art is a process

new year's greetings

2012-01-10T13:00:00.000+09:00

it's been on my mind, to
complete this project - my process blog - properly

proper as i see fit

while the time has done what it normally does - flew!

please excuse me for my absence last few months, somehow
it felt very 'forced' to publish my next post so... i didn't

in fact,
i had been traveling through california this past month
and did what i usually do on new year's day

below:
the first dawn above naked hills of valencia, california

yes, the first dawn thingy, anyhow...

i wish you a very happy 2012
may your dreams in your heart grow strong
and materialize one by one...

...or whatever you wish for

the last post is coming very soon
thanks for your visit as always!

wing dress update: ready for love

2011-10-30T15:23:00.002+09:00

back in may 2007 i had
gone to see a nine inch nails show
it was so impacting i felt
compelled to do something myself

yes, that was the start of this blog.

until then i only had a little template-made website
hidden in webspace like a true shrinking violetta

the new material from nin at that time was called
"art is resistance" and although i understood the intent,
i had to respond to it by naming my new project what 'art' meant to me
and upon pure impulse
picked an idea of a dress with painted wings as the subject matter

how strange, in the process the process took over and it had
shown me once and again how i drag my feet in resistance to it

you see,
i once was a child feeling
free to dream, believe and to soar, and
my heart never ceased to long for
that state that was the truth of me

as i blogged on,
the magic of life took over and
the last four years spent blogging 'coincided' with
the period i dedicated to reclaim my wings

oh, i found a perfect quote along the way:

The beginning of love is at the end of resistance.
-Danielle Light

here's my new video - hope you enjoy

the beautifully emotive song is by ms. Betsy Grant, the first moment i heard it
i knew i found the perfect piece for my last video

please visit her website for more information:

betsygrantmusic.com

thank you so much for your visit!

it must be (love).

2011-10-10T23:21:00.006+09:00

just the other morn i
stumbled out the door for last minute garbage hauling
earlybird i am not, i held out my bag near-incoherent,
catching guys by the trash truck at the last second

surprise, i was
greeted by an unexpected

one of the busy guys he was
wearing a smile, subtle and serene,
as he paused to take my bag

haven't we met before, i almost said and thought twice
(that sounded like a lousy pick up line)

and in few hours i connected synapses
aaaha, he looked like....him!

him

i caught him in a jizou* moment!!

here's a link to the ultimate know-it-all's page on jizou

i want to introduce all of you
to my best friends in the neighborhood

i met them by a nondescript shrine in the middle of a rice field

everybody knows this is nowhere

they were emitting a sense of all-inclusive acceptance, sitting by them
even the biggest losses in my life felt alright somehow
and i thought:

this must be l o v e, baby

i am not buddha-ing on you in any way
i only know less than minimum about the subject anyways
all i want is for you to see how simply they are sculpted
and how effectively so, the artist knew
must have known it very well, the jizou moment

see?

they survived the quakes!

just the other day

i would like it some day, somehow i become a master like this artist
flow in the jizou moment and leave behind me
a little something someone can sit by
and know that everything's cool, if only for a little while

this blog is finally wrapping up,
the next up: video!

thanks for coming by

additionally,

i've been keeping my eye since, on new jizou encounters
here are some, in case you wonder how the other ones look

may take a while to load
click here to fly to flickr if the viewer doesn't work

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

wing dress update: there's so much to sea!

2011-10-01T19:07:00.004+09:00

it was a very hot summer, and
in mid august i fleed to the western japan
in search of a large body of saltwater to throw myself in
this girl couldn't help it

arrived by chance at tottori

and its famed sand dune

savoring ear-full of desert silence

would you like nose-full of salt water with that?

.....yes.

driving my rented nissan through corn field

it was a pleasant, comforting surprise
to find the tottori prefecture full of windmills making power
surprise, due to their adorable lack of self promotion

and,

meeting moos while on land

then headed east, along the coast line
this is the region called san-in, "in the shadow of mountains"

driving through san-in "geopark" on its winding scenic route

yup, geopark

finding gems along the way...

one of them gems

ah..........

....summer!!!!

never want to leave...

the above is my personal best of the san-in gems
"yasugi", a quiet little village straight out of classic folk tales

.....wait, i think i was gonna tell you about something else....

oh. the dress.

on my last post, i was considering 2 options for the red trim around the neck
neither of them looked like this but that's what happens
when you rinse your nostrils with salt water one too many times

thank you for hanging with me

the dune at sun down

wing dress update: go bold, or faint!

2011-08-11T17:12:00.004+09:00

it's been so long since
i started upon this blogging venture, if i could cut down on my kookie-ness,
i might have achieved a notable blogging success by now but...

it's too late for that.

so why not continue
on a journey through the kook?

ladies and gentlemen,
please put your seatbelt on
for
there is a storm in tropic
dark clouds moving fast, palm trees swaying in the wind and hey look,
someone left a laundry hanging....

well not to worry, that is a little piece of dyed red silk
going under a "drench test"

hung, dripping, no wringing
will the red dye stay where it is?

it did, but
what's all that for?

that is for a red trimming finish around
the collar of the wing dress...

the red came out very vivid, i thought for a moment,
it'd be different - good - to use the right side, the slick shiny side

(the dress material is 'silk stretch satin' and i've been using the wrong side - with paper-like, shine-less surface - to paint on)

left is the shiny side, right, the wrong,
with strips of previously dyed reds in various shades layered over

oh decision time, and they say in unison:
honey we've been
down this path before...

on the right is the first wing dress
i talked about the decision time then when i decided on the color of the trim
and here's a link to the post

the vivid red on the left dress, seems a little too bright
one of the previously-dyed has
deeper tone that does much less screaming

the deep previous layered over the latest bright

a little break i'm gonna take,
much-needed perspective change...

twin girls, aren't they pretty?
the below photo, taken from the "out-of-body" angle
posted for no reason other than to show you what i am capable of

somehow,
(comparing to the first dress)
the wider trim seems more appropriate...
and a little tighter around the neck, too

after sitting on it a while
(on the decision, not the dress)
i folded the red ribbon so only tiny hint of red's peeking

subtle, sexy and quite a lot involved to implement

so...
go bold, or faint.

oh geez, i'm beginning to feel a little dizzy...look, triple visions
think it's time for a little perspective break
excuse me while i kiss the ceiling.

thank you for hanging with me, hope you enjoyed the visit
if you're here for the first time, here's a link to the past posts on this dress
if you feel like, do make a guess on which path i will take

(kooky path? that's a given)

and make sure to check back soon!

wing dress update: there are no mistakes, just...mishaps.

2011-07-31T00:59:00.413+09:00

don't fear mistakes. there are none.

words of miles davis,
ring true?

and why am i quoting him as i
write another post on my
wing dress project??

(if you are here for the first time:
i have been documenting the making-of process
of dresses made of silk with a wing dyed/painted on it
if you would like to back track a little,
here is a link to the previous posts
in any case welcome, hope you'll enjoy your visit)

before we tread where he fears not
may i play you a symphony
heard every morning during the summertime?

(recorded with iphone)

July 30, 2011 at 4am by radio dreamt

no, i don't live in rain forest
but it was rainy,
or more suitably, the drizzle plus was fallin'
you can hear everyone's out, making some noise...

now comes the mis.....hap
documented by chance, made into a short video
meant to be funny

it was funny while taping it, as
i was nonchalantly putting the body back in place
until a little later when i noticed....

well you know what, to tell you this i have to
work up my nerve by drawing another soundscape for you...

July 30, 2011 at 5pm by radio dreamt

cicadas, surf, traffic...and my neighbor's dragginslippers footsteps
i almost had to go outside and have a look at his footwear

(good thing i didn't.)

okay, ready?

- gasping alert -

you may say,

another accident???

(if you are a first time visitor and are still reading this:
thank you for hanging in, i am referring to the previous gasping incident,
which was documented on this post)

well, after all, my neighbor wasn't the only one wearing dragginslippers
these accidents are showing me i been dragging my feet, slowing down the pace
and the awareness of such turned from painful to curious during this very process,
in other words...

i stopped resisting my resistance

you see, this project, almost without my consent,
has been growing into what signifies my 'departure',
not so much physically, but more like a decision...
to a journey without destination,
to a flight solely for the sake of flying...

(the "wing dress" is an unintended visual pun - that turned out to be perfect
all the other puns you find here are, intended)

while the flight calls on me, i am
saying long goodbye to the past that feels incomplete
and while this post may not be the place to go into details
i wanted to vaguely articulate because i think, as personal as it may sound,
if you live a while you may come to know what i'm trying to convey, just..perhaps...

so
cicadas....
what do you think of all that?

why....sing?

July 30, 2011 at 6:30pm by radio dreamt

reply in unison: why ask why?

i am lucky to have a cleaner nearby, who is also a wizard
she reversed the reality and look!

the red tag states "express"
although in urgency, i did not mean to hurry you. i was just...panicked.

thank you, though.

so why do insects sing, all summer long
"singing to mate", does not sound enough

because...just listen to them

July 30, 2011 at 7pm by radio dreamt

i would very much like it if they are

singing to sing
about the soil once kept them warm
the summer cooling too soon
fading of the sunlight
and the moisture weighing the night

and singing to merge
with the movement of their wings
the vibrating of the sky
pulsating of their lives
and the heartbeat of that blogging idiot holding out her iphone in the air

thank you for your visit!

demolition blues (and how i'm learning to hum along)

2011-06-30T21:11:00.010+09:00

firstly, everybody, i mean
everyone of you on this beautiful planet

as part of this silly nation,
i want to express how sorry i am
for messing up our environment

also, for those of you who thought of us,
done things for us, gave kind words to us
....even to this little me...

t h a n k y o u.

secondly,

a while back i had the fortune of
meeting up with awesome people from
an organization called arts npo aid (link at the end)
who traveled quite a distance to
see about the affected north and
dropped by to hear me out, my babbling mouth

(click here, if the image link doesn't work)

interview is in japanese only for now, it's my
usual talky talk about what i do and why (with pro- editing),
and what i was doing on that big day in march...

speaking of the wicked,

i've been meaning to write about
making stuff amidst the disaster but
my heart sinks at every attempt so
i will put that on hold a bit longer

it's hard to write about something while you are right in it

i can name one thing though, that i am doing that is:

trusting the inner alarm system

and pay close attention to the difference between
heady anxiety from thinking too many what-if's
and
genuine warning in my gut

indulging in the former, and it is so easy to do
under these circumstances but still,
totally stifle my creativity, or passion for life for that matter
(((oh crap)))
while the latter seems to put me in a little gap
where it feels secure enough to indulge in life

not the easiest thing to practice but
it feels important, even without the disaster...

anyways.

back to the arts npo aid
please do go visit their site at:

http://anpoap.org

their aim is to aid artists and artistic efforts
that are affected by the 311 quake/tsunami/nuke disaster
and please do support their cause, in any ways if possible

my wish is for those creative souls amidst the big mess
to keep on humming to their tunes

in fact that's my wish for everyone,
every one of you on this beautiful planet
for you and your inherent creative soul to
never forget the tune only you can sing

thanks for your visit!

p.s.
so what was i doing on that big day in march?

as the 6 minutes quake maximized, i
curled up under my desk and sipped my tea with honey and ginger
not wanting to spill on fabrics piling on the floor one by one
it was like a symphony of things falling and breaking
too shocked, fear got suspended and i stayed very calm

human mind is amazing...

p.p.s.

i would like to express much deserved honor and respect to
those brave souls been working at fukushima plant since that day in march
- amidst humidity, lack of light,
needless to say danger as the land shakes on
and nowadays the record-breaking summer heat...

someone's gotta do the difficult deed, you are doing it
literally saving lives of so many.

wing dress update: peace in the valley

2011-06-10T15:16:00.015+09:00

hello everyone,
long time no talk about the dress project

if you're here for the first time:
this is a blog about making of 2 dresses with
dyed/painted feathers on them
you can view the progression of the project right on this blog

anyhow.

i restarted the project just a week or two ago
it was brutally interrupted by the notorious quakes since march
and boi-o-boi, did they keep on shaking, rattling and rolling
for the past few weeks though, we are getting much less quakes
and while i am out of clue whether it is a good sign or what
it sure has given me a calmer frame of mind to stitch again

below:
oooh i've been stitching again
shoulder to shoulder

now, there was a major trouble about the
sewing needle -"for fine fabrics"- damaging the garb at its seams
getting messed up like nylon stockings would
you know the kind to put on women and robbers

i've taken my dear reader eve's suggestion
(thank you!!)
and changed it to "for fine knits" and as in above photo,
it's been clean and dandy since, worry free, run free

below photo titled as:
the salvation in a cardboard package lolling on the salvaged

keeping on with silly photos...

next, titled:
punching air, piggy-backed

...but why, you may ask
well, first of all, see that pin cushion?
i made that darn thing, but also equally important
are the pins with blue and white heads

below photo titled:
three pins revealing a delicate face casting shadows in lilac

from l to r, on a serious note:
head-to-toe black, cool pin made in germany
long, small headed japanese-made ran over by a machine needle
newly-acquired, super fine for the most delicate beyond reason

that's right, pins were also causing the material to "run"
and the super-fine worked wonders, worry no mas

now, on my last post on the subject
i talked about a little cut i made right on a seam
unintentional error made in one of those moments
if you care to see the cut, the photo's here
in fact, the last post shows both cut and run

below:
this is how i did it

luckily, i could move the pattern a bit so now
the little cut rests off the seam

i used a special thread for that, by the way

below:
the special thread on a special stand

i'm not affiliated in any way, just simply amazed
the name of the thread is called "eiffel", debut in 2009
and it stretches even more than usual stretchy thread
manufacturer's website (japanese only) is here

and this is how it looks on the outside

so there, all the issues found their solutions
and i got
peace in the valley
smile on my face
the dress on a mannequin
and...

a flower pic for you!

thank you for your visit!

be a simple man: a mother's day post

2011-05-08T11:40:00.012+09:00

below: strange weather
waiting for tsunami, 3.11.2011 soon after the big quake
with elevated water level

it has been 5 years and counting
since i've moved up here in rural japan
right on coast, up on a hill

so close to the sea...

me and my ocean thing has been growing
through my walking by it, swimming in it,
attempting to surf it or simply gazing upon it
into an intimate relationship, so close to my heart
the ultimate authority, i've
finally found the one who's immensity
forgiving enough to envelope all of me

it invited me in when i could handle
nudged me out before the tide would change
gently, fiercely, but always with big heart

the ultimate authority...

then came the 311, i
saw my ocean in full-on destruction
seen it change colors, the rising of water level
everyone stood and watched on the hill

it's been almost two months since that day and
my heart has changed, became hesitant
the fury it had shown, for only one day
left me confused, dismayed, incomplete

the untamable ocean demands
that i meet up with it on higher ground
but how do i go about grasping
such conflicting elements in one package?

let's first ask the skynyrd:

have you been hurt by somebody?
of course you have
dearer the person to your heart
wounds cut closer to home
i remember times when my tongue gotten slashed
with a blade hidden inside a lollipop
leaving me with the taste of sugar and blood
feeling dumb, in disbelief...

mama asks him, the only son
to follow his heart, forget the lust for gold
and to always remember the one up above
but most of all, to "be a simple kind of man
be something you love and understand"
but mama, look at the mother ocean
and how calm she is this morning

and mama, even if i could become such man
i may not fully escape the lures of the lollipop
and how else to overcome the injury, but to
make room in my heart, the multifaceted immensity that is us

and how could i do that without
finding the same within myself
and step up to the ground where
i feel the fierce force shoot through
this very self with ocean right beside me
the force like fire, beyond my little comprehension

the mother ocean beckons...

(please be noted:
i like the song very much and
think it makes total sense within its own context
that the 'simple' in this song doesn't necessary reject
the idea of complexity in life and in us
it's just that that didn't stop me from using the tune
as an example for what i wanted to babble about...

stating the obvious though, i do not, never, encourage the
intentional harming of another, or
deny the value of setting limits within. and for oneself
in relating with other delightfully untameds.)

additionally:

here's another song with the same title
by a band named junkyard
here, the supposedly 'simple' man himself
makes clear the stance he's taking with his untamable self

thank you for your visit!

if you are in paris: miki nitadori exhibit for tohoku, japan

2011-05-03T15:15:00.007+09:00

hello everyone,

starting today, miki nitadori, a fantastic japanese artist in paris,
is having her show in, you guessed it, paris!

combat for tohoku people: exposition: mai 3- mai 17

well, in fact,
you may have heard of her "combat" show already

if not, here's what she has to say about the project
yes, you participate in it, what fun!

all the profit from this show will be donated to
association for aid and relief, japan

you can read more about her at her website

i will be writing my update from the troubled land
must, let me, fix my tongue tied in knot first

see you soon in blogosphere~~

the process lady is alive!

2011-03-15T18:36:00.005+09:00

hi everyone,
just quickly-

i am typing these words as a mortal
(i.e. still alive)

will do a post on the mega quake as the
situation settles a bit

the town i live is affected but
not near the heart of demolition
(and my heart goes out to
those who have lost a lot)
both my dress and myself are fine
so is our studio

til then
thank you for your visit!

p.s.
yuko the process lady would like to express her
my mega-ton, heartful thankyu! for your love and support
to my friends in and out of blogosphere,
also to those out there sending encouragement to japan...

wing dress update: what a thrill!!

2011-02-27T16:43:00.007+09:00

hello everybody, how is the
world looking from your end of the planet?

at my end...

the dress i've been working on, and blogging about
is getting near completion
(if you're here for the first time:
i have been documenting the making process of a dress with a painted/ dyed wing on it, and here's a link to the previous posts on the dress-enjoy!)

since my object is to tell you as it is, i am here today
to reveal a little scary tale to you

ready?

the fabric i am using for the dress is,
stretch silk satin
(i paint on the wrong side)

purchased in downtown los angeles
i have looked and looked in tokyo and
somehow i haven't found any, strange as it is

first batch i got was a bit thicker than the current
so easy to work with, and finishes were clean
the one i am working with right now is
as fragile as woman's nylons

i make sure my nails are sanded (serious),
pins are sharp, use extra extra caution and
this still has to happen

look.

it's the stretchy thread that gets caught.
like this...

i have been a bit of a perfectionist but
this is forcing me to keep my picky eyes on bigger picture
meaning

this is not the last dress i will be working on,
more and more ideas are piling up behind me (they are!)
and most of all,
it's not me, it's....it!

but honestly speaking, it's a small stab in my crafty heart
every time this happens

on my last post i talked about going through zipper hell
while feeling upside down and drained
i then thought of doing a sequel called sleeve hell
(but thought better of it)
should have taken a break, i know, this eager me
for redoing it few times brought on the following

so yes, it's it and it's me, too

perhaps as a way of encouraging myself,
i started to think of those ice skaters at olympics
some of them would land on their butt, post spin and keep on
i am always more impressed in them than
those who were flawless and got the medals

lately, i regained my emotional composure and
been feeling fabulous except for a bit of head cold
then today,
just a few hours ago....

(((gasp!!!)))

well, i am a bit unwell today, dizzy headed
and my focus is not in the zone
something inside kept whispering to me
"drop it...go watch a film...make hot coco and snuggle..."
but i insisted on the otherwise
so today, it was me

my own privilege to touch the dress is now suspended
i've decided to go ahead and indulge in
aforementioned activities

the little cut is, luckily, on a blank panel
so the solution is still within a comfortable reach
but not today, as the dress is confiscated
out of my own hands...

end of the scary episode
(in vegas elvis tone)
thank you,
thank you very much

now you may ask, why are you
giving us such a bad news?
well...

have you seen a scary film? of course you have!
you know how it gets worse and worse towards the end
and then, miraculously everything works out?

i am telling you all this because
i sense a happy ending, although
what i see right now is a bit messed up

we all get to smile in the end

thanks for your visit, and be sure to check back soon!

wing dress update: everything's golden, actually

2011-01-23T14:50:00.009+09:00

if i say happy new year now
i would risk appearing in need of serious catching up but,

h a p p y n e w y e a r, beeeeelated!!

the above photo was taken on the new year's day
at dawn which looks only part golden...

well, few days after the partly golden, i was
hit by a tidal wave of life's sizable challenge
built up since ancient past to a tsunami and
got sucked in, downside up, sunny side down
into a state of gasping for air

however.

being the dedicated process lady that i am
while upside down, i proceeded to enter a special place called....

the zipper hell!!!

which exists where a zipper meets fine silk
that wants to destroy itself at slightest provocation

so this is a tour through the zipper hell
and i am your guide for today

(((wink)))

below:
at the entrance
....red stitches?

well, for some unknown reason i thought
marking the stitch line with a red thread
would be a great idea

the kind of stuff i come up with
while inside out...

pretty photo though

now think about it, anxiety level of a person in such state
would be relatively high, an easy guess i couldn't make

below two:
what happens when you tackle delicate task high-strung

multiple hand-stitching to ensure...............what?

then realized it was the first stitch on seam line that
brought on this unfortunate puffy look

below:
re-doing it like normal people

below:
now onto the other end and
...what's with the frills...?

gotten even frillier after machine stitching
like a ruffled shirt, worn backwards

eventually calmed down enough to
identify the source of problem

below:
the red line was where i had sewn to produce frills
original seam line is marked with chalk

yup
doesn't take a lot of leaning the wrong way to create the frilly
and what was i thinking? well,
probably of taking a breath soon enough

below:
exiting the zipper hell

by the way,

in the end
i opted for hand stitching
which turned out much nicer and
had a delightful side effect of calming my nerves

so what about the tsunami?
well, risking of sounding worn-out cliche, i say:

i began to see while upside down

and furthermore
because i doubled my challenges
triumph of exiting the challenge 2
made my challenge 1 less towering

good sign, isn't it?
maybe i knew what i was doing after all

below:
in the meantime
why not zoom into the golden and
watch someone who seems to know where she's going?

thank you all for your visit, hope you enjoyed the tour
and
special thanks to a friend of mine for encouragement
and inspiration for this post - my head's out of water now ;^J

2010 in retrospect: look back in wonder

2010-12-29T18:53:00.015+09:00

hello, how are you, at the
very end of the year 2010?
hope your year was a very good one

myself? i am
stunned and frozen in disbelief

(where did it go, my 2010???)

but while being such, i have
put together some images
i gathered during the last 12 months

below:
best of what i've seen this almost past year

january 2010

february 2010

march 2010

april 2010

may 2010

june 2010

july 2010

august 2010

september 2010

october 2010

november 2010

december 2010

now...

let me tell you about my friend sofia
who spent many years with me as a dog
i could adopt a normal manner of speech for once and
call her "my dog" but i know she was never 'mine'

anyhow, one day i was talking to myself
how come she gets so absurdly excited before
we hit the same street for our daily walk
...same old pavement, same old sky...

then i got an internal e-mail, i'd call it
you know, the kind that lights up in your belly
like a firefly would, and it said,
"because it is never the same"

then i knew why sometimes
she'd look at me with utter pity
or worse, with plain boredom because
i was the blind raining on her parade

although i've always sought out elements of wonder
it's only recently i grew to embrace the activity
my 2010 was mostly spent locally but, thanks to sofia,
i had a very rich year filled with fireflies in my heart

thank you for your visit!!

wing dress update: happy holidays!!

2010-12-24T22:24:00.004+09:00

2010's approaching its final days
i'm sure you've noticed, too

just a quick update for the dress that is
coming together in a quite satisfactory manner

below:
intentionally hazy fade-y photo
since this is just a preview
(((wink)))

if you are here for the first time:
the above is my project "the wing dress"
and it's making of process has been
documented in this very blog

wishing you all fantastic holidays!!

wing dress update: last spurt!! (well...almost)

2010-11-13T22:33:00.011+09:00

once upon a time
there was a dress being made
it had a name was the wing dress
until one unfortunate day
when the whole process froze
and gone into a long stand still

below:
what are you lookin' at?
and,
most of all,
what is your ...point??

sorry to disturb you you pollen eater

...until one fine day it
defrosted itself and so was the restart of
the last bit of the dress building!!

seriously folks,
it's been a few months since i last posted
on this wing dress tale
and i am not sure exactly why but

i just couldn't.
couldn't move forward.
and i quit pushing forward
which is one of
new tricks this o*d dog has learned
through this very process

this is the last part of the wing dress making
for those of you who visited here for the first time and
stuck around this long (thank you! ;^), here's...
a brief background!

i have been making silk dresses with a wing drawn on it
using dye, since may 2007.
the one you see today is the second dress, and
all that is left for me to do is to put the panels together.

if you are interested in back tracking some,
here is a collection of the posts re. the dress.

below:
dyed, washed, dye fixated, ironed,
and ...

...cut along the pattern...

i marked the pattern contours with stitches
but the fabric did what it does during
the heat and steam treatment (to set the dye)

so while some matches nicely

some no longer do...

that's just how it is, even when you pay
extra caution regarding precision

in such case, i just steam iron
(in medium heat set for silk)
(on either wrong side or on right side with another fabric over it)
and try to straighten up (the fabric, not...myself)
the best i can, and do it swiftly.

below:
right sleeve front and back
calling on me, saying

~~~bind us~~~

sure!
careful binding, the fabric is silk stretch satin
very fine to boot
double hand stitches are to prevent the
slipping and sliding of the fabric

when on machine,
it is ideal to get it right the first time
for this material is so very delicate

by the way, the design is painted on the
wrong side of the satin
that has paper-like texture
perfect for detailed shading of my kind

then came the mishap
the camera quit on me

below:
what??

no worries, sweetie!
just go on with your feast

below:
sleeve's on first
though the shot looks oddly magenta and grainy
the actual dress is looking super fine

i proceeded to put another panel on back
and called it quits and dialed cannon

it will be about two weeks break at longest
so what do you think about the dress so far?

below:
mmmmm......yum!

thank you for your visit!

vote for yuko's video at filmo II festival in spain!!

2010-10-18T13:10:00.007+09:00

additional note on november 13:

Belated "Thank you!!" to those of you who voted for my video. And those who sent me very encouraging notes. Please know you have my wholehearted appreciation.
yuko ;^)

one of the videos i created to
record the making process of a dyed dress,
has been entered for competition at

filmo II video festival in spain

much to my surprise
the voting is open to the public
so guess what, that's right, i am
asking you if you may, to head there and
vote for my process video!!

(((smile)))

it's a really pretty video with lots of footage shot in the sea
plus
super cool music and a little goofy me playing with fabrics
i've embedded the video on my recent post here

you can get to the festival's voting page from here

my video is somewhere in the middle, titled:
"wing dress in the making, july 22, 2010"

click "vota" and comes a pop-up window

for non-spanish speakers like myself....
a line below my name "yuko nagai" says (according to babel fish):
"please it introduces your direction email to confirm your vote..."

enter your e-mail there and they'll send you a confirmation mail

voting is open 'til the 23rd of this month

mucho gracias in advance

below:
some stills from the video
...pretty, aren't they?

thank you for your visit!!

...so what's up, process lady???

2010-10-17T15:28:00.009+09:00

hello there...

firstly,
thank you for all of you visitors
sparing a few minutes of your
most probably busy day
your visit is much appreciated

arigato

now comes a seasonal small talk

over here in the north end of central japan
when you find this, that means
the summer's really really over

and what is that, you may ask
is that a cicada getting caught takin' a nap?

yes, except that's an eternal nap he's taking...

.....beautiful, isn't he?

now, on my previous post i've spoken of
a beautiful insect from the beauty reservoir
and a new blog i started with great enthusiasm
followed by an additional note about an "assessment break"
...to blog or not to blog

this is a while later, a decision made
since i am getting practically flooded
with dye work ideas, and
there are so many talented people
already sharing the beauty of the world via their sites,

i decided to take a break from blogging
(after this process comes to an end of course)
and concentrate on my dye works

(((yes!!!)))

except...
for this one i am growing much fond of
called

sound files

which is simply a collection of mp3 files
recorded with my iphone

this is a result of my experiment on living "ear-heavy"
it has been a very trippy business when i
shift my sensory focus heavily onto my ears

in any case
i hope you'll enjoy

ciao!

introducing the big pretty (and a new blog)

2010-09-02T20:45:00.015+09:00

feels like it was just the other day when
i announced the return of the summer

now it is leaving us again
if

the time keeps up its speeding up
as it has been
i'll be dead in a little while but
i promise you i will do my very best to
complete my wing dress, the current version
before i expire...

you know i'm only half kidding, don't you?

for today though,
i am here to introduce you to my best friend
i named it the big pretty

no, this is not a poem, nor a new age talk
i'm talking about escapism my friend

see, for a dreamer like myself
daily-ness of daily life can be a little challenge at times
that's when i politely leave my facade behind and
jump into the world of the big pretty, heels over head
where it is filled with details that take my breath away

for example,

just the other day i saw a
humble looking insect sneaking by me when
a flash of bronze gleamed at me...

myself: oi, insect!

the insect stops in its tracks

m:
(sneaking up from behind)
where are you going with your head down like that?

the insect turns around to face m

i:
my head angle is naturally as is, ma'am

m continues to probe with her camera under mid summer sun as i tolerates the torment

...until she sees a thin red crest which transfixes her and renders her motionless

i takes off in a hurry, unfolding it's wings...

took me a while to get to the point but
i actually wanted to tell you about my new blog

that is a collection of elements,
found in this world that are simply beautiful to my eyes
the world of the big pretty
i hope you'll visit and rest in there a while

visit my blog with no name, made of sound, vision and motions (link deactivated for the following reason)

-----------------------------------------

---additional note on oct.02---

after all the bugles and drums, i decided to
take an assessment break, weighing things
and put my newbie blog under construction

so while at it, why not send you to a gem
i found on tumblr called "in the pines"
personal details of the one behind the photo blog
are not shared but
no need knowing what's conventionally thought to
describe who the person is because...

oh why don't i stop talking and
let you figure out what comes through?

you can get there from here

thank you for your visit and
say hello to little bugs in your neighborhood for me!

wing dress update: goodbye to the excess - new video

2010-08-05T19:25:00.024+09:00

perhaps due to
my own, personal internal server error
i am absolutely out of the zone
no words flowing, blank
in the most profound way but

that's alright, maybe it's better that way

now that my chattering had ceased, we can
let the pictures do the talking

below:
stills from a new addition to the
"wing dress in the making" video log series

if you are here for the first time-
i am documenting the process of how a dress with painted/dyed feathers is made
and i am now at the stage of washing off the excess dye from dyed--steam-set dress panels
you may have seen images of "traditional" kyoto-kimono folks standing in a clear-watered river holding strands of kimono fabrics to do the aforementioned

what you are about to see is a slightly off the trad path version of the same

majority of water scenes in this video were shot in the sea
this is pretty much the first time i
went out with a camera when there were some waves
(and returned with some footage and the camera)

one thing, towards the end
you get to see some excess dye
drifting off of fabric grain...

like this

i know
i chatter anyways

so here we go, the new video
hope you enjoy!

my special thanks goes out to mr. Terry Nails,
for the use of his fantastic song "big mo'", a very unusual 'surf' music

his music including this tune is available at:
Trade Bit

if you're here for the first time:
making of this dress, and the preceding version of it
has been documented here in this blog

thank you for your visit!

wing dress update: summer returns again

2010-06-21T23:45:00.008+09:00

happy solstice to you all

at my end it's officially summer again
cycle of life, hellos and goodbyes
ebbs and flows for evermore...

no, this ain't the beginning of a poem

because

my wing dress panels, sent off to steam-set
as explained on the last post
are now returned and...

below:
looking just as i hoped them to look
right (with red trim) is the 1st version of the dress
painted much lighter in blue black acid dye,
then touched up with pigment black-blue mixture
post steam setting
lying next to it on left is
the current -2nd- version,
painted much darker with blue-black acid dye

next task will be to put them all together but
that's a bit of a job
i gotta have some encouragement along the way
that gives me an assurance, hope, something

so...

next:
pepping myself up
2 of the back-side panels held on front
can you see it soaring already?

by the way, that dramatic red cuffs
are part of my "girl-groups" shift dress

(i've always wanted to wear something like this)

the wing dress project is now expanding and
there will be a whole new series in "shift" shape
and this is part of an experiment on that

below:
trying to tone down the
be-my-baby sugaryness in the
best way i know how
(nice flare, no?)

furthermore,
the current version is expanding, too!

below:
the next one's drawing
accelerating the speed of flight

much more to imagine
and to dream, scheme, implement

but for now, i'll leave you with my
best wishes for your summer or otherwise

additionally,

ms. kirsty hall has made a beautiful "feather art" flickr gallery
and included my humble photo in it - thank you!
so please do go see and savor---bye!

wing dress update: darker than ever, slower than most

2010-06-14T00:35:00.015+09:00

yesterday, i sent all the painted panels of my
wing dress number 2
to have them steam set

yes, that's right, believe it or not,
(i can't)
i had been working on the thing
all this time!!!

below:
feathers all painted in, using acid-type dye
laid out flat before the dispatch

one "bad"
steam setting is done
while holding the fabric airborne,
by pinching corners of the work cut in rectangular
as in hammock-trampoline

they be steamed but must not touch dew drops
delicate business, isn't it?

below:
hey, someone cut the fabric in bias!
...and tried to bring back the lost corner

also
i stitch-marked the shape of the pattern
life may be easier this way

what's different from the wing dress #1 is that
i am not planning to touch up after the dye is set
so
some shadows are painted as dark as it can get

you can see the difference by referring to this past post

the "fade into white" look, although i'm very fond of,
that i experimented on wd1 is no more

with this version, all the feathers are well-defined

following:
several pics of details
stitching giving them a slightly decadent touch

you can find more photos on
my flickr set

thanks for your visit---

party purse with a touch of ambiguity

2010-06-07T14:36:00.026+09:00

hello again, blogosphere
this is your process lady, returned from hiatus
to tell you a story of a party purse newly born just the other day
so here we go,
long story long

below:
material
your usual kimono-obi-japan affair

although i do like-like the
borderline tacky trad-j color combos
(i said it as a compliment, for it's an
aesthetically risky hence bold move
to match colors as such)

i wanted to de-japan and
make it into something with a different flavor

below:
first, tried insanely triumphant red-gold combo
golly gee, mighty sunny

next:
then naturally, a little toning down occurred

below:
wrong side started looking right as well...

decided on silver and red
victorious enough but not so much so that
it'd steamroller the bag carrier

below:
cut in strips, ready to be stitched together
can you envision how this will look when put together?

below:
oh, by the way,
stitch a little "in"
so that no black/ gold will show up at seams

next:
lookie, stitched!
pretty, no?

although i have "party" in mind
i wanted to make it

not too elegant
not too ritzy
not too formal
nor too presentable

heading for
no man's land of bag-making

below:
circles, what for?

yes those are to go on the both end of cylinder shape
then came a mishap...

below:
ow what's with those corners?
not the look i was after

this is when i gave up and gone to bed

during sleep i was granted
an insight, and the will to go on
that's a winning combination

now that i know what to do...

below:
about to take them apart and
do the right thing

next:
see, this is what was causing the boxy ridges
the brown "interfacing" material
was fused after all were assembled
creating texture differences
where interfacing was not directly applied

with renewed enthusiasm i ironed interfacing cut in strips
on each red-silver strips to provide even backing

below:
redoing stitches, and doing it better than before

below:
round!

zipper(s), straps and trimmings
determine the look of the bag
or so i say, so i picked the...

below:
sage-mint coil zipper
just because something clicked "yes!"

shortening it clumsily
no, that's not blood stain
thank you for your concern tho

below:
about to sew it on then i saw the unignorable
can you tell, the stripes not meeting?

meticulous?
certainly, but
i can't get no inner clicking
(that "yes!" thing i told you about)
until...

below:
... it looks like this!

(((click)))

next:
by the way, speaking of meticulous,
look closer until you see...

(hint: colors of the stitches)

ahem.
yea.

let's get choosy on straps
in fact, i already decided on this when
i picked that zipper but
why not show you why i say not red

below:
what do you think?

next:
which one's better,
horizontal, vertical or diagonal?

below:
went diago
added red trim and now i'm good to go

what, how big is the bag?

well...

below:
if there were 5 process ladies...
will we have the dress making process sped up by 5 times
or a beach just a little crowded?

the answer's blowin' in the wind my friend

thanks for your visit!

wing dress update: painting process in action!

2010-04-01T11:20:00.007+09:00

i love, love,

love!

working on video stuff
utterly become consumed i'd lose
sleep, physical fitness, social skills...
over that

my only trouble
(concerning the video making)
is that
i rely heavily on music
i have no legal right to
in other words, on
varying mercy levels of
copyright holders

this month's choice is
a rather longish van morrison tune
obviously he's got a lot to say
and so not want to cut him short
i did my bestest to make something
that'd keep you awake throughout

in short,
i hope you enjoy

wing dress update: happy spring!!

2010-03-22T12:41:00.004+09:00

it's been officially spring for past few days (i'm late!) but

happy spring! to those who are experiencing it
the above picture is not of cherries by the way,
we are not there yet but

i've seen swans migrate
(why can't they fly with their mouth shut?)
and the first snake roadkill
(stay off the paved until you are...awake)

but most importantly,
seen myself work a little (ahem) magic on my
ongoing project called the wing dress
(that is a dress with feathers painted on them with dye)

the following few photos are of the dress' front panel
probably the most eye-catching part of the item
on left are the design traced on fabric in particularly lousy manner
(so that i'll have something to blog about okay?)
and on right hand side, are the "after" photos,
details painted with dye in blue-black

let me be a little show-off here

back to the topic of spring

although the realization that
the first quarter of 2010 is coming to an end
is just about to "up the wall" me
i've decided to be excited about the remaining 3/4
so...

let's see how good it can be
best spring (or autumn) wishes for you and me

who say everything's been said: nick drake "things behind the sun” (1971)

2010-03-18T01:14:00.009+09:00

it was one evening in 1998
i was listening to the album "pink moon"
for probably the thousandth time when
the moment froze still and filled my room with loud silence

and the song i've known for longer than a decade
spoke to me for the very first time

back then i was in
massive doubt about the worth of my creative efforts
all i could see was other people "doing so well in the world"
and me in my room in drought, in same old tug of war

until then this song was my least favorite on the album
but that night words hit me and it all made sense
the mystery of creativity as he sang
"who’ll hear what i say"

although the song never spoke to me in just that way again,
i have not devaluated my creative impulse since
on basis of how heard or hidden i am in the world
and in 1999, with newly-improved dedication,
rose to take on a consuming fabric dyeing practice

below:
soft, daring and timeless

things behind the sun

please beware of them that stare
they'll only smile to see you while
your time away

and once you've seen what they have been
to win the earth just won't seem worth
your night or your day

who'll hear what i say

look around you find the ground
is not so far from where you are
but don't be too wise

for down below they never grow
they're always tired and charms are hired
from out of their eyes

never surprise

take your time and you'll be fine
and say a prayer for people there
who live on the floor
and if you see what's meant to be
don't name the day or try to say
it happened before

don't be shy you learn to fly
and see the sun when day is done
if only you see

just what you are beneath a star
that came to stay one rainy day
in autumn for free

yes, be what you’ll be

please be aware of them that stare
they'll only smile to see you while
your time away

and once you've seen what they have been
to win the earth just won't seem worth
your night or your day

who'll hear what i say

open up the broken cup
let goodly sin and sunshine in
yes that's today
and open wide the hymns you hide
you find renown while people frown
at things that you say
but say what you'll say

about the farmers and the fun
and the things behind the sun
and the people round your head
who say everything's been said
and the movement in your brain
sends you out into the rain

additionally, if you are not familiar with his modern day van gogh story,
here are some recommended reading:

by arthur lubow, 1979 for "fruit tree" box set
(scroll down to read- some kind soul typed the whole essay, thank you)
wiki on nick

wing dress update: been here, done that, made a dress

2010-02-11T00:56:00.005+09:00

below photo is a close view of
feathers painted onto silk with dye
for my project, the wing dress

the dress consists of 11 panels
out of which 7 have feathers on them
i am done with the 6th panel so far and...

wait a minute
i've been here before
at the exact same place

about a year ago, i was working on
the first version of the dress
which later was labeled (by myself) as "not quite"
hence the emergence of the version #2

as if lost in rainforest,
am i seeing the same tree, going
around and around...and around?

well,
i decided to see it this way instead

the same view, only wider
seeing further
that's positive thinking, my friend

so anyhow,
the 7th panel of the 2nd version is
the front/center panel,
the task at hand,
the challenge

and as you see below,
as of now it looks like hell
and the beautifying of
the hell of this variety
has been my specialty
(just kidding)

below:
always lay your work on
flat, newish paper
for even and controlled dye application

top-no, no
bottom-yes, yes

one more thing:
when the work is longer than the table
let the fabric hang with gentle arch

otherwise sharp edge of the desk will
leave crease on the fabric
making it harder to paint evenly
since ironing is out of question
until the (acid) dye is steam-set
that'd put you in trouble

speaking of trouble...

i was working on 4th panel when
i noticed 2 bottles of dye,
one black, another blue black
sitting on my messy work tray...

below:
my messy work tray
more than you wish to behold

now, since my intention is to use blue black
black has no business being where it was
unless, of course, i made error of the year and
painted first 4 panels in black....!

(((horrors!!!)))

next:
black (l) and blue black (r)
and a naked lady scratching her head for me
while turning blue

in sheer panic i created 2 test pieces,
thin strips in black and blue black
and saw how they bleed with a drop of water

next 2:
black is reddish
verdict is in
(a sigh of relief)

moral?
don't touch the messy tray half-heartedly

that's all for today, thanks for viewing!
be sure not to miss the beautifying of the beast
coming up next....

captivated by the cold-blooded

2010-01-16T20:42:00.006+09:00

recently,
yours truly visited an aquarium in suburban tokyo

below:
everyone joining in
(it was a very large tank...)

nice under-jaw symmetrical squash patterns

next:
you are in captivity
have no business smiling like that

below:
narcissus, aren't you?

"...seen the light..."

the next guy is the most cooperative of all
he posed for me showing 3 different angles

(serious)

this one came out the best
see his confident demeanor

next:
all paused still

performance art?
perhaps

next two:
frozen in tank
remained completely still
unmoved by my intrusion

last:
tokyoites
warm-blooded and
on the loose

the place is in a funky little town named kichijyouji
the aquarium is part of this zoo

thank you for your visit

2010!!

2010-01-02T20:36:00.004+09:00

the first sunrise of the year
beaming through beach debris

wishing you all out there
a year to remember---

allure of the cool: mink deville "cadillac moon" (1976)

2009-12-31T14:39:00.010+09:00

(my apology for the potentially slow page load-too many videos embedded)

a soul, been known as willy deville
quit his human thing, this past summer

it's so good to see the guy be so cool
unabashedly, no holding back
so good to see one do "it" by
letting oneself go all the way
-be it cool, tragic, beautiful-
just the idea of allowing it to go
as far as it wants to go
enlivens me to no end

(((you are free to do anything in creativity
in any way you want it)))

now, "cool" is a delicate concept
easy to be dissed in a grown-uppy shyness
but guys like this know better, for
"cool" is like "abstract"
it's there, to get to the heart of it
right down to it, not the otherwise...

the song of choice for my little tribute is
from his early recordings, "cadillac moon"
in this song i hear
the story telling with absolutely no judgments attached
-much like also newly titled "late" jim carroll was-
and it never cease to lure me to return, to a place where
everything gleams mysteriously in the dark and
all of the humanness are embraced, 100% shame free

below:
"cadillac moon" by mink deville,
couldn't post the whole song

additionally,
here's willy talk about the album "live at cbgb's" (the whole article can be found here):

"The guy had about ten miles of tape of us, and they put on what they wanted to . . . the only thing I wanted put on there was 'Cadillac Moon' . . . the rest of it, I had no choice . . . all of 'em are 'I hate New York' songs. I went up to the studio and the guy there said, 'Every time somebody comes up here it costs me $100' and I said, 'An, please . . . okay, I'll split . . . spare me.' He took 45 minutes to mix three songs . . . it's really scary. I mean, the guitars are so outa tune -- I was playing a #13 Japanese leopard skin guitar. But there's something about it I like -- I don't know what. It was very amateurish."

i think it sounds fantastic, willy---

wing dress update: viva solstice!!

2009-12-22T20:38:00.005+09:00

unbearable to face the fact of life that
days getting shorter every day
i been burying my head in
clouds pink and gray,
a distinctively 1950's color combination

but that's over now, folks!
now it's officially the turn-around time
over here on north half of our planet

to add some holiday cheers on top of
such a grande-happy occasion,

here is my new process video for
the version #1 of my wing dress, completed

the best part was that
while shooting the vid, i had an audience
a young fella watched me work for
perhaps more than 30 minutes from distance
that was the best compliment i got from locals
this past year, if not an entire time i spent here

feliz navidad!!

wing dress update: red, corrupt and beautiful

2009-12-06T00:34:00.011+09:00

owowow
lookie lookie
what is that immodest piece of clothing?

well i tell you what it is
that is a slip dress
made of red silk
i test-dyed previously as
part of my wing dress project

here i'm working on
an undergarment for the dress
that is made of a very fine silk in ivory

the red was the first piece of the slip dress
test piece using left-over reds

in below picture you see my
free-hand approach to the pattern making
and my hard-working scissor

following two photos:
tattered edges and irregular stitches
that's all intentional

inspiration came from
hand-stitched clothing in war time
shown at war memorial museum in shinjuku, tokyo

there i found incredible hand-mades
most beautiful to me was small red rectangular patches
as emblems-so irregular, crudely stitched on army green

took my breath away...

i'm not going pro nor anti war here
rather, am "flattening" it, i'd say
seeing it without ready-made judgment attached
even with the subject as loaded as ww2

i saw them flattened and
they spoke to me in a language of silence that is
all inclusive, even the folly as colossal as ww2

back to the immodest

below:
no longer corrupt
now it's looking
rather angelic in cream

below:
hand-stitched first to
keep this slippery material in place

below:
details of the angelic

website for the museum mentioned is
all in japanese, got some images of fine hand stitching

the place seems to focus on
"how hard it was for us (japanese)"
i'd like to pay my tribute with silent prayers to
those, of the other part of asia, who were wronged by "us", and
those of us who took part in wronging "them"
and acknowledge, in this humble blog, that
i, as a foolish human, possess a potential to
be on the wrong side of the coin,
and put down the facade of innocence
for i live in the modern, built on such history

thank you for your visit!!

wing dress update: chasing the mirage (ver. #1 completed)

2009-10-28T22:27:00.008+09:00

for those who just popped by
for the first time:

this is a blog about my project "wing dress" which began in may '07, been documenting the making of process since on this blog.
earlier this year however, i noticed few "fatal errors" on the first piece i had been working on until then, so decided to re-do the whole thing over.
today's post is about the completing of the first ("flawed", the perfectionist says) piece.

and yes, i punctuate all wrong and ignore caps.
(((smile)))

as a nice lady i would like to
start out by talking about
changing seasons

see
it's autumn here
the leaves are doing
what they do so well and...

and
in a similar hue
i am doing what i am inclined to do

...and what is that?

those are silk fabrics dyed in
subtly varying shades of red

(i mixed red with blue black
in varying degrees of tinybitness)

since the red will be used for
trimming the neck line of the
pale cream dress
the first thing to do was the bleed test

below:
creating the worst case scenario
-chosen two hang-dried,
drenched wet with red above white

so, any bleeding?
nil...nice

below:
that's where the red goes
first, choose one or the other
yes yes, there really is a difference

...then the width
decisions came
quick and hunchy

below:
one of the important points

since the fabric is very thin
seams are better be cut pretty or
will become too attention-catching

a lot of work really

below:
i wanted to say "done" but
there was a nag in my gut
nagging in knot

why is that?

well, when i was trying to decide
the width of the hem
by eye- and hand-measuring it

over and over,
i picked "12cm" as the optimum width
it was really pretty amazing
how accurate your senses "measure"

then i went ahead and ignored it
and made it about 0.7cm wider

please don't ask why

since i am training myself out of perfectionism
i tried pretty hard to ignore the nagging
but the gnawing sense won in the end

yeah yeah i re-did the darn thing

below:
the right is the 12cm opti-hemmed
can you tell the difference?

oh yes, there really is a difference
i know, because when it was done,
it stopped the nagging and
turned it into a warm glow

the mirage-like feeling i've been after
forever and ever...

but really, there is only a very thin line
between perfectionism and hunch-driven detailism
i tried to force-fit that cool "sloppy" approach on myself but
can't really fight your natural inclination, can you?

can i be in-the-groove dynamo and remain detailed?
accommodating the two in one person,
such tightrope balancing may be
the thrill, the chase, the carrot...

(nice lady trying at the cup half full sentiment)

below:
stitching on the final hem
done pretty prrfectly

this post ends
of course with the season talk
whichever the ones you are having
on this round planet
i wish you a beautiful _____

thank you for your visit!!

wing dress in progress: the end of the pencil stage

2009-10-17T21:26:00.012+09:00

dye design for the
revised version of my 2+yr old project
the wing dress
is now completed
on a pencil-on-paper model

come to think of it
almost exactly a year ago
i was at the same place as i stand today
with the wing dress version #1

which is almost complete and
looking mighty pretty in silk

more on that in a little while

for today
let me share with you the pictures of
the version#2 in paper form

i've come to my senses at last minute and
recorded the tail end bit of this pencil stage
so please have a look

additional note to the mobile visitors:
somehow the tube is determined not to make this one video viewable on cells and teles, my syndication setting keeps switching back to "unavailable on tele/cell", so that's why it doesn't show.

thank you for your visit

evolving into chiqueness

2009-10-02T13:52:00.004+09:00

some insects evolve
style-conscious

i'm so very serious

form-function talk
just cannot explain
why someone like this
look the way he does

i mean
really

perfectly-tailored
iridescent head and shoulders
appeared to be not of this planet...

for the sake of functionality, yes
but
aesthetic appeal surely was on their mind

and they didn't slack on details neither

please please please
take a moment and see

i've talked about it in the past
a year ago today in fact
about how they all seem to choose
my doorstep as the last stop before departure

below:
another guy like that here
and he's a great pretender
modest at first glance but
look...

really...look

peaking into front face and found
furry and shy buffalo-look

below:
scary flashy cool
i guess he'd blend in just fine, if given the right circumstance
that's what they all are supposedly trying to do

right?

so why oh why do you
look the way you do
and why is it that you all
express your individuality as a group

the spaceman don't say

wing dress update: does this insect dream of swallow?

2009-09-12T22:48:00.013+09:00

i've taken a lengthy break from
my beloved, neglected project, the wing dress

i was on vacation
vacating from....me, so
those of you who interacted with me this summer
that wasn't me you were talking to

more on that later

i was concentrating on this entity
one of the very few who gets away with
being so inconsistent

see?

but i didn't totally abandon my project
for example
this is what i've been seeing
the first thing in the morning

look

notice a panel tacked right behind the bodice
that's the "alternate" front panel

invasion of alternate ideas...
that's what happens
when you sit on something long enough

below:
that's me, back from vacation
putting on the paper model of the dress
showing off the "done" side

now, please look at the below photo

the left, the current version, versus
the right (see the darkest line drawn with curve heavier than the left),
the new idea

r "flows" more with ease with the rest
but l shows the feeling of hesitation,
"feeling the pull but..." feel

feel it?

so what's the biggie, you may say
well,
although i like the new idea
if i change the stride on front,
i may have to speed up the rest as well

see,
i could keep revising the paper model
and remain in a loop, or
just make one and get speedy later if i prefer

hence
the
decision time...

putting it on would give me some idea
now,
i've used some models in the past
but it didn't go too well
for none of them were "one of us"
but most of all, were just too...weird

so i opted for suiting myself up

wha? my "do"?
no that's not do they're antennae
i've been an insect all this summer
buzzing, singing, flying but mostly
dreaming of gliding like swallow
going so fast
further out of harm's way
slashing atmosphere in half...

below:
see me dreaming?

just to add one more visual assault
here's a new video log on the matter

thanks for your visit!!

p.s.
thankyu eve for the bug inspiration ;^]

scenes from the sea, summer 2009

2009-08-17T22:27:00.002+09:00

as a reclusive people-person,
i cannot not crawl out of my hiding place
and hang out and about on the nearby beach
that is almost all mine year-round
except for a short while in mid summer

summer is short here in
north end of the central-east japan

people are out
letting it almost all hang out
and i am hanging with my camera
shooting it away in shore break

look
with a jumbo drop on a lens cover

considerable mass of jello
about to swallow beach-side homes

caught him in the
pure expression of terror

guy on the right is doing alright
while the left's about to get
knocked over...

well, look who's gotten knocked over
a moment after the click

safe in daddy's arms-
a day to remember

this is as crowded as it gets
snapping while on a boogie board

associating with the clean, crisp water here
made me a lover of the color teal...

that's all for this summer
thanks for viewing!

i promise not to...talk: video log launch

2009-07-16T11:11:00.004+09:00

been thinking about it a while, in fact, a while ago
i did try it out in a half-cocked manner using "bubbletweet"
which then proceeded to fail on me
i took that as a sign, and decided to
put some making-of vids on mytube channel

i'm going to have no-talk (not too much) policy
talking, i do it here in writing
also keep it short policy
for all you busybees

i hope some of you will visit some of the time to
witness some of the funny moments in my process

wing dress update: accentuating the contour

2009-07-08T23:42:00.006+09:00

oh good my updates are getting frequent-er!
or so i thought, til i realized it's
already been a week since the last post

someone must be pressing the
fast-forward button
behind my back...

(stop that!)

but i haven't given up on
beating the time somehow
...by doing what?

well what else could that be
but my wing dress project

below:
bringing up
(or is it "down"?)
the over-all tone by
few shades darker

now, on the first piece, i
experimented what i haven't 'til then that is
to give it a "high-contrast" fade-into-white look

below:
putting on the half-done first wing dress
see the contour obscured (intentionally)
by the "fade" look

i liked that very much but
realized doing it on this second piece
may not be in its best interest

see, what i especially like about this current design is
the general shape of feathers,
placed to suggest some sort of...velocity, a sense of it

so to accentuate, not to obscure, such feature
i decided to get it few shades darker all over
and minimize the white-out look

below:
toned down, pinned down
and almost good to go

thanks for your visit!

wing dress update: all‘s well 'cos they end well

2009-07-02T11:50:00.007+09:00

hey let's start off the post with a
heartwarming topic of deads

(((big smile)))

bugs are strange creatures
fascinating and so different from "us" that
even the self-acclaimedly "open minded" ones like myself
often get scared when they are alive

i've been lucky enough to see the human deads few times but

(cheerful 'nough? good!)

they looked nothing but a lifeless shell with
what made them once shine "left" for good

but look at this bug carcass
his departure made him approachable to a wuss that is me
with his beauty intact in his remains...

now that i am sure i've chased away half of visitors

(((wink)))

let's proceed to the talk on my beloved project, the wing dress

below:
i've worked on "shading" to this extent
circled is the area where the design is still not complete

in other words, the struggle zone, i'd call it

being a sucker for embarrassment
i can't stop sharing the recent boo-boo i've made in the zone

below:
before moving onto "shading"
too small, too round, too timid-looking

fast forward to the current
i seem to have been hang up on the idea of
having round, short feathers in front that are like scales

below:
trying out the idea again
this time
drawing directly on bodice to better grasp the balance

then tacked them on wall to check on the look
and to clean up and draw detailed lines

in other words
i reversed the process from when i made the boo-boo

below:
is this...good?

cleaned, pinned back on the bodice...
and the answer to that is
....whopping yes!!

hey this post
ended on a cheerful note...

...noticed?

(((big smile again)))

wing dress update: s u m m e r !!!!!

2009-06-21T22:22:00.004+09:00

summer arrived again to
northern half of us

what i've been doing on my
wing dress project...

the placement of the feathers is
pretty-much done except for
the front of the dress

below:
feels like something's not quite enough

next:
so i added few feathers
just to see different ways to
mess up my work...

that's
thee tongue trio

and next:
evidently i seem to favor the
short feathers placed like scales

this one seemed like a good one
made me almost happy even, but...

...when i pinned the panels together
it was all wrong, too...

smallish
and
bubblish

like fish eggs on seaweed

(((ouch!)))

so i decided to put that on hold and
moved on to the next task

ya, shading

one thing i am trying to learn from the first piece is
to make the contrast of light and shadow
not too tedious

meaning
dark be darrrrk
don't make the contrast
itty bitty
light-dark-light-dark affair
for that would make it look
very "busy"

below:
dark getting darrk

anyhow

i hope you people will have a fantastic summer
(or winter)
and
thankyu for your visit!

wing dress update: (untitled due to...)

2009-06-08T21:04:00.004+09:00

today i have acute melancholitis on my tongue
this means
talk is curtish as i share with you
the latest on my "wing dress" project

looking at one of the photos from
the last post on the subject
made me realize
i don't like the back side...

ya, right there...
stood out like a sore...feather

the following three:
the latest as of yesterday
almost done with feather placement

design's much bolder than the first piece...

what's left is pretty much this:
adding some sense of speed
of velocity, of "swish"-ness

like this

time to pull the covers way over my head
and dream of flying

thank you for your visit!

wing dress update: like a caterpillar crawling...

2009-05-29T00:34:00.011+09:00

early summer...
when days are long and every little path is
filled with fragrance and stray caterpillars
while young swallows hone their flying skills
and make me fear for my life...

watcyu been doing all this time
betraying ya own project...

well
i been

sniffin the mood enhancers...
(that's jasmin, fella)

hanging out with friends on the beach...

have had some crafty (mis)adventures...

experimenting in culinary lab
finding cosmos in a kitchen bowl...

...and this!

evidence of hard work

my wing dress project has been
taking place in secrecy

below:
making progress in an incubator

below:
latest, as of may 29th, 2009
almost ready for the next task

if you are here for the first time:
the above pattern that is drawn on paper
will be traced onto fabric of my choice
then
be painted in, using acid-type fabric dye

below:
...and when would that be? he asks

see you
in a while

thankyu for your visit

i will mangle your mind...: ron asheton (1948-2009)

2009-05-22T21:48:00.011+09:00

one mid-seventies day
i had a fateful encounter with a song
that changed me forever
listened to it once and
i knew i could never be the same

at the dawn of my teenage years
a door got kicked open
a line been crossed
a beast had awakened
and i knew i was in trouble

(been in it ever since)

full track of "no fun" found on our tube

instinctively i knew
i must hide my being driven mad like that
if i was to escape the army of
sweet and shaming japanese community

since then
"outside the society" became
where i wanted to be
but trying to get there was
no easy matter because

doing the things
generally considered
"outside"
(and i did them to my wimpy maximum)
still didn't feel
quite...outside

at this point in 2009
overdone "outside" demeanor had
long lost its edge
after all, outside can't be reached from outside
but the door once kicked open
has been left open
and it's alive, well and inviting
in their recording made some 40 years ago

an article/ report on billboard site on his passing in jan.'09

another page in oral history style,
paying respect to the other half of the way-advanced guitar-bass pair

the 400 blows, froggie version

2009-04-24T22:05:00.005+09:00

nowadays in water-filled rice fields
live massive population of frogs
their gargling fills up the night

i bet most will stay in those muddy ponds
sing loud nightly, fall in love, mate and procreate
but there are some, who embarks on a quest for unknown...

like this guy here

hey frog, where are you goin'
what's ahead may not be
your kind of water...

he proceeds cautiously
few steps, rest, then takes few more

a moment before wind blows sand in his face
he makes himself compact and still
with his eyes tightly shut

how did he know when it blows?

sun-dried froggie
pauses for a long while...

finally turns his back to the sea and
curls up like a pup in a shadow casted by
some incessant observer

end of a frog tale
(nonfictional)

in case you haven't seen the film and
wonder about the title of this post

wing dress update: swish-swish, chop-chop

2009-04-22T23:22:00.008+09:00

wing dress is a project been ongoing
since may '07
made some errors on the first piece so
a decision made recently to
re-do the whole thing
all over again
ya

here's the update of the
insane starting over

(feathers/ design drawn on paper first,
then will be traced onto fabric using acid-type dye)

below:
initial plan was to re-design the back panels only...

below:
sometimes, such plan expands...
previous design traced onto
sleeve and front panels (2 on far right)

below:
getting a wee-bit dynamic, maybe?

below:
an entire make over taking place...

wearables' been my number one medium
since the beginning of socialization process
it was a way to build a shield that also
spoke a secret language
sending out a smoke signal

with it i wish to capture a sense of velocity
but this particular medium sometimes feels
not quite enough to catch what's swishing about

but then again, isn't it like that, this
creativity thing
can't quite nail it, you can only come
very very close...

wing dress update: ya gonna do...wat?

2009-04-14T22:18:00.004+09:00

(let me caution you, this is a long post)

been a month since the last post re. my
ongoing project the wing dress

the dress is almost done but
there're some things i've been contemplating a while

thing number one:
layers of touch-up with pigment
changed the texture and the color of the feathers

as you see below, prior to painting in with acid dye
i've tested with pencils but

what i somehow overlooked was the
difference of light-dark contrast between
pencil and fabric dye

i should've gone several tones darker with dye
so as to lessen such contrast hence less "busy" look

especially since the swatch made previously proved me
that this particular color (blue black that is)
turns out just as painted post "steam setting" procedure
(some colors ain't so)

because of this, i had to use pigment ink as touch up
to darken wider areas darker than i planned which
affected the original fluid texture, and the color

number two:
the design itself

although i am generally pleased...

at one point i noticed that
the front and back do not
quite go together

they should be made into two seperate pieces

number three (the last push):
tones of ivory on painted and unpainted panels
do not match.....

ironically, with the previous pieces, i've let
all the panels, painted or not, go through
every procedures altogether
and turned out i didn't have to worry

this time, i slacked and
didn't bother treating the unpainted pieces
and look what happened...

can you tell?

so what's now?
well

i am redoing it

i was willing to overlook the thing #1 and 2 but
not feeling too cool about it so really
the #3 was a happy push, no more doubty indecision

looking back, all this time i have been
cold-feeting against "in the groove" state
as if holding onto the last rock at river mouth
longing for but fearing of the ocean

(and such hesitancy seems to attract
little carelessness here and there...)

it's almost as if i've spent all this time
-one month short of two whole years-
becoming ready to let my hands go...

so here i am, hands free, feet warm

(well, almost)

starting another piece as an
exciting experiment
working rather quickly this time...

thankyu for reading
and for your interest...

please check back soon!

blossom fell

2009-04-14T20:55:00.002+09:00

...best part of the season

cherry-o-babypink

2009-04-07T11:18:00.007+09:00

right around this time, for about 10 days out of a year
the whole thing of tokyo turns baby pink
and the otherwise shy. busy tokyoites
throw their "fear of sentimentalism" out the window

i bet right about now the city must be in a
swirling mess of falling petals
heavenly pink confetti in wind

cherry blossoms, everywhere you go...

below:
roppongi, newest high-rises in background

i declare, as of now, that
high-rise is out!!!
it's official, from this moment on
no mas, enough's enough

below:
also in roppongi
foreground used to be a
playground for an elementary school

japan is shrinking...

below:
shot from 48th floor in shinjuku
small squares on right lower corner
that's people sitting under cherry trees
doing god knows what, but in an
impeccably orderly manner

below:
on the day of tepodon* threat
tokyoites nonchalantes
getting together and feeling alright

below:
best encounter this year
full blossom
in a yard of an abandoned house

it really is a nice story
how the tree called on me and the other attuned ones

thank you for your visit!!

*just in case you haven't heard...what is tepodon?
a character from 60's japanese monster flick?
nope, that's the name of north korean missile

just because it's spring!

2009-03-21T22:20:00.008+09:00

a day late, but
happy spring to those who are on the
northern half of the blue planet

yesterday, i did a little experiment with
a recipe i found for
"inside-out carrot cake cookies" on this yummy food blog

since i have hard time following directions
i did a little tweak on the recipe, of course
which turned out to be to my liking

what did i do?

*carrots finely, instead of coarsely grated (hence watery) just because
*switched to whole wheat flour, increased amount by perhaps, 1.3 times
*added 1/2 table spoon of baking soda by mistake (then scooped out the eye-measured amount in panic)
*sweetened only with 1/3 cup of honey, ditching sugar altogether
*used pecans instead of walnuts, skipped chopping
*added more raisins, though how much more i cannot say
*substituted butter with grape seed oil
*plus, added oat meal, probably about 1 cup

the result?
well,
look!

be fooled by the bumpy outlook and
you'd be pleasantly surprised by the
rather fluffy texture, though wholesome to max.
(probably due to the excess baking soda)

think of how a thing between
muffin and scone would fluff

subdued sweetness was very delicate
the kind that makes you search for it
goes well with bulky, chunky, unchopped pecans

wishing you all a
sweet springtime
(or autumn, if applicable)

kelp gone astray

2009-03-18T21:31:00.006+09:00

about five days ago, i've gone
down to the beach, looking, specifically,
for a big kelp

what appeared to be the "it" kelp
was lying in shallows, strangely lit up
lucky me, i thought, until i lifted it up
as tall as myself, it was as if
dragging a mermaid back home, uphill

although i am one of those freak from japan
who could clear your tide pool in approximately 5 minutes
the big find was not to go into my soup bowl

one of my pending project is an expanding collaboration
with a friend of mine, the sea themed 2d artwork-to-be
thought seaweed would make a perfect background...

but as i began shooting the mermaid
it somehow descended to, i mean,
progressed into what's slightly more decadant than
what i had in mind initially

i really don't know what happened...

okay, this is about as far as i could go, posting
i tell you this much though
the kelp is the mermaid,
the siren

just take my word for it

well,
after 5 days,
the thing started to smell decadant as well
while i was giving it a long last look
i found a shellfish, clutching at the root
still very alive

lucky him, he didn't end up in my soupbowl
(yes i dragged it back to where i found it)

photo friday: a spiky loner

2009-03-08T21:10:00.002+09:00

their theme this week is: isolation

can you guess what he might be?
(apart from being a loner that is)

visit photo friday headquarter for more photos on this theme

wing dress update: looks done to me

2009-03-07T21:15:00.010+09:00

my project "wing dress" is a
dress with dyed feathers on it
been working on/ documenting the process of it
since may 2007
taking my sweet time

since the last post on the subject
i have been working on
last bit of touch ups

see?

(is that charlie on your...chakra?)

just darkenning places that
seem not to merge well

either on bodice, as seen below, or...

using a round object originally for ironing
like this...

at one point, all this started to feel
so very redundant
(even to myself)
then i knew, it was time to...get a model and see

now, i've used live models in the past, but
turned out they were too lively to be cooperative
so this time, i opted for.....an android!

from left to right:
see, 2 knobs on her head
top one controls temperament, the bottom posture

as i asked her to turn around...

i was met with a glare
android with an attitude problem
her defiance kept me away from her top knob until...

i saw her start to remove her face (!)
then i had to pounce on her and
turn the temp. knob all the way to...nice

suddenly, she sat
and stayed put (nicely)
i re-read the manual, it said,
budget models do not come with manual setting
it can either stand and defy or sit and smile

well then...that's that, but
can you see the feathers swirling in movement anyways?

after all this hassle
i decided it's good enough!

(((yeaaa)))

so removed the tentative stitches and...

darkened inside the seam
you can see the difference clearly in the below photo

now what's left is to
assemble the dyed/ touched-up panels

getting near the completion...

thankyu for your visit!!

on birthday of brian jones (1942-1969)

2009-02-28T21:15:00.009+09:00

lots have already been said about brian jones
multi-instrumentalist, noted hedonist,
but what really was his contribution anyways?
while i would not even begin to pretend that
i have answer to such a profound question,

what stands out to me has always been his...

and if i say now "impeccable sense of style"
it'd be too trite, i'd be missing the point because
his genius was that, he styled himself with mind
intends to free itself of restrictions, socializations...
lots of bravado, i would not
never ever criticize him for
piggybacking on drugs

perhaps, just perhaps,
he could not not do it the way he did
he was at the mercy of his own creative force within
moved by an inner necessity, he had to dress just that way
in a sense, the way he lived his life was like that too
and how do i know that?

because it shows...

it was as if he lived in just that way, by no choice really,
to carve out a story, as if his own life was a work of art itself
so that we could look back and see just

how it governs you even despite ourselves
how we are all at the mercy of our
creative force within...

below:
from David Dalton "The Rolling Stones, The First Twenty Years"
brian jones, an ethereal presence on far left
donning the relatively modest gear
circa 1964-65

wing dress update: one more push til i cross that line

2009-02-27T01:05:00.003+09:00

update for my wing dress project
ongoing since may '07

all the dyed (with acid-type dyes) panels are now
put together roughly

as you see on below 3 photos...

now i am working on
pushing up the scale of "totalness"
-giving it a one last big push so that
the whole thing will cross the final line and
really come together

using pigment-type fabric paint as a
touch-up agent

you may or may not agree but
there still is
scattered, busy look to the thing
my task now is to make it come together somehow by
darkenning some, here there but not everywhere

what's important to me now is to

get in the groove fairly consistently
don't touch anything until i know exactly how
and
see, feel, work with 6th sense wide awake so
i'd know when's time to stop

sometimes i wonder if
i do all this just to be in the said groove...

so let's see how i do, if i could
pull this one off alright

thanks for your visit!

wing dress update: have i seen the...light?

2009-02-20T23:43:00.008+09:00

wing dress is my ongoing project since may '07
made of 11 panels and 7 of them have
feathers drawn on em with
acid-type dye and some pigment ink

today's post will be a bit of a bore so
if you got things to do
just
go
go
go

(don't mean that of course)

besides, i am a
bit on a quiet end this evening...

peace in the valley tonight
silent, unholy night....

below:
under beatle mania handkerchief lies, face down,
one of the dress panels
heat setting pigment paint used as touch-up

let's not go over george, he seems to have been a
very nice beatle

below:
ruler is to straighten the fabric grain
bringing out the paper version of the dress and
marking the placement of the sleeve

below:
then flip the panel and
on the wrong side, place the pattern and mark...

left seam allowance wider than usual
just to be on the safe side for now
one part is even wider, just in case i decide to
flare the sleeve a bit...

putting the 2 panels together with rough stitches

(working on this is a lot less boring as a matter of fact)

at the time of the last post i was
not quite sure if the dress was any good

thankyu my friends in blogosphere or otherwise
for your kind, assuring words...

i wanted to "roughly put together" the dress
hoping that would ignite enthusiasm
well
it's starting to look good to me
i think i was a bit out of zone
now i am beginning to see the light

more on their way
thanks for reading

wishing you all a....

2009-02-14T11:32:00.007+09:00

i wish you all
a day filled with love
that is so rightly yours

whether you are

solo, pair, combo or beyond
either attached in joy
or in the otherwise
hitched, dropped,
or as facebook calls it in a
"it's complicated" variety

i wish you all a
free and easy access to
all the love your heart can hold
on this day and beyond...

wing dress update: good, bad or ...

2009-02-05T00:03:00.007+09:00

so my project wing dress

i know
it's been a while

been working
in silence
since the last post

using, this time, pigment-type paint in blk/blue,
the dyed (with acid dye) and steam-set dress panels are
getting the touch-up treatment
from this me, the obsessive

cautiously though, for
over-application of the pigments will
stiffen and ruin the fluidity of
acid dye on silk

below:
pinned onto the blank version of the dress
just to see

yes i've seen it alright, and, guess what
i don't like what i see

(((whaaaat??!)))

it looks a little too "busy" to me

so comes the challenge

below:
in an attempt at toning down
darkenning where it is too light
to even it out a bit

(i know, it's hard to see with these photos but
please, kinda, try...)

below:
pinned the thing one more time
i think i may be able to
live with this but...

below:
from different angles...

is this
good, bad or...ugly?

(((ooooh noooo)))

cannot tell, what a
torment that is

then came the
light bulb moment

i need a model!

so get a model, i did

what seems like forever ago
i introduced my 1/2 sister from the planet uranus
in fact, i have another uranian relative-my cousin-
she's visiting me on "opposite saturn" holiday
apparently it's a big deal over there

below:
who's that clown?
that's her, the uranian cousin

the string down her face is for her amusement,
the fan ornament on crown, that's her salute to japan
got it in little uranian tokyo she said

yeaaa, uranians...

she is from some sort of nomadic tribe
kept striking folk dance poses
at the end of my rope i said,
why can't you stand still like everyone else?
where is everyone else? was her reply

thanks to her, i still
cannot tell if it's good
guess i'll pin it back on bodice
and go into deep contemplation phase

thanks for reading!

my website is down, temporarily

2009-02-03T14:07:00.004+09:00

dead link is a dreadful thing...

my website www.onlyinpomona.org is
currently, um, down
i am in the process of hassling peacefully
with the domain host guys but
for a while, i will have a dead link

but i'm not dead and
not dissapearing from webspace

thanks!

below:
images from my ongoing experiment
with tiedye, making up methods as i go along...

(but not revealing what i did, just yet)

additional note:

the doteasy team had done a swift retrieval job
(thanks!)
now my site is back to normal
hence no mas deadlink

wing dress update: all set!

2009-01-15T18:59:00.008+09:00

so,
my beloved project the wing dress
-a dress with feathers painted/ dyed on it-

on my last post on the subject,
painting (with acid dye) was completed,
and they were about to be sent out
for steam-setting done by pros

well, it took them only 4 days total
over weekend
swifty guys...

below:
unwrapping, excitedly, anxiously...
did i mess them up?

one thing i feared was the possible over application of the dye
(done that before, disaster is the name for it)

the amount of dye particle fabric grain can hold is limited
and the heat from steam setting will settle them there
so in case of over application, you'd have hard time
ridding of the excess for one thing, but also
the painted subject may have the look of
over-developed picture, losing all the details

hear a sigh of relief?
yup,
turned out just as i intended

below:
measuring a magic portion...
that's the stuff that keeps the dye off the whites

used a plastic drawer, filled with 30 litters of water
and gently...let the panels sink in

then move them about a little, sideways
let the excess rise off the material

in this case, no visible excess...

(((cold!)))

after a certain amount of time-10 minutes in this case-
pull them out, keep them in (somewhat) running water
and one by one, place a panel on a board and
using the water pressure, wash off the excess particles

you may have seen a photo or two of traditional japanese guys
standing in river holding a looong strip of kimono fabric
letting it float like a serpent learning to...swim?
same idea here, minus river and a snake

below:
aiming waterhose from unnecessarily far

next, rinse again in water
sandwich them with towels,
then roll 'em up and spin 'em dry

lay them flat and
let them dry

when dried
the surface turns stable and durable

time to relax...

the color i used on this dress is
blue black
a little blueish hue
appeared post procedure

so...what's next?

touch up (again?)
using pigment-type ink
then put them together into a dress

til then
thanks for viewing---

blowing it out of propotion

2009-01-14T23:32:00.006+09:00

today was my errand day
spent the entire daytime out and about
took so long to come home because i was doing...

this!

bird watching?
well, they happened to be the first to
catch my eyes

going about my errandish business with
secondary motive of finding photogenics
lead me to an encounter as the following

lucky day, today

below photos:
up close and very personal with
the stern and appeared-to-be-forgotten presence

primarily i was going at this for
my other blog "abandonment issues"
where i post those man-made and abandoned

but this fella turned out to be
still in use hence disqualified

don't judge a bulldozer by its cover!!

(((okay)))

below:
on the way back
passing by the same river with
different cast of characters...

wing dress update: know when

2009-01-10T15:44:00.009+09:00

2 days ago, i shipped out the painted panels for
the wing dress, my so far 20months-old project,
to have their dyed surfaces steam-set

on my last post on the subject i was about to
bring all the 7 panels, painted with fabric dye,
to utter prrrfection

perfect, meaning, (i hope to) be alert enough to stop
before it starts to get redundant
in short, know when

in the end i laid all the panels like the below photo then
stood back and waited until the place needed darkenning
stood out in one of those special ways

below:
as of jan. 8th, 2009

following are comparison photos
of before and after this last spurt polish up job

mostly, i tried to add some contrast as well as
smooth gradation and realistic details

realistic, but not to get representational on ya
rather, so as to give a full effect on
de- and re-constructing of the wing
which is what i seem to be doing instinctively

below:
some of the details

thank you for viewing

dawn of a new year

2009-01-01T21:34:00.004+09:00

here's new year's greetings from
north end of coast-side central japan

on every new year's day i go down to
the same old beach at dawn like
as if it is a
strange compulsion of mine

the same old beach
the same old sun
and possibly the
same old...me

now
according to my dog who is of a
considerably philosophical kind
the same old street she
strut day after day, that's
never the same street

i, therefore, welcome the challenge each year
of bringing out an element or two that was
not apparent in the images shot previously

below:
dawn of 2006
snapshotty, i know

...of 2007
including people for a change

...and of 2008
eliminating the sun from the sunrise

now, let's hear from miss arbus:

"It's important to take bad pictures. It's the bad ones that have to do with what you've never done before. They can make you recognize something you hadn't seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again."

so i am going to resolve, on the first day of a whole year ahead
that i will fearlessly
take lots of bad pictures...

wishing you all a fantastic year ahead....

wailing, in the eye of the storm: alice in chains (1987-)

2008-12-28T22:08:00.010+09:00

they caught me off guard
the first time i listened to the first note off their first album in '90

(who opened the flood gate?)

the kind of moment not so easily forgotten

abrasive noises and harmonies almost discordant at times
surrounded me like whirlwind but
strangely, there existed a sense of silence
like a still point in dead center
that comes, perhaps, from introspection so intense
your heart froze still

naked display of hopelessness could bring out a sense of hope
when done with no-holds-barred abundance as theirs,
could renew your zest and zeal

(....you can do anything in creativity....)

these guys went pretty far with it but
their genius is that they remained accessible
hopeless is good when it's real, and in the face of such "real",
itty bitty prim proper polarization of negative versus positive means
absolutely
nothing
but

you can't stay there

(heck, can't stay anywhere for that matter)

can't continue to replicate and retain the same emotional output
harsh world of monetizing your creativity...

below:
almost too real to handle, with the singer visibly deteriorated but not dispirited
from their 1996 "unplugged" appearance

despite the loss of the singer in '02, the band managed to carry on
their new material is expected in summer '09
resources: ever-helpful wiki and the band’s website

how was your 2008?

2008-12-22T22:48:00.002+09:00

(not that i think you need to hear me say it but)
year '08 is coming to an end
my wish for you is that
this past year has been fruitful
in whichever the way you've desired it to be

mine?

oh yes, it's been
quite an adventure, can't ask for more
sharing some of the discoveries and encounters here
has been a delight, too

thank you for those of you who had
taken your precious time to
read my babblings

happy holidays!

i'm a debutante at cafepress

2008-12-11T22:20:00.005+09:00

over one whole year had passed since
i signed up at cafepress, a print-on-demand service
but finally my first webstore is open

it takes what it takes
(now that's a wisdom)

slow in coming, but it's been fun designing

please come have a look by
clicking the image link below...

if you'd be so kind
please help spread the word
thanks a plenty

additional note on october 2010:

after much contemplation, i have decided
to close the cafepress store
thank you for all who came by/ made purchase!

wing dress update: title slump (can't come up with one)

2008-11-25T22:35:00.010+09:00

so my wing dress project is moving forward steadily
for i have been
putting pretty much everything else on...hold

on my last wing dress post
i've shown you 6 out of 7 panels (to be painted in with dye)
completed to 70-80%

below: the last but not least
the 7th panel is the most challenging as
it is the front/ center piece with
lots of fade-outs and contrasts

as of 17th of november, 2008
(placed on left is the fabric, right is a pencil drawing as a guide)

and
as of nov. 23rd
(right: fabric)

pretty darn close
but that could change post heat-set
that is the procedure that follows

there were some challenging aspects

here's one:
when i traced the pattern onto the fabric
i was not at my best in terms of concentration
hence messy confusing lines, especially on lower right
(see that?)

i've gotten sharper somewhere along the process
and
fixed the messy pretty well

next:
another part from the same panel i felt nervous about
due to the "fading" look i am after that i've never done before

below:
traced onto fabric alright
could've been a bit more faint but
too late for that

and
a pencil drawing to
guide me to the desired

fabric, painted in
lookin nice
for now

it may turn out darker
when the dye's set

next:
another part with drastic fading/ contrast

traced too dark again?
that's just gonna have to.....do

and i oughta make it turn out like this pencil drawing

the goddess of unnecessary self torment was on my side
turned out more than i hoped for so far

next step will be
to lay all the 7 panels flat and
bring them to utter prrrrrrrrrrfection altogether

first i must bring myself to my sharpest, preferably
then find me some floor space ha ha.....

that's all for today
i'm gonna im the said goddes now
thanks for viewing!

time is relative: steven soderbergh "the limey" (1999)

2008-11-24T21:59:00.010+09:00

while i was growing up i used to
entertain thoughts that produced massive anxiety
(like that's the thing to do)
for example
this concept of time thing
i found it exciting to doubt the idea that
it runs in linear, even motion like on a monorail

evidently i wasn't the only one who felt that way
(aside from einstein, of course)

the main character-the limey-is a brit criminal dad (terence stamp!)
coming to los angeles following his daughter's death
that had taken place in the city
to find out whatever the hell had happened

as his mind wanders and recalls
so does the film, the scenes go back and forth in varying speed
no doubt experimental yet not at all pretentious
in fact i find it rather emotional
although (or especially because)
the dad displays no obvious emotions

vertical noises, blurs, delays, overdubs
silences, gaps and slow motions are
all woven into a plot that is surprisingly deep
and what comes down in the end makes me wonder
...just how are you going to live with that?
(and terence stamp will show you how with his subdued acting)
all the while the film maintains a witty stance
that keeps it from weighing you down

here's a scene from the film, a drive to big sur

now that i'm out of things to say, let me refer you to...

a wiki page on the film does a good job telling you all the details
and a pro critic has much more to add to that

let's have terence stamp sum it up:

"This is a real film. It's not a sequel, it's not gonna be the Limey 4. It's what a film should be. It's made by, it's been invented and inspired by a group of wonderful people who love what they are doing and this is why I became an actor"

wing dress update: how to stop time from flying

2008-11-18T12:24:00.008+09:00

have you noticed that time really flies?
well
i have

it's really been fying here at the north end of central j-land
but nothing to be sad about because i am flying with my...

wing dress!!

the dress is constructed of total of 11 panels and
7 out of them are to be painted with fabric dye

as the photos you see below
(dress panels laid flat next to pencil drawings)

these are completed to about 70-80%
the plan is to bring them all to that level first
then to 200+% altogether

i know
that's only 6 of them
the 7th is coming, that's the front/ center piece
i am resting for a few breaths
before taking on the challenge

below:
an example of super-detailing

the 3rd from top feather---with an arrow pointing at it
that's the next one i'm after
top 2 have been treated, rather obsessively

using a hair at the tip of the brush that is kept pretty dry
applying very light pressure

well look, it didn't take that long
when in an "extreme" condition like this
time could stop flying, it seems like

below:
another evidence of "extreme" concentration
i've given myself a bit of extra challenge by
neglecting to iron the fabric beforehand

thanks for viewing

wing dress update: fair enough

2008-11-03T21:05:00.007+09:00

so

my wing dress project is making a steady progress
now i am painting the feathers on fabric
-the best part of the process, nearing completion-
i am beginning to feel the momentum that
keeps me from sleeping at times but

my aim now is to
go at it easy
stop and rest a while if i start to feel myself
getting into this full-on obsessive-compulsive kamikaze mode

below:
as of november 1st

sharpenning up the blurry...

using the very very tip of a brush

like this, good for now

this piece, right side of front of the dress
is done for now, although not "done" done

unlike when i made dye swatches, the isolated pieces,
i'd bring each piece to 3 steps short of completion at first
then work on them altogether to completion

that's my plan anyways

painting in the fine details i found to be a
highly hypnotic process (when it's good)
with only one hand in movement

not hard to imagine what happens to the rest of you
after few hours of doing that

so

moving about occasionally would be the crucial
if it involves conversing with another speaking creature
that'd be a great plus ha ha

so i went, a neighborhood fair at nearby port
i share with you some images i found there...

below:
mid-century subaru at display
(someone's showing off his beloved)

very nice sf mad scientist look
front and back of the car

wheel cap cranes

below:
fabrics i found
very japonesque ones and....

...go-go mama synthetic print
not the best of the kind but
how can i keep myself away from this...

and...wat arrrr yu???
my god, look at you, looking all decadant
you could get arrested looking like that
in broad daylight...

so that was my walk-abouts / chat-ups
now i am ready for my
extended isolation
soon i will
write more from there

thanks for viewing

wing dress update...and a little bit of boo!

2008-10-31T22:58:00.007+09:00

happy halloween to those of you who celebrate the day
getting, perhaps, crazed in maddenning outfits in dark tonight...

sounds great, i could have done that in my rural japanese setting
and get arrested most probably but instead,

i played it safe, look!!

that's the very first batch of cookies i've ever made in my life

(((preening and proud)))

peanut butter kind, m&m's embedded for the effect
that's as halloweeny as i could get

recipe is here

tho sweetened only with honey
could be less sweet if yu ask (i know you won't)
(i made the ones w/o m&m's as well)

other than that, chewy and devilish

now about the wing dress

below:
as of oct. 29th at 2pm-ish
switching to the smallish brush and

(((-sh-sh-sh)))

started to darken further in details

this brush allows me much more even application of dye
than the last one i used that was about 3 times wider

and keep referring to the paper version i've made previously

that's all for today

for those of you crazed folks
have fun

don't get caught

wing dress update: the beginning of the real deal

2008-10-28T22:35:00.005+09:00

on my last post, i had completed the
placement of feather patterns on the
paper model of the dress

what's next is this

below:
tracing the patterns on to the dress (part)
referring to the forementioned paper model

started with the easiest-looking piece

traced
some of the lines probably should be finer but
i decided not to go too perfectionistic on this

before starting to fill in the shades
i prefer to extend the feathers wider
it's just easier that way

using a hair of the brush

started filling in from peripherals
keeping the brush very dry
applying very little pressure

below:
the very first stage, done

looking hopelessly messy in the beginning but
that seems to be the way it usually goes

this procedure is pretty much the same as
when i made dye swatches

but one major difference would be that
there are many places where the feathers are
half-way fading, in "high contrast" style
never done this before but
i've always wanted to

the challenge in it is that, dye particles,
even if it's barely visible when painted in,
come alive after steam-set so...

let's see how i pull this one off

thanks for viewing
more on their way

wing dress update: oh what a perfick day...

2008-10-20T22:08:00.009+09:00

greetings from rural japanese town

in autumn the below rivermouth and other waterfronts
attract many fishing guys

photo taken just yesterday

now to the business

the last post on drawing on the paper model of the dress
was on 15th of september
mind boggling to realize i've been messing with this for
another one entire month but

let's not go there

below:
as of sept. 15th
circled are the area that didn't quite do

fast forward to 15th 0f 0ctober
no more drawing on the far-right piece (left sleeve front),
modified the previously circled area but
the newly-circled are the places that
still do not flow...

see,
it doesn't dooooo

below:
20th of october---yes, today
yuko the perfectionista said,
perfick!!

see how different it looks on the back

up close...
this look made me very happy

so
i'm gonna savor this feeling for a while
then move on to the next task
which is to
transfer (meaning, paint) all this
onto the fabric of my choice
using fabric dye

one day this piece shall be
completed

if i were a micro-mama

2008-10-14T22:19:00.007+09:00

today, i found an article on national geographic site
that is so fascinating, i wanted to share with you all
it's the

(i may lose you wandering off to n-geo site but
here's the link, you won't regret it)

underground crystal cave in chihuahua, mexico

this reminds me of a tv program i used to watch
when i was a loner in grade school
which was in early 70's

it's called land of the giants (1968-70, abc/usa)

the idea that i'd have (giant) insects coming after me
made me dream of fascinating nightmares
since i could not find a soul then, to share my fascination with
i kept it inside until....now

(((!)))

as i googled i found another tube programme called

planet of giants (1964, uk)

now i'm comforted to know that
this type of "role reversal" has
an appeal to so many

i wasn't a loner after all

below, the ultimate role reversal:
me landing on a land of the giant dog

too strange to touch, 2008

2008-10-11T20:49:00.003+09:00

lots of nature-related posts lately
you know why?

because where i live, a nice, sweet small town japan,
where just a little authenticity could turn things upside down
the wild has been the wild
the anything-goes wiggle room
and those wild things, they get away with it just fine
their unthinkable behaviors go unnoticed, undetected by most but

they cannot fool me ha ha

now, last year i spotted an unusual-looking fruit
bearing just one on one particular tree
i looked and looked and found several identical trees but
the fruit remained the only one

below:
photo taken just the other day
the same tree, another fruit
one and only, of course

the following pictures are from the last year

started out oddly fruity
(like a peach!)

even had fruit-flies for a brief period of time
(i was watching)

eventual fall and shrinkage
but the velveteen texture remained

i thought of picking it up and examining many times but
just could not bring myself to act on the idea
i never knew until then something could be
too strange to touch for me

wing dress update: can you see what i see...?

2008-10-02T20:34:00.007+09:00

back in may '08 when i made a sewing pattern
(for a dress i have been working on called "wing dress"
just because it'll have a wing on it dyed/ painted)
i created 2 models just to see the shape of it

but now i went ahead and made another one
using the very fabric for the final piece
-fine, flimsy stretch silk satin
for this is the first time i use this material and, and...
i got a bit paranoid

below:
what you see on the left is the
"blank" version of the dress with
a dye swatch pinned upon it

kind of very....blank looking

originally, when i came up with the whole idea in may '07,
what i had in mind was kind of 60's shift dress look but...

below:
a rough sketch from may '07

as it progressed, i realized that
the image no longer fit the emerging design of the dress but then...
i had a flash

below:
roughly stitched red trim/ string as an experiment
steering towards a bit of bizzaro
just as it should be

finer string/ trim may work better but
either way i started to see it coming together

(rewarding moment for me)

can you?

thank you for viewing

one more post on two more bugs

2008-10-02T19:29:00.005+09:00

i don't mean to turn this into a bug blog but
since the last post on the stylish moth
the other ones keep showing up at my doorsteps

all the flashy bugs in my neighborhood
i think they are whispering to each other about
the blogging lady down the street
and posthumous recognition that chic moth recieved

below:
a little overdone? who am i to say...
caterpillar the definite eye catcher

and

another chic moth who was about to expire
i had an honor to share her last moments...

by the way,
they stayed perfectly still while being photographed

tickle my style bug

2008-09-21T21:12:00.004+09:00

she was already deceased when i found her

the most styling living thing
i can encounter at where i live
would definitely be the insects

why the head in color red?
and comb-shaped antennae??
stripes accentuate the shape of wings!!

i'm certain some bug specialist can tell me
the reasons for these features in terms of functionality but but
i smell a little aesthetic tweak going on as well

that's the mystery to be unresolved

wing dress update: down the path to the greater irrationality

2008-09-15T22:19:00.009+09:00

....or so i say

been soso looong since i've posted on this the last time

well, yu see, the summer needed my tending to it
but this is what i've been doing during those super-hot months

below:
first, i traced the feather outlines drawn on paper
to another set of thicker paper strips cut in shape of the dress

and these are the strips

then pinned them onto a sewing body
and gave them the general "shading"

gotten too hard to work on the body
so i tacked them on wall a la world map

below:
lightly "shaded"

...to heavier shading, but in the realm of
"right" shading meaning
light hits from one end and shadow descends on the other
that sort of thing

then buckled myself up for a ride that may
take me further into....what?

the irrational, the... the.....
state of makin-no-sense-academically
and
trying to go there with
subtlety and style has been
the major time consuming factor

(apart from summer demanding my participation, that is)

and i only know whether i am close to it or not
from the way i feel about it but
that is another matter of subtlety

below:
there or not, i try

just trying to forget this was a wing when it began

i am not entirely sure if i could
paint fading feathers as you see below, using dye
on somewhat flimsy silk

so far, not so bad

still in progress but put together on the body again
just to see each piece in relation to another
and go from there

thanks for viewing

reunited, and it feels so.... : sex pistols live in tokyo '08

2008-09-06T19:04:00.013+09:00

first of all, whoever designed this venue
i want to give you a plentiful kudos
i'm talking about the venue
where the reunited (again) pistols performed
called "studio coast" near tokyo bay

it's superbly designed
long in sideways, relatively small
optimum for comfy viewing from
almost everywhere

been there once before by the way
for nine inch nails show, may '07
although 'twas rather simple stage setting
(in the venue so small!!!)
i'd call the experience "nin supreme"
bounds melt, full of sexual energy

-pretty good for techy geek, i must say

(just teasing)

but that wasn't what i was gonna talk about!

yes, the sex pistols

below:
the sign everyone seems to want to photograph
and
the bar scene inside

note:
if you happen to find yourself in the above pics and are not psyched about it, please drop me a line at the below address and i will take it down immediately.
上の写真にもしご自身が写っていて、掲載を望まれない場合、大変お手数ですが下記にメールをいただければ、即刻取り下げさせていただきます。
info（アット）onlyinpomona（ドット）org

at first i was a wee-bit concerned, that,
since "the guitar guy" has become
the beloved radio show host he may have

softened

and will now sound like is playing ukulele

but the first chord he hit and i knew
i need not worry

not much else to say other than that,
they put on a good show, very tight
their signature "'now' focus" ever present
i heard some ramble on matters such as
anger/frustration vs. professionalism
but hey, you can't stay angry in the same old way for 30yrs
maybe you can, i'd rather not

(i'm totally softened)

when you can't die and you can't be softened,
ya gonna have to come up with anotha way to get....sharpened
their tightness is the kind, that brutally, unforgivingly brings you
back and back and back to the present where
who you have been and what you have done matters little
and i'd think,

such pursuit of purity of the moment is, in a sense
more than enough rebellion in this day of age

photo friday: my neck my neck

2008-08-21T16:31:00.004+09:00

"self portrait 2008" is their theme this week

the other day as i was cutting my hair
i noticed a blade-like growth on my neck
by-product of my back training, i assume
that fascinated me to no end

see, the vertical spike down my neck, that's called

(ready?)

sternocleidomastoid

nice design, isn't it?

(((preen)))

more photos on this theme can be viewed here