27 May 2007

Linnaeus


Yesterday I visited an exhibition at Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery, entitled "A Passion for Plants", which marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus. This was an exhibition of beautifully detailed botanical watercolours by Lynette Gray, and also her paintings of Linnaeus's homeland. I've always admired botanical art with all its intricate details.

The Seven Wonders of Glenrothes


The other day my colleagues and I were discussing the seven wonders of the world, and we began to wonder what the seven wonders of Glenrothes would be. Today I decided to draw my ideas, and it was a good chance to draw some of the town art which I have been meaning to do for a while. I'm quite pleased with how all the separate drawings have blended together on the page. It would be interesting to see what other people think the seven wonders of their home town are!

25 May 2007

Collage


Just some experiments in collage on a slightly larger scale than my usual greetings cards.

20 May 2007

Japanese woodblock printing - part 2

Today we finished carving our blocks, and had a demonstration of how to sharpen our carving tools (most of us had bought a set of our own yesterday). We also went to have a look at the Peacocks Among The Ruins exhibition upstairs. This included some wonderful examples of woodblock-printed wallpapers.

In the afternoon we had a demonstration of how to print from our blocks, and then we were let loose with the paints! It was quite difficult to work out exactly how much paint to put on the block, so some of my attempts turned out a bit splodgy!

It was amazing to see how many different effects could be achieved from one block with different applications of paint and different amounts of pressure, and because we had carved on both sides of our blocks we could overlay the two to give even more effects.

Dundee Degree Show

Before today's woodblock printing class I went along to have a look round the degree show at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. It was the first time I had been to anything like this, and it was fascinating, although the building was a confusing rabbit warren of a place. First I looked at the jewellery section, where my favourite designer was Barbara MacLeod. Her etched designs reminded me of origami paper and kimono fabrics.

I then went looking for the illustration department, but on my wanders I found some wonderful flower paintings by Chrystelle Guillo, which also had an almost oriental feel to them. I also found some funky dressed up buddha-like sculptures by Claire Craig.

Before I left I needed a rest so I went to watch the films in the animation department. They were all great, but I particularly enjoyed "Mat, the Demented Rabbit" by Mat Kelman.

It was a great experience looking around the show. I will definitely be going along to some more degree shows in the future, as this one was a great source of inspiration.

19 May 2007

Japanese woodblock printing


This weekend I'm taking part in a Japanese woodblock printing course at Dundee Contemporary Arts. The six of us who were taking part spent most of the morning learning Japanese calligraphy so that we could base our woodblock designs on Japanese characters. Above is my stylised version of a character meaning "spring".

In the afternoon we traced our designs and transferred them to wooden blocks, then began to carve them out and add texture to the background areas. Then we prepared paper for tomorrow's printing session.

13 May 2007

Japanese Spring Blossom Festival

Today my parents and I went to the Japanese Spring Blossom Festival at Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh. The grounds of the castle include a beautiful Japanese garden, symbolising friendship between the cities of Edinburgh and Kyoto.

The activities and entertainments today included taiko drummers, martial arts demonstrations, singing and dancing, haiku, tea ceremony, origami and ikebana demonstrations, and lots of crafts for children. I took part in the tea ceremony, and was sitting next to a woman who goes to Japan twice a year on business and drinks real green tea every day – lucky her!

I’m looking forward to going back to Lauriston Castle in August to take part in a watercolour painting class in the Japanese garden.

Christian Aid book sale 2007

Each year, for Christian Aid Week, a week-long booksale is held at St Andrew’s & St George’s Church on George Street in Edinburgh. Since I first found out about the sale around ten years ago, I’ve been going at least once every two years. As well as books, the sale also includes toys, paintings, ephemera, antiques and collectibles, and has a cafĂ© which usually serves delicious soup.

The large numbers of people attending the first day of the sale meant I spent three hours yesterday being pushed, shoved, bumped into and trampled on, but it was well worth it. My new shopping bags from Ikea and Paperchase came in very handy for all my purchases! Unfortunately, however, due to a technical problem, there was no soup on offer! Also, the weather didn’t match up to the glorious sunshine of some other years.

Here’s what I bought:
St Basil’s Cathedral ornament (for Mum)Carved Chinese scene in glass case
A Pocketful of Proverbs by Joan Walsh Anglund
A Cup of Sun by Joan Walsh Anglund
A Little Book of Old Rhymes by Cicely Mary Barker
The High House, Emma’s Island, Emma in Love by Honor Arundel
The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat by Enid Blyton
The Land of Oz by L Frank Baum (for Paul)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
Life and Works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh by Nathaniel Harris
The Encyclopedia of Watercolour Techniques by Hazel Harrison
The Encyclopedia of Coloured Pencil Techniques by Judy Martin
Unfolding Pictures – Fans in the Royal Collection
Springs of Roman Wisdom (for Mum)
Quellen Oestlicker Weisheit (Springs of Oriental Wisdom)
A Japanese Mirror by Ian Baruma
Travelers’ Tales Guides – Japan
Zen Rock Gardening
The Little Tofu Book by Linda Sonntag
Guide to Nikko Toshogu Shrine (where I was exactly a year ago!)

09 May 2007

Why Japan?


I was recently asked what it was that sparked my fascination with Japan and Japanese culture, and to be honest it is a question I have asked myself often. I think that my particular interest in Japanese culture grew out of a general interest in all things Chinese and Japanese, and while I still like Chinese things it is the simplicity and minimalism of Japanese things that appeals to me even more.

As you can see in the photo, there were two bamboo scrolls painted with flowers on the walls of my childhood home, and at a later stage there were also pictures of ikebana flower arrangements. My mum often cooked Chinese food and I can vividly remember the first time we went for a meal at a Chinese restaurant.

I remember as a child watching television programmes like The Water Margin and Monkey. My favourite books in one of the local libraries had an oriental setting, although I can remember little else about it. I have also had, for as long as I can remember, an old book called Children of Other Lands by Mary Entwhistle, which includes stories about children called Chang and Ah Fu in China, and Ito and Okiku in Japan.

One of my grans had a tiny mirrored shrine with two miniature kokeshi dolls on it, and it was one of my favourite things at her house. I also seem to remember that my great gran had some ivory ornaments, which may have been oriental in style.

But the main thing that influenced me was a television documentary, Man on the Rim, which I watched in my late teens. The presenter travelled around the countries of the Pacific Rim, and examined their cultures. I could not believe the incredible craftsmanship of the makers of such traditional Japanese crafts as bamboo tea whisks and wooden combs. From that day on I was completely hooked on everything Japanese.

In 1997 I saw a photograph in a magazine of a Japanese dollshouse, and decided to make a dollshouse of my own in a Japanese style, which involved a great deal of research into Japanese culture. A few years later I moved into my own house and decorated my living room in Japanese style.

I finally visited Japan for a week last year, flying out there exactly a year ago tomorrow (my first time flying!). One of the things that I made sure to bring home as a souvenir was a bamboo tea whisk, just like I had seen on Man on the Rim about 20 years previously.

To bring things right up to date, this weekend I’m going to a Japanese spring blossom festival, and the following weekend I’m going on a Japanese woodblock printing course.

Featured on Moleskinerie


Imagine my surprise yesterday when I checked my favourite blog, Moleskinerie, only to find that the Moleskine card I made was featured!

I was also pleased recently to have my polymer clay texture tip featured on Polymer Clay Notes.

07 May 2007

Have L'Occitane been reading my mind?


One day I bemoaned the near demise of my Guerlain Cherry Blossom perfume, then the next day I received an email from L'Occitane advertising their new fragrance - Cherry Blossom! And it just so happened that the day after that I was going to be passing by the L'Occitane shop... Well, I had to buy the perfume - just to tide me over until the next time I go to Japan, you understand!

06 May 2007

Birthday card for a Moleskine addict


My brother loves Moleskine notebooks as much as I do, so when the time came to make his birthday card this year I couldn’t resist making this Moleskine card, complete with elastic closure, bookmark, pocket, and with the word “Moleskine” embossed on the back. Now I realise why I kept all those coloured paper bands rather than throwing them away!

The only problem is – how do I outdo this idea for next year’s card?!



Secret Gardens

For a long time I’ve been fascinated by the private gardens of Edinburgh’s New Town, and wondered what was hidden behind their locked gates and thick hedges. Yesterday I was able, as part of the Edinburgh Parks and Gardens Open Day, to see inside some of these hidden gardens.

First I visited Drummond Place Gardens, which was a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. As with the other gardens I visited there were bluebells blooming everywhere around the garden.

Next I walked up to Regent Gardens, which are hidden away behind the houses of Regent Terrace and Royal Terrace at Calton Hill. These huge gardens contain a pond, two play areas for children, a tennis court, a putting green, woodland paths and wide open spaces, with stunning views over Arthur’s Seat in one direction and the Firth of Forth in the other.

Finally I walked back to Queen Street Gardens, of which only the middle section was opened to the public. These gardens were originally Woods Farm, but were transformed into gardens in 1823. They are centred round a pond which is said to have been the inspiration for Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson who lived as a child in Heriot Row.

03 May 2007

Lovely Cherry Blossom Gold Sparkles


I bought this bottle of Guerlain Lovely Cherry Blossom Gold Sparkles at Osaka Kansai airport on the 18th May 2006. Yes, I remember the exact date (and could probably tell you the exact time, too!). I was browsing as I waited for my plane home, and the assistant offered to spray some of this on me. I’m not usually one to buy a perfume without having tried it a few times, but I decided to buy this straight away as the beautiful bottle would make a good souvenir of Japan, and because it had gold sparkly bits in it! Even though I was unsure of the initial scent of it (it seemed a bit sickly sweet), I soon found out that I loved the fragrance that remained on my skin afterwards.

Guerlain’s Cherry Blossom fragrances are produced for the Japanese market, and are extremely subtle because the wearing of perfume is very much frowned upon in Japan. Each spring a new limited edition Cherry Blossom fragrance is released, and so far there have been seven:
2000 Cherry Blossom
2002 Lovely Cherry Blossom
2003 Crazy Cherry Blossom
2004 Glittering Cherry Blossom
2005 Shiny Cherry Blossom
2006 Lovely Cherry Blossom Gold Sparkles
2007 Cherry Blossom Fruity

When I got back from Japan I wore this perfume constantly, and I began to associate the lingering fragrance of it on my skin with my memories of Japan. But now, almost exactly a year later, my bottle is almost empty, and I am saving it for special occasions while scouring the net for a reputable place to buy more. Perhaps I will just have to go back to Japan!

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