Photo Diary for Rooms Magazine

Hi there!I'm melting in NY super hot summer...being an ice cream zombie.Mexico show was great!  I will update photos soon.

Couple weeks ago I did a one week photo diary for the Rooms Magazine, Fine Art Magazine from London. And now it's online to read.  Thank you Rooms Magazine! For some reason there is a week difference in when this actually took place, it's a diary from June 10th to 19th :) Well... it's the week that I got sick so I'm not sure how entertaining it is... but if you are ever curious about what I was doing during that week, check it out~

Aya'sMonday---->  click

Tuesday---> click

Wednesday---> click

Thursday ---> click

Friday---> click

Saturday---> click

Sunday ---> click

Potato Madness!

I was doing potato stamping for a class that I teach, and I totally got into it.It's super fun!!! 1I made these two stamps during the class, we all discovered simple shape looks the best with potato stamping.23 4Decided to print on my white T-shirts that I've never wore. 5Done!!!!6Cut off the sleeves so it looks nicer. 7 8Done!!!!   Now I want to do more, maybe make a curtain or a dress.

Studio Breakfast

Today I finished making the piece for the Giant Robot Biannual 3 which opens in L.A. in mid Sept.  For this show each artist has to use 2 of their vinyl products and customize them in your own way.  I decided to cook them into my Sunday breakfast!Gochisou sama deshita~

StumpTown Comic Festival this weekend!

Hi Everyone!I will be a part of StumpTown Comic Festival this weekend in Portland Oregon. I'm bringing all my hand made books that I've been working on at the silkscreen studio since January and also some hand made products!

I have a booth sharing it with Sara Varon and Jen Tong. Two of my favorite comic artists! So come down and say hello to us!!!

The 9th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest April 28 & 29, 2012 • Oregon Convention Center Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-6 • Buy Tickets Now! at TicketsWest More info: http://www.stumptowncomics.com/comics-fest/

Here are some toto bags that I made for the festival! <Front> Front image is two Kokeshi chan And the back is mixed and match Kokeshi chan.

<Back>

Summer in NY

Summer is Here in NY. Few weeks ago this tree in front of my house had few leaves but now it's very much in full green!Just on time for summer, Kokeshi chan bikini version came out from the kiln. Ready for a beach!!!

Print Shop Today

Busy day at Print shop today.I did a drawing on a blank note book and I wanted to make it in color by silkscreen. It was so hard because the book wasn't flat. but eventually I got it. fewwww there is always something new to learn. Original Drawing

Silkscreen Version, the color is hard to tell in the photo but it's a nice hot pink in real life. Also the project that I was putting off from January...I finally printed out the cover of my new accordion book "Snow Day."

Starting out with white. Front and the back cover. second color black. I like how it came out! Looks like a wall paper all together. Last color, only the front cover has gradation snow pattern. There are pink version and purple version.

Long Long day but productive, covered in paint.

Hampshire College and pretty towns in Massachusetts

I was visiting Hampshire College this week to talk at Andrea Dezso's class.Andrea is one of my favorite artist so I was very happy to go up and visit her and her class!  Here you can see her amazing art work! ----> http://www.andreadezso.com/

Her husband Adam took me around and show me some small town around the college. It was beautiful! Thank you so much Andrea and Adum!

(Some Photo from the college) (This is part of their campus with Apple trees! so pretty!) (Some student works, Papier-mâché Masks) (poster made by Andrea!)

(Cows!!! so Cute!  This is an amazing ice cream store, you can meet the cows who makes the milk for ice cream in their back yard.) (They had a baby cows in little huts) (Awwwww ♥） (Small towns around the school.) (There was a canal running across the town. The stream was pretty strong.) (Spring is just arriving to Massachusetts, flowers are starting to bloom everywhere, so pretty!)It was such a treat to be in a beautiful nature.

Tonight at silkscreen studio

I worked on covers for my new silkscreen book "BOX" tonight.(First Color for the front cover) (Second Color ---- BOX!) (And this is my back cover--- Empty box, where did the character go???) (Then I was playing with the ceramic figure that I made which goes with this book) (Mmmmmm...... ESCAPE!) I had a little time left at the studio, I printed some characters on Matches. ( well it looks like matches but actually sticky notes inside. Nice product idea, I got them at an art store in Baltimore, I should have gotten more!) Done for Today! Good Night.

Printing cover for mini books!

I've bee posting about ceramic studio but realized I didn't post any image from my silkscreen studio!I've been preparing mini books, posters, and comics for stump town comic festival coming up in the end of this month. http://www.stumptowncomics.com/comics-fest/ Here are some photos of mini books that I'm working on right now. They are book covers.

(First print/ white ) (Second Print/ Egg plant color) (And last color/ red) (And here is some system that I came up for printing this book cover. Registration was very easy doing this)

Voila! I'm done! I really like them as a group looks kind of like a chocolate! Oh that would be my dream to print on Chocolate!

Back to Sculpture Studio

Back from Baltimore, all refreshed.  Today I was ready to meet all my new friends who were baked in the kiln last week.My Village of people are finally coming out to the finish line little by little.  It took me really long time to come to this point, I'm happy to see the progress. (but in my head not even 1/3 is done. Village populations must grow!) Mini Kokeshi girls back of the flower girl (nina) has another face! These are the new twin fish girl that I'm working on right now, still under-glazing. It will turn out to be shiny like the rest of figures!

spring and sculpture studio update

Happy Spring everyone!Brought in some flowers from the front yard now spring is in my Dining room.

<<Sculpture studio update>> I'm now in the glazing stage. Those are in the kiln now, hope the colors will come out right! I had some "ugly color disappointment" today with some of the sculptures... so I'm crossing my fingers for those ones.  Glazing is so hard! Also some "Successful ones" came out today as well. Although those pieces are black/white so it was very easy for me to guess what it will look like after baking I was surprise how glossy the black came out though, a good surprise.  horrray!

One Year After

Today was such a beautiful warm day in New York!"Tsuru Project" an artists group which formed soon after the earthquake in Japan last March 11th, gathered in a park in Brooklyn to have a memorial event today. We hanged the Origami Cranes and paper ornaments from trees. These Cranes were made by children, friends, and artists who came to our origami workshops through out the whole year since last March. It was so beautiful with the winds blowing~These are the photos from when we were setting up so I don't have any people in. But so many people came by and made origami with us through out the day. I will put some more photos when I get them!  Thank you so much for coming.  I was very happy and touched to have this special memorial day with warm friends and strangers folding origami and thinking about Japan together. Thank you!!! This is Yuri making a beautiful one year memorial sign for our installation.

Sculpture Studio

Here are some photos from my ceramic studio.Slowly but surely something is coming out from my brain ---> hands ---> Plaster casts ---> clay. I was creating different vases with faces, and the other day I realized. Oh!!! all my vases at home have faces!!! It was nice to know I was getting inspiration from some objects around my house and my everyday life! Here is some photo of my vases at home. And! For this Valentine's day Eun-ha gave me one of her art ceramic piece.  I always wanted to own her piece so I was so happy. And guess what?! it was a vase with face, too!!! You can see Eun-ha's art work here --->http://www.eun-ha.com She is a true inspiration to me and a great friend.  She is one of the reason that I started doing ceramic. Here is Eun-ha's Vase and a visiting artist cat Nemo.

Story of Banpeiyu-chan

I found a new Friend in the kitchen, her name is Bampeiyu-chan.She is a Citron as big as my face! We hanged out for a while chatted and shared our childhood stories. Miichan kept her distance.  I think she was scared to see such a huge face floating  near her food and water. After few days I was hungry and Banpeiyu-chan was smelling so fresh...My stomach made a sound which it shouldn't make towards a friend... Ahhhhhhh!

so delicious...

The End