inside a Kyoto print studio

Here's a bit of nostalgia I've been meaning to share.

I took these photos in about 2003 when I was living in Kyoto, Japan. This is the inside of a traditional Japanese woodblock printing studio in the centre of Kyoto. I was very priviledged to go with my woodblock printing sensei (teacher) to meet Sato-san whose studio this is. I spent the morning there watching everyone work. Incredibly, there were 5 people working together in this intimate little studio. It was amazing to watch. Every square inch was crammed with materials and yet people seemed to be very happy and calm as they worked together printing woodblocks. The skill level was phenomenally high, leaving me feeling like a lazy printmaker when I left.

The quality of these photos isn't great - I had to scan them as this was pre-digital camera for me.

You can see more recent photos of Sato-san printing here on Annie's blog.

carving

It's been slow going these last few weeks but this morning I managed to put the first colour of this print design onto wood and start carving. I decided to rub the design onto the block with a boning tool & tracing paper instead of with carbon paper (my usual way). There are tiny little elements to this design so I need to carve carefully. One slip and the wood I want to keep will be gone. Patience + care.

Forgive me for using hipstamatic again but I'm loving these smokey yellow shots at the moment.

This article about Cibi and Mr Kitly in Saturday's Age made me smile. So beautifully written by Dan Rule. I'm so happy two of my favourite places in Melbourne are getting some media attention.

ten thumbs + wooden moments

Some items from my small collection of wooden kitchen items from Japan. I'm very particular about chopsticks and will only use Japanese style ones at home (they have a narrower, more delicate end than chopsticks from other countries). It drives me mad to have to use chunky non-Japanese chopsticks in most Asian restaurants (other than Japanese ones) in Australia. I feel like I have 10 thumbs with those clunky things. Is this ridiculously fussy or what?

Lucky for me (and for you) that we have Mr Kitly to keep those of us outside of Japan stocked up with gorgeous Japanese wooden items.

nihon power

A beautiful post about how Japan will rebound, from David Bull, long time Tokyo resident and woodblock printer extraordinaire. You might find it a refreshing break from the news coming thick and fast from the mainstream media. Thanks to Annie for alerting me to it.

what's on the shelf?

A little while ago I got all nostalgic for the small shelves of bowls and cups I had in my wee kitchen in Japan. They were tiny and sat just above my sink but had a window behind them so the light came through the back of all that lovely pottery. It was very pretty to look at in the morning. Nostalgia is a funny thing.

So out of a natsukashi moment came this illustration-come-giclee print. It's available in green and blue, my two favourite colours at the moment. Almost any shade of green or blue is likely to come from my fingertips these days.

I have a good kiwi friend who lived in Japan when I did. She emailed this morning talking of the sorrow they are going through post Christchurch quake. My heart goes out to you NZ.

paper

I really wished I'd known that Cibi in Collingwood was having a launch last November of these beautiful Cibi Siwa washi paper bags. Nothing like discovering things too late, is there? I think these are so wonderful in their simplicity and really sum up the idea of wabi sabi perfectly. Given Cibi is only a short bike ride from my house and has some the most delicious Japanese food on offer in Melbourne I'm hoping they still have some of these in stock in their shop. Would it be too sacrosanct to consider printing on one?

BSG has a good works on paper show on at the moment. At the opening last night I was especially impressed with a giant (not kidding it was HUGE) lino cut by Victorian printmaker Sue Fraser. You can see it here (it's #40).

kyoto design house

A little glimpse inside the beautiful world of Kyoto Design House. There are things there so lovely that they will make you weep with joy. Promise! Located in a new building designed by Tadao Ando, this wonderful contemporary design space on Tomonokoji (just south of Oike) is a must visit if you're in Kyoto. And opposite is Benrido, the prettiest postcard shop you've ever seen. That's another promise.

Those first 2 pics are of boxes for sweets. So colourful! The ceramics could have burnt a hole in my pocket there were so many things I wanted to take home with me. Luckily, restraint ruled the moment and I left with just one beautifully crafted off-white porcelain cup.

aizen kobo

In Kyoto last week I went along to Aizen Kobo, a natural indigo dyeing workshop in an old machiya house, located in the Nishijin textile district. Owned by indigo dyer, Kenichi Utsuki, this place was a real pleasure to visit. Ken-san is very passionate about natural indigo dyeing and will patiently talk you through the difference between what he does and chemical indigo dyeing processes. His kobo (workshop) is located in a very large machiya which is pure bliss to explore with Ken as he shows you samples of the fabrics he has dyed and his wife Hisako has designed into finished products.

The white fabrics in the top pic show Japanese style shibori before it has been dyed. Check out those tiny little knots!!!! Underneath those fabrics sit ones which have been dyed a rich indigo blue using the natural dyeing process. I asked Ken how he was able to make the vivid green in the scarf (2nd pic) and to my surprise he said by combining indigo with the dye from gardenia seed.
Check out these vats of indigo dye in the process of fermenting! I won't lie - they did smell a bit as you would expect from a natural fermentation process.And here is the front of the machiya where Ken's kobo is located. He has a lovely shop in the front where you can go crazy looking at all that gorgeous shibori dyed fabric he has on offer. Needless to say I did not leave empty handed.

two things

A place to draw breath on a busy day in Kyoto: Nanzenji. With autumn approaching in the northern hemisphere and along with it the spectacular visual feast that is momiji you need to get there early in the morning though. Before 9am or it's very, very crowded.
A big thanks to the ever generous Holly from Decor8 for posting my 2011 calendar in her annual calendar round up. There are some gorgeous calendars out there this year! There is still time to purchase one if you're thinking of giving it as a gift for the coming holiday season.

More pics from Kyoto to follow.......

zakka

Oh my goodness what I wonderful trip I've had (to Kyoto). Fabulous, every second of it. So much has changed and yet so many things are still as they were all those years ago. Many thanks to friends who fed me during my stay. You're all so sweet.

If I could sum it up in one work it would definitely be 'zakka'. Zakka is about so many things in contemporary Japan. By the time I had left I was feeling sucked into its beautiful vortex and wishing I could bring it back to Melbourne with me to enjoy.

Which I can in a small way as Mr Kitly is opening soon in Brunswick. Stay tuned as this project from ii ne kore unfolds in December.

Speaking of zakka, I fell head over heals in love with NID magazine while in Japan. All pics posted here are from edition 17.

persistence

These gorgeous old Japanese medical prints made me smile after discovering them via print interesting the other day. Just look at that detail!

I've been pondering creative matters at length in the last little while. For work and for pleasure and now somehow they've become beautifully entwined. I've been particularly focussed on how creativity is fostered and nurtured for creative folk, particularly those in art and design. If you too enjoy thinking about these things check out Elizabeth Gilbert's wonderful podcast on TED about nurturing creativity. It's 19 minutes of your life that will be well spent. I have watched it a number of times in the last year and each time I come away thinking about something new. Today it was about the importance of persistence. Now ain't that the truth?

Is there something about persistence and your creative process that you'd like to share? Do you have any magical methods/approaches/routines that work for you?

a womb/kyoto loveliness

I'm starting to make a list of my favourite places to visit when I go back to Kyoto later this year. One place I adored and became a regular of was A Womb on the north eastern side of the city. It's incredible and not at all womb-like. In fact the interior is stark and modern but at the same time also incredibly serene. They serve sushi like you've never ever experienced anywhere else. It's so gorgeous to look at and presented like artwork. One time they made me and my guest a special dessert that was a landscape of the most incredibly delicious and beautiful sweet morsels.

I'll be heading there for the sushi kaiseki.

They also have a blog.

morioka teapot

Covet: Morioka southern iron kettle teapot.

ii ne kore reminded me of keibunsha, a treasure trove of goodness in Kyoto. I especially love the way the old floor boards in the gallery squeak as you walk on them. And now I'm contemplating how to carry back an iron teapot in my luggage when I visit Kyoto later this year. I've carried some heavy and not-very-portable things between Japan and Australia over the years. A rice cooker was one. Also delicate pottery (in my carry-on) and rolls of washi paper. So I'm not particularly phased by this potential new challenge. The real question is how many red teapots can a girl own? I have one already. It's not iron though!

abundance

white paper dresses

rough edges

produce

abundance
mixed media collage
washi paper and sumi ink on Japanese ho-sho paper

I'm surrounded by many pregnant women and women with small babies. They are everywhere it seems these days. I was interested to see that my choice not to be is shared by Elizabeth Gilbert in her new book Committed. A thoroughly excellent read by the way. I wasn't expecting it to be with a title like that, but just goes to show that titles and covers can sometimes be misleading. She is one switched on, smart cookie.

zen and minimalism

I've been having fun designing this new giclee print. I just love the whole feeling of ikebana. Shop fronts in Japan have the most gob-smackingly gorgeous ikebana arrangements in their front windows. It makes me want to run away in horror from the front of some Australian shops because they just have no idea. Not all of course. But some seem to have never encountered the principles of shape, line and form or the symmetry and balance of ikebana. Or the concept of minimalism.

I suppose those of us in Melbourne could head off to Ikebana Melbourne for some lessons to help rectify this sad state of affairs.

This photo by markfountain52 on flickr taken on the streets of Kyoto is the kind of thing that makes me swoon.

project b

This time I've made a summer top based on the same pattern as the dress. It's project b in the book. Once you've made the dress (project c) the top's quite easy. It has elastic gathering in the neck and sleeves but also loosely at the waist. I decided to line the top with some very thin cotton lining and it feels great against my skin. The top pic, while it does make me look pregnant (I'm not), gives you a better idea of the fabric than any other photo I've taken. And the top pic is closer to the real colour than the 2nd one. In reality it's a lovely tea green. It's to-die-for I swear although it's hard to see that in these photos I know.

little red dress

Four hours later and the dress from Sewing Talk is finished. Sorry about the funny reflection shot but I don't have a full length mirror and was the only one home when I took these photos. So that's me standing outside our bi-fold doors catching the reflection so that you can see the overall shape of the dress [and my cat's tail at the bottom]. I like the '60's feel of the silhouette.

Some detail around the neck and arms in this pic. The pattern was pretty straight forward but the trickiest bit was making the bias strips that line the neck and arm holes. I'd never done that before. The directions were pretty easy to follow in the pattern pictures even for a beginner like me. The red in these pics looks far brighter than it is unfortunately.

I'm not a big person so this pic shows you how loose the style is. If I was to make it again I wouldn't choose the largest size (I chose Japanese size 13 based on their body measurements with a waist of 70 cm) because it feels a bit too baggy on me.

I also read here that you should allow extra for seams on patterns from Japanese books but I forgot to and it worked out ok with this style. I did however add 5cm extra to the length because I'm 166cm tall and I know most Japanese women are around 160cm. Oh and something I didn't realise until I started is that you need to trace the pattern onto some other paper and then cut that out and attach it to your fabric. Because they try to economise on space they overlap patterns from different parts of the book so you can't cut them out directly as they are.

Thanks felt cafe for this link which has translations for some of the Japanese terms used in the patterns. I was able to read most of them but you really don't need to know how to read Japanese to sew with these books.

the challenge

This is my sewing project for the weekend. I'm using a pattern from the Japanese sewing book Sewing Talk by Machiko Kayaki. I think I've found the perfect fabric for it too. This red seer-sucker Japanese patterned fabric (pic 2). It feels a bit like paper to touch and has so much texture to it. The problem is the fabric is so beautiful I'm quite fearful of cutting into it and making a start. I've never used a Japanese pattern book before so this will be interesting. Hopefully I'll be reporting back with pics of the finished frock in a few days. Fingers crossed.

ken noguchi

Coil Vessel
Ken Noguchi

My love of Japanese ceramics is endless so imagine how my heart skipped a beat when I saw this work by Ken Noguchi from Ishikawa, Japan even though it's not made from clay. He uses traditional Japanese lacquer to get that gorgeous black colour and apart from lacquer his materials include hemp, paper and string. No wonder he won first prize in the 2009 Nakaoka Craft Competition. Simple, understated beauty. We all need more of this in our lives.