frosty morning

How are you all? Here in North Yorkshire, we had a very cold but fresh morning. Regardless what’s happening outside, I am suffering from never experienced amount of stress, multiple pressures and worries over my study, work, career, family issues all at once for some reasons. At the same time, I am embarrassed to say this, as I know there are so many people who suffers more and would be glad to replace with me. How do we all cope? Taking one thing out of them seems to be not an option. Giving myself tap on my back. Nearly there, don’t give up. Occasional doodling is a wee bit of help for now... 

experiment

All of a sudden I felt like painting. Sometimes it is nice to just follow an urge and have a go. I even dug out a blank canvas. Last time I painted on a canvas was when I was in junior high. Blimey, what have I been doing for the last quarter of a century? xm

mind the birds

Doodling from the ‘wings wall’. (We have a wall and a cabinet in front covered with birds and other flying creatures in paintings, printings, cards, ceramics and even charity shop found… It is one of my favourite spaces in our house) Never been so obsessive with birds until recently. Now my mind is full of birds. I seriously enjoy watching birds everyday. Are you birdie mind? 

These guidebook from Sunday Telegraph are ace. xm 

about me?

Two years of foundation degree has completed. The final year of BA will start in September. Following that change, I only meant to ‘tweak’ a bit of my profile section (on the right), but after a few attempts, I deleted them all. Writing about yourself is hard. Some people write a lot. Some do none. Some do a little and leave the readers to wonder the rest. What is your profile like? I mean, what do people want to know about me? Or do they in fact? 

Anyway I've decided to write about me randomly here and then I may ‘tweak’ a bit later if I fancy. 

i was born and lived in Japan until the age of 24. 

i speak English with Yorkshire accent. (apparently)

i am under 5ft.

i used to drink lots of milk believing to get taller.

i still drink lots of milk but not with the same reason. 

i love bunnies. (not to eat or shoot)

i don’t do chocolates nor cats. (sorry no offense)

i roller skate well.

i like the smell of cut grass. 

i suffer from a hey fever. 

i am good at making a mess.

i agree with the fact of the three most stressful things in your life; moving house, marriage and divorce, all through experience. 

i chill in a very hot bath. 

i don't bite my nails but often bite my tongue when i sneeze. (literally)

i think my husband is ACE, so is the person who introduced the car boot sale.

i think of drawing but end up doodling. 

the little things in life easily make me happy. 

it’s good to be a geek. 

i know Julie’s dates and walnuts cake is THE best. 

some of the students in my workshop call me MAC, which is ok but i prefer maki.

i would like to engage with you.

i wanted to be a stuntman (or lady precisely) of superhero program. 

i have a thing with quite a lot of things. 

i feel ok. that is important.  

i can cook the perfect rice. (or i think i can)

i do not have green fingers. 

i am ticklish.

i dream.

... me and ceramics? xm

SOMERSET LOVE 3/4: time to doodle

some random miniature doodling from Somerset.

Next post is Somerset treasure hunt! Have a nice weekend all. xm

yellow love

At the moment, I am so in love with this new yellow mate. Got this on sale. (only fiver!) Just in time for a new semester, he brightens me up when I write my journal. xm 

counting

2 towers of blue

3 cheese me boards

4 hanetsubo golds

5 bird & building boxes

6 ba ba booms

7 rakugaki mugs

8 tsugihagi (patchwork) brooches

things I’d like to make when the studio is up and ready. 

(numbers are actually irrelevant) but I'm counting the days. xm

ai-awase

Studio is coming up well. Hopefully I can show you here soon. In the meantime, working on a new idea, collage of Japanese cobalt blue (ai). Still experimenting stage. xm 

shady expression

windy but bright this morning. bringing beautiful lights into the house. love the way the light and the shadow create interesting shapes that keep changing every minutes as the clouds moving so fast. lovely way to spend a day off. xm

time to doodle

to be continued... xm 

rabbit the ace

The year of the rabbit, apparently. I tend to lose track as not being in Japan and only get to realise when my folks send a thing like this just before the new year. I am a bit of well known (is there such a thing?) rabbit lover (although I am in a mourning period from the one I used to have) and easily get excited by all sort of rabbit gears at my age. (sadly.) Anyway, this rabbit from Japan looks ever so desperate, worried and frightened... and I have realised that it’s her mouth! I cannot resist guessing (I personally think it’s the fact) that it has been placed up side down. Surely they should make a smile at the beginning of the new year, not ‘quivering’ like her. But they are quivering animals... mmm. Must admit I actually like this one though. BTW, here is the proof. 

(I know I'd better get back to something more important...)  

Happy rabbit year to all! xm 

what else do you want moor

Soon after September has arrived, I've started to feel a sense of autumn nearby. In this time of year, there is one place I like visiting. Yorkshire Moor. With just one aim, to see heather. I love the beautiful pinkish purple carpet. We visited at the end of school summer holiday. Out in a fresh air and cool winds, it was so refreshing. Beside my teenage step-son walking in a sort of cool and calm manner, I was dashing around in a joy with my camera. Every time I come up to Dales and Moors, I remind myself that how lucky to live in North Yorkshire to be able to see such a stunning view in a “just popping round” distance.

Beautiful but tough weather up there, all the natures and creatures have strong faces. Following those memories, I began to doodle some ideas. I may transfer this to my ceramics. Maybe using ceramic crayon like these... 

 Thank you moor & see you next year. xm

Life is not that smooth. So when working hard, stop, breath and celebrate.

pretty patterns on a grass carpet created by light and shadow

We took a week off, not for a holiday but to concentrate on building my studio-to-be. It’s been ultra busy so far, spending all day out in the garden (the studio was originally a garden shed) under the sun. The thing is once you start something, you find another thing to be done and keep going off the track.. but I know it’s moving forward slowly but surely. It is in a way frustrating process, not being able to see WHEN I am actually in the studio. Wanted to get it done by this September ready for the next term, but it seems not possible. This is unfortunately the fact as we (husband and I) are doing all by ourselves when we could find the time off from work. And of course the cost matters too. So far, we did the floor and roof last year, which is now need re-felting. Sorted the gutter and entrance area. I am doing the ceiling at the moment, keeping air space and layering insulations. Then we found tons of other jobs to pick up in between... like the part of decking to be sorted out, garden allotment, oh let’s wash blinds while it’s sunny, sorting meal for my stepdaughter’s graduation, helping out the neighbor’s garden before his 80th birthday do etc etc...

Life does just not that easily follow as you wanted it to be. But I am learning to embrace that all. Stop and breath here and there, looking back what you have done so far each day and celebrate. That keeps a smile on my face and soul I believe.

This morning as I got up early, I took my skecthbook out for "doodling" during my breakfast. I popped into the local RHS garden on Monday morning using a "half-price" voucher that I kept from newspaper cut-out. Getting inspirations from some photos I took, I drew new ideas of my work on ceramics and prints.

When I see a garden, although I love the colours and flowers, I tend to more focus on something like, the shape of leaves, seed heads, outline created by shadow, roughness of the meadow etc etc. I guess this is simply because I cannot paint! If I can paint well (and I wish I could) I would love to catch those beautiful contrast of colours in this garden. Instead, I usually do line drawing. This seems working for me and easy to visualise how I can translate onto ceramics surface or screens. Anyway, this is what I “doodled”. I enjoyed ten minutes of “breathing” . Let’s get back to work. Start again.

stop, breath and celebrate!