kansai

ah~, it’s so nice to be on the street with my drawings.  i started busking at the fringe festival here in saskatoon last night.  this is my first fringe since elijah came along.  and this is my first time ever being away from elijah for more than an hour.

i’ve been showing my drawings at galleries nowadays, which is very nice.  but i really like being on the street, where most of the people who come by are there just to look around, not because they’re particularly interested in art or in my drawings.  i like the randomness of having people stumble upon my work and seeing their reactions, good and bad.

the busking areas at the fringe have been very busy already this year.  i’ve been setting up on broadway, near 10th.  i have a little table with books of prints and postcards that people can browse through at their own speed.  there are a couple little stands that i put single prints in, so people can see them from a distance walking by.

some of the prints and postcards are of my newer drawings that i’ve never made into prints before.  the only one of the newer drawings that i’ve shown in saskatoon before is ‘new wings’.  the other new drawings are on first view, but i’ve already put the images up on my blog.

for the fringe festival i do a different printing technique than the archival prints i sell in my online shop.  they’re not as expensive to make, so i can sell the 8.5 x 11 prints for $10.  postcards are sold for $2 each, or 6 for $10 (i’m from kansai, i have to offer a good deal).  people keep telling me the prices are way too cheap.  i want them to be cheap enough that even little kids don’t have to worry about the cost if they find an image of mine they want to take home.

this year i’ve already had a lot of people coming up to me who know me from somewhere — my blog readers, people who remember me from previous shows in saskatoon, and even some asian girls who saw my drawings in the hong kong fashion magazine, milk.

a couple people asked for my autograph.  i double-checked to make sure they weren’t out of their minds.

i got a few negative reactions — people saying ‘urrghh’, or ‘creepy’ — but not as many as i was expecting.  one older woman did sniff at me with a disapproving face, which i was glad to see.  i don’t know why, but those negative comments don’t hurt me anymore.  i kind of enjoy them.  a couple of harsh comments go a long way to motivate me to draw more.

i ran into some of the local artists as well — artist kris moffatt, poet taylor leedahl who is representing local book company jackpine press, artist carole epp, and young artist michael.  i’m hoping to meet the artist kristin bjornerud who will be back in saskatoon for the summer from hamilton.

if you’re in saskatoon, come and see me on the street at the fringe festival!  you can say whatever you want, and you don’t have to pretend to be nice.  i’ll be happy to see you anyway.

if you were born in the kansai area of japan, chances are you have a takoyaki pan at home. when i was little, my grandma or my mom used to make me and brother takoyaki for lunch on saturdays, after morning school.

takoyaki are dumplings made with batter, octopus, pickled ginger, tenkasu, and green onion. they’re usually topped with a barbecue sauce, shaved dry bonito flakes, mayonnaise and ao-nori (green seaweed flakes). we eat them with toothpicks. people in tokyo use chopsticks. that’s a no-no.

takoyaki was invented in the Taisho Era (1912-1926). there’re many takoyaki vendors throughout japan. takoyaki stands can be found at any japanese festival, always ready to serve. each region has its own unique variation on takoyaki, whether it’s sauce, ingredients or the way of cooking. for example, in osaka takoyaki is topped with a thick sauce, almost like a bbq sauce made with worcheshireshrehshioeaohfds sauce, ketchup and sugar. in akashi (hyogo prefecture), they’re served with soup. apparently, some people in kansai eat takoyaki with rice. i think that’s disgusting. i never eat takoyaki like that. carb plus carb? i don’t think so. it’s as bad as yakisoba pan(noodle sandwich).

during the 1990s, takoyaki shops from kyoto and osaka expanded to shibuya, the most fashionable area of tokyo. of course, kansai (kyoto and osaka) is culturally superior to tokyo, so this created a “takoyaki boom” in tokyo. when something “booms” in tokyo, it soon spreads everywhere in japan. soon, the takoyaki idea expanded too, and there were all sorts of takoyaki and octopus themed products.

there were songs about takoyaki, takoyaki-shaped tissue boxes, takoyaki towels, takoyaki mirrors, books about takoyaki, takoyaki key holders (and another version), takoyaki-flavored snacks, takoyaki stationery, tako-shaped cakes, takoyaki lollipops, and takoyaki necklaces. these items have been collected by a takoyaki specialist — kumagai mana from kyoto (she claims to be the only takoyaki-ist in the universe). takoyaki all over the place!

now you know why i needed to get away from japan.

i wasn’t that crazy about takoyaki. but when i came to canada, i made a clear point not to forget to bring a takoyaki pan with me.

my recipe might offend some serious takoyaki lovers from osaka, because i didn’t use octopus. octopus (”tako”) is really pretty important in takoyaki (”grilled octopus balls”). paul is “allergic” to seafood, so i used tofu, corn, cheese and turkey coldcuts instead. i didn’t have pickled ginger or tenkasu. i didn’t even have mayonnaise (i love japanese mayonnaise but i don’t like to keep it at home because i use it like crazy — not so good for my figure).

the only normal ingredients i used were flour, green onion, and ao-nori. everything else i faked. so this isn’t takoyaki, but “nanchatte takoyaki” (pseudo-takoyaki).

recipe

batter:

• flour 75g (1/3c)
• skim milk powder TB1
• baking powder tsp 1
• sugar tsp 1
• salt tsp 1/4
• soy sauce tsp 1
• soup stock 300cc
• egg 1

sauce (make up your own proportions):

• worchestershire sauce
• ketchup
• sugar

ingredients:

• octopus cubes
• green onion
• pickled ginger
• dried baby shrimp
• or anything you want (i used corn, cheese, tofu, and turkey)

(for best results, let your batter “rest” overnight)

1. pour the batter in your hot takoyaki pan
2. sprinkle your ingredients, making sure you get at least one of each in each takoyaki
3. once the bottom is cooked, use a long wooden skewer to score the edge (run it around the rim of each circle) and flip it over. the uncooked batter will run down to the bottom and form the 2nd half of the ball.
4. remove the cooked takoyaki
5. brush with sauce. add mayonnaise. sprinkle ao-nori.
6. serve with two toothpicks (important!)
7. enjoy!!