Easter

Snowpeas on the Vine

sketch in journal

Today is Easter.

I have many fond memories of Easter sunrise service at Trinity UMC in Savannah. We would gather early Easter morning in Telfair Square to celebrate. I loved hearing the message from Enoch, the dulcimer from Woody and feeling the dew on my toes, the morning chill, hugs from Ann, smiles of friends, the amazing breakfast and coffee that followed.

Later, UMYF would help to hide eggs for the little ones to find after the 11 o'clock service. Coran, Kurtis and Jonathan climbed trees to find good hiding places. We enjoyed placing some in the middle of the grass for the youngest to find. We would even decorate Paul Maree, who would hold as still as possible with cupped hands and bent elbows so we could decorate him as our tree. It was a blast. This Easter, I had the honor of picking snowpeas in Gobo, a nearby town. Friends gathered to glean the fields of the Hashimoto family. We were one of several groups who came out this season and the harvest was bountiful. It was challenging to leave because we could see many more sweet, light green bundles ready for harvest.

Helping a neighbor in need, I found myself helped more than I knew I needed. Thank you.

April Artwork

Ferret with Crown (getting the job done)

handmade stamps on paper

King of the Jungle

handmade stamps on paper

Fiddleheads

handmade stamp on paper

Sketch of Fiddleheads Dreams

handmade stamp on paper and ink drawing

Tree with Flowers

handmade stamps on paper

April Stamps

Ambassador Oslo

handmade stamps on paper

Oslo on Earth Day, saving the planet.

Feathered Dreams

handmade stamps on paper

Piglets Sleeping

handmade stamp on paper

Three Chairs

handmade stamp on paper

Winged Chair

handmade stamps on paper

Nature Inspired EARTH DAY

RE Recycle

handmade stamp on paper

Pyar's Mountain

handmade stamp on paper

Winged Pods

handmade stamps on paper

I actually made two wing stamps, unfortunately, they were the same side. Nonetheless, this describes how I feel - flying in circles.

Nature Inspired

Thinking Owl on Branches

handmade stamps on paper

Trees on Mountain

handmade stamp on paper

Pea Pod Boats and River Beans

handmade stamps on paper

Leaning Trees

handmade stamp on paper

Bonsai

handmade stamp on paper

April Stamps

Butterflies
handmade stamp on paper

Ornate Leaves
handmade stamp on paper

Petals and Leaves
handmade stamps on paper

April Stamps

Migration
handmade stamps on paper

Origami Crane
handmade stamp on paper

Umbrella Boost
handmade stamps on paper

PEACE
handmade stamp on paper

Kitten in Umbrella Dreams
handmade stamps on paper

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.