Woodblock Prints - A Great Souvenir!
May 2008
The Tokyo Traveler: One of the most recognizable forms of Japanese arts are woodblock prints or ukiyo-e. The word ukiyo refers to the world of common people and e means picture. This art form originated in the late sixteenth century in the ancient capital of Kyoto and the first ukiyo-e were not woodblock prints at all but paintings of everyday life.
As ukiyo-e developed into popular art the subjects of the prints broadened. The equivalent of today’s movie poster were Yakusha-e or woodblock prints of kabuki actors in popular roles and Bijin-ga illustrated beautiful women of Edo. Landscapes came later and were used as we use postcards today.
You can see beautiful examples of ukiyo-e in many of Tokyo’s museums and you can purchase modern reproductions of ancient scenes in many stores, including the Oriental Bazaar in the Omotesando area of Tokyo. The scene below is on a plaque at the site of a former Shrine in Kagurazaka and I think it’s just gorgeous!
Making traditional ukiyo-e (woodblock) prints is a complex process that involves the work of at least three artisans:
The ukiyo-e artist sketches the design with sumisen (ink lines)
The horishi (carver) pastes the sketch on a block made of wild cherry wood and carves out the design. This block, called a sumiita (ink plate), is only for printing the black outline.
Other blocks are then carved out, one for each color; these are called iroita (color plates).
The surishi (printer) applies color on the blocks under the artist’s supervision. The light colors and largest areas are printed first followed by darker colors and small details.
Sheets of paper are then pressed on each woodblock to create the design. Each block has a marking on the same spot relative to the finished picture to ensure that the image remains aligned throughout the process.
As you can imagine this process is painstaking…
When to Visit Toronto
May 2008
The Toronto Traveler: One of the biggest questions that people tend to ask me is when to visit the city. From a personal point of view, I think that the Winter is the best time to visit the city from a purely aesthetic point of view, but I also acknowledge that summer is the best time in terms of the attractions that are available. It is ultimately a personal decision that needs to be made, but here are some things to mull about when you consider which season would be the best to visit Toronto.
Spring
Spring is a rather weird season in Toronto. Weather wise, the snow is starting to melt and while floods can get into the city from time to time, the receding layers of white can be beautiful for photography. The warming weather combined with the regular breezes from Lake Ontario can create heavenly weather for those that enjoy weather ranges between 5 and 15 Celsius and breezy conditions.
In terms of the attractions, all of the major city attractions are available around the calendar, so you’d be able to see them regardless of when you choose to travel. However, special events at places like The Canadian National Exhibition usually don’t start until the summer, so if you’re visiting the city in the hopes of going to a lot of events, this is not the best season to do that.
Summer
In my rather humble opinion, Summer has the worst weather of all four seasons in Toronto. Of course, I’m partial to cold weather and vacationing in a tropical paradise isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. If you’re partial to warm weather, then Summer is a great time to visit Toronto because the moderating influence of the nearby lake creates temperature ranges that frequently break 25 Degrees…
London Lite promote Tube Circle Line Party
May 2008
Going Underground’s Blog: Nice to see the London Lite giving today’s Final Circle Line Party so much coverage.
I thought they’d give it a bit of coverage but not really front page news. I looked a little closer and noticed that picture they had used to illustrate the “drinkers” looked a bit familiar.
There was also something familiar about the colouring, but I couldn’t immediately put my finger on it.
I turned to page three and carried on reading:
There was an “online flyer” inviting the public to “party on the tube”. At this point the colouring and my words hit home. It wasn’t an online flyer but my blog post about the Circle Line Party.
The image of the “wine on the line” drinkers was of a YouTube video about the Jubilee Line Dinner Party which happened on November 27th 2006. As you can see from the video it was a very quiet sedate and funny party involving about six people and the commuters felt it was all very funny and joined in.
It’s a bit strange that the London Lite chose a very sedate party to illustrate the “huge party in defiance of the Tube booze ban”.
Obviously I handed this story to them on a plate, as Associated Newspapers wanted to use the opportunity to show that they had reached out to me for my opinion on their coverage. Note they’ve decided not to photo shop out my comment that says: “Don’t forget to let The Evening Standard know what you think of their coverage of the Tube Booze Ban & Circle Line Parties as their letters guy contacted me for help.”
I spose I expected a little more of them in terms of pictures that they could have used to cover this story. But hey ho. I think Bolli sums up my opinion of…