michel garcia on lichens.

omg he's making soup!

çhave a good weekend.

neki desu

 

it's going to be a long wait

windfall lichens. on the right vintage ones from 4-5 years ago: on the left last week's pick from my walk in the park. this is lichen and moss country.

the vintage ones  almost instantly turned reddish brown last week's are in the yellow stage.

my latest friend, gemini, gave me much more info  about lichen dyeing that what i wanted. however, it was unknown to me that they needed to ferment in ammonia at least 3 months to get purples and reds.hopefully dyeing will happen in late fall.

another new friend is snapseed. my phone photo editing tool was very basic and this app is photo editing on steroids.and free. 

neki desu

 

look at those pretty twill lines

satisfying weaving.even with hand lifts as this is on my table loom. on the louet dobby although it's capable of a lot more the weaving is not as enjoyable because of the miserable shed.

even under tension the warp is already starting to pleat. don't know if it will pleat real pleats although i've followed all the rules and then some more. not only betting on warp and weft twill but also on the wool merino weft.

fingers crossed.

neki desu

 

kiku

my sumi-e practice this week: chrysanthemums. some came out looking more like tarantulas   ( ¨¨ ω¨¨ )   leaves are fun to do ,it's all brush control.

this one came out better,more flower like.more practice required but i find it fun.

neki desu

 

garden of eden

hellebores have started, a bit late though.

last year's bulbs are out

this year's are coming out.still moving pots around to find the definite arrangement. trellis has to be put on the wall for this year's kukes and green beans. looking forward to the present year's crop.

babying the yuzus inside. they withstand cold weather but don't want to risk it since they are still tender.

neki desu

 

you ask me why i love japan

grateful for small things.

geez mid month already

have a good weekend.

neki desu

 

chinese bazaar wonders

this little bookie was found at the local chinese bazaar.the cover is dried fig leaves and the binding is charmingly rustic all for the grand price of 78 euro cents you do the numbers.

i am entering a phase of unassuming.when everyone's trying to attract the limelight towards themselves

i am in unassuming mode. feels relaxed . there's more than enough bs and unnecessary stuff right now to add more.

i've been practicing to get the hang of ume flowers before using the book. for the colored ones i'm using the japanese aya suiboku paints.

then finally braving out.

the paper has a lovely rough look/texture.

this will be a mini sketchbook.couldn't be happier.

neki desu

 

pleats please :-D

this past year has been about weaving. haven't touched the k machines due to last year's disappointments. somewhat clearing my weaving yarns stash yarns from my beloved now defunct avril in kyoto. more collapse in the agenda coming up.

this one will be pleats, the warp is cashmere- merino the weft wool-stainless steel.almost done reeding, then debugging and weaving.

two block twill simplicity again.one block weaves warp faced twill the other weft faced twill.

neki desu

 

practicing

first things first  brush placement and manipulation .also working with mid tones and brier brush.

 then getting carried away with bengara backgrounds.

incredibly soothing when you just go with the flow with minimum expectations. sumi-e is gratifying in that it's about blobs being expressive. or so i think.however each flower has to have its own personality.

neki desu 

 

chuffed

merriam webster :British

: quite pleased : delighted

woven without any issue in a broken twill.

he outcome was quite spectacular. crinkly irregular texture.

 

sections of burnt orange and navy blue wool stainless brought out the colors in varied ways. effective simplicity . warp silk dyed with madder  walnut and water based tannin.

eki desu

 

it's that time of the year

when i post one of my animated fractals and take  leave for the holidays. may your holidays be happy and bright. see you after epiphany.be good and be well.

neki desu

 

doubling threads

as i see it this is a new  fascinating take on ikat.

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

seriously ganabaru league

💪💪💪 tried to finish this week but it looks like most likely over the weekend. anyhow chuffed with the outcome. let's see the collapse after cutting and wet finishing. the structure is a broken twill which will give nice warp floats.the wool stainless weft will push them in theory,but reality  can sometimes be surprising.

neki desu

 

hopefully the end

 end of purchases,finito, no more.

bought this rather magnificent value for money paper from china delivered to my doorstep.

this will be used after i  burn rolls of kraft paper trying to gain more confidence.it comes with inks and a pretty good brush. 

this  paper will be two steps up from kraft paper but considerably down the ladder from my handmade papers from japan.will i ever have courage to use them or will they become heirlooms for my niece?

neki desu

 

a weekend of baking

my mother's tuned up  cornbread recipe.she added sugar eggs and lots of butter and while keeping the crumbly consistency turned it cake-like.

it was such a hit last year that i decided to repeat it, christmas fruitcake is somewhat alien here but cornbread ,although not the sweet kind, is familiar to their tastebuds.

now comes the hard part, delivery. everyone's busy during this time finding a spot to coincide with the different agendas is a work of art.

set up the lights so that's down ,need to start working on the xmas card animation.

xmas dinner already thought up and half shopped,tablecloth and napkins need to go to the cleaners. anxiously waiting for tai chi to end this week.

neki desu

 

we're aiming for this

since we can grow moss as a cash crop.

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

proof of concept

as with all things oriental they are deceivingly simple. there's a whole theory behind drawing plum blossom branches. add that to pointy new brushes and i feel more capable.like the bengara background,what can i say.this is the last practice.

some practice

and then some more.

and for the rest of the week flowers. ume,sakura and momo.

waiting for the holidays to end to do a massive purchase at the french greenhouse. including a weeping plum -ume shidare-and two 20 cms dogwood trees. can't do more in a 20 mt.terrace.

neki desu

 

life maxims

 a standard in my household: you can boil water in a frying pan, but the existence of saucepans indicates something.

same for brushes. pointy end brushes work wonders in sumi-e at least for non chinese or japanese.

they were taught since childbirth to use regular fude and are skilled. for us is an acquired skill if you're lucky. unless you're a sumi -e shishou, which is not the case here.

my brushes the traditional fude wok well for calligraphy, but i have problems ( ohhh using the p word)

getting them pointy and not separating. so here they are recent beauty purchase.  (*^▽^*) 

neki desu

 

of king solomon's judgement

re sleying the reed proved to be an insurmountable mental uphill. thinking capon the best i could come up with was doubling a thread in each bout thus creating an empty dent.that space across the warp will give some more space for collapse and also create a line where some thread kinks will happen.🤞

so far, pretty    ( ¨¨ ω¨¨ )   

enjoying extra time as this is a long weekend. thankful for the immaculate conception who (which?) gives an extra holiday. the cheap joys of catholic countries (＾∇＾)

neki desu