Spring Tide

Everything is coming to the end. That means I am at the start line of the next stage of my life, which seems to be folded in mist. I still have quite a long list of things to do but the blank plan for the future makes me feel restless.
Although it is very exciting as well... I always had lots of things to do, the place to be, the way to follow one after another but I am free at least for now!



A story idea about the spring tide day that I had started to work after the hand in day in January. We won't have tutors to show the project regularly or to ask for comments anymore and it will be tough to keep the motivation to work. It is very scary!



When the mud flat was completely covered by the tidal water, the flock of the Oystercatchers took off in the air.

Thank you for coming!

Thank you very much for coming to our graduation exhibition! I was delighted to see the gallery so packed on the private view night and the family & friends day.



Last Sunday I walked along the lake in the St. James's Park, watching Moorhens skating on the ice. My Little Brown story has already finished for now and I need to start making something other than moorhen! Everything has gone so quickly...



Thank you for your lovely comments.

◇◆◇ MA Children's Book Illustration Exhibition ◇◆◇
The small version of our graduation exhibition will be held at our university from the end of February. If you are in Cambridge, please drop in at the gallery to have a little look!

Date: 29th-15th March 2012 (Mon - Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm)
Place: Ruskin Gallery. Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT

Woodcock

Yesterday, I went out for birdwatching. We walked in the woods. Snow still remained on the ground, adding extra light to the scenery.



ヤマシギ
And my birdwatcher friend found a Woodcock sitting along the stream! It stayed still long enough for me to sketch. Flowing streams and rivers are precious unfrozen water for birds in this cold weather.

Final Exhibition

Our graduation exhibition has already started. I could not imagine how it would be until the very day we hanged it up. But it turned out to be very nice and I am so proud of it! All my coursemates works are amazing and each of us has unique style, which, I think, is incredible.



My little corner.



Almost everything was decided on the spot...



Beginning of the private view on Thursday.

We have been working so hard for this exhibition and now it is set up... I still can not believe it.

Bright Night

Yes! It is snowing and started to pile up! This is the first proper snow this winter.
When everything is covered with snow, it's bright outside even at night time.



I wish I could walk to Grantchester or somewhere tomorrow morning...but our graduation exhibition will start in a few days!

Stone Curlew

イシチドリ
Stone Curlew is one of my favorite birds in England.
I learned that its population once declined down to 150-160 pairs in England. But due to careful protection collaborating with farmers, the number started to increase and recently nearly 400 pairs were recorded. It is still rare and difficult to see but my birdwatcher friend kindly took me to the secret place in early autumn to see them!

I heard an interesting story about how they have protected the birds when some pairs nested in the farm, such as onion and sugar beet field. They replace or remove the eggs while farmers spray crops with pesticides or operate heavy machine in the field so that the actual eggs will not get affected! Adult birds do not seem to care and return to their nest for incubation afterward.

I wish I could join this kind of conservation project, research about it and write a story about it! This could be a nice nature story book for children.

MA Children's Book Illustration Exhibition

Days are getting longer and longer. February is just around the corner...only ten more days until our graduation exhibition in London!



◇◆◇ MA Children's Book Illustration Exhibition ◇◆◇
Cambridge School of Art (Anglia Ruskin University)
Graduation exhibition 2012
Date: 8th(wed)-15th(wed) February 2012. Mon-Sat: 9.30am - 5pm, Sun: 11.30am - 6pm
Place: The Gallery at FOYLES
Foyles Bookshop (3rd Floor), 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB



一緒に卒業する37人分の作品とプロフィールを収録した卒業展カタログを作り、内覧会の案内とともに出版社に配布した。わたしのページは、カワカマスのシーンだ。

Slowly but step by step, I am preparing for the show. We have just got our dummy book printed by blurb yesterday. I am so happy!



ちょっと奮発して、BlurbでLittle Brownの見本版を印刷した。コースメイトでもハウスメイトでもある友達二人とともに注文したのが昨日ようやく届き、みんなでひとしきり、うっとりと回し読みしてしまった。友達が教授へのメールに追伸として、Blurbが出来ました、と報告したら、近所に住んでいる教授まで、帰り際にうちに寄り道して見に来てくれた。

Board Book

I finally decided the cover design for the board book, It's Supper Time!



This is a book for small children. A little boy is shown feeding different kinds of birds and in the end having supper himself.

The linocut technique made me choose one bold line out of my pencil sketch that generally had a lot of uncertain lines. Sometime I can distill the essence of the drawing but sometime I loose the important line while tracing the images for several times before I get it drawn on lino. It is tricky!
But I started to pay more attention to each line through using this method, for sure.

Tom's Midnight Garden

I have just finished rereading Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce in English and I was fascinated by all the description of the setting. It's all about here around Cambridge!

I know that it's not a good idea to illustrate something that is still copyrighted but I could not help trying. Because I could really imagine how it would be. It means so much more when you read these books in English after actually spending time in England.
And this became a good break from lino/rubber carving as well.



"Tom, before, had known only the garden, and a very little beyond its limits; now, from his wall-top, he saw what seemed to be the whole world.
'Tell me what you see,' Hatty pleaded."



"Hatty and Tom skated and skated, and for a long time the tower seemed to let them come no nearer, but performed a mysterious movement instead, now to one side, now to the other, now ahead, according to the winding of the river."

Now, I know the flat fenland, the river floating along, Ely cathedral, the wash, geese(probably Grey-lag), Yew trees and the frozen river Cam from last winter...

Thank you, Hiromi, for reminding me of this book!
I will reread Minnow on the Say, too. And when it gets warmer, I will cycle again to Great Shelford.

Field sketch

I noticed that I haven't been able to colour any of my field sketches these days. So I did since I was way too sleepy and tired to work in the evening.



On this frosty day, I found a Reed Bunting almost in its summer plumage!