Ketubah

A very close friend got married over the summer and asked me to make a ketubah for her and her wife's wedding.  This was something new to me and I had to do some investigation on what a ketubah was, what it typically looks like and then, how I could add my own artistic voice to this project.

The ketubah is a significant popular form of Jewish ceremonial art.   Ketubot are often hung prominently in the home by the married couple as a daily reminder of their vows and responsibilities to each other.  They have been made in a wide range of designs, usually following the tastes and styles of the era and region in which they are made. Many couples follow the Jewish tradition of hiddur mitzvah which calls for ceremonial objects such as the ketubah to be made as beautiful as possible.  You can read more about them here. 

I had some themes to work from - and started with oak trees.  I do spend a lot of time looking at trees in general.  If you know my drawings, I am always compelled to draw branches and growing, sprouting types of organic shapes.  So this excited me.  I always enjoy the investigative part of an art project - looking closely at something I know nothing about or have never looked at before.  I walked around my neighborhood in search of oak trees.  (And discovered, they don't really grow in downtown San Jose, but found some oak leaves to at least take with me.)

I got down to drawing.  And decided to try a new medium, coloured brush pens.

It started out ok, and I was happy until I got here. 

Looking at how cold and hard/spiky the trees looked, I tried to add some colour, experimenting with the properties of the brush pens.

But in the end, I gave up on this one.  Maybe I can use it for something else - like a children's book.

I started over, with my ink pens that I am used to.  And this time, I really drew more by feel than the last time.  Letting my hands draw the way they want to, they drew this.

It's such an overused phrase, but it came back to me - "Be yourself."

I added some washi paper, swirls and whimsy.

This is my first ketubah, inspired by my friends' love for each other.   The wedding reception was held under a huge beautiful oak tree. 

(Words intentionally blurred out.)

(Words intentionally blurred out.)

Sketchbook Project 2012

I sent in my second sketchbook a couple of weeks ago, for Art House Coop.  And haven't done any art since then.  February always seems to sap me of energy.

It is the "Encyclopedia of Whimsy."

I was born in Japan, but grew up in Toronto, Canada. 
I love to send mail (in envelopes). 
I wish I had a bunny.  I am a feminist.
Have lived through many bouts of depression.  Love quirky foreign films.
Love noodles.  And ginger.  Can't eat dairy.
Live for backscratches.  Lived in Melbourne.
Am in love.


More pages to come...

I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.

I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.

(- Pablo Neruda, part of Every Day You Play in Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair)

This is Not a Valentine's Day Post

Yes it is. I'm a sappy sucker for romance.

Probably because I learned everything I knew about "love" from tv and movies. My parents had an arranged marriage and never showed each other affection. I doubted that they even liked each other for a long long time.

For a short while, I lived up in Guerneville, California - a quirky resort town deep in the redwoods. I worked at a pizzeria called Main St. Station, where they played live jazz music every night. One of their regular musicians, Niles, was a tree cutter by day and double-bassist by night. His girlfriend Tamara would come and listen, almost everytime he played. I was inspired, watching their passion fuel the music and the music fuel their passion...

I hope they are still there, together.

In Japan, PDA (public displays of affection) are not so common - at least when I was there. Friends - even family - don't hug after a long time of not seeing each other. And you never see an older couple touching. Maybe that's why I really don't mind PDA, I think it's rather great. Heck, I think we all need to see it. Young, old, gay, straight, mixed race couples... It happens.


"Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquestionable." - Bruce Lee

Ode to Tomatoes

Pablo Neruda is one of my favourite poets. He wrote lots of odes to vegetables! (Even one about artichokes.) Here's an excerpt from "Ode to Tomatoes."

the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.

And his Love poetry! Oy, if you have time, read his love sonnets sometime...


(From "Love Sonnet LXXIX")