yesterday i left chinatown and headed to little tokyo for an early dinner with a friend. the evening sky was violet and a canopy of clouds hung over downtown. we walked to a ramen house in the twilight. i slurped down a gleaming white bowl of miso broth, ramen, pork, green onions, and an egg on top. when we left the sidewalks were wet with rain. we stopped at kinokuniya so i could have a gander at the brush pens & notebooks. i tromped out with a bag full of treasure under my arm, including 2 rolls of japanese paper.
today i zipped home after school and unpacked everything. tried out my new nibs that arrived this week on the ultra smooth paper pad you see above. i also tested out my french clairfontaine notebook, my new dedicated calligraphy practice book. both are luxurious. i love running my hand over the cool, smooth-as-silk pages.
it's friday! i'll just be here. enjoying the cooler air that has rolled in off the pacific. writing on my new paper.
Did I spot some Kuretake calligraphy pens amongst your new “toys”? Enjoy!!
Mary Ann you remind me of myself. One week of work completed and all the earnings go to art supplies!
Nary a kitty in sight, and yet this is one the most satisfying posts to date. Please, please tell me me where to find the notebook with the tree stumps on the cover.
I am so happy you found goodies in Little Tokyo! Have fun!
OOOOOOH, lots of fun goodies to play with. Your weekend should be lots of fun!
February is Handwriting month. The objective is to send a letter or note every day of this month. Letter Writers Alliance website has Year of the Horse artist stamps available for free download. LWA is dedicated to keeping the USPS alive and well by having pen pals, sending mail often, make art envelopes. They have loads of neat stuff. Some of the stuff is only available for members, but other stuff from the 19 Sparrows store can be purchased by the public.
Hope you’ll be posting all the calligraphy and lettering you do.
I’ve been loving all your wonderful new school adventures – and now to top off the week: cool Japanese creativity stuff! Don’t you love Kuretake brush pens? You can get these pens and wonderful papers at http://www.hiromipaper.com too.
Love all the photos of the brushes and pads of paper. Yes, you can buy stuff online but often you cannot tell from the photos if what you want is what you are ordering. There is nothing like being able to hold it in your hand and decide is this what I want. I have ordered so many things online (yes, I live in the boonies, we don’t even have a real art supply store here) that have not ended up being what I thought I was ordering.. Oh well, thanks for showing us your treasures. I like the idea of a dedicated notebook for calligraphy practice. Thanks for that suggestion.
Aloha, Kate
MAM, you are so right about the online resources for your supplies! Anyone with an internet connection can open up a whole world of places to shop. I have ordered ephemera for making collages and usually you can order a certain category of things like game pieces, old maps, sheet music, etc. But each order is like opening a Christmas package since you often don’t know exactly what you’ll get. So much fun!! I’ve never been disappointed.
I also visited a wonderful Arts and Crafts Show in Northampton, MA and found some beautiful handmade paper that was not expensive at all. The seller had picked out assorted pieces of her paper and sold them in packets, each one different. So I bought a couple of packets. I love that paper and see something different every time I take the packets out!
I am also a pack rat when it comes to things for collage. Would you believe I saved a cardboard container from some Blue Moon Beer? That was some time ago and just a couple of days ago I found a use for it! I also have saved candy wrappers and the net bags that oranges and shallots come in, old calendars and post cards. As you can imagine, I have an eclectic bunch of “stuff”. But it’s all good stuff. Hoarder ??? Me??? Nah… 😉
My favorite part: Made in Japan by Life Co. Yes, made by Life. Have fun!
your new toys look wildly enjoyable and I can tell you are going to have a fun time breaking them in, giving them the old 1,2 till you get ’em tamed to your liking. One must wrangle in brand spankin’ new art stuff, gotta keep em in ‘line’ get em to follow orders, have the cat posse round ’em up..or maybe just lay right down in the middle of them just to keep em corralled till you are ready to play….have a playfully delightful weekend and I am pleased to hear that you got some rain and some cooler temps too.
hi sandy,
the paper bucket in the photo has some vintage wallpaper, but mostly rolls of german, scandinavian, and now japanese paper. i think i need a bigger bucket! i keep MOST of my rolls of wallpaper in a flat basket in my studio closet.
peeps in the wilderness:
i buy 99 % of everything online. my visit to the japanese bookstore was a rare one. nowadays it does not matter where you live if you have an internet connection. gotta love that!
That orange flora paper is marvelous!
Happy Friday indeed!! Have fun playing with all those goodies this weekend xx
Gabrielle
i agree with PatP, i live the the wilds of far northern NY and there is nowhere to get such supplies. in fact the only place to get anything within an hour or more drive is at a smallish Micheal’s. i am drooling over all those markers and brushes and pens, OH MY. and as always drooling over your bucket of papers. you are well stocked and stoked up so go get busy! and be sure to show us what you do.
oooh I have to go visit that store! have you seen Flow magazine’s new “Book for Paper Lovers”? I got mine yesterday and it’s 300 pages of cool paper goods – stickers, post cards, diy envelopes, etc. It’s right up your paper lovin’ alley!
Love it all (your photos, your writing, your cool art stuff…). 🙂
See, here’s the problem with living in the boonies in rural Ky… not a Chinatown or Little Tokyo in sight. I lust, lust, lust after your purchases.
BTW, google Chinese water calligraphy if you want some interesting images. Usually older men, using huge brushes they make themselves, writing with water on the pavements. Of course, it eventually evaporates and goes away. Beauty seen and then gone.
Somebody has a lot of new toys! enjoy your weekend.
Where did you find that scrumptious basket of vintage wallpaper? I love the color and patterns!! I think you’re off to a wonderful weekend with all those new pens and papers to play with. Fun just ahead 🙂