Otto's blog

オト　の　アート　#３

12月

8日

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In 2001 I stayed in a traditional Japanese-style ryokan (guesthouse) in Ohno in Gifu Prefecture. There was a square `irori` cooking pit in the floor of the living room, with a variety of iron hook-and-lever systems(jizaikagi) for holding pots above it.

I made sketches there, then did this 20 x 30cm woodblock print later at home.

One Man`s Trash #9

12月

2日

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My father-in-law had some old wood that he said I could use, so I decided to try to make a bookcase.

It took me a while, and I made lots of mistakes; one reason was because a lot of the wood wasn`t straight. However, I`m creative and - like my finished bookcase - flexible, so I discovered ways around this problem. Some of the techniques I used would make my high-school woodwork teacher`s pens explode from the top of his long socks like rockets if he knew, but in the end I`m pretty happy with the result.

The next big challenge is making my wife let me use it in the house...

オト　の　アート　#2

11月

25日

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This is a woodblock print I did in 2007, using black acrylic paint. I added color (watercolor paint) by hand afterwards.

The size is 20 x 30cm.

I saw these objects in this arrangement in the grounds of a temple somewhere in Yoro. I was out riding my bike & exploring the countryside at that time.

The frame on this one is real!

オト　の　アート

11月

20日

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This is a new series on my blog called "otto-no-arto" (Otto`s Art).

Nowadays I don`t paint or draw much, so some of these pictures are not recent, but I hope you enjoy looking at them anyway.

This is a lino-cut print using acrylic paint. The size is 10cm x 7cm. I made it in 2003.

By the way, the frame isn`t real. I found the frame image on the internet, then I cut & pasted a scan of my picture onto the frame.

One Man`s Trash #8 (?)

11月

19日

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Japanese gifts are often wrapped in stylish & colourful paper. I sometimes use this paper for writing letters on, & occasionally I even make matching envelopes from it too. I usually send these letters to my family in Australia - my nephews & neices think they`re cool & interesting.

I don`t think it`s suitable for my Japanese friends though. They think I`m strange enough already.

This is an envelope & writing paper set I made from the packaging on a souvenir I bought in Shikoku.

What do you think? Would you be pleased to receive such a letter?

One Man`s Trash #6

8月

18日

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This is a toy I made from recycled beach wood. Owen enjoys playing with it, but he doesn`t pay attention to the colours. He just likes putting the round pieces in it. When I`m not looking he also tries to eat them. Maybe they taste like sun-baked sea-salt.

Mmmm.

That sounds kind of yummy actually.

One Man`s Trash #4

8月

3日

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Our bench at Ichinomiya Teragoya wasn`t actually trash yet, but it was showing some definite signs of age, as you can see.

Time for a make-over!

Our staff Yumi got wood from her kind husband, and I repaired the bench at home. It was pretty easy, but painting the wood (clear color) was a bit of a hassle.

Next time you visit our school, please try it - it`s free!

One Man`s Trash #3

7月

29日

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Bamboo is fantastic. I think it`s proof there is a God (or Devil, if you`ve ever tried to get rid of it from your garden).

It can be as strong as steel, sharp as a knife, or so soft you can eat it! It`s useful for making all sorts of things, from boats to vases.

As you can see, my skill level is not high enough for the boat option yet, but this vase I made from bamboo looks pretty nice, don`t you think? I made it from bamboo I found on the beach at Mihama.

I stole the flowers from my mother-in-law`s garden.

Joan Miro art exhibition

7月

6日

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On Sunday I went to an exhibition of art by Spanish surrealist Joan Miro at Kiyosu City Haruhi Art Museum 清須市はるひ美術館. Do you know him?

He`s an interesting guy, because he has a girl`s name. Also his art is interesting because it looks like a small kid did it, but he`s an adult...

Actually (maybe you can guess!), I don`t like his art much.

However, I`m interested in art, and especially printmaking e.g. etching, engraving & woodblock printing, which is what Joan Miro usually did. Besides the exhibition, the museum also had an interesting display of art printing equipment & decriptions of different art printing methods. I enjoyed looking at that.

Do you often go to art exhibitions? I recommend it. Even if I don`t really like the art, I always feel positive, creative & motivated afterwards.

One Man`s Trash #1

6月

21日

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In English, we have a saying which I like: "One man`s trash is another man`s treasure."
Japanese beaches are a great place to find interesting things that other people think are trash, but I like to collect and keep. Sometimes I even make things from them. Because they come from the sea, they have usually been washed clean, so I don`t really think of them as `real` rubbish like the stuff you put in your rubbish bin at home.
In the picture above, you can see some things I collected last week when I went to Mihama Beach in Fukui. Do you recognize any of them? Have you ever picked up these kinds of things from the beach, maybe when you were a kid?

Anyway, this is the first in an intended series. I hope you enjoy it.