sketchbook project-- limited edition

A few months ago, I signed up to participate in the Sketchbook Project- Limited Edition. I finished it today! This will be the third (and probably last) Art House Co-op-organized project that I will take part in. For my first Sketchbook I painted etegami depicting Japanese Proverbs. That one toured the US in 2011. For my second, I illustrated my English translations of four Ainu folktales. That one will be touring in 2012. My last Sketchbook is a collection of my Earthquake/Tsunami- themed etegami. I don't think this one goes on tour, but it (or part of it) will be included in a series of art books documenting the project. I feel good that I was able to honor the victims and survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami in this last Sketchbook. In a way it gives me closure, but it will also help to remind me and others of a day that shouldn't ever be forgotten. When this Sketchbook gets digitized and posted on my Art House Co-op profile page, I'll let you know.

sketchbook project 2012 (fourth tale)

My last Ainu folk tale The Swamp Mussel's Song, the front & back covers, and misc. pages. It's all done and ready to mail. You can click through the whole thing on my Art House Co-op profile page.

sketchbook project 2012 (third tale)

The Ainu word that usually gets translated as "god" is kamuy, and it basically applies to all things other than humans (ainu). This includes both living and non-living things. In the traditional Ainu worldview, kamuy spirits normally live in kamuy moshir (the land where the kamuy dwell), living just as humans do in ainu moshir (the land where the humans dwell). But once in a while, the kamuy borrow the forms of animals, plants, tools, and so forth, to visit the human world. And when they are freed from those forms (usually when their form dies or is used up in service to the humans) their spirits return to the land where the kamuy dwell, until such time as they desire to visit the human world again.

If the kamuy are not treated with honor during their visit to the human world, they are less likely to come for another visit. The forms which kamuy leave behind when they return to their own world are the food and other necessities that humans require for life. A steady supply of these necessities depends on humans showing proper respect and thankfulness (through various rituals) to ensure that the kamuy will make regular visits to the human world.

So, while there are many, many kamuy, some kamuy have higher status than others. The Owl Kamuy takes the form of the Blakiston's Fish Owl, probably the largest species of owl in the world. It is the guardian of the human village and has very high status. That's why I kept the word "god" in the title of The Owl God's Song, even though I omitted it in the other titles as being irrelevant and potentially confusing.

sketchbook project 2012 (second tale)

The Fox's Song is one of my favorite Ainu yukar, because it doesn't seem to take itself too seriously. And yet it is a morality tale like all the others. I'm not real happy with the shadows in the scanned image. The further I get into the sketchbook, the more the pages get ruffled or warped, or whatever you call it. (p.s. My avatar, the ladybug, and its flippant comments are not in the original yukar)

sketchbook project 2012 (first tale)

I wrote about what I had in mind to do for the Sketchbook Project 2012 in an earlier post, but I find that as my sketchbook takes shape, I've had to make minor adjustments to my original concept. It is, however, taking shape, and that's the important thing. I am posting the first of the four yukar tales ("the river otter's song") that make up my new project. I hope it grabs your interest enough that you will come back to see more. :p

the sketchbook project 2012

Some of you may remember that I participated in The Sketchbook Project last year, and that I filled my sketchbook with etegami illustrating the roughly 50 proverbs and sayings that resulted in my Japanese Proverbs series.

The Sketchbook Project was so much fun and satisfying to participate in, that I decided to try it again this year. There are various rules you have to follow, and one of these is that everyone has to submit their artwork in the same type of sketchbook-- a small-ish, blank notebook that gets sent out to all registrants by the Sketchbook Project headquarters.

This year I will be filling the sketchbook with my illustrated translations of Ainu folk tales. The Ainu are the indigenous people of northern Japan, and if you've ever checked out my Project Uepeker blog, you know that I'm part of a team that has been working for over a decade to make Ainu oral literature accessible to English readers.

The etegami posted here is one of my illustrations for a folk tale called A Song Sung by the Otter God. I still have to decide what words to put on it. Probably Ainu words taken from the story. The English translation of the story will fill up all the space in the notebook that the illustrations don't fill up.

I plan to post more samples from my sketchbook as it takes shape. I hope it will be fun for you to follow along.

Click the Sketchbook Project banner in the sidebar to learn more about it. Maybe you'll decide you want to participate too. : )

sketchbook project 2011 (part 3)

You may remember that I finished my sketchbook project a week or so ago, but was troubled about how to protect the pasted-on sections from popping off the slick, thin pages of the notebook. I ended up covering each page with the clear, adhesive plastic sheets that librarians protect books with. I was able to order it online, which is often a deciding factor for me, since severe arthritis and other health factors make it difficult for me to leave the house.

It being my first experience working with said adhesive sheet, I ended up wrinkling up quite a few pages of my book. But the majority turned out well, so I've sent off my project, wrinkled pages and all, to the Art House Co-op, way ahead of the Jan 15, 211 deadline. I wanted to send it off before the end of October, because I've had too many devastating experiences of having mail go missing when I send it in the months of November, December and January-- almost certainly because of holiday mail congestion.

All together (including the cover), 40 of my illustrated Japanese proverbs and sayings went into the book. I won't even try to post them all here. It was fun, and I made some lovely new friends through the project. After my sketchbook tours the US (along with all the other entries), it will be included in the permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library. Thanks to modern technology, I will be notified each time someone views my book. I think that's kind of cool. : )

sketchbook project 2011 (part 2)

Here are some more pages from my Sketchbook Project, which I have titled: A Collection of Japanese Proverbs and Sayings. See part 1 if you don't know what the Sketchbook Project is. I've actually completed all the pages, but some of the glued-on pieces keep popping off after they dry, so I'm exploring ideas for sealing the pages without making the whole book too bulky.

sketchbook project 2011

Submitting to art challenges helps me maintain a steady pace of producing etegami. I've blogged about some of them in previous posts. Illustration Friday is one such challenge that has kept me on my toes because it renews every week, and the topics often boggle my mind.

You may have noticed the Sketchbook Project banner somewhere along the right edge of this page and wondered about it. If you haven't already done so, click on the banner and check it out. I thought about it for months before I actually joined, and once my notebook came, it took me almost as long to pull my ideas together, because it's the most large-scale art challenge I've ever attempted. I have to somehow fill up a notebook of fifty pages with artwork based on the theme of "if you lived here..." (I chose the theme from a list they gave me.)

I finally decided to combine the Sketchbook Project with a goal I set for myself at the beginning of this year of producing up to 150 etegami illustrating Japanese proverbs. Since the pages of the notebook are thin and slick, it doesn't work to paint directly on them. I have to print out copies of my etegami and glue them into the notebook. The result is sloppier than I would have liked, and the colors not as vibrant, but I'm trying to accept that.

I'm half-way through the notebook, and thought it was time to post some sample pages. I will probably be adding some hand-written trivia and doodles in the blank spaces of some of the pages, but not much.