March Artwork and notes

Note about March artwork postings.

March has been a wonderful month of painting. I am making new acrylic paintings of Tanabe from my sketches and photographs. I have been painting on similar wood discs that I have posted with paintings and stamped images. I really like the small and roundish format for this series of works about Tanabe since the discs are indicative of Japanese culture. I am not posting the paintings as they are finished since I will exhibit them in a show with Pyar in June. Pyar and I are creating a show called "Two Years in Tanabe" and exhibiting at a friend's cafe. She has a great cake shop with an adjacent cafe. The artwork displayed rotates every month. We are honored for this opportunity from the Yamamoto family. I will post all of the paintings from the show in my June posts.

Lewis's Rock Garden Reflections (Library Card Series)
handmade stamp on reused library card

I have been reflecting on our time here in Japan and the recent earthquake, tsunami and power plant disasters. We are so very grateful to live in Tanabe, safe and healthy though very sad for the people affected. It is amazing how close it feels since we had our small tsunami in Tanabe on the same day, March 11.

A Favorite Tree
pencil and ink on paper

Blooming
pencil and ink on paper

I have been experimenting with combining media. This is one of my favorite results, in person, the flower seems metallic.

March Stamp Collection

Baby Face Piglet for Yuki
handmade stamp on paper

My friend Yuki really likes pigs. I made the stamp for her as a gift. Pyar cut a piece of cork to affix to the back as a holder. We surprised ourselves with the solution. It was a fun gift for a very nice friend.
Omedetou Yuki San!!

March Stamp Collection

Lotus
handmade stamp on journal cover

Pyar bought me a white stamp pad that is made for many surfaces. I really like embellishing my journals and notebooks with flower patterns.

School of Kue
handmade stamp on paper

Kue Fish
handmade stamp on paper

The Kue fish is famous in Shirahama, a neighboring town. When I asked Jessica what the name of it is she told me kue and said "and it is ugly." I asked for the name in order to look up some photos. I had seen banners and heard rumors of the famed fish. He definitely is angry, if not ugly. The photos of them swimming though are lovely, they have a gray to black body and very light mottling down their sides, like stripes.

Air Mail
handmade stamp on paper

The Post Office in Japan affixes tiny stickers to my mail unless I write 'air mail' myself. I do not like the stickers and often forget to write the message. So, here is my solution.

Babayaga
handmade stamp on paper

Pyar introduced me to the Russian Folktale of Babayaga. At first, I thought of a witch that looked like a chicken, but I misheard the story. I rather like the idea of a house on chicken legs, I could migrate at my leisure.

Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers from Toyo Junior High School
pencil on paper

My first year students at Toyo JHS gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and many thank you messages. I am grateful for having such amazing students and teachers. I spent the weekend taking in the flowers' fragrance while watching them open. There were too many flowers to draw, so I tried to capture a little of each of them.

February Fun

Silhouette Oslo
handmade stamp on paper

Lindsay and Tim gave me a great art book about silhouettes. I made a teapot as my first idea and then tried some others unsuccessfully. Oslo is Tim and Lindsay's dog. I got this inspiration from two photographs that they posted on facebook. I am working on other drawings from the area to create silhouette stamps.

Jungle
handmade stamps on paper

A theme from Pyar.

Oslo takes the Circus
handmade stamps on paper

I asked Pyar to give me some themes for my pre-painting exercises and made this for his 'circus' prompt. I had just made the Oslo stamp and wanted him to be playful.

Wave Studies
pencil in sketchbook and handmade stamps

I made two wave stamps after making various sketches.

Ocean Blue
handmade stamps on paper

A collection of images stamped with the watermark stamp pad.

Minabe Plum Forest

Ume Blossoms
pencil on paper

A sketch of plum blossoms in Minabe's Plum Forest. We met some friends and had a nice picnic under the blossoms. It was a great place to draw. We tried potato mochi for the first time, it was delicious. Our friend Paul and his Taiko group played drums for some entertainment. In the afternoon, there was a mochi throwing session, many people dove for the treats. I was on the sidelines laughing. The last one of these I witnessed was dangerous. One piece hit my raised hand and fell at my feet, when I knelt to pick it up a little old lady dove for it between my feet. It was ridiculous. So, today, I took solace in the blossom's beauty.

Ume Branches and Blossoms
handmade stamps on paper

When we arrived home, I worked on my ume blossoms sketch. With a few modifications, I simplified the drawing to make reference drawings for stamps.
This piece is composed of five stamps.

Drawings

Sketch of Spring Flowers
pencil on paper

Kennis brought me to her Ikebana class Friday night. As a favor, her Sensei, Ohara Sensei let me try to make an arrangement with their help. I also got to bring home the arrangement and vase. I made several sketches of the arrangement while lit from the afternoon sun.
Thank you Kennis!

Sketch of Spring Flowers II
pencil on paper

Sketch of Flower Drawing on Train
pencil on paper

There were several painted trains at Wakayama station when we arrived to go to Koyasan.
I liked the graphic quality of flowers and tried to copy it for a stamp idea.

Bees in Tanabe and Minabe

Bees in Honey
handmade stamp on paper

We saw many bees today in Minabe (neighboring town) sipping on the nectar from the many ume (plum) blossoms. It made me very very happy to watch them buzz from blossom to blossom. Spring is here.

In Flight
handmade stamp on paper

I have been wanting to make stamps that indicate movement. Movement inspired the running deer, the bent ferret and now the double bee.

New Stamp Friends

Rock Garden for Lewis Dad
handmade stamp on paper

Inspired by Koyasan Temples.
Happy Birthday Lewis!!

Cardinals for Mom and Grandmom
handmade stamp on paper

Cardinal finds Rock Garden
handmade stamp on paper

Running Deer
handmade stamp on paper

Miyamoto Sensei brought some sweets back from her trip to Hiroshima. The paper they were wrapped in had many deer and reindeer, so I used two designs to make this design.

New Stamps

Ferret for Pyar
handmade stamp on paper

Pyar has good memories of his sister's pet ferret. He especially liked how slinky their bodies move. I tried to emulate that movement in this stamp for Pyar. He likes it.

Otter Fun
handmade stamps on paper

Crossing Wires
handmade stamp on paper

This was inspired by a sweet card Danielle made for me. I love male cardinal's color. They remind me of my Grandmother Matilda. Thank you Danielle.

Clouds for Jessica
handmade stamp on paper

One of Jessica's shirts inspired me to make dots on clouds. Thank you J!!

Ranking in Japan (not raking)
Cloud, Cardinal, Ferret, Deer, Rock Garden

To Tim and Lindsay,

This story from Japan is about the rock gardens that dream when blue dotted cloud like shapes drop things onto them so that the gardener would have to rake everyday.

Koyasan Temple Stay

Snow in Tree
pencil in sketchbook

Renegejoin Temple in Koyasan is one of our favorite places in Japan. We stayed there again for a weekend in February just to see the snow. The temple is stunning in any season. I gave myself ten minutes to work on this one after warming up with other sketches. I wanted to render snow without anything behind it in order to indicate the tree's isolation.

Sketch of Middle Rock Garden with Shadow
pencil in sketchbook

This sketch was done from across our room in order to frame a section in the windows.
I sat under the kotatsu (heated table) and tried to see the white on white while the snow continued to fall.

Sketch of Middle Rock Garden
pencil in sketchbook

On our second night, we had a wonderful large room that overlooked the central rock garden. Since it was so cold and snowed all weekend, the stillness was mesmerizing. It was difficult to find the difference between the snow and the branches.

Bird Resting
pencil in sketchbook

There were many screens and doors with paintings in the temple. This sketch was done in our room on the second night. We made voices for many of the birds, they all seemed to have flamboyant personalities, especially the ones with the red feet.

Sketch for Rock Garden stamp
pencil in sketchbook

This is a small sketch of the front rock garden. Idea for stamp making.

Stamps on Origami Rabbits

Cabbage Rabbits
stamped origami paper rabbit
I have enjoyed making origami with Jessica's wonderful guidance. Here I stamped the rabbits after I folded the paper, a different look from prior attempts when I stamped the paper prior to folding the origami designs.

New Stamps and Drawing in January

Tree at Misu Elementary School
ink in journal

I went to Misu E.S. on Friday by bus. Usually, I ride my bike a distance that the bus travels in about 30 minutes. The bike ride helps me clear my head and prepare for the day. I took the bus due to the extremely cold weather. Luckily, I met Carolina, my colleague on the bus whose smile lifted my spirits. Now, two reasons to take the bus to Misu E.S. The day was superb, unusually so, not sure how to describe it exactly, just that God was at work and I did not get in the way. This drawing was done in about ten minutes waiting for the bus after school. The tree is isolated at the end of the playground field fence. I think it is an Ume tree. (plum) I really loved the shape in the branches and the textures and light from my vantage point.

Nezumi Birthday Card for Tamai Sensei
stamped postcard

Counting Sheep Library Card Series
especially for Kennis
mixed media on recycled library card

New Stamps made in January

Sadou (Tea Ceremony) with Haya Elementary School
stamped postcard

I had the pleasure of enjoying tea ceremony with members of Haya E.S. The ceremony was hosted by teachers in kimonos. It was very formal and beautiful. This is my thank you note.

Sheep for Kennis
stamped postcard

Lotus and Cabbage
stamped postcard

Whirlygigs and Higanbana
stamped postcard

Rabbit Omedetou 2011 Library Series
stamped library card with ink drawing

December Artwork Continued and Happy New Year

Study of Long Tails, Koh Nangyuan, Thailand

pencil in journal

December 29, 2010

Our vacation in Thailand was amazing, no less. I do not know how to describe the experience in its entirety just yet. Overall, heartbreaking and stunning. Here are some studies that I did while we were on the island Koh Nangyuan. I am looking down from our balcony for all three of these studies. Long tails are colorful boats with outbound motors, usually used as taxis. The bay was filled with them through the day. The front of the boats had a variety of colored tassels and flags. Because they moved quickly, turning around with new passengers, I had only seconds to capture the gestures, a great time for study.

Study, edge of Koh Tao, Turtle Island

watercolor and pen in sketchbook

Rocks Along the Dock at Koh Nangyuan

pencil in sketchbook

I made this drawing after three pages of long tail studies. The studies got me warmed up and I found the rocks to be wonderfully intriguing. The water lapping the edges and the sun defining the lines along the water made for an interesting afternoon of study. Rocks are one of my favorite subjects along with trees, now rocks with water ranks as a favorite. Just the day before the water of the Sea of Thailand and I had met each other in the Lomprayah High Speed Cadamaran meant to take people to paradise from Chumphon City. Usually it is a fast and comfortable one and a half hour ride. This one was eternity since my aneron (nausea medication) had worn off after the six hour bus ride. The sea was rough, very rough. During this drawing session from our balcony, I once again revered the water. Luckily our ride back to the mainland was a beautifully smooth aneron filled two hours.

December artwork

stamped totebag for Mayumi
handmade stamps on canvas bag

I combined several stamps using an ink pad made especially for other surfaces. After stamping, I heated the pattern with an iron for making the design permanent. Mayumi is the assistant at one of my Elementary Schools, she is great.

Happy New Year
hand made rabbit stamp and letter stamps on note card

2011 is the year of the Rabbit. I used a star punch for the top of the
note cards to tie presents with ribbon.

Dragon
Chinese Zodiac Series
handmade stamps and cut out paper

I made this one for Kimura Sensei's birthday.