i’m doing a show at cafe pause in ikebukuro, tokyo. i’m showing some prints of my favorite drawings. initially, i was planning to show original drawings, but i realized it would be much easier to bring prints with me, especially since i’m travelling with my baby. we all came to japan at the end of december to spend new year’s with my family in wakayama. then paul, elijah and i went to tokyo to set up this show.

this is my first show in japan, actually. i started my art career in canada, years after i left japan in 2000. my work is pretty well known online, with my website and flickr and many links from different sites around the world. i write my blog in english, so my contacts have been mostly non-japanese. i’ve shown work in many different places, but never before in japan.

jean snow and elijah

the person who contacted me to do this show is jean snow. he’s a canadian living in tokyo who writes a blog about design and pop culture in tokyo. he found me after my drawings were linked from drawn!, even though the link was broken (he searched my name on google). jean asked me if i was interested in doing a show at cafe pause, where he sets up events. we arranged the time so we could also spend new year’s with my family on the same trip.

cafe pause is about a 10 minute walk from ikebukuro station. it stands on a corner lot and the two walls facing the streets have big wall-to-wall windows that create an open-air feeling. there are display areas on the pillars and on the walls (but not much wall space because of all the windows). i put up small prints on the bookshelves on the pillars and along one wall, and some big prints on the open wall space. i filled up the space with images tightly, using 44 prints in total (many of them used twice in different places). i made two prints (’inside of me’ and ‘after all’) so large (18 x 24″) that their heads are bigger than lifesize. someday, i’d like to make huge prints that would swallow our minds and bodies –ultraman size would be nice.

it’s been awhile since i did a show in a cafe gallery - my favorite place to show my drawings. i like my work to be seen as part of daily life. people come to a cafe for a cup of coffee or to meet someone, not specifically to look at art. when they go home that evening to have a bath, if they suddenly remember my drawings and the images come out of the mist of the bath, that would be wonderful.

the show will be on until january 13th. the prints are all for sale, and there are free postcards, too.

cafe pause
2-14-12-1F Minami-Ikebukuro
Toshima-ku, Tokyo
171-0022

Phone: 03-5950-6117
Fax: 03-5950-6180

the title is ‘kamakura‘. ‘kamakura’ is a name of a city in kanagawa prefecture and also it’s a name for a snow hut (like igloo). kamakuras are built with compacted snow. they’re very warm inside.

it’s been snowing a lot here in saskatoon. the city is covered with pure white snow - very beautiful. it’s been super cold here. it’s like - 50 Celsius, to be exact. i’d like to stay inside and drink sake on a cold snowy night like that.

this is one of the three drawings that i submitted for a group show at thinkspace gallery. it’s for sale. please contact the gallery if you’re interested in it.

‘Fight for Flight‘ - special benefit for API in honour of national bird day

day 1 :: january 4th, 2008 opening reception 7 -10 pm
day 2 :: january 5th 2008 special family day 12-7 pm

thinkspace gallery
4210 Santa Monica blvd. (near Sunset junction)
Los Angels, CA

tomorrow is the opening for a group show titled “tinyshop” at double punch gallery in san francisco. “Tinyshop is dedicated to the memory of a cat named Tiny, a small boy in a big catsuit. Tiny’s life was punctuated with a verve, and youthful interest of the world around him. Tinyshop carries on his affection for the world “at small.”

i made five matchboxes for this tiny theme. you can view all of my matchboxes here.

(click the image to view close up)

title :: “shizen miruku buro (natural milk bath)”

(SOLD)

(click the image to view close up)

title :: “resaikuru miruku (recycled milk)”

(AVAILABLE)

i’m reusing this recycled milk idea over and over again. i think the snow brand milk incident is haunting me…

these tiny matchboxes are for sale. if you are interested in purchasing, please contact double punch gallery.

Nov 21, 2007 - Jan 11, 2008
opening night: Nov 24, 2007, 6pm-9pm

double punch gallery
1821 Powell Street @ Filbert
2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94133
415.399.9785
www.doublepunch.com

tinyshop info: www.tinyshop.blogspot.com

i can’t listen to this song without thinking of chungking express.

it’s snowing really hard here in saskatoon. the whole city is covered with snow. perfect! i always wanted to live in a world of white :) winter came early this year. it’s cold but it’s okay. soon sunny days will come and i’ll be living in a world of blue + white :)

it might be hard to identify, but that thing got stuck in the snow? that’s spencer.

the day i took this photo was sooooooo cooooold — probably around -26c. in february, a super-blue sky in the prairies = super cold. i thought about waiting for a warmer day to take photos, but i didn’t want to miss the chance to capture this gorgeous sky. also, the art book fair (where i showed the spencer book) was only 3 days away.

this was taken in a park across from my apartment building. the snow was fresh and powdery. spencer kept falling over. i had to pile snow up around him to keep him steady. originally i was hoping to capture him standing in the middle of an untouched snow field. so i jumped as far as i could, placed him in the snow, and then jumped back. but the hole i made by jumping was way bigger than the size of spencer. my jumping technique was poor, and i ended up leaving extra footsteps around where i landed. low scores from the olympic judges!

next try, i tiptoed forward, trying not to make much mess, placed spencer carefully, and tiptoed back. i think it turned out pretty good. it looks like he walked that far himself.

there’s probably no way to place an amigurumi in a snowy park without looking stupid. luckily, it was so cold that there weren’t many people walking outside that day. most people tried not to make eye contact. but i did get noticed by one old man passing by:

–”what cha doin’, my dear?”
–”i’m taking glamour shots of my useless toy.”
–”ho, ho, ho-. that’s wonderful.”

i don’t think he heard me. he was wearing earmuffs and a heavy tuque.
in the end, i think spencer did a great job expressing the feeling of “adventure”. well acted, spencer!

- mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi.

- mi mi, mi mi mi mi mi mi mi.

(translation):

- it’s very warm today here in saskatoon.

- indeed, it’s very warm today. i was standing on the broadway bridge this afternoon, watching the snow melt into the saskatchewan river. the ice is starting to break up. it made me want to dive into the river and get refreshed. summer is almost here! in fact, it’s so hot today that my fish is drying out a bit. ha ha!! does your fish feel dry? it should be slightly wet on the surface. my fish always gets tired in the heat and just lies there. no energy, no co-operation, so i have to drag him around. maybe i’ll buy him ice cream to cheer him up. i haven’t had ice cream for a long time — except for that one time at costco. do you like ice cream?

- …???…

…

like larry david, i’m not very good at the “stop and chat”.

hang my “tomorrow will be above -20 degrees doll” by the window before you go to bed.

thanks to the doll, it’s been super-warm here in saskatoon — only -3 today.

yes, “only”.

caution!

don’t hang it upside down, or tomorrow will be colder than -20 degrees…