. I'm also thankful for ice cream. Mariko x

whale watching

I saw a whale! Actually I saw two. It was amazing. We went on a whale watching trip on a very cold foggy day in San Francisco, heading out under the Golden Gate Bridge. Even before we got far we'd seen seals and porpoises and all sorts of seabirds. But it was the lovely gray whale that made me happiest. They waved their fins, and dove down so their tails flipped out of the water... Also the murres, I loved them! Sort of like a penguin, but floating on the water. So adorable...

rodeo!

Last weekend I went to my first rodeo, the 2013 Grand National Rodeo, held at the Cow Palace (what a great name!) in San Francisco. There were all sorts of events, but most were just too fast to draw: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, they only last a few seconds! There were lots of parades with people on horses holding flags...and displays where the horses galloped super fast too...I enjoyed it all, it was such a spectacle! Before the main event we went to see the animals, and I adored the goats and soft furry cows (that were having their fur blowdried to supreme fluffiness) and was super happy when they did a parade of the best-in-show.

Winchester Mystery House

I went to visit Winchester Mystery House in San Jose recently, home of the widow of the heir to the famous Winchester rifle fortune. She was a bit eccentric (to say the least) and built a truly bizarre house. There was a very nice little mini exhibit of all the things that the Winchester company made in their heydey, and I drew these sketches there. I really love old handtools!

Sparkhouse mural

I've just been to Sparkhouse, in South Orange, New Jersey, to add another little character to the growing collection on the walls of my friend's toy store. It's always nice to do a little favour...I'm now trying to think of a name for the mini supercute robot...

New York collection

Here's a beautiful jigsaw puzzle I illustrated for Galison in New York. It features the big apple and all its wonderful sights. Really fun!In the same collection, there are also magnetic bookmarks, and sticky notes.You can buy all these things on amazon!

Santa Cruz

I went to Santa Cruz the other day, and spent a day happily wandering with my little polaroid camera...I walked along the pier, and saw sealions, pelicans, and these baby seagulls.And I loved the old-fashioned boardwalk, with its 50's fairground rides.

my birthday!

It was my birthday this week, and I spent it in San Francisco. I went to the Asian Art Museum to see the Japanese art exhibition, and admired some lovely ceramics (this is a birthday peach from a Chinese plate),and some Japanese sculptures and painted screens.I walked through the civic centre and then on to the Hayes Valley to look at some pretty boutiques......and then in the evening we went to Sons & Daughters, a lovely little restaurant in Nob Hill. The service was delightful, the food exquisite. I drew each dish in the tasting menu as it came out...and took some photos of the colours and presentation. Yum in every way.