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Once in a while I thought I would share with you some nifty finds – like an Artist who’s work caught my eye…, Inspiration and the what, when and where that caught my eye and got my creative juices flowing and Tools & Techniques I am currently digging and what did they do that was so cool or the application that I’m taking away. Hope you enjoy this.

Here we go for this month:

I talked about Isamu Noguchi in my blog post yesterday as I went to the Noguchi Museum for an Art Stroll recently.

Isamu Noguchi, one of the most important sculptors and designers of the 20th century, was born in 1904 in the the U.S to an American mother and a Japanese father. His father was a well known poet who went back to Japan before Isamu was born. Isamu grew up partly in the States and in Japan. When he and his mother were living in Japan, he drew a house when he was 8 years old. The house combined western and eastern elements and his mother decided to have him oversee the design and construction of their new house. He became an apprentice of a carpenter and that is when he started learning how to work with wood and other materials.

His sculptures are beautiful and emotional to look at and his light sculptures are such a wonderful way of combining traditional with modern design, art with craft, and west with east. I am equally inspired by his interesting life as well as his work.

“We are a landscape of all we have seen.” – Isamu Noguchi

And this leads me to the next point on my list:

I had watched the movie “Leonie” several years ago and remember I enjoyed it, but after going to the Noguchi Museum and traveling to Japan, I rewatched it and this time it totally sparked inspiration and lots of thoughts.

The movie actually tells the story of Isamu Noguchi’s mother and her fascinating and interesting life- what a powerful woman. I also enjoyed the pictures and sceneries of the movie. Of course a lot of the plot is speculation, but maybe you find it as interesting and inspiring as I did- so I highly recommend watching it.

Currently I am totally obsessed with my inkstone and inkstick.

Inksticks are a type of solid ink used traditionally in several East Asian cultures for calligraphy and brush painting. There is so practical for traveling since you do not have to worry that an ink bottle might break and they are small and light. You basically take a little bit of water and add it to the inkstone and then grind the inkstick on top of it until you get ink that is thick and deep black. The amount of water determines how much ink you make.

I love the different gray shades that the ink from the stick creates when using it on paper. I used it for some line and mark making as well as sketching out those two ladies above. I am still practicing but I am already deeply in love with my new tools :)

See you soon again with some new nifty finds that I am currently digging !

Nat