a world of dew

You can't always tell from the results, but words are the part of my etegami that matter to me the most. I finally added words to two of the chicken etegami I posted a few days ago.

I quote Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) in the etegami on the left. His life was full of severe poverty and great physical hardship, yet his haiku reveals an attachment to the world in spite of its cruelties. He wrote this particular haiku after his baby daughter died of smallpox. I took the liberty of adding a commentary to bind the haiku to my image. But I think Issa, who had a wonderful sense of humor, would have approved.

In regard to the second card, I have to say that the saying "working for chicken feed" has always amused me, all the more because it accurately describes huge blocks of my own life. This combination of words and images is intended for some very special people in my life.

uneaten ducks

Issa's haiku are so down-to-earth. Spring makes me glad to be alive- to have survived winter- just like the uneaten ducks.

illustration friday (whisper)

illustration friday (bounce)

In Issa's haiku, Kasa often refers to the headgear sometimes translated as "umbrella hats." But here, I chose to interpret kasa to mean the traditional, bamboo-framed umbrellas that were covered in waxed paper. I'm sure many of you have seen one, or even bought one as a souvenir. They are also called wa-gasa (Japanese umbrellas) nowadays to differentiate them from modern, western-style umbrellas. I love the sound of rain bouncing against a wa-gasa. And I can easily imagine how my heart would jump if a camellia blossom ever plopped onto one while I was inside it.

illustration friday (vanity)

issa's cows

Haiku inspires many of my etegami. The poems of Matsuo Basho are favorites of mine. But he doesn't mention cows very much, and after my recent purple cow post, I was itching to draw more cows. You know who mentions cows time and time again? The haiku poet Kobayashi Issa. This fact was recently brought to my attention by @Cow Lady when she sent me this link. I took up the challenge and, although I didn't necessarily use the translations provided on that page, I tried my hand at illustrating some of Issa's cow haiku with etegami collages.




In my next post, I'll show you some etegami I did that were inspired by cow proverbs. heh heh. Can you tell I'm having fun?

inspired by haiku again

Yes... I know dragonflies aren't in season quite yet, at least not where I live. But I just adore their shape, their design. Don't you? I love the fact that they swoop into our yard in the late summer, early fall, and gobble up all the mosquitoes. Don't you? I love how dragonflies inspired so many of Kobayashi Issa's haiku. Don't you?