wood + paper + box live

Katie Baldwin, Yoonmi Nam and I spoke about our collaborative project wood + paper + box in an online live conversation hosted by The Print Center in Philadelphia this week.

It was so amazing to look at the beginnings of our work right from the moment we all met in Nagasawa in 2004. You can watch the whole conversation here.

We showed each box we’ve made, plus edited videos (all available to see on our wood + paper + box website) and took turns talking about all the elements of our work, exhibitions and future plans.

I even managed a quick sketch during the Q & A…

We’ve already started talking about box 5!

new Hong Kong Willow collection photos

I decided to photograph the new pieces in my Hong Kong Willow collection as I received some samples and wanted to get some images for promotion.

The teapot is in blue, with lovely gold detailing that shines softly in the light. I love it!

The plates show HK side and Kowloon side and celebrate HK’s famous harbour.

There are plates in two sizes, cups with saucers, a teapot, and coasters. Also a mug, although I don’t have that sample yet.

All the products can be purchased directly from faux here, or this is a list of other retailers in HK.

golden week printmaking

It’s been golden week in Tokyo, and I made use of the holiday to do some mokuhanga printmaking.

I reprinted my poppy print in blacks, in a tiny edition…

…and my bird vase print in a darker blue. I’m hoping to enter them into some competitions. Fingers crossed!

IMPACT 11 Conference

I had the privilege of presenting my Cheung Sha Wan HK MTR station public art project at the IMPACT11 Printmaking conference this week. I made a 15 minute video talking about how it was produced and how it looks. It was really interesting to revisit the project after such a long time.

A selection of my work was also shown in the open portfolio section of the conference website. If the conference had gone ahead in HK, I would have been able to show the actual artwork, and let people enjoy the tactility of the prints. As it is, at least you can see images, and read a little about them.

I showed a variety of my more ‘book arts’ style work, where there are folded, cut out, layered or other unusual elements to the pieces. Like this fan I made with some of my mokuhanga prints.

Here is a screenshot of the discussion panel I was in, with Yung Sau-mui from the HK Open Printshop as the moderator. I was nervous about doing the Q&A but I think it went ok!

While watching the presentations, I also sketched the speakers, so I could remember who they were. Here’s a compilation of the sketches…

For a totally virtual conference, I think it went pretty well!

write_on lettering event

I absolutely loved being part of the write_on Kindness Card Challenge event, organised by Hello!Lucky cards and egg press. I introduced myself, showed some of my work that features calligraphy plus illustration, discussed my calligraphy tools, and then talked about how to address envelopes with illustrations, to make them a little more fun…

The event wasn’t timed for Japan, so I was up at 3am, and set up a special lighting arrangement for the zoom call.

Over 20 artists talked and showed their work, and I sketched them while I watched. It was fascinating to see everyone’s lettering/letter-writing ideas!

These are some of the envelopes I prepared for my 2 minute show-and-tell. I made up an address to use, and decorated the envelopes in a simple but attractive way.

This is me during the event, looking extremely nervous!

Thank you to everyone who tuned in, and also to everyone who left such lovely comments in the chat during the evening. Hurrah for letter-writing!

CMA promotional plates

I recently did the illustrations for these promotional plates for the CMA in HK. Each plate represents a different era of their long history in HK, and the different areas they work in.

My favourite to research and work on was the first plate, which showed the original CMA building in the 1950’s. I did it in sepia tones, with gold highlights, and loved drawing the old bus and lady with 1950’s hair!

I wove bauhinia flowers, the national flower of HK, into the designs of each of the four plates. The blue plate features the 1960’s trade shows of the CMA, the third plate features famous HK brands and products through the ages, and the last shows modern technology and science in HK today.

Cheung Sha Wan MTR station

I was doing some web research about Cheung Sha Wan MTR station in HK last week, as I put together a presentation about my project there, and I found an amazing video made by CULTURE magazine, totally by chance.

It was made last year, and it was so nice to see the thoughtful filming and insightful comments. Thanks CULTURE magazine!

You can click here to see the whole video!

sakura season

It’s sakura season in Japan! I feel the mono no aware so keenly this year for some reason. I’m enjoying each moment, each tree, each flower…

Happy spring!

spring pop-up shop

This weekend I’m taking part in the online pop-up shop organised by Art Byte Critique , my art group in Tokyo. I’ve added some older (and precious) prints into my shop for this weekend only, and am also offering a discount on all sales through sunday.

There are so many wonderful artists in our group, please do take a look:

Happy art shopping! Thanks for your support.

HOBBS candles

HOBBS LONDON, a boutique fashion brand in the UK, has produced some candles with my illustrations on - I haven’t seen the actual products yet, but they look great online! You can purchase them here.

I especially like the one with the drawing I did of the HOBBS store in Hampstead. I used to live near there, and would often wander around the streets sketching the area.

Hope the candles smell great too. If you get one, please do let me know what you think!

COPE Landslides picture book

The newest in the COPE picture book series is here! It’s about Landslides, and set in Lamjung, Nepal.

I enjoyed researching the locations, as this is the first book set in a place I’ve never been. I hope I’ve managed to capture the place well…

You can read the whole book, or download it, for free from the COPE website here.

plum blossom

It’s the end of winter and the beginning of spring! I love when the plum blossom arrives, it’s somehow more sophisticated than the cherry. I love the dark twisted branches against the bright spots of colourful flowers….

print show in San Francisco

I have a selection of mokuhanga prints in a show at StudioGallerySF as part of a Graphic Arts Workshop members show , my print studio in San Francisco.

The show is up for 3 weeks, and features the work of over 30 artists.

Apparently this frog print of mine sold when someone came into the gallery and it was in the process of being framed for the show!

If it’s safe for you to do so, please visit the show!

The prints are also available to see online here.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Here’s an illustration I made for the Keswick Foundation in Hong Kong this year: a calm and restful ox, hoping that 2021 will be healthy, peaceful and with no drama.

Matsuri zine

The new issue of the ToCo zine is out now! This issue has the subject of matsuris, Japanese festivals. I chose to create a story about the food that is often found at festivals. I made a pattern for the inside covers in full colour…

The cover features dancers in tradtional costume, drawn by @odding.

I drew my illustataions in a loose sketchy pen and ink style, with annotations in both Japanese and English. They are stories and memories of matsuri food I’ve loved since I was a child.

These tasty snacks on sticks show the traditional to the modern. Tastes change, but the fact everyone loves a snack at a festival certainly doesn’t!

The zines are available direct from ToCo, or I have a few copies myself. ¥1000 plus postage. You can email if you’re interested!

sketchbooks

My friend Yoonmi Nam set up a local scholarship with Wonderfair in Lawrence Kansas, and ran a sketchbook competition for local students and asked our mokuhanga group to be the jurors. It was a great experience, you can see the winning sketchbooks on Yoonmi’s instagram page and with the instagram tag #sketchbookscholarship.

It reminded me of all my own sketchbooks, and made me want to get out and draw again! Here are some of my old(ish) sketchbooks…

#walktowork photos

I’ve been recording my walk to work with photos on instagram for the last few months, and this week I tried something new - I collected photos in the order of the colours of the rainbow! I’ve done it twice so far, it keeps me on my toes!

new Hong Kong Willow ceramics

The new teapot and teacup and saucer in my Hong Kong Willow Collection are available! They are printed in the same beautiful blue, but this time with gold details that shine and twinkle delightfully…

In the teacup set, Kowloon is shown on the saucer, with HK on the teacup itself. I really like this new straight-sided cup and teapot!

They are both available from faux and a few other stores in HK. Hope you enjoy them!

frogs

I was commissioned by a friend recently to make a woodblock print for his wife for their anniversary, and as she loves frogs, to somehow include them in the artwork. I researched Nepalese frogs (where my friends live) and created a pared down image of 2 frogs with 6 leaves (the number of years of marriage they’re celebrating). I’m so glad they like it!

happy new year!

It’s 2021 (finally!) and we saw in the new year with a scrumptious home-made osechi meal at home.

I love the Japanese traditions for new year, and take pride in making the meal. We decided it wasn’t safe this year to go to the temple to ring the bell at midnight as we usually do, but we listened to the bells ringing out in the night in the distcance.

Happy Year of the Ox everyone! It’s my year, so I’m hoping for good things…