etegami give-away, deadline approaching

Just a reminder that the give-away for the etegami recipe cards is in its final week. I'm afraid several people have been disqualified because they didn't pay attention to the guidelines. The drawing is open only to people who are subscribed to the Etegami Fun Club newsletter. If you want to sign up (it's free), make sure and follow the procedure laid out in that post. Also, I'm finding it difficult to contact people to get their mailing addresses. If you want to win a card and you are a subscriber to the newsletter, please send your postal address to dosankodebbie (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) jp  Thanks!

clover makes me happy

clover chain

This is work-in-progress for a book cover illustration. There's a lot of symbolism in it that has to do with the content of the book, which I won't try to explain here. The title of the book will be in Japanese, and I don't know yet whether the words will be printed vertically or horizontally. In Japanese, it can go either way.  Hopefully this image will work in either case. On the other hand, I'll probably wake up tomorrow with a totally different idea, and start over from scratch.

class reunion (2)

Memories of Coffee Milk. This is another etegami in my class reunion series. I painted it  on a double-sized card after I realized that what I wanted to say was going to be too much for a normal-sized postcard, and no witty bumper-sticker quote would do.

the ramen cart

This etegami was inspired by a TV commercial that has been stuck in repeat-mode inside my head. It's part of a long series of gently humorous commercials for Maruchan Brand instant ramen noodles, which feature an eccentric old ramen-stand proprietor and his young assistant. In this one, they have set up their stand on an almost-deserted windswept beach. A young man is yelling with frustration at the sea. They invite him over to the stand and he sits down. He confesses he has just been dumped by his girlfriend. "That's great," says the assistant. "Hot noodles will heal what ails ya," says the old man.

You can see a video of the commercial here.

class reunion (1)

I was asked to paint a series of etegami to add some pizazz to a website that a friend had set up to be a communication crossroads for those of us who attended the American School in Japan (Tokyo) during the 1970s. The connecting theme was to be along the lines of "nostalgia" and "reunion." The first etegami I posted was excessively metaphorical, and resulted in being misinterpreted by all who saw it-- which was kind of embarrassing. The one posted here is more straightforward, representing one of those old-style Japanese mail boxes, which had so much more character than the modern ones you see in Japan today. My www of choice is still the postal service, and one of the most important reasons I do etegami at all.

etegami starter kit listing reactivated

Some of you may remember the Etegami Starter Kit that I introduced last year on my Etsy shop. For the sake of my readers who have just recently fallen-in-fascination with Etegami, I've decided to reactivate the listing long enough to give everyone the chance to get started in etegami with the traditional materials and tools, at a minimal investment with maximum guidance. Click this link for details. I will keep the listing active for at least a week. This may be the chance you were looking for, so grab it while you can!

UPDATE: I have deactivated this listing and will not be taking any more orders for this product this year. Depending on demand, I may reactivate it briefly next summer. Keep your eyes peeled!