Adventures in Etegami

These three postcards were created during the Main Line Art Center etegami workshop.

 After learning about the Japanese art form known as etegami, I have created some samples of my own, which will be sent out into the world by our postal system shortly.

Recall that etegami is a form of mail art, so it is not considered "complete" until it has made its way to a recipient.

A mix of cards created during the workshop and back at home

I had initially resisted the idea of writing the words in ink with a brush, since the English alphabet doesn't lend itself to those writing tools in the way the Japanese language does.  Once I got started though, I enjoyed the challenge of forming the letters with the brush.

These might be considered more traditional because their subjects come from the natural world.

You can see that I emulate the style of my teacher, Nancy Bea Miller, with thicker, bolder lines, whereas some etegami artists draw with a much thinner, more wavery line.

Man-made objects can also be a popular subject matter for etegami, and here you can see the sources of my pictures.

I have a lot to learn, and a lot of practice to do, but etegami is really quite relaxing, and it takes very little time to create a small piece of art to send to a mail art friend!

"Put a shell on it" is something of an inside joke with my mother.  This card is a natural to send to her!

Ironic that I misspelled Brene Brown's name on a sentiment about imperfection? I think so!

My always-messy art-making space is now covered in etegami-making art supplies.

Etegami: Japanese Mail Art

Etegami by Nancy Bea Miller

This past Saturday, I attended my first class at the Main Line Art Center, in Haverford, Pennsylvania.  Nancy Bea Miller taught a group of seven of us about an art form known as etegami.  I came across the class in the Art Center's online catalog, and was drawn to the fact that it incorporates drawing, watercolor painting, rubber stamp carving, and mail art all in one art form.

Never having heard of etegami before, I did some research before the class took place. I came across the web site of Deborah Davidson, who serves as kind of an "etegami guru" for Westerners.  (Perhaps she should be called an "etegami Sensei"!)

Etegami artists at work

I found out that etegami is translated "picture letter," and can be called a form of Japanese folk art or mail art (because it is usually created on postcards and mailed).  Etegami usually contains a simple image, accompanied by some carefully chosen words, as well as the hanko, or stamped "signature" of the artist.

A summary by Nancy of the main characteristics of etegami

The art form is considered a "one shot deal"--no planning, no sketching.  There are no rough drafts.  The artist uses a line drawing brush and liquid ink to draw a picture of some object she is currently viewing.  She then adds color with another brush and two to three colors of watercolor paint.  (Traditionally, the artist uses water soluble mineral based gansai paints, which some of my classmates were fortunate to possess, but I used the basic Western version of watercolor paints.)

Nancy's workspace before the class began

Nancy's workspace during class

The traditionalist might paint her image from colors she has organized in a porcelain dish with shallow compartments for mixing the paint colors; many of us used standard watercolors in plastic pans.  The traditionalist might paint upon washi postcards called gasenshi; many of us used watercolor paper cut to 4 x 6 postcard size.  Our hankos were carved from pink erasers, going to show that there are perfectly adequate substitutes for pricier or harder-to-access supplies for the artist who wishes to jump in and try something new!

On her web site, Deborah Davidson explains the origins of etegami by describing how Japanese calligrapher Kunio Koike developed the art form in the 1960s because he wanted to develop something more spontaneous than what he was studying; he is now considered the Father of the Modern Etegami Movement.

Etegami samples by one of my classmates

Etegami samples by one of my classmates

Etegami samples by one of my classmates

The etegami motto is Heta de ii. Heta ga ii.  This is translated along the lines of, "Clumsiness is no problem. Clumsy makes it better." All of us in this beginning class at the Art Center felt pretty comfortable moving forward with a motto like that!

When I watched videos of artists creating etegami online, I saw them sitting up very straight, their elbows raised, and their forearms stretched in front of them at the same height as their elbow.  They hold the brush at the very top, quite lightly between their thumbs and first two fingers.  The brush essentially dangles down so that only the tip touches the ink to the paper.

On the web sites I was using for research, it was emphasized that the artist is to control the brush's movements with the upper arm, rather than with the wrist.  (Somewhere I read that when you hold the brush like a pencil or pen, you focus more on "drawing well," which is not what etegami is about.)

Nancy demonstrates etegami by drawing two peppers.

Our teacher Nancy reinforced the idea that we should move the brush quite slowly in order to make a more interesting line drawing.  The goal is actually not to have too much control of the brush. Wobbly lines are good! Wobbly lines are preferred!  They are "living lines" that give the work more character, and let the ink interact with the artist's heartbeat.  

Etegami creator Kunio Koike recommends spending up to 30 minutes practicing lines, letters, spirals, and other shapes and motions with the ink and brush before beginning a new work of etegami.  Since many of us enjoy the fact that etegami is a rather "quick" art form to engage in, preceding it with 30 minutes of practice is probably not feasible for most of us! But I enjoyed our ten minute warm-up more than I thought I might.  I can see the value in spending time getting "re-acquainted" with the brush, the way it makes contact with the paper, and the way the ink moves between brush and paper.

Getting to know my brushes and ink during the warm up session

Etegami uses as its subject matter the things of everyday life.  Traditional etegami often reflects the seasons through such things as fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  Many etegami artists will draw toys or other objects that surround them in daily life.  Like sketching, etegami makes the artist pay closer attention to things around her.  I found myself looking at things and thinking, "Hey, that would make a good piece of etegami!"

Nancy set up a table of objects for us to choose from as subjects for our etegami.

A close-up of some objects, with a sample of Nancy's beautiful etegami in the background

Nancy suggested that we start our drawings off the edge of the paper: the lines of the object run off the page so that the drawing looks like it is completed somewhere beyond the boundaries of the card.  This approach forces me to draw the object much bigger than I would have a tendency to otherwise, and gives a very vibrant, graphic quality to the painting.

The color is applied more by rolling or tapping the brush, rather than sweeping the brush across the paper.  Etegami doesn't result in photographically-correct images, which is probably another reason it is an approachable art form for the beginner.

The words used on the card can come from song lyrics, poems, or quotations.  The ones I appreciate most are the ones that introduce some sort of humor related to the object that is drawn.

My work space at the beginning of class

My work space at the end of class

I love the fact that etegami is created from the "stuff" of everyday life.  I don't have to look far at all to find a subject for a piece of etegami--the remote control on the coffee table, the cat curled up beside me on the sofa, the apples in a bowl on the kitchen counter, the weeds growing up in the garden outside my window, the butterfly that just landed on the bush, the back of the car parked in the garage, the toy pony my daughter left on the living room floor...any or all of these things could become a perfectly legitimate subject for a new piece of etegami.

In fact, I think I'll go make one now...

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Some more photos of my etegami classmates at work:

I will share some of my own etegami in a future post!

My First Letter Writing Social

A Letter Writing Social Tablescape

I have been hearing about Letter Writing Socials for years, especially from Pamela at Cappuccino and Art Journal and Mary England of Uncustomary.  The main goal of the letter writing social is to keep the art of the written letter alive in this age of emails and other digital communications.

Like-minded people gather around typewriters, pretty papers, pens, stickers, decorative tapes and other staples of the traditional-meets-modern letter writer.  They sit at tables that are deliciously crowded with supplies and other letter-writers' works-in-progress.  They sip tea, or coffee, or wine--depending on the venue--and leave with postcards or letters written, stamped, and ready to send.

The Midtown Scholar in Harrisburg, PA

I attended my first Letter Writing Social in mid-August at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore and Cafe in Harrisburg, PA.  Our organizer Anne had loads of supplies to offer us, and several of us brought contributions, as well.  My mother came along with me, and I had an opportunity to see my old friend Becky (the Snail Mailer) and meet the illustrious Mary England, blogger-author-and-life enthusiast, promoter of self-love and creativity.

My Mom and I, fan-girling with Mary

Our location was perfect--tables set up right in the heart of the bookstore.  Not only did we have attendees who knew of the event ahead of time, but we also drew in passers-by who were often mystified and then delighted to discover that we were "just sitting there writing letters."

Our organizer, Anne, with Mary England at the start of the social

Our typewriter station, with Becky on the right

We had some young participants who enjoyed the mysteries of the ancient typewriter.

Sometimes the letter-writing became a family affair:

And there were some couples who made Sunday a letter-writing afternoon date:

There was lots of enthusiasm generated by the social, whether expressed by diligent work or big smiles.

For my part, I prepared several postcards, and wrote messages on three of them (including one I mailed to myself!).  Everyone was generously sharing their supplies (to the extent that they were saying, "Take these papers, take these stickers---please!) so I expanded some of my mail art stash as well.

And if ever I needed some visual inspiration, I could always gaze around at my favorite sight--shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore.  They have an impressive collection of over 200,000 new and used books, and offer a popular community meeting space in my state's capital city.

Anne is already planning the next Letter Writing Social in October.  I am looking forward to getting back to my mail art making and letter writing, with the help of Mary's Snail Mail eCourse.  If you are interested in finding out more about the fun of old-fashioned/new-fangled letter writing, Mary has tons of resources, and you can email me at aleakaskey@yahoo.com for more information too!

Dendritic Exchange

The title of this post makes it sound as though I have participated in some sort of medical procedure or scientific partnership.

In fact, I've just done a fun mail art exchange!

Awhile back, I shared with you the process of creating decorative papers using the dendritic painting method I watched at Atomic Shrimp.

Jewels, of Just Tickety-Boo, who first shared the video with me, initiated a mail art swap using the results of our dendritic painting experiments.

From the beginning, I imagined the shape of a person's head made out of the dendritic papers, since they look like neurons or nerve endings.  Then, I wanted to use inspiration from the wonderful collage and mail artist, Lenore Tawney, so I flipped through the book Signs on the Wind, and came away with this postcard to send to Jewels:

In return, Jewels sent me this postcard (tucked inside a fireworks-emblazoned envelope!):

Her use of the dendritic painting is much more subtle than mine, and you can definitely see how it adds to the layers of her background:

I love the vintage woman image--I have been scouring books and magazines for these kinds of vintage images, as I'm finding images of women and their roles from the 1930s to the 1950s very inspiring right now.

As an added compliment, Jewels told me that she chose the dictionary definition of the word "cheery" because she imagines it to be a word that describes me.  I certainly try to hang on to my cheeriness, so this is much appreciated!

I definitely feel some pressure when it comes to doing a mail art exchange, especially when there is an "assignment," such as using the dendritic papers.  But it is so very satisfying once the project is completed, and I have another piece of mail art from an online friend to add to my collection!

The Return of Drawing Near

And just like that--without notice or fanfare--I am returning to my little creative corner of the Interwebs.

The mess on my work table NEVER went away!

I miss keeping track of my creative pursuits.  While writing for my Living Stones blog and working on a larger writing project, I have continued to "fill my creative well" with inspiration from creative excursions.  I've kept tabs on some of my blogging friends, though I haven't been an active comment-er on others' posts.  And I've kept Studio 791 abuzz with activity, though I haven't felt the need to stop and snap pictures along the way to archive projects for the blog.

A recent mail art project.  Hmmm...who will be receiving this soon?

Now that I'm back, my posts will probably be a little more image-heavy, rather than text-heavy.  Just some peeks at my studio, projects, and excursions.  I'm not going to lie--it was a nice, almost-year-long break from writing blog posts, giving me the freedom to DO without the rehashing.  But if I take it slowly and just dip my toes back in the water, so to speak, I think I can manage the benefits of blogging without the burdens.

And I hope to make it back around to blogging friends, and discover some new blogs that have blossomed during my absence!

Let me know if you have found your way back here again.  I am going to make a real effort to keep myself from getting caught up in the anxiety that hinges on page views and comments, but I look forward to reconnecting with people who take the time to visit, and folks whose interests intersect with mine.

So I guess I'll see you around!

Happy Mail!

I have been heading to the mailbox eagerly each day since signing up for iHanna's International Postcard Swap for this spring.  I have not been disappointed, either, and am happy to share with you the artwork that I've received over the past week.

The very first postcard I received from the swap came from Jan;

I think the postmark says Iowa:

Next came this card from Patty in Washington:

 And the backside of Patty's postcard, which is just as fun as the front:

Along with Patty's I received this postcard from Rachel in Texas:

And today I opened my mailbox to four postcards at once!

From Charlotte M in Sweden:

From Julie in Pennsylvania

(clear across the state, but practically neighbors, relatively speaking!):

From Robin in New Zealand:

(I added the label to cover up my street address.)

And on the backside of Robin's card:

From Lynn in Florida:

This means that I have received seven cards of ten for the official swap.  But I got an extra surprise!  When I visited Sarah's blog, I commented on her amazing results with foam stamps, as well as her awesome use of a transfer technique to let the colors show through.  So what did awesome Sarah do?  She sent me an extra postcard that she had made!  My lucky day!

It has been awhile since I've sent and received much mail art, and it has been such a delight going to the mailbox each day to see what might be there for me!  We've had some torrential rains over the past few days, so I've been lucky to rescue these none the worse for wear.  We'll see what the next few days hold!