etegami newsletter- january issue

The January 2013 issue of the Etegami Fun Club newsletter will be going out to subscribers in just a few more days. Keep your eyes peeled for it in your e-mailbox and let me know if it doesn't show up. If you haven't yet signed up for it but would like to, it's free and easy-as-pie to do so. Just send your name and email address to dosankodebbie (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) jp The newsletter is a pdf file, usually only two pages long, but jam-packed with news and creative ideas of interest to etegami fans. The up-coming issue has an extra page to better display the many delightful submissions to the snake-themed etegami call.

illustration friday (explore)

I cut a head of cabbage right through the center one day and became fascinated by the maze-like interior. I imagined myself as a worm trying to find my way through the maze (never mind that a real worm would just chew a path wherever it wanted to go).  It's an old etegami, and nothing more than a careless scribble, but it's one of those pieces that I will probably always remember, because it holds several layers of meaning for me (no pun intended).

ouch

I am constantly burning my mouth and getting mouth blisters from hot food. Don't tell me it's a matter of training my mouth, because I won't believe you. And if you tell me it's an issue of improving my character (i.e. that I need to think before I bite), I will believe you, but it won't make any difference, because I've tried to change, and I know by now that I never will.  The writing on this etegami says "Neko-jita" (cat's tongue). It's a phrase used when describing a person who is extremely sensitive to hot liquids or foods. I guess I'm just a cat person.

illustration friday (stretch)

Sometimes just one paragraph, or even one line, from a book or poem will inspire an etegami. This etegami collage was inspired by the following lines from the poem In the Home Stretch by Robert Frost. The rest of the poem hasn't grabbed me yet, but maybe it will someday:

When there was no more lantern in the kitchen,
The fire got out through crannies in the stove
And danced in yellow wrigglers on the ceiling,
As much at home as if they’d always danced there.

more snakes (and a reminder)

A reminder to those who wanted to get involved in the snake etegami call. The deadline is coming up quickly. Some great snakes have been arriving by post, and I'm hoping even more will arrive in time to be displayed in the next Etegami newsletter. In the meantime, I've been posting them on my mailart gallery blog for you to enjoy. I'm able to extend the deadline for submissions by about a week. That gives you just enough time to mail your etegami to me!

illustration friday (whiskers)

I tried to think of a more cheerful, or at least a more seasonal, visual interpretation of this week's IF prompt "whiskers." But I am still haunted by the whiskered catfish I painted to mourn the great Great Northeast Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011.  The triple disaster of the earthquake/ tsunami/and Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis took more than 20,000 lives, mostly from drowning. More than a year and a half later, there are still about 2,800 people missing, and 34,000 refugees displaced from their homes and their vocations, unable for various reasons to get back on their feet and find a new life elsewhere. 

In Japanese mythology, a giant namazu (catfish) causes earthquakes when he stirs in the mud beneath the foundations of the earth. 

Discount Coupon Give-Away! & Outcome

I have three 20% discount codes to give away. They can be used for any etegami-inspired product(s) from my Zazzle shop. They are single-use codes, and are valid till January 31, 2013. If you'd like to put your name in the drawing, leave a comment below. I will chose three winners on Tuesday, November 27. That's in just a few days. Winners will be sent the discount code by email, so please make sure that I have a way to contact you. Scroll down the right-hand sidebar to my Zazzle link, to see if there are any products that interest you.

Nov. 27 postscript. Results of the drawing. Thanks to all who submitted their names to the drawing. Winners of the discount codes are: Lisa S; Christi B; and Laura B. If you can't find the codes in your mailbox, let me know.