I have a commission and have been painting fabric for the background. It is going to be 1.7metres wide and 2.5metres long when I finish it. It is so wide that it doesn't fit on my painting table (actually a table tennis table). I have had to attach the corners on one side to strings which are attached to the rafters in the garage so that it doesn't dry with lines down the side.

Tips From Your Nana

I'm in a book called 'Tips from Your Nana' which was released today. I did mention that I'm not a Nana but the author said that was OK. I haven't seen it yet myself yet but I'm pretty sure our cat Jack managed to get into the photo. It's aimed at young people and is a 'how to' book with instructions on everything from keeping chickens to making peppermint tea.

More photos of japan

The blow-up NZ rugby ball under the Tokyo Tower (actually its round the back where no-one can see it)
Notice on door of lift
james finds his dream roller coaster at Tokyo Dome
I didn't know that you get a container full of ball bearings to play pachinko. I thought they were just slot machines.

Shrine on Miyajima Island
A jellyfish on parade at Jidai Matsuri Parade, Kyoto.
Some sort of dessert!
Autumn festival at Meiji Jingo Shrine, Tokyo
Map-eating deer, Nara.

More Boro textile info

The last two posts have been about Boro textiles. I have since found a website from the UK about sashiko which is very good. www.sashiko.org.uk/publications.php

The catalogue for the exhibition of Boro I found (by accident) in Tokyo is available to order from Gallery Tsumugi http://www.trocadero.com/haruko/catalog.html
Thanks to Donna Watson for her advice on this.

I've been having a go myself at Sashiko, and here are the results. Very traditional at the moment but liable to change at any time!

Boro Exhibition no 2

This is the second post about the exhibition of Boro textiles at Amuse Gallery, Asakusa, Tokyo. The pieces that amazed me were the huge kimono which were about 6-7ft tall when they were hung but were made for a person to sleep inside during winter, the padding is about 2-3 cm thick and they are made of layers of fabric and what looked like cotton stuffing. many of the layers were shredded down to just the area around previous stitching.

Boro Exhibition in Tokyo

These are photos from an exhibition I discovered by accident in Tokyo 2 days ago. The exhibition wasn't opening till the next day but I was allowed in because I was leaving that evening and I'd had my business card translated into Japanese which helped. Some stuff about the exhibition can be found at http://www.amusemuseum.com/english/exhibition/index.html and there is a book called 'Boro: rags and tatters from the Far North of Japan'. I wasn't able to buy the book as the shop wasn't open and I haven't been able to find a copy online as most places have sold out. Instead I got a different book which is all in Japanese and available in japan at Kinokuniya Bookshop in Tokyo if anyone is going there.