August 2008
August 29th
Purikura (print club)
I'm painting again and I have started to paint a series of paintings that will be influenced by Japanese pop culture. When my daughter meets her friends they always go to a digital picture sticker booth which is vastly superior to the old photo booths I would go to when I was young. The picture sticker booth was invented in Japan, these pictures are called "purikura" which is derived from the English words "print club". You have the ability to change the lighting, the backdrops, add your own writing or add special effects, this is all decided within a few minutes. My daughter always shows me her new purikura and I'm fascinated by these tiny pictures and the designs and colors that she and her friends make, what a wonderful memory of being young and hanging out with your friends.
This is my interpretation of purikura, it has a very flat, stylized background surrounding the figure with a message written into and part of the design in a innocent child-like manner. I have combined modern with traditional, which I often do, with the waves right out of a Japanese wood block print. This is just the first experiment hopefully they will improve. Titled "His Dream Is My Nightmare"
I love the beach but I have a fear of being in the ocean it's my nightmare. The ocean is deep dark water full of scary creatures that will eat you. When we went to Guam I was walking in water only up to my knees and screaming to get out. I may have permanently damaged my daughter too on this matter hopefully she will overcome her mother's fears and be a far more adventurous person than I am.
August 14th
Fireworks and Guam
My daughter went to one of the many fireworks shows we have in Japan in the summer, this is a little bit of the video she took. She went with some friends mom wasn't invited sorry I missed it, the firework shows in Japan are the best. My daughter has returned to America and I will be joining her in September and living in a small town in Iowa, this will be a big adjustment for me even though I grew up in Iowa I haven't lived there for years and am more Japanese than Iowan, I'm sure I will suffer from culture shock for a while. I will miss Japan very much!
This summer we went to Guam for the first and probably last time. Guam was very hot and humid, my hotel room was awful it had a strong smell of mold and everything felt wet but it did have a swimming pool next to the ocean and we could watch the sunset every night which was quite beautiful. I didn't like Guam at first but after a while it started to grow on me, still I don't think I will ever go there again too many Japanese tourist!
It's unfortunate I don't have any pictures of us riding the banana boat because that would have been the funniest picture of me ever. I thought I was going to die!
Purikura (print club)
I'm painting again and I have started to paint a series of paintings that will be influenced by Japanese pop culture. When my daughter meets her friends they always go to a digital picture sticker booth which is vastly superior to the old photo booths I would go to when I was young. The picture sticker booth was invented in Japan, these pictures are called "purikura" which is derived from the English words "print club". You have the ability to change the lighting, the backdrops, add your own writing or add special effects, this is all decided within a few minutes. My daughter always shows me her new purikura and I'm fascinated by these tiny pictures and the designs and colors that she and her friends make, what a wonderful memory of being young and hanging out with your friends.
This is my interpretation of purikura, it has a very flat, stylized background surrounding the figure with a message written into and part of the design in a innocent child-like manner. I have combined modern with traditional, which I often do, with the waves right out of a Japanese wood block print. This is just the first experiment hopefully they will improve. Titled "His Dream Is My Nightmare"
I love the beach but I have a fear of being in the ocean it's my nightmare. The ocean is deep dark water full of scary creatures that will eat you. When we went to Guam I was walking in water only up to my knees and screaming to get out. I may have permanently damaged my daughter too on this matter hopefully she will overcome her mother's fears and be a far more adventurous person than I am.
August 14th
Fireworks and Guam
My daughter went to one of the many fireworks shows we have in Japan in the summer, this is a little bit of the video she took. She went with some friends mom wasn't invited sorry I missed it, the firework shows in Japan are the best. My daughter has returned to America and I will be joining her in September and living in a small town in Iowa, this will be a big adjustment for me even though I grew up in Iowa I haven't lived there for years and am more Japanese than Iowan, I'm sure I will suffer from culture shock for a while. I will miss Japan very much!
This summer we went to Guam for the first and probably last time. Guam was very hot and humid, my hotel room was awful it had a strong smell of mold and everything felt wet but it did have a swimming pool next to the ocean and we could watch the sunset every night which was quite beautiful. I didn't like Guam at first but after a while it started to grow on me, still I don't think I will ever go there again too many Japanese tourist!
It's unfortunate I don't have any pictures of us riding the banana boat because that would have been the funniest picture of me ever. I thought I was going to die!
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