Keeping Koi by Tom Burton
Keeping koi as it is called, takes the application of both art and science to do successfully and, like most things worth doing properly, is more difficult and involved than…
Read moreImadate Papermaking Village, by Gail Rieke
Steve here: I recently co-led a travel journaling tour of Japan with Santa Fe, New Mexico-based artist and educator, Gail Rieke. Gail, please tell us about our workshops in Imadate.…
Read moreContemporary Lacquer Artist
Steve here: Below, my friend, a London-based lacquer dealer, shares about his passion for the work of a very special artist. The Art of Wakamiya Takashi, by Simon Pilling The…
Read moreDelicious Japanese Colors
Many of the actual colors seen in Japanese culture are different from what we see in the west. The color palette that Japanese see all of their lives creates for…
Read moreSmall Acts of Magic – Little Miracles
Issey Miyake has been journeying to Japan’s northeastern Tohoku district since before he began his world famous design studio over 40 years ago. There he found energy, power, materials and craftsmanship that spoke to him
Read moreHoriki Eriko: Pioneer on the Washi Frontier
Traditional handmade washi paper can be found everywhere in Japan, from name cards to beautiful wrapping paper. But washi as large format installation art, using paper tapestries up to 50…
Read moreOpposites Attract: Dyers and Innovators, Shigeki and Shihoko Fukumoto – part 1
In Collaboration with Photographer, Helen Hasenfeld © Photos by Helen Hasenfeld By Steve Beimel and Rob Schultheis Shigeki and Shihoko Fukumoto are dyeing artists — and husband and wife. They…
Read moreJin Nanami
Jin Nanami design duo of Okura Naomi and Yamamoto Shizuko use brilliantly woven textile treasures from Kyoto’s Nishijin weaving district to create their original line of high-fashion, one-of-a-kind handbags. The…
Read moreShuren Sakurai
In Collaboration with Photographer, Helen Hasenfeld © Photos by Helen Hasenfeld By Steve Beimel One spring day twelve years ago, while strolling through the cedar shaded grounds of 700-year…
Read moreYoshida Shojun-san: Metal Sculptor
If I knew nothing about Yoshida Shojun-san at all, I think that his smile and his energy would be enough for me to seek him out as a friend. That…
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