from my mother

Recently I had a tradshow, in Tokyo, and was busy putting jewelry together and also, making up some new displays.

I decided that this time, I needed to take what is in my head and put it on paper so people can see.
There is a little world where I see my hug bear live, and that is the world where my jewelry comes from.

So, for this I used the traditional japanese calligraphy brushes and ink, and watercolor.
This is a set that I have had since I was about 5.  They used to have a face of a cat on each color. I remember it was a challenge when I was small to use enough water for them, but not to have the colors spill over to the next block.

Also, for larger surfaces I used another set of watercolors that used to belong to my mother. It must have been in elementary school when she started using them, because on the cloth bag that my grandmother sewed for her, my mothers name is stitched. 

Using my mother pallet with already mixed color was like a time capsule. I always thought that someone forgot to clean the pallet,  but the colors now could be used just by adding water. If you think about it, because I've never used this before, the last person who used it may be my mother.  I tried to use some of the remaining paint, some blues where used in the background and there was a good green I used in the forest.
Who knows when she used it last?

It was funny to know that things like color could be preserved.

Oh almost forgot. This is how it turned out. There is a total of 6 boxes that I made!

so... I got a little carried away~

My next tradeshow is coming up!  Which means that I am making new pieces and will be sharing them with you soon~!!


I am also making little things to present my jewelry. One of the things is drawings to accompany my jewelry.


When I get into it,  it's really fun and really lets me express what I couldn't have in jewelry. 

two brushes and the container to put the ink

This time,  I have been trying a new tool. I've been drawing with the traditional brush on rice paper with ink. The brush and ink have been a really great and easy way for me to get back into drawing, and I feel like I was able to explore and flush out ideas.  So, these past few days, I have been drawing and drawing and drawing!


I was really amazed with the different brush strokes one brush can make 
.... and started to test it on my hand........


I am not the type who writes notes on my hands, but it was really hard to stop!!  I have always liked the henna tattoos for the detailed designs and motifs. 

Sometimes you have to do things you don't normally do. 
I got a little sidetracked but it was really really fun. There is something different about a 3-dimensional canvas.


And I can't forget to thank my grandmother who left me these tools for me to explore~ 


~ and now back to my drawings~

humidity is inevitable.....but...

So there is a rainy season in Japan (most part of Japan) 

It is usually in June, for Tokyo.

It rains most of the days and the humidity increases so it feels more sticky and hot.

There are few things you need to watch out for. The humidity will get some of your shoes, specially leather ones covered in mold, if you are not careful.

oh, and frogs!  If you live in areas with some greenery, like me.

But there are also flowers that blooms in this season too. Which is always nice to see.

I love this flower, "ajisai" in japanese, and in english "hydrangea"

It tells me that the rainy season is here when you spot them in full bloom.

There are so many different colors and they really give a great accent to the scene when it is all cloudy and rainy.

A few years ago, I didn't really considered this flower as a flower. But I changed my mind on that after I took a closer look at it.  

I didn't realize that hydrangea was a cluster of tiny four petal flowers.  The flowers were so cute, I knew one day that I would be making jewelry with it.

I later made my Bouquet Collection, and the flower shapes is inspired from the hydrangea.

It is my favorite piece to wear in this season.

il faut de la patience

yes,  I have been told before from a jewelry teacher that you need patience for making jewelry.

so this is the reason.

I was a little too anxious, polishing a piece with a chain and got the chain tangled in a hand tool I was using. 

there was so much torque that the chain was twisted into a clump.  I'm glad that it was just the chain, and not my fingers twisted in the machine.......

my 8 inch chain became only about 6 inches........

so, I made a bracelet for myself to remind myself that I do need patience!

May

This is one of the best time of the year. It's right before the rainy season.  The weather is getting warmer, but never too hot or too cold anymore.

Plants and leaves on trees have been growing, and all of a sudden everywhere is very very green.

This is when one of my favorite flowers can be spotted. They are very small and can be missed, but if you are careful you can spot the tiny white flowers on the side of the streets. They are really just wildflowers that grow along the sidewalk or in the alleyway.  It gives me something to look for when I am walking my dog and also reminds me of what month we are in. 

I guess I am starting to remember seasons by the  flowers and the greenery around me.

These flowers became the model of one of my collections, HANNA.  The three petal flower was just a type of flower that I would imagine on your ear or on a delicate chain.

These are some of the pieces that became jewelry, all in 18k.

Hanna, also means "flower" in Japanese, spelled with just one "n" But I also wanted the name for this collection to be just like a girls name ~

this is Rain enjoying his walk near our house

Blue

This in a photo of a crater lake in Gun-ma prefecture that I visited recently. Shiranesan, is still an active volcano, so there are restricted areas,  but it has been a popular tourist spot in the area for its' emerald green lake.

This day was sunny and clear, but very very cold, because of the high altitude, even in the beginning of May. 

To get to the top or the crater, we have to walk up the trail for a while, and at the very top, you can see the crater a little below you.

The color of the water was milky blue with a hint of green,  one of my favorite colors~

I knew the lake was very popular for the color, but it was very close to the milky aquamarine stone that I had used for a custom necklace.

The silver casing has four petals with an arabesque motif, the chain was made long.  the piece itself is about 2 inches long.

a very fun piece to make!

I have been making few other custom pieces, so I will share them soon~!

The Tower

Tokyo Tower is one of the places that is most visited.
There is an observation deck to overlook the city, which on a sunny day you can even see Mt. Fuji.

To me,  the Tower is a symbol of Tokyo and something more.

In between the skyscrapers and the tall narrow buildings, sometimes you get a glimpse of the tower, or it appears right in front of you, out of nowhere.  It reminds me that I am in Tokyo now.

It's become something that I look for when I am out or on the train.

Here is a shot from the street looking up, at night time.  The tower is lit up until midnight, so this was before that.