"Where is Spring ?"

March is almost over, where is SPRING ?
I had enough time watching trees with No Leaves from window.
I want to see and smell the flowers, Don't you ?
Maybe I should go to the flower shop to get some pink flowers for the table.....

" Long weekend in Paris"

Friends of ours had Long weekend in Paris.

They had a birthday to celebrate.  I did have birthday in Paris few times.  I think everybody should celebrate their birthday in Paris at least once.  

You never have enough time in there, and almost always leave things we couldn't  to do and see behind.  But it will be there for us to be returned.

I can't wait to hear all about their Paris Weekend...

"Season of SAKURA"

I just hard that "SAKURA cherry blossom Season" just started in Japan.

People will start it's viewing party everywhere.

If we are lucky we can do it maybe at the end of next month at the Central Park ?

"Vernal Equinox, Happy Spring !"

Welcome to Spring !  The Vernal Equinox is upon us.  Today, March 20th, both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres will experience an equal amount of daylight.  For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of Spring with daylight hours continuing to lengthen until the Summer Solstice in June.  For those south of equator, it's the beginning of Autumn.

Technically speaking, the Equinox occurs when the sun is directly in line with equator.  This will happen at 5:58pm Eastern Daylight Time.
(from http://closetprofessor.blogspot.com/)

" Happy St. Patrick's Day !"

   I wonder if he is wearing something under his Quilts ?

"the drink of choice "

 Jonathan's father liked to make a drink call "Black Velvet"
It's a equal part of Guiness & Champagne.
He said, 
"Three things had foam like this, Black Velvet, Sea Surf, and Blood..."

"Flashing for St. Patrick Day"

Boys are heading for the city to join the parade.

Hope they get there on time !

"a few more days to St. Patrick's Day"

”梅に鶯 / Japanese Nightingale on Plum Tree"

It is one of the favorite motifs of Japanese poetry, featured in many poems including those in "Man you shu" "Kokin Waka Shu."  In Haiku and Renga "鶯/Uguisu" is one of "Kigo/seasonal word" which signify the early spring.  
In poetry the bird is associate with "UME Blossoms" and appears with "Ume/plum" on "Hanafuda playing cards."  

There is also a popular sweet named "Uguisu-Boru(Uguisu Balls)" which consists of brown and white balls meant to resemble Ume flower buds.  In Haiku the bird with with its song is known as Sasako, and the song is called Sasanaki. 

The beauty of its song led to the English name Japanese Nightingale, although the Japanese Bush Warbler does not sing at night as the European Nightingale does.  This name is no longer commonly used.

I decided to post this as my wish for Early Spring's Arrival.

"Reviews of Textile Oriented Books"

Cas Holmes's new book is an inspirational guide to the observation of the landscape, the practical application of that observation, and of the method of creativity that can be brought together under the banner of "textile."  This is a book whereby landscape is interpreted by textile art - through stitch, mixed media, and print.

The book is comprehensive without being dictatorial.  It is a guide to artists, students and teachers in how to truly and individually interpret the world around us.  Drawing on the book as a source for self-discoverly, self-creation, Cas encourage confidence in the art of observation, the art of practical making, the art of interpretation of your own unique view of the world.  

Cas covers a whole range of thoughts and ideas in her new book.  From Keeping a sketchbook, generating ideas, painting and dyeing cloth, how to observe a range of landscapes both large and small, how to interpret the details of those landscapes through paint, ink and stitch.  How to make your interpretation as unique and singular as it should be.  She has liberally filled "Textile Landscape" with interpretations on landscape through her own work, but also through a selection of contemporary textiles artists from around the planet.  "Textile Landscape" build on and continues from Cas's earlier book, also published by Batsford "Stitching Stories."  This new book reinforces Cas's passion for the natural landscape in all its forms, from urban scrubland to secret glades, from the wild untamed to studied farmland.  Above all, this book is all about the utter uniqueness of perspective, what you see as an individual within the landscape.  That is the beauty of Cas's book, the projection of your vision, of your creative endeavor.  Cas may show you examples of her vision and of the vision of other contemporary artists, but she is always aware that you the reader are the ultimate subject.  It is your interpretation that ultimately counts, not hers, and not any number of contemporary artists around planet.  The textile interpretation of landscape through your hands and through your eyes is her ultimate goal, and with this book that goal should be well within your grasp. 

This is the book that has the expansion of time as its essence.  Not the creation of time, as in there is never enough, but in the understanding that time has personal boundaries, as much as it does impersonal boundaries.

"Slow Stitch" or to give it its full title "Slow Stitch; Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art" is the newly published book by Claire Wellesley Smith. 

To understand "Slow Stitch" is to understand calmness, contemplation, and mindfulness.  To understand these, and more importantly, to integrate them into our lives, is to understand that it is OK to unwind a little, that is OK to place the demands of hr twenty-first century to one side, at least for part of your day.

Stitch, and the art of hand stitch is a great and simple means in which to enter the world of the momentary, of the mindful and contemplative world of calmness.  The repetitive rhythm of stitch, producing single moment one after the other, can be likened to listening to the ocean waves, to taking note of slow and steady breathing, the best of the planet.

It is an exercise in purposeful motions, of creating moments, rather than being led by them.  Creating stitch, is creating a path, creating a set of elements that can remove you from the world of the twenty first century.

It is measured time, whether self-measured, or measured by the task, it becomes the same thing in the end.  Through a range of parts and chapters Claire shows us how so many aspects of textile art can easily be slowed down, treated with respect and calmness.

She shows us how taking note of time, energy, the place that you inhabit while working, can all have an effect on the process, and the result of the process.  Whether working with local materials, repurposing old textiles, natural dyeing, the use of hand stitch and other traditional techniques, all add accumulate, all move the maker and artist in a direction that has purpose, has meaning. 

Claire includes in her book a range of practical projects such as stitch journals, mapping local walks in stitch and found objects, and working with other artists, all part of an attempt to seriously encourage textile artists, or those artists who choose to integrate an element of textile art into their work, to make reconnections with their love of textile, with their local culture and their local environment, all for the betterment of creativity.

Ann Kelly shows in her book how folk art has worked as a phenomenon across the planet, and how it has been a lasting cultural identity for many, and just as importantly how it can be used by the individual through self-expression in the contemporary world.  This is not a purely historical guide to textile folk art, as good as that would be.  No, there is much more to this book.  It is indeed a practical guide to understanding and producing your own folk art.  

Through a range of contemporary and historical examples, and through comprehensive and clear guidance, Ann gets the artist to question how they can gather personalised mementoes, memories of self, of family, of community, and how to enmesh these encapsulated variations of self into textile work that will become projects of personality, of faith in the continuation of self and others.  From collage, stitchwork, patchwork, screen printing, book making, through to fine art installations, Textile Folk Art expands the traditions of folk art into one that can so easily be embraced by today's contemporary artists.  

  

"Stitch Draw" by Rosie James is a comprehensive guide to figurative stitching, giving techniques and tip regarding free style stitching- drawing with stitch.

Rosie guides the reader through a whole series of technique and working methods, from setting up a sewing machine, through to drawing exercises that take you from pencil to stitch.  This book is a book that liberates the artist.  There is no tight framework of the "right way" of doing things, this is very much a book that expects the artist to liberate, to literally run with the stitch.

From the background of tradition to the forefront of contemporary art, stitch has made an extraordinary run through the last few years, in no small part due to the high profile artists who have pushed the limit of what can and should be achieved by stitch.  These artists have taken stitch and placed it at the cutting edge of contemporary life, and often of contemporary protest.  Artists who examine the world that we find ourselves in, and find aspects of that world wanting, are now firmly ensconced within the technique of stitch, and particularly figurative stitching.

Rosie James gives voice to that element of contemporary figurative stitch in "Stitch Draw."  She celebrate the extraordinary depth of her own work, which liberally illustrate Stitch Draw, but also highlights the work of same of the best contemporary artists that are using stitch today.  Artists such as; Mags James, Maris Wigley, Hinke Schreuders, Nike Schroeder, Tucker Schwarz, Leigh Bowser, Sophie Strong, and more.

This isn't a book limited to textile artists, or those wanting to enter the textile art field.  This is a book for artists - of any discipline, it is a book for artist who want to explore another way of expressing themselves.  That is the important message of contemporary stitch, stitch is a drawing technique and can be experimented on and by any artist.  It is a message stated loud and clear in "Stitch Draw."

Cas Holmes's new book "Stitch Stories" is a book full of headings, sub-headings, lists of intent, ideas, prompts, and helping hands.  Each segment of the book goes into great detail on its particular method, expanding to incorporate a wealth of tried and tested, as well as novel ideas, in how to approach a level of uniqueness that is the role of the artist in us all.

"Stitch Stories" is aimed at a textile and mixed media audience and is therefore geared towards artists who work, or intend to work, in those fields.  The book is full of rich color photos of Cas's own works, as well as the inspiring work of many other artists as well.  There are full color photos of completed works, as well as many works in progress, and most importantly photos of sketch books, one of the areas of work in progress that so many either get stuck on, or are unclear as to what they should contain.

To run through the different chapters of the book in order, will probably give you a good inkling as to why this book is such a valuable addition to the artist.  It is often a difficult task looking for rich and useful inspirational starting points in which pursue a series of work, the journey that those inspirational points should take in order to produce work that is both a reflection of those starting points, as well as being an important part of who you are as both an individual, is perhaps the hardest of all.

It is so important that self-expression be encouraged.  Your own story, your own viewpoint, your own perspective on the world, is a constantly unique one.  There may well be seven billion people on the planet, but there is only ever one of you.  Cas is fully aware of this and has spent a large proportion of her art career guiding and encouraging others to express themselves through creative paths that only belong to them.

If you have the tools and you have the vocabulary then how you use them is up to you.  This book is not a book that wants to show you how to work like Cas, how to produce work that copies where Cas has been and where she is going artistically and creatively, it is a book that shows you how to work like yourself, to find your own centre, your own creative strength, to be able to express yourself as your own true self, and not like another, and for that reason, amongst many, I highly recommend "Stitch Stories" 

The embroiderer and textile artist Alice Fox has produced an excellent new book entitled "Natural Processes in Textile Art"  To give some idea of the field of exploration that Alice's new book covers, its sub-heading is "From Rust Dyeing to Found Objects"

Working within natural processes, and projecting those processes through the discipline of textile art, Alice shows how to work creatively with your immediate environment, whether by using raw materials that have been gathered from seashore or garden, woodland, or city street.

Alice ebcorages by example, her book shows through simple explanations, how to work in time with natural process, bringing together the rhythms, complexity, as well as simplicity of nature into textile art.

The book covers such process as eco dyeing with garden fruits, seaweeds and other easily gathered raw materials.  Alice shows how using embroidery as a natural process can become an integral part of the work rather than an imposed embellishment, she shows that weaving with beachcombed fibers can add integrity and provenance to a composition, and how printing with found objects an add a depth and direction to the working process.

Alice encourage the fostering of a real connection with nature in order to help the creative process.  The integration of nature as a driving force in the process of making has become an increasingly important part of the contemporary creative world, and no more so than in textile art.

All traditional textile process, whether dyeing, sewing, weaving, and others, can be supplemented or even replaced by materials both ordinary, and indeed extraordinary, that can be found in the natural environment, from fiber for weaving and sewing that can be harvested from the natural world, from grasses, leaves, and plants, to fishing line washed up on a shoreline, all can be used as material, for use in the process and composition of work.  All that is ever really needed is imagination, and of course that is an endless and always renewable resource for the artist.

"Natural Processes in Textile Art" includes examples of the work of a number of leading artists who are well known within the field of eco textile processes, whether that be through dyeing, constraction, printing, stitching.

Although this book is aimed at textile artists, and those wanting to pursue or expand their repertoire within the textile field, it is also an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to include and incorporate an element of textiles within their own work, so would be ideal for those working in some of the connected disciplines such as mixed media, basketry, jewellery, ceramics, and as far afield as 3D sculpture and fine art painting.

A great book to own, and a great resource in which to look for other means of approaching the world of making.

Felt is one of the most ancient of textiles, felting one is most ancient techniques.  That felt is still very much with us today, and the techniques are still fresh, viable and sought after, when so many other textile traditions have fallen into disuse or been discarded by more recent technology, says much about the method, and the durability of th fabric.

Felting is a great teaching technique.  It is fun to do, it is a hand on technique, and the results are always vibrant and durable.  What not to love ?

The renowned feltmaker Lizzie Houghton has published a book that should be a must for all feltmaker, and indeed potential feltmakers.  "Felting Fashion; Creative and Inspirational Technique for Feltmakers" is a book that is project-based, with a whole range of practical, easy to follow projects for wearable felt, anything from hats to jewellery, vest tops to coats.

All the projects in the book feature Lizzie's stunning and original design works, and the book guides the reader through every stages of feltmaking, from choosing materials and equipments, to embellishing and dyeing your own wools and silks.
If you want a book that is going to take you from wishing to wear the unique and original, to actually creating unique and original clothing, then this is the book for you.

"Chanel (ready to wear) | Fall Winter 2019/2020"

What a show !   Quintessential CHANEL. 

This is KARL's Swan Song.

BRAVO !!

If you like to see the show with music, this is the link

www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=dmL2lTC4oto

"Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Karl Lagerfeld"

” Carnival Boy, Emiliano Rajzner "

"Lord of the SAMBA"

Boy !  He is having Fun, isn't he ?

"Happy Mardi Gras!"

"Carnival" in New Orleans

(Joe P. by Studio1x)

"Carnevale" in Venezia

"Carnival" in Rio de Janeiro

"March 3rd, 桃の節句, Doll Festival"

March 3rd is "Doll Festival" in Japan.

Many families with girls will be decorating their home with HINA Dolls.

Some of them are antiques from their ancestors,

and some of them just bought the first set for their first girl in a family. 

It supposed to wish for girls' healthy and happy life.

 The Traditional Doll Set with steps covered with red cloth.

From the top;

Emperor & Empress

Three Court Ladies

5 Cort Musicians

Minister of Right & Minister of Left 

2-Plants and 3 Helpers or Protectors of Emperor & Empress.

Items used within the Palatial Residence

(a variety of Miniature Furnitures, Tools, Carriage, etc.)

"桃の節句" means "Peach Blossom Festival"
It started being as a seasonal festival in HEIAN-period(794~1192) in Kyoto,
and it takes its origin from girls doll play.
The most important thing for this festival are dolls.
As well as dolls, the seasonal flower, Peach Flower, Sake(sweet white sake), 
and Arare(sweet colorful rice cracker) are also important decorations.

Most of Japanese Festival will company by special foods and sweets

Doll festival will be calibrated withs Pink Hued Sweets, and maybe with Matcha.