japanophilia part II- my way

as the saying goes improvisation is the mother of invention. in need of harite on a long weekend with no possibility of buying anything. but minutia wasn't going to stop me. here is the home made department in all its glory. suffice to say the invention worked and it is also portable.

on with painting the reserve.i wanted to try a gum arabic rice flour resist, because i was going to paint the background with mx dye treated as acid. acid curls alginate hence the gum arabic which does not react with  acid. the flour was going to give the gum arabic some flexibility because the silk was going to be stretched and i  did not want it to tear. i was  experimenting with the different consistencies of the resist too.

                                                                            beauty shot

saturday's work:first red layer it looks wonky, but it is kosher, trust me.

sunday after batching for 24 hours. second red layer.
the big time bummer is that my beloved botan bake 牡丹　掃  aka  peony brush  is falling apart.it is great for paining gradation backgrounds and  i bought it in japan. i wanted it to last my lifetime so use was sparse. little did i know that the less you use it the quicker it falls apart. it seems that getting a replacement will entail a trip to japan unless i find a kind soul that can ship me one (hint, hint)

and why the all the flurry  you may ask. last week i posted  this  and mentioned sakuran. ever since joan lintault posted the link i've been under its spell and in a red black white colourway mind frame in  a mix of techniques including shibori. inspiration comes from unforeseen sources when you're working.

take a look . do you understand me now?

neki desu

the sound and the fury

now that it seems to have subsided, can we please get on with our lives?

have a peaceful weekend




 neki desu

accute japanophilia attack and an invite

this morning in front of the computer and with my coffee i checked into sharon b's  and being naturally curious,i  followed a link she provided.there it was the name of this tool i had bought years ago in sado-ga-shima! i once heard its name in a documentary i was watching, but not having a pen near not mentioning the darkness made it impossible to note down  and retain. this beautiful tool is called a baren  馬連、馬楝  and it is used as a brayer in block printing. once you know the name it's the proverbial piece of cake.with icing.

the find incited more knowledge acquisition :D  and as everyone knows one thing leads to another, another and yet another one. so i spent practically the whole day  in a very non academic research  rich with finds.

you are invited to follow my steps if you'd like to.

firstly baren and japanese brushes here. they are irresistible, and work like no other, trust me. you can give them  other uses than those prescribed.

there is a wealth of information in this one. some techniques are applicable to surface design.

over here you get the why and how of nikawa　膠 or binder glue and /or paper size that can be bought here.

for my book arts friends perhaps you already know this paper place that also carries japanese brushes.but the top shelf find are these papers.don't tell me they are not the essence of awesomeness. 

as they say here i'm  roaring like a motorcycle, como una moto. this is not to mention the amusing maiko and geisha groupies that i found and sakuran via joan lintault at facebook.

 but those will be subjects of another post.
i think i need a rest.

neki desu