Student life

December is just around the corner and we only have two more classes. And that is going to be the end of my student life.
My mother used to say that I should definitely go to university not because that it would give me enough knowledge nor a chance to get a nice job, but because the days I could spend as a university student would be the best time in my life. Now, I am really grateful that I could have one year and a half extra student life in England.



In the final stage of the MA course, we are far too busy and stressed with works to enjoy the rest of the days. The end always comes too quickly.

いのちの共生を未来へ

アップロードが大変遅くなってしまいましたが・・・
昨年のCOP10から関わらせていただいている「想いでつなごう　おりがみプロジェクト」の冊子が先月できあがった。



The booklet for the COP10 Let's Origami Project, which I was working on this spring, has finally printed.

It's supper time!

I started to work on the other project as well. The idea is from my Japanese friend and it is a very simple baby story about feeding birds.



I wanted to try in different media but my professor said that I should develop my lino world. So I am still carving and carving!

Poppy Day

There were two minutes of silence in the printmaking room yesterday and I learned that it was the Remembrence Day. And that was the reason why a lot of people were waring a poppy flower badge. It reminded me of the August before I came here. I was researching in the middle of a paddy field or a wheat field on the atomic-bomb day in Saitama prefecture and there was an announcement from the speakers in the town asking people for a minute of silence. In Japan, November the 11th is just the day for Pocky...



A sketch of Poppy flowers from this summer. I wanted to sit in a poppy field but I missed the opportunity...
戦地にはきまってポピーがたくさん咲いたという。激戦で土地が"耕され"、地中深くで休眠していたポピーが地表に出て花を咲かせるからのようだ。

Kruk! Kruk!

This Thursday we will have a middle crit. That means the final project is supposed to be half way done...time really flew.



And making a page takes so long. Every time I print something, I have something wrong. So I feel like reprinting the same images again and again and do not have any progress. I wish I could have longer and weekend open access to the printmaking studio!

遊び心

プロントメイキングのプロセスは遊び心をかき立てる。残ったインクでつい何かしてみたくなるのだ。



My mini monoprint of acorns from the leftover ink.



It was supposed to be a Barn Owl.
I found it very fun to play around with printmaking process. But I have to think that I will not be able to use that uni studio with press and everything after I graduate. So I started to try mini printmaking at home with a cutting board and butter knives. I might buy a nice roller...should I or should I not...?

Ghost

Halloween is coming! We carved a pumpkin, roasted the seeds and baked a pumpkin pie using the pumpkin filling imported from USA by my friend's friend. I heard that children come and say trick or treat only to the house with lighted pumpkin. We are planning to put ours up somewhere outside the gate on Monday. But I doubt if anybody will come because our gate sets back far from the street.



Ghost images from my moorhen stamps.




When I was working in the printmaking studio with my stamps, I was told that I should to try getting the ghost images by putting tissue paper on the ink left on the surface and rubbing the images with my finger or wooden spoon.
It was something I would never think of! It's nice to work with people from different major

Raptor Foundation

Last Thursday, we finally got three huge boxes of the art materials that we ordered in bulk with classmates! Now I have loads of linos to carve.
I wonder why they made the lino in dark colour. I found carving a lino is much more difficult than carving a rubber stump. And it is not only because the lino is harder than the rubber, its dark colour makes it difficult to see the line, which I draw on. I suppose they could dye the lino in any colour!



ハリー・ポッター？？
I was told to try drawing children with linocut so I did!
A boy and a Barn Owl from the visit to the Raptor Foundation.
ケンブリッジシャー州にある猛禽類の保護センター。一度訪れた印象では、鷹匠の技術や文化を現代のニーズに合わせて残した施設という雰囲気だった。野生復帰を目指したリハビリ活動も行っているということだが、海外産の猛禽類やハイブリッドも含めたタカ類の展示、日に2−3回の鷹匠式のフライング・ショーが訪問者にとっては目玉になる。

アクロバティックに飛び交い、ホバリングをしてみせるチョウゲンボウのショーを見ながら、農工大のRCP（リハビリケージ・プロジェクト）に初期にやってきたチョウゲンボウのアグリやバイオを思い出した。RCPでは、傷病猛禽の飛翔訓練のために鷹匠技術を応用していたからだ。あの小屋を出た鳥たちのうち何羽がいまも空を飛んでいるのだろう。

Green Finch

I have loads of sketches from the summer and the birdwatching trips recently, which I want to finish and put up on this blog. I know one takes only a few minutes or so. But when I have this huge final project in front of me, I don't feel like doing anything else. This is very bad. I should do it for a change!



Days are getting shorter here and half past seven is still really dark. But at least we have very clear sky these days. I hope the sky above Bangkok becomes like this and dry everything up in stead of bringing another rain!

Decision

It is hard to decide which way to go. Choosing one means dropping the other one.





Above two are printed with my stamp pad. I love their soft touch but they are weak.





And those are printed with the printmaking inks at the studio. The bold touch is attractive but somehow the Moorhens do not nicely settle down in the background.
I wonder which one you prefer.