Japan Part 4 - NIPPORI!!!

Late night writing notes Wednesday night, so slept in till 7 - a rainy morning so decided to get us both a coffee and come straight back. The coffee order went well, and I came out with the two coffees I had ordered, no English! I knew sneakers would be more comfortable for the day, but the boots looked so good with the outfit, I had to do it! Down to Bunka for the first class - illustration with

Sensei Zeshu Takamura. I was so excited, and in such a good mood! We looked through some amazing examples of student work - they were so finely detailed - clearly artworks in themselves! It certainly set the bar and stimulated the senses! We were introduced to his technique, starting with 5 minutes of getting 'in the mood' - I chose to write down words describing my emotions, and draw lines to represent what was in my head - trees, hydrangeas, jellyfish, and pure excitement! We could choose three of the five colours on our table - I chose Blue, Yellow and Pink (which was just such a Svenja pink!) and used quite a bit of water - I didn't realise they were gouache and not watercolour! My piece subsequently ended up sopping wet, but quite exciting! Next (after drying) we cut it into 2-4 pieces, then experimented with them on our model template, taking photos of the various arrangements and choosing our favourite - quite difficult!! This was then stuck down and traced over with a view to making a garment design.

Sensei Zeshu's work

My original abstract painting

Cut into pieces and arranged over the template

Many options were explored, this was the final choice

The painting was then traced over to become a dress design

One happy bunneh!!

Half way through this process we were informed that the class would vote on which one they considered to be the best, and that the 'winner' would get the prize of Sensei's book on the process! Pressure, much?!! I so wanted to win that, and I was just beside myself when I did! I was also very happy with my work, and was SO inspired by the process - I can't wait to use it again!! Bec was on the money when she said, "so you might as well go to bed now, as the day can't get any better!! Bahahahaaa! But nooooo, it did! We caught the train out to Nippori, with a 1km street of fabric shops. It was a very successful afternoon, almost ending in tragedy when I left a bag behind in Tomato, but the lovely shop attendant ran around looking for 'Pinku' and ran into some of the others! So lucky, as it contained my major scores, a metallic full length kimono, and shibori scarves. Only in Japan! Mind you, I returned the favour later in the evening when I chased after a woman who left her phone in Family Mart! Must have been the day for leaving things behind, as Brodie managed to lose her phone in the bus on the way home. Luckily it was the hotel shuttle bus, and it returned on the next trip - phew!!

Photo bomb!!!

The plan was to chill for an hour then go out, but, surprise surprise, we didn't make it! Instead we had a show and tell sesh with a few drinks, and some noms from the kombini with some youtubes before calling it a night.

Four broke girls

Another big day in Tokyo! Last classes tomorrow - draping and kimono dressing, followed by the closing ceremony and the we think we'll return to Harajuku for an evening of Friday Fun!!