Kansas visit

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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:poster 3I went to Lawrence, to set up a collaborative exhibition with my friends Yoonmi Nam and Katie Baldwin at the new Wonder Fair gallery downtown.fullWe had our opening on saturday evening, which was super busy and fun!gallery p-eopleWe showed our project wood + paper + box, along with a special silk-screened poster of our complete box (available to buy from Wonder Fair).poster 4We each also had space to show our own individual work. Here's mine, hung salon style.my wallThe show will be up until mid November, so please do pop in and take a look if you're nearby!

stationery set

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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. setThis 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,blockand the tests I printed to choose exactly the colour that would work.colour choicesHere's the final set all put together. They'll be for sale at the club, and then afterwards at Wonderfair. set 2The 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

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We attended our friends Marc & Liz's wedding at the weekend, which was a beautiful, sparkly, glamourous event in downtown Los Angeles.wedding copyI 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.bridesmaids copyMy favourite sketch of the evening is this one of the bride and groom cutting the cake, it really makes me happy!cutting the cake copyWe sat at a table full of wonderful people, surrounded by glittering glass and soft lights in the trees.wedding dinner colour copyCongratulations Marc & Liz! Happy days to follow...

botanical pattern

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I've  designed a pattern of coral and seaweed for Spoonflower's fabric competition. The brief asked for designs reminiscent of those found in a botanical sketchbook.seaweed patternI based my watercolour drawings on seaweeds I'd seen at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, and references from various old illustrated botany books, like this one.print vintageHere are a few of the original sketches, including some that didn't make it into the final design. I added pencil calligraphy to the sketches, in a variety of styles, and developed a repeat pattern in soft shades of red.scan The design has now made it to the semi-final round, hurrah! This round is open to public vote, and voting is open until the 2nd of September, so please vote for it here. I'd love to see this made into a fabric, and to develop it further into a collection you can actually buy.

coffee and jug print

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I've been working on some Japanese woodblock prints recently, and thought I'd show a few process photos. Here's my initial sketch...IMG_1876I then carved and sanded the wood plate and did the printing in three colours.IMG_1929I 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.IMG_2039And voila, the finished print.

Darjeeling book talk

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A few weeks ago I went to a fascinating book talk at Omnivore books in San Francisco, about Darjeeling tea. Author Jeff Koehler spent time in the various tea gardens there and learnt about the tea, how it's picked and processed and made into 'the champagne of tea'.talk and sketchYou know I love tea, and everything about it, and now I can't wait to try Darjeeling again! You can check out his book here.

Montana road trip - part 2

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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.many glacierI painted several of the lakes, loving the reflected colours of the skies. This is a huckleberry cobbler, keeping my watercolour company...many glacier 3This is Lake McDonald, where we tried to swim in the freezing water, brrr.glacier 1And Holland Lake at sunset...flathead ... and in the morning.holland lakeWe stayed in a beautiful ranch cabin surrounded by meadows,cabinthat also inspired me to paint...farmThe sunsets and sunrises were bigger than I've ever seen, this is truly the Big Sky Country!flathead lake 1We saw a mama bear and her cub in the forest, and I collected images of Montana bears:bears of montanaYay Montana! Can't wait to visit again...

Montana road trip - part 1

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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.bear 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!huckleberriesWe 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

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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...summer solstice smallerHappy Midsummer everyone!

social media update

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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...insta 2 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!

kokeshi

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I've been trying to do more mokuhanga, and recently completed this print of Japanese kokeshi dolls for my new collaborative project with Yoomni Nam and Katie Baldwin.kokeshi 2 c;eaned This time we're calling our project alabama + california + kansas. You can find out more on our blog. We'll again be travelling to visit each other in our studios in these locations, and sending work to each other. Here's a pic of the wood block for this print, as I was carving it.

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HK toile ceramics

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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! hk toileThe ceramics are available in contemporary red or traditional blue, and feature little details like egg tarts and dim sum in the middle.hk ceramics blueYou can buy them directly from faux and tree in HK, along with a few other retail outlets. Sik fan!

Connecticut magazines

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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.Exif_JPEG_PICTURE I illustrated one map per magazine, like this:bedford mapSmall details from the maps were used throughout the articles to highlight various attractions and historical notes.Exif_JPEG_PICTUREYou can see the town websites here. I hope I can go there one day!