"Inhabitants of a Spiritual Forest" Kazuma Nagai

Kazuma Nagai's

"Inhabitants of a Spiritual Forest"

September 3rd (Sat) ~ November 30th 2011 

(Please note: Saturday 3rd closed due to Typhoon #12)

Kurokabe Museum of Art, Nagahama, Shiga-ken

滋賀県長浜市 元浜町12−38

Kazuma Nagai, originally from Kanagawa-ken,  studied graphic design and then at the age of 21 decided to learn metal work through self-study. In 1983 he set up an Atelier in Nagano-ken and started to make antique-style jewelry in silver.

His designs range from human-like fairies to plants in nature and a lot more in between. He especially concentrates on creatures that cause a strong human reaction like centipedes and slugs, creatures that are "scary but that you are kinda curious to look at".

Along with his dedication to the design of his creations, as someone who believes in the magical and talisman qualities of the accessories we wear he chooses to use spiritual and anthropomorphic motifs in order to make a living creation.

Message from the artist: 

“Since ancient times, humans have worn jewelry. Precious gems and metals were known to cleanse the soul, beckon good fortune, and ward off evil spirits. However, as time has progressed so too have the jewelry and the revolution of mass-production in recent years has atrophied that universality and sense of value we once had. I want to return to the origin and make items with spiritual properties and in doing so the work requires a no-compromise approach to the design and craftsmanship. As many civilisations have done before, this time will end, and I wonder if one day the traces of my handiworks with move the hearts of people. ”

Website: http://nagaikazuma.com/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazumanagai/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/slughorse

Atelier Koichi at Takashimaya, Kyoto

Atelier Koichi (Teiichi Kawai) Copper work

September 7th (Wed) ~ September 13th (Tues) 2011

Selected craft gallery, 6F Takashimaya, Kyoto

〒600-8520 京都府京都市下京区 四条通河原町西入真町52 6F

Teichi Kawai is an established coppersmith based in Maisaka, Shizuoka. His collection includes a variety of interior goods, as well as comical animal figures and objets and accessories. 

This is a piece that was kindly bestowed to me - a delicately made sandal (copper) and foot (brass) pendant.

Make: Ogaki Meeting 01 report

Make: Ogaki Meeting 01

September 25th-26th 2010

Tokyo has held MAKE meetings for a number of years now but this was the first MAKE meeting to be held elsewhere in the country and ran for 2 days in Ogaki (大垣), Gifu prefecture. Being located between Osaka and Nagoya it is a perfect position for creators in the Kansai and Tokai region to show off and sell their DIY creations. There were quite a number of groups and individuals from Nagoya but some people had come from further afield and there were a few I recognised from the Tokyo MAKE meetings. As to be expected it was smaller in scale than the Tokyo events but nonetheless very exciting to attend. I hope the Ogaki MAKE meeting will grow even bigger in the future.

Techno shugeibu

I had booked an "LED fox glove" workshop with the Tokyo based Techno Shugeibu. They are a totally inspiring craft group who combine technology, usually involving LEDs and conductive thread and have just published their first book which contains detailed instructions on how to replicate their creations! I think the workshop lasted about 2 hours (I was lost in concentration for the most part) and participants of both genders and varying ages chose a glove and 2 LEDs to make a fox glove puppet thats eyes light up when thumb and index finger touch each other. It is a simple electronic circuit that is made possible with a conductive thread that can be sewn into the glove. The battery is sewn into the cuff of the glove. I had a minor mishap with crossed wires but it taught me not to sew the circuit lines too close to each other! My first electronics in about 15 years and I wanna try more! Techno shugei FTW!

PWMASWY- People who make awesome sh...stuff with yarn

Next stop, a group of awesome knitters, crocheters and weavers. Nice to see some fibre artists in a predominantly electronic based event. No techno this time, but we're not talking doilies and toilet paper covers, these women regurgitate ideas from their brain through their hands into amazing unique fibre creations. From beards, to eyeballs, to octopus tentacles, if you can think it, they make it.

Beautiful wearable beards made by Octopusmountain AKA Tokkyu2222 who came all the way out from her home on Sado Island (that's north of Niigata in the Japan sea...that's far btw) to display these beauties. As an avid beard fan I immediately fell in love with them and she was gracious enough to whip me up a small moustache in 5 minutes. Any resemblance to a German dictator is pure coincidence.

Handspun yarn and weird creations. Miqurafresshia's obsession shows through in her multiple knitted Octopi and tentacles but she has a wide range of surreal, twisted and dark creations using yarn, beads and resin. Be sure to pick up one of her "Knit or Die!!" bags, all the cool kids have one. And you wanna be one of the cool kids, right?

    

Aaah 203gow. Possibly the most prolific crocheter of all. Seaslugs, mushrooms, dismembered sexy legs, tree stumps, bird nests, aliens...the list goes on. God knows how she does it. These photos do not even represent 1% of what she does, you'll just have to see it in person, or check out her blog. She's starting an amirevolution! Get with it people.

Ayumi Kinoshita - awesome amigurimi, awesome embroidery, need I say more.

Persika from Ichinomiya, Nagoya, home of a thousand yarn shops. She's not a hobby weaver, she's the real deal! Trained in weaving arts, she weaves as a profession and was quietly card weaving a strap in a corner. As card weaving is relatively unknown in Japan and there is little information written in Japanese she has a small collection of foreign language card weaving books with patterns in.

I wanna be sushi! by Yoshie Noguchi

"HAHAHAHA what the funk is this!" was my first reaction to these colourful felt characters, but there's more to them than just superficial cuteness. Poor Mr Rice just wants to become sushi, so gowaaaan pop some fish/crab/squid/etc. on his head! As you do so, a short episode of that character will be displayed on the monitor. Ingenious.

  

Anyway, so much more that I didn't capture, my favourite being the barbie doll that screams when you touch her and I just love my plastic coated shrimp ring. Just go there next time, I'll tell you when.

   

Atelier Twine's 4th Exhibition - report

Atelier Twine's 4th yarn exhibition

Hopped on a (a very fast) train to Osaka for the weekend and after a slow start on Hangover Sunday went to see Atelier Twine's yarn exhibition and sales.

This was their 4th yearly exhibition and they have been selling yarn designed for handknitters and handweavers for about as many years. They have many new yarn mixes of varying fibres including wool, cotton, cashmere and angora and some fancy sparkly and boucle yarns all for very reasonable prices. They don't have a lot of photos on their website, but they send out samples of all of their yarns and have an English speaking member of staff.

They also had some beautiful small items made from their yarn and yarn photos taken by Robert Banas on display.

  

     

That last one is of their dog, Ito-chan, who is a Pug x Shiba. How cute and yet ugly at the same time.

Arts and Craft market @ Crysta Nagahori, Osaka

Arts and Craft market @ Crysta Nagahori, Osaka

 http://newacm.exblog.jp/i6/

There is a small arts and craft market held every month in the underground shopping mall, Crysta Nagahori, that runs between Yotsubashi and Nagahoribashi underground station.

Place: Event square "Taki no hiroba"(滝の広場), Crysta Nagahori, Osaka

Dates:  November 13th/14th, 2010

December 4th/5th, 2010
 

January 15th/16th, 2011

February 5th/6th, 2011

March 5th/6th, 2011
 

Time: 11am ~ 6pm

Access: Yotsubashi station, Shinsaibashi station, Nagahoribashi station

Creators market @ Port Messe, Nagoya, Aichi-ken

Creators market @ Port Messe, Nagoya, Aichi-ken

 11th (Sat) and 12th (Sun) of December 2010

http://www.creatorsmarket.com/

Place: Port Messe, Nagoya, Aichi-ken

Time:  11th (Sat) and 12th (Sun) of December 2010, 11am~6pm

Access: Kinjofuto (金城ふ頭) station, 30 mins on the Aonami line from Nagoya city

Entry: Advance tickets -  600yen for 1 day, 1000yen for both days 

(can be bought from Circle K in Aichi, Gifu, Nagano and Shizuoka, machines in Sunkus and Loppi in Lawson)

Tickets on the day - 600yen

I've never been to this event before, but there's gonna be around 3000 creators, both professional and amateur alike, from all over Japan coming together at Port Messe in Nagoya to show off their creations in booths and on the catwalk, sell their creations and give demonstrations and workshops.

Just looking at the list of booths is enough to make you wanna go! This is MASSIVE.

Scarf sales and knitting/spinning workshops @ Cafe Na, Harajuku, Tokyo

Scarf sales and knitting/spinning workshops 

by Miquraffreshia, Emmaruri and Nosonoso

Miquraffreshia of octopi fame (just check out her flickr page for masses of gorgeous and wild creations) is selling scarves at Cafe Na, Harajuku.

She will also be offering knitting and workshops and will be joined by Emmaruri and Nosonoso.

3rd (Wednesday) and 4th (Thursday) of November 2010

3pm~9pm 

 

Cafe Na

東京都渋谷区神宮前1-8-5　メナー神宮前3F　

http://www.cafena.net/

As it is a cafe please order 1 drink when visiting.

Finger spinning workshop with Emmaruri

Learn to spin yarn using only disposable chopsticks and your very own fingers! Emmaruri prepares such colourful and beautiful batts that you really ought to try this at least once. You'll come home with a stick full of unique yarn.

Time: Anytime between 5pm~8pm. 

Fee: 1000yen (no reservation required)

Time required: About an hour

 

MAKE: Tokyo Meeting 06 (20th - 21st November 2010)

Make: Tokyo Meeting will be held for 2 days on the 20th/21st  of November 2010 at the Tokyo institute of Technology Oookayama (大岡山）campus.

• Date：November 20th (Sat), November 21st (Sun) 2010
• Place： Tokyo Institute of Technology - Oookayama campus（東京都目黒区大岡山2-12-1）
• Access：1min walk from Oookayama (大岡山）station on the Tokyu Oimachi and Meguro line.
• Entry： Free
• Organisers： O'reilly Japan
• Joint organisers： Tokyo Institute of Technology, Information design department - Tama Art University

This is the 6th Tokyo meeting of MAKE and is a gathering of various creators who come to show off their (mostly) electronic creations. There is usually a lot to see and experience are there will be some crafters too including the Techno craft club.

Here's some photos of when I went last year. Hopefully this year will be just as fun.

A DIY planetarium.

Inside the planetarium. This was a big hit with kids.

Cross-stitch designer Makoto Ozu

I tried on the Techno craft club's items. It wasn't until after I noticed the "don't touch" sign. Sorry guys!

An electronic lego machine that opens and closes a velcro wallet endlessly. It's a 2chan joke apparently.

A glowing...thing.

Reiko and I made K-Shock watches with Makoto Ozu.

Atelier Twine's yarn exhibition and sales @ Sakai, Osaka

Atelier Twine's 4th exhibition 2010

5th November - 9th November 2010

Pangea cafe, Sakai, Osaka (nearest station Sakai 堺)

5th-7th: 12pm ~ 6pm

8th, 9th: 3pm ~ 7pm

 Map and directions with photos (Japanese)

Last year's exhibition, what will this year's be like?

Banana cake and a milkshake out on the veranda watching the sunset.

Not only will Atelier Twine be selling yarn but there will be original knitting patterns and kits, small crafted items by various creators and yarn postcards by American photographer Robert Banas.

Atelier Twine is a family business who produce yarn for knitting and weaving at very reasonable prices. One member of the family, Seiko, can speak English as she has studied abroad in the UK and will be happy to talk to you.

The food and views at Pangea cafe are also wonderful, and it's enough to make a whole day of it. I will be there on Saturday the 6th perhaps taking my spinning wheel along with me. If you have any questions about transport etc. please email me!