Inspiration Thursday

I am inspired by Japanese artist Makoto Kagoshima.

Last summer, I went to an exhibit of his work at Chariots on Fire- a gallery located in Venice, California. I missed the opening on a Thursday evening and arrived early Saturday morning ready to see Kagoshima's beautiful ceramics (and possibly make a purchase). Sadly, I was told that there was a line around the block Thursday morning and everything had been snapped up within an hour. I was soooo disappointed! So I follow him on instagram and dream. (All of the following images are from instagram)

Chariots on Fire has published a beautiful book of Kagoshima's work - 137 pages of photos. You can order your own copy here.

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 17

This week's collage features some of my Japanese scraps -a vintage photo of a geisha, an old apothecary label, some Japanese calligraphy, and floral washi paper.

collage week 17

Geisha 2

I made another attempt at using the transfer paper. I used the same photo and here is the result. The image cracked a bit when I transferred it - I think I tried to remove the backing paper too soon. It does give it an aged appearance though. Before transferring, I tore the top edge of the photo and do like how it came out. This collage was done on an old Reader's Digest book cover. Some Japanese type, washi paper and gold star tissue complete the collage.

Collage week 40

New Art

Once again, I have been so busy that I have been neglecting my blog. It's the time of year where I have lots of shows coming up AND my calendar needs too be printed and finished. Luckily, I finished printing the calendar this weekend. One of the calendar images is a Japanese teapot, inspired by one in my collection. While I was printing the calendar, I printed the teapot onto an old scrap I had and made a new collage. The scrap already had a Japanese calligraphy pattern letterpress printed in the background so it was perfect for my teapot. I also used a bit of Japanese newspaper, some washi paper and a character seal. The collage is available in my Etsy shop here.

Japanese Artist Serizawa

Every since I my first trip to Japan, I have loved the art of Serizawa. Keisuke Serizawa (1895-1984) was a Japanese textile artist and designated by the Japanese goverment in 1956 as a "National Living Treasure". He specialized in Katazome stencil dying, a technique popular in Okinawa. He was also known for his works on paper, especially calendars, done in the same technique. Some of his calendars are still being reproduced today. I have a few greeting cards, prints, a furoshiki (cloth for wrapping) and one of his calendars.

Greeting card front and back


Calendar pages


Pottery making and Paper making prints