indigo pears

In this issue, I discovered 2 articles about Japan. The first is about applique artist,Misao Wada. I LOVE her work!

Here is an excerpt from the article in Quilt Mania-" Misao Wada lives in the gorgeous little historic town of Takayama (three stars on the Michelin guide). It is five and a half hours from Tokyo by bus, close to the west coast and a stone’s throw from the mountains. Everything is quiet and serene there, except during the two large spring and summer festivals when throngs of tourists turn up. Apart from these events, life is peaceful, which attracts many artists. Poets, painters, and craftsmen make the name of the city that was founded around the 8th century. Misao is famous there both for her poetry (it holds a big place in her life) and for her textile work, a topic we are particularly interested in today. We found this exceptional woman, again thanks to Dominique Greliche as she had produced a small exhibition in Limoges, France, a few years ago. Misao was 20 years old when she met her mentor, forty years ago: Ayko Miyawaki, a great Japanese textile artist and adulated wife of a famous painter. For 10 years, until the death of Ayko, Misao learnt from her how to combine the subtlety of a detail with the technique of practically raw appliqué, how to capture the pure essence of a subject (that is the most interesting part of the work) and how to reproduce it by free hand cutting each piece (no template!!!), how to work in layers and develop an eagle eye to be able to select just the right printed scrap of old fabric (her only material) to breathe life into the subject. (…)
You can read more about this article on the issue N°80 (November / December 2010) "

The second article was about another Japanese town, and a very special shrine there. There are fesitvals and celebrations for expectant mothers and children.[they have a collection of children's patchwork kimomo from the last 300 years!] The patron and protectress of these, goddess Kishimojin, is depicted holding a pomegranate in her right hand. And I learned that pomegranates grow in Japan.[There is even an "indigo pomegranate" in the art work..]

So I began work on an art journal page or two.....and they connect to this month's theme for the Sketchbook Challenge of "overflowing". I am overflowing with information and inspiration. [Click on the photos to see the pages larger!]