EDiM: 13

The last thing you bought


I'm really excited that I have something other than groceries to post, because I don't self indulge in retail therapy very often.  In fact, I can talk myself out of buying ANYTHING when it comes to things for myself.  Luckily for me my talented designer friend Rebekah of Rebekah J Designs had a new website discount promotion going on, and since my birthday is just around the corner I self indulged over the weekend and bought myself a gift!  I've been wanting more of Rebekah's jewelry ever since she made matching wedding bands for me and Jeff.  The timing was perfect for today's challenge... now to wait patiently for it to arrive in the mail!

ELLA

xoxo
Char

EDiM: 9

Something with an interesting label.

This is a Japanese sweet treat to have along with tea.  My friend Aya in Tokyo sent this and other goodies in a care package to me recently.  It's made with walnuts, hence the squirrels.  I think the packaging is so cute and I can't wait to dig in because I know whatever is inside is delicious.

the inner packaging is adorable too!

xoxo
Char

EDiM: 7

An envelope(s)

I stayed true to my desires yesterday after my Day 6 rendering, and I totally went loosey goosey today by doing my sketch in an etegami style.

Part of my reason for picking up these daily creativity and drawing practices has a lot to do with my first pregnancy.  During my first pregnancy, I discovered Etegami and soon after became a part of a beautiful international community of Etegami mail artists.  I received so many sincere and beautiful pieces of artwork many which decorate my home.  During that time I was extremely productive at making art, and creating Etegami was my daily creative practice.  I truly believed that the euphoria from creating and receiving etegami had a lot to do with giving birth to such a happy healthy baby.

I've thought many times that my current pregnancy is just SO DIFFERENT than my first.  Aside from being responsible for an existing little human, I've had so much pain, stress, and discomfort associated with this pregnancy to the point where I started worrying "How is my mental state going to affect baby 2?!  I don't want Rosemary's baby!!".  No worries, I've completely avoided the raw meat cravings.

Fast forward, upon completing the #CreativeSprint 30 day challenge, I learned of the Every Day in May sketch challenge and I'm into my second month of creative euphoria and a considerably less amount of stress.  Thank you Art.  Thank you Rachel!

My envelope today is from an Etegami I recieved from my friend Carole in Australia back in July of 2012. She is an amazing artist, Etegamist, and stamp maker/printer. Here is a link to Carole's blog: origam-me origa-me.  The envelope is decorated with a sock monkey stamp that she carved. I've saved it, like I've saved so many wonderful envelopes, because it's just as much a piece of artwork as the Etegami itself.

xoxo
Char

Post Script
For those of you who would like to learn about Etegami, check out this informative blog post by one of the leading etegami artists of the world, Dosanko Debbie:
Review of Rules of Etegami by Dosanko Debbie

Creative Sprint Day 21

Ask a friend you haven't talked with in a while, for a suggestion of what to do today. Explaining what you are up to is part of the experience! Bonus: get them involved in the actual thing you create.

I was really optimistic starting out with this challenge, but as time ticked by and I didn't receive replies from the creative friends who I reached out to, I realized there was probably a reason why we haven't talked to each other in a long time!  They're all busy and obviously not on my schedule ;)!   ....thankfully as I was image searching "crickets", my friend Mara came through and we had a nice conversation and she was thrilled to be a part of the #CreativeSprint assignment for today!

Mara:  If it isn't already on your list, I'd say to illustrate a song lyric in some way. I remember us talking so much about music back in the day and your little Wilco drawing you had made.

Char:  OOOOH thats a great idea The first thing that comes to mind is Summerteeth. Do you want to pick a line for me to illustrate?

Mara:  Yesssss. You want from the album or the song summer teeth?

Char:  Something from the album.

Mara:  Ok, "She's a Jar" is still my very favorite.

Char: Lots of good imagery in that one, surreal imagery.

Mara:  "when I forget how to talk, I sing"

Char:  Do you have any artistic direction you want to give me?

Mara: Only to stay true to the ethereal surrealistic feel of the song, it definitely doesn't need to be literal

And an assignment is born.

At first I started a hand lettering project... but I wasn't concentrating and I forgot a word!

I may have said something other than "dick"

Here is the proof:

10:07 pm Gah!

It made me feel better to vandalize my own work, but OH, it was going to be glorious with "SING" all colorful and with floral embellishments.   So I took about a 20 minute breather, ate a pastry from the Korean bakery that I picked up today, and came up with this!  I'm so thrilled and I hope Mara is too, because she's the new owner of it, and on the other side of the new one is the old one so she gets the whole process!

viola!

Lessons learned: Accidents happen.  Keep cool, eat something yummy,  and keep on keepin' on.

Oh yeah, Week 2 Higlights!  My day 16 and 18 have made the post!

xoxo

Char

Creative Sprint Day 3

Use your non-dominant hand to create something today.  If you are right-handed then only use your left or vice-versa.


Day 3 and still going strong. Heh heh heh heh heh, and posting earlier than 11:30pm even.  I decided to make a left handed journal entry in my little sketchbook about today.  My son Kai went to his friends' house and made bunny hats, decorated bunny butt cookies, and dyed eggs.  I cut, pasted, wrote, drew, and painted all with my left hand.  Now I'm exhausted and ready for an afternoon snooze.

A bit of the process included in this image.

Xoxo
Char

And this is a bunny butt cookie

Creative Sprint Day 1

"If I post this, I'm committing to this 30 day challenge... after not touching my blog for over a year?!" is all that is echoing in my head right now  ....but you know what? I can do it.  I can make this project as simple or as complicated as want to, so I'm going to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) and forge ahead.  No, this is not an April Fools joke!

Front Cover

Page 1 & 2

Page 3 & 4

Back Cover

"Make something that fits in the palm of your hand using only materials in your immediate environment"

I made a little accordion book as a tribute to my friend Rachel, who shared that she was participating in this challenge.  My book is made of leftover card stock, washi tape, art nouveau book plates and a snake charm from Rachel, and a metallic twisty tie.  Everything was in my book bag that I use when I go on my urban sketching excursions. #CreativeSprint

Keep Creating!
xoxo
Char

Japan Expo in Issy les Molineaux

I participated in an etegami call in France for the Japan Expo organized by an etegami friend of mine, Valerie, for the Pigmets et Arts du Monde.

This is a link to the video with all the etegami submissions for the Japan Expo:
Japan Expo 2013 Issy les Moulineaux
I hope you take a moment to watch it because so many awesome inspiring pieces were submitted!

I submitted 3 pieces which you can see at the 4:26ish mark.  One piece I included, despite the lack of words, was this camelia I made in Japan.  I created the two other pieces here in San Diego, and this call was just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing again.

xoxo
Char

EDM 4 - Draw a mug or cup

I am what one would call a "tea fanatic".  As you can see, I photographed my mugs on a "tea towel". I am also what one could call a "dish fanatic".  What does this mean?  I like collecting tea cups, mugs, and cup & saucers and have WAY too many to choose from for this challenge.  I don't like collecting "just any" mug or cup.  I love picking and choosing ones that are especially visually/emotionally stimulating to me in some way or another... which means some are sentimental, some are skillfully made, and some are just "good looking". 

The pair from my father in law. They were his mother's.

"despite scratches and cracks, i love it"

Painted by me, with my bff, at one of those "paint your own pottery" studios many years ago.

"anytime"

This is my go to mug that I use almost daily. It was a gift from my german friend Katharina.  Beautiful porcelain, big enough for a hearty cup of tea in the morning, and it keeps my tea hot for quite a long time.

xoxo
Char

Snail from Yokohama!

"den-den mushi" is a slang term for snail in Japanese

I made a playful snail etegami this morning with a stamp that my friend Shungo made for me!

A few connections...

I'm happy to share the following links to the websites of friends who have received my etegami that I've posted on The Char Makes.

The first is Carole in Australia's website.  She had an etegami exhibition at a hospital this spring, and extended the invitation to submit work to her etegami community.  I gladly submitted, and was happy to see that my postcard made it!  Carole's Etegami InBox, Hospital Exhibition

The next is the King of Kindness himself, Shungo's website where he displays the etegami he receives: Shungo's Etegami Thank You

The third link is the Etegami Maven, Dosanko Debbie's Mail Art Gallery.  She is the coordinator and leader of our online etegami group, and through her kindness and dedication she makes it possible for many of the solely Japanese and English speaking members to interact with one another.

Following Debbie is my friend Ron who I met through my husband, by happenstance was an artist and introduced Mail Art to me several years ago, hosts ongoing submissions to his residence in Heebee Jeebeeland.  It's always a pleasure to visit Heebee Jeebeeland and even more exciting to receive a message from there!  I've been diligently checking the post box!

Lastly is my new blog dedicated to the mail art that I receive: The Char Gets.  I'm still tweaking the layout and such, but I'm really excited to share the wonderful surprises I find in my post box.

xoxo
Char

Busy busy busy...

After nearly a month of no classes, this week has been quite busy with them!  Monday's Ikebana class was followed by two consecutive days of etegami classes.

The two below are etegami that I made in Chigasaki on Tuesday.  The pink hydrangea says "tsuyu", the word for the "rainy season", which we are just about to enter.

6/12 Hydrangea

The broad bean card says "fudemame" which is a term for someone who writes letters a lot.  The word "mame" means bean also.

6/12 Broad Beans

Yesterday in class, one of the students Mrs. Ito who is 82 years old!!! brought all the other class members these shirt shaped pocket sized tissue covers that her friend had made.  They're made of recycled kimono fabrics.

Pocket sized tissue holder

Today in class, we used a broken chopstick dipped in sumi to draw our etegami.

broken chopstick

I decided to make an etegami of a different tissue holder, to send as a thank you to Mrs. Ito.  The card says "I like this fancy pattern".  Mrs. Ito, though widowed at 55, is still in love and very respectful to her darling. She also likes to accessorize herself and always has a fancy broach, ring, or necklace to show us.  She is active despite her arthritis, along with witty, interesting and open minded despite her age.  Mrs. Ito is a fun lady to know. I feel very grateful to have met her and to be taking a class with her!

6/13 Tissue holder drawn with chopstick

 The second chopstick drawing from class today is this japanese pumpkin or "kabocha".  The words "AMAI" means "sweet".  I love kabocha, it can be eaten so many ways but my favorite are: grilled, pan fried with a warm vinaigrette, tempura, soup, or simmered Japanese style.

6/13 Kabocha drawn with chopstick

 The second activity from class today was to make some splatter post cards.  This was a lot of fun, and as you see I made 4 of them.  I had to stop myself from starting more.

6/13 "AME" - rain 

6/13 "NATSU" - summer 

6/13 "MIZUTAMA" - polka dots

6/13 more splatter 

xoxo

Char

Paper Testing

Cool Hand Luke on etegami postcard

Cool Hand Luke and Moby Dick on hand made post card: Japanese Knotweed

Campanula on linen post card

Last week was a busy week.  After shopping trips, airport drives, committee meetings, project days, movie night, lunch dates, and bicycle hunts things have finally slowed down enough for me to post my creations from last week!  These etegami are made on the papers I acquired last week from my shopping trip with Senior.  I bought the linen one (campanula) and the card on top (one fish) at the Yuzawaya art store, but the Japanese Knotweed card was hand made and given to me by my etegami friend Senior.

This is a good time to introduce my new pets Cool Hand Luke and Moby Dick who were given to me for my birthday this year.  They are little minnows, the Japanese name for the variety is called Akahire.  It's funny because the fishes are very hard to distinguish from one another, but one seems to be a lot more comfortable hanging out in the plant (Cool Hand Luke) while the other (Moby Dick) is hungry and always searching for food near the surface of the water.  Tough luck for M.D. because they only get fed once a week. 

xoxo

Char

My day with Elvis

Elvis' origami kite 

Elvis crafting a photo stand of rocks shells and sea glass

shell rose made by Sensei's Darling

Shoko sensei invited me to spend the day with a neat guy who is close to her heart, Elvis.  Elvis, 11, is visiting Japan from Hawaii (well, his grandparents) on his own for the summer and I found out that she has a very creative family.  After a nice lunch on Friday, we went over to Sensei's house and I finally also got to meet her Darling who makes beautiful sculptures out of sea glass and other found objects from the beach.  Elvis and I both made little photo stands, and when I got home, I drew this etegami to mail to Shoko sensei and her lovely family.

My sea glass & shell photo holder

Add caption

King of Kindness

シニアー "Senior"

Today I had a wonderful opportunity to go on a shopping and lunch date with my new friend "Senior" who is also known as the King of Kindness by some group members!  We're both in an online etegami group, and he happens to live in Yokohama which is fairly close to where I live.  We went to a store called Yuzawaya to get some etegami supplies, which he brought a 30% off coupon for us to use, and he came with all kind of presents!  I ended up purchasing various postcards, brushes, ink, and a rubber block to carve my own hankou or signature stamp.  

Below are the goodies from Senior which are priceless!

Hand made from Japanese Knotweed

Some stamps Senior carved for me.

Impromptu carving demonstration after lunch.

"し"

So, I showed up with these two etegami that I made last night.  The first one is for Senior's wife.  It says basically "To a beautiful year..." Despite today being her birthday,  I still got to meet up with him for our excursion.  He did pick up a cake from her favorite bakery on his way home <3.  The second one is for Senior, it's an image of a rubber chop saying "It looks right, but it's upside down".  Senior is also famous in our group for his stamp making.

I asked tons questions and received lots of advice about etegami, paper, other supplies, and stamp making. He even gave me an impromptu demonstration of how he makes his stamps.  I love the stylization of his letters, and the variation in thickness of the lines...  what a cool experience!

Campanula 

rubber stamp

xoxo Char

Spring Study

This morning I had a lovely breakfast of milk and tea with buttered toast with some homemade marmalade that my Etegami Sensei, Shoko, made and gave to me at our last class on Wednesday.  I decided to commemorate my morning meal and drew an Etegami to send to her as a "thank you".    

Char Solo: Toast, butter, marmalade

 Not being happy with my weird looking toast*, I went on to make a postcard for my mom in a subject matter that I'm more familiar drawing; a violet.  My mom and I share the fascination for plants growing out of seemingly impossible spaces such as cracks in the pavement.  When she was a little girl, she found a violet plant growing in an unusual place, and she pulled it up to replant it at home.  Whenever I see a violet I think of my mom as a little girl, and violets are in full bloom around here. The violet Etegami still doesn't have a caption, but I was thinking of something along the lines of "a lovely reminder..." or "sweetly reminded of you".  I'm sure I'll know once all my supplies are put away!!!

Char Solo: Violet

Below are the 2 Etegami that I made in class this week.  The first one is a weed that grows almost completely hidden in the grass.  I actually chose to draw this over the violet on Wednesday!  I'm glad I did, because I ended up revisiting the whole violet idea today.  The weed "suzume no yari" (I don't know the English name) is drawn on a thin paper that is used for calligraphy and I'll use it as stationery for a letter.  The second one from class is an oversized postcard with a camellia, this too has no caption yet, but I'll think of one eventually!

Class 4/ll:
"It's okay to be tastefully understated."

Class 4/11: Caption-less Camellia

*Here is a very beautiful example of baked goods by an Etegami artist who I admire Dosanko Debbie.  Debbie also just posted a thorough explanation of the Etegami art form on her blog.  I hope everyone checks out both posts.  

XOXO

Char!