Kitsune

I found inspiration for this latest pattern from the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. In Japanese folklore, foxes -- Kitsune -- are mythical creatures capable of possessing humans (entering underneath the fingernails), and they may also impersonate women or old men, or serve as messengers.

Linear Sakura

I found an app called Amaziograph that helps make awesome repeat patterns. I can doodle on my ipad and it does all the repeats and transformations. It's very meditative and awesome.

Spotted: San Francisco Japantown

I just spent a week in San Francisco's Japantown on a business trip, and took a few days off for fun. It's my favorite city! Here's some of the inspiration I found during my travels.

In Japantown, I stumbled across a really cool clothing shop called SOU SOU which features patterned items by designer Katsuji Wakisaka. Wakisaka was the first Japanese designer to work for the Finnish design house Marimekko. I was able to purchase some small pieces of cloth for only a few dollars. The numbers print reminds me of my work with typewriter and letterpress type, so I had to have it.

I also found some lovely scraps at a store called Neat Asian Things, which sells fabric by the yard. They are located in the Kinokuniya building in Japantown, or online at neatasianthings.com.

I also enjoyed the sakura blossom pattern incorporated into this wallpaper mural on the hotel room wall inside Hotel Tomo.

Washi Tape Collection

Today's project involved working with a collection of objects. I picked my Washi Tape collection for its fun shapes and colors.

My cat thinks anything small is hers.

I played around awhile to figure out how to best balance the colors and patterns.

Here is the finished result. When I have more time I should edit this in the gimp so it tiles seamlessly.