Haiku in August

Slide Show too fast? Click the Pause (||) button and then you can use the arrows to click through at your own speed.....If anyone can tell me how to slow down a Picasa slide show I am all ears (or eyes and fingers....) You can click any image to be taken to a link for the stamp used.

We've been experiencing a 10 heat wave here in the Northwest. Seattle set an all time high and here in Portland we missed our high by 1 degree, but the length of consecutive days above 100 may have beaten the records. We mostly don't have air conditioning in our homes as we hardly ever use it so I have been a prisoner of the basement!

Hope you enjoy this slide show. Mention the Art Neko Blog when ordering any of our Haiku collection between now and August 15th and get 25% off on any of our haiku stamps or sheets.

Keep cool! I'm trying to!

Candice

March 2009 Cherry Blossom Special

I am debuting our new blog with Cherry Blossoms as this week's theme. Go to the Search Box at the top of any page of the Art Neko website and enter the word Cherry. This should bring up two pages showing most of the items on the Art Neko website that are somehow related to the word Cherry or Cherry Blossom, including images of stamps, sheets of stamps, sets of stamps or decorative papers. Click on the small image of any of these items to get the complete information for the item.

The flowering cherry (Sakura) and flowering plum (Ume), common motifs in Chinese and Japanese art are often confused by westerners. Both are considered harbingers of the coming of spring with the plum blooming at the end of winter in February and the cherry in April when spring is in full sway. In addition, cherry blossoms are generally very pale to pink while plum blossoms are usually white or a much darker pink to red than the cherry (although they are depicted in just about any color on Japanese decorative papers). The petals of the plum are generally smoothly rounded while the cherry generally has a slight notch on the edge of the petals.

The two flowers have differing symbolism in Japan and China. In China the plum blossom (really more of an apricot than a plum) is much more highly revered than the flowering cherry whereas in the 9th Century the cherry overcame the plum in popularity in Japan. In China the plum is more representative of winter than spring as it is in Japan. In Japan the plum is believed to be a charm to protect against evil. In China the Plum represents resiliency and perseverance and the cherry is representative of feminine beauty and love. In Japan the flowering cherry represents the transient nature of life owing to the brief period, though spectacular, that the trees are in bloom. It is traditional in Japan to have picnics under the blossoming trees and to celebrate this time of year with festivals and other Cherry Viewing activities.

Silent Cherry Blooms

This card was sent to me all the way from Australia by fellow Oriental Stampart member Adrienne West. Adrienne stamped our Cherry Blossom Border stamp on black cs, embossed in gold and then colored in with a shimmery metallic ink or paint. The two pieces were then layered onto a light pink inclusion paper, which was layered onto a darker pink cs and then layered onto a black blank card. Silent Cherry Haiku was stamped onto the inclusion paper in black ink.

Plum Blossom Branch

I've used the Plum Blossom Branch and the small Sakura Branch (Cherry Blossom) images to create these two cards, once again offering contrasting effects by changing backgrounds. The primary plum blossom image in both cards was stamped in black ink and embossed on background papers created with color sprays and pigment inks. Flower blossoms were colored with twinkling H2O's, and buds were given extra dimension with pearl stickler dots.

In the green card, the cherry blossom branch was stamped in pale pink on a pink panel and in pale green on the folded white cardstock. In the purple card, the branch was stamped in white ink on a black cardstock panel, and layered with other cardstock to complete the card. Once again, the impact is considerably different - one is fresh and gentle, and the other is more dramatic; but the floral images are great no matter how you use them!

Sumi-e Style Crane Scene

This card was created on rice paper using several Art Neko images to create a spring vignette. A single crane stands on a mound of grass with cherry blossoms blooming around it. The cherry blossom "tree" was created using multiple stampings of Taylored Stamps Sakura Branch and then colored in with pencils. The Sumi-e Style Crane and Crane Kanji are also Taylored Stamps images available from Art Neko. The crane is stamped with permanent black ink and colored with pastels. The pine in the corner is created from a portion of an Art Neko Taylored Stamps image, Whispering Rabbits, stamped in multiples and colored with pastels and pencils. The sun is a creation of sponge and inks, and pastels were sponged around torn paper masks to create the grass mound. I drew a smudged charcoal pencil line to add definition then drew in some charcoal grasses. Background colors are from pastels on rice paper. While the crane is the focal image, this picture illustrates how versatile our stamps can be when we use them in different ways!

Cherry Blossom Branch

These two cards were created using Taylored Stamps Cherry Blossoms on Pond from Art Neko issued last winter. The effect is very different, even though the image is the same. The image in both cards has been stamped and then embossed in gold. Both were colored with twinkling H2O's and touched up with gold pen highlights. The darker background is more sedate, or mysterious, with a darker stream; but the shimmer of the twinks gives it an almost magical feel. The pastel background and brighter colors in the other card make you believe that springtime is here! The card on the left is layered onto washi paper and a pattern-stamped background paper; and the darker card is layered onto purchased scrapbook papers embellished with a metallic ribbon.