the last of sweet things

well, i've eaten the last of my malebranche matcha cookies today. i decided to make an occasion of it, and made some fresh sencha extra green tea (a blend of my gift of sencha from the ladies of the cafeteria from when i was in kyoto, and matcha tea from ippodo). i paired the cookie with a frosted rice cracker, served up on my grandmothers' noritake china.

i like the play between the lines of the cracker and those of the tea pot, as well as the white and green balancing. i've had two cups of green tea everyday lately, usually between breakfast and lunch; it sets me up to go out and work in the studio.

although matcha is my favorite flavor in baked goods and icecream, genmaicha tea has quickly become my favorite drinking tea, and mixing it with matcha to make it extra green is quite delicious!

space to work in

ah, photos. what would the internet be without them. everything in the studio is coming along nicely now, so i thought i would introduce you to my new/old "dyeing laboratory and weaving studio":

the dye laboratory and tea brewing station.

skein winder, gokoh, and kasuri shifter.

ze loom, with the new addition of jazz bands to prevent floating harness syndrome.

my workstation, complete with idea/inspiration board.

now that smell (japanese incense courtesy of lisn), sight, and touch (sheepskin bench cover) are taken care of all this space lacks is sound. i was hoping to get the vers 2x for my ipod, but they're not manufacturing them again until spring. phooey. so i'm on the hunt to find one, and haven't had any success thus far, as they didn't produce any this year.

gifts to exchange

at the last fiber guild meeting, we did a little handmade gift exchange. as i didn't have anything on hand, i needed to create something. and, as so often the case, i waited till the last minute to do so. so, the evening before, i got out the sewing needles, buttons, and small scraps of cloth, and decided to make a cloud pin with a raindrop embellishment. i kept things simple, and took an idea which i had worked on in japan; to line up the button holes with the holes on the pin backs i use, and to sandwich the button between two bits of cloth which can be trimmed to whatever shape one likes.

when gift wrapping, i like to repurpose, as it makes things more interesting that way. so the paper i wrapped with was packing material used to cushion glass, and the bow was made from candy foil.

the button sandwich pin needs more development, but the clean lines you can achieve is quite nice, and the simplicity lends itself to minimal embellishment. i quite like the look of the aerated paper as well, and luckily, i need to order another beaker, so, yay, more wrapping material!

tearjerkers and other thoughts

i don't particularly care for war movies; most glorify something that is ugly, or take a comedic standpoint where there is little humor to be found. but, as with anything, there are exceptions; captain corelli's mandolin, and miracle at st. anna.

i'm not sure why, perhaps it's the story that's underneath the backdrop of war that draws me, or the humanity of the characters, flawed and all. or maybe it's that they make me cry, or that they tell about the good things that survive the devastation of war.

one of the things i liked about these two films is that these movies show a more realistic view of war, that it's not glorious, or something which is clean-cut (these are the good guys and these the bad), that it's ugly, and seething with nonsensical violence, that it destroys thoughtlessly, that not everyone is decent and capable of humanity, regardless of which side they're on.

this genre may not be on the top of my preferred viewing list, but it's good to creep outside of one's comfort zone every now and then, what you find may stick with you and inspire.

arranging

a desktop still life: maeve's painting, covered tea vessel, wooden bento, pigment set, tree seeds, and an omiyage.

baubles

as it is gift-giving time, i can unveil the little presents i bought at the kamigamo handmade market. there were so many kaitei charms at each booth, it was difficult to choose just four. they're all just too kawaii.

one of the things i'm incorporating into my daily life is japanese incense; it smells lovely unburned, exotic while burning, and lingers for several days in a pleasant way. i hope it will freshen up the air in my studio as well. further updates on that front soon.

i knew of kumihimo before i went to japan, but it was still a charming surprise to come across it and find that i liked the fresh colors and modern aesthetic.

it's like baking, just mix the ingredients

i've been home for a couple of days now, and quite busy. between laundry, cleaning, eating, and sleeping, i've managed to work on setting up my studio and taking notes on what i need in order to get started.

the first things are definitely dyestuff, a source of heat, and lots of experimentation. i want to create more kasuri weaving, and before my dedication and creative juices have time to wan. i would also like to start drinking green tea on a regular basis, so i'm thinking of having a tea station in my studio (i've got heat, water, and space).

the new toys i picked up in japan fit into the space beautifully and so does my loom. it will be nice to have a space i can go to that's dedicated to dyeing and weaving. i'm thinking of calling it my "dye lab and weaving studio". ohh, nice. or maybe there's space for "laboratory" a la dexter's lab; thus, "dye laboratory slash weaving studio". now we're getting somewhere.