illustration friday (sweet)

einstein's eggplant

Just when I thought I had finished plumbing the dubious depths of eggplants...

Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler. (Albert Einstein)

 

the cranky eggplant

The Japanese words are read heso-magari (literally: a belly-button that is crooked or out-of-line), an expression used for a perverse or contrary person (crank, screwball, uncooperative, etc).  I've illustrated this expression before with various twisted vegetables, and this is the eggplant version. From my Funny Words series.

eggplant proverb

Oya no iken to nasu no hana: sen ni hitotsumo muda wa nai. The words translate roughly to "A parent's advice and an eggplant blossom: There is not one in a thousand that goes to waste." Meaning: As an eggplant blossom can always be counted on to become an eggplant, so too, advice from a parent never goes to waste.

beware the stifled imagination

“I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant.” Ursula K. LeGuin

etegami newsletter- june 2013

If you are signed up to receive the Etegami Fun Club Newsletter, the June 2013 issue should be in your email box by now. Submissions from readers for the Etegami Bird Call are the highlight of this issue, which also includes Part 2 of the Etegami as Greeting Cards series and a new section on what some of our very creative readers are doing to Stretch the Boundaries of Etegami.

If you haven't signed up for this free monthly newsletter and would like to do so, please send a request to dosankodebbie (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) jp 

Reminder: Subscribing to the blog and getting my posts in your mailbox is not the same as signing up for the newsletter, which is not automatic. Sorry for the confusion!

more doggies

Lazy Jack

Patient Alex

feeling strawberry

winners of the children's day give-away

Happy Children's Day, and thank you all for the lovely comments on the koinobori etegami give-away post. There will certainly be more give-aways in the future, so keep your eyes peeled.

Congratulations to Amalia in UK and Pamela K for "winning" the drawing for the give-away. Please send your postal address to dosankodebbie (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) jp so I can send the cards to you as soon as possible. : )

children's day give-away

You may remember this etegami from when I first posted it as part of my earthquake/tsunami memorial series. It became widely known after it was printed onto T-shirts and mugs to help raise funds for disaster relief, and it will always have a very special place in my heart. It depicts the carp windsocks (koi-nobori) that we fly from flagpoles to celebrate the Kodomo-no-hi (Chidren's Day) festival on May 5th of every year. Carp, which are known to swim against the current, symbolize our hopes that our children will grow up to be healthy, strong, and courageous against adversity.

The original is made of two parts: two cards taped together to make one long card. It has fulfilled the purpose for which it was painted, and I'm finally ready to let go of the original cards. I've separated them, adding words to the side that didn't have words, and my name seal to the side that didn't have a seal. The writing can be translated as "We're all connected" or "We're in this together." If you'd like one of the cards (I can't say which you'll get if picked), please tell me so in a comment below. On Sunday, May 5th, I will pick two "winners." I plan to laminate the cards and mail them without envelopes.