C's projects

Msize mugs

2012-01-22T12:45:00.001-08:00

to the mountain with dad

2011-10-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

I needed to be in nature side, so I went to Minoo mountain with my dad. He goes to the mountains every weekend.
I didn't see wild monkeys, just heard them this time. We found a new cafe and we had lunch there.

Grandpa's demitasse

2011-10-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

My grandfather was a very warm and nice person especially to animals and kids. He smiled all the time and I never saw him angry.
He used to drink coffee in his demitasse. I sometimes made coffee for him and he looked very happy.
I have his broken umbrella, a leather jacket which he never wore, some of his kimono and his demitasse at my place here.
I don't use demitasse for coffee, so I made custard pudding in it in the other day.
Thinking about my grandpa while with using his demitasse...

morning smoothie

2011-09-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

We usually have pancake, some veg dish and english tea for breakfast. My recipe is that boiled beets, yogurt, orange juice, milk or soy milk.
Since my stainless waring blender is so light weight and simple, it's so easy to clean and no hassle to use it in hectic morning.
I should make warm soup when the winter comes.

New dining table

2011-09-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

When I first got to NYC, I had no idea where I could find my favorite kind of furniture. We found a nice heavy white round table with a note that said "Take me home" in front of our house. The table moved to Toronto and came back to NYC with us.
The second one was an IKEA table from Craig's list and I painted it white.
We had been looking and thinking about table for 9 years and finally purchased a dark brown barnwood table.
Dark brown totally changes how dishes look on it. I am very excited about this change.

plant pots and vases

2011-09-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

It is fun to hand build something sometimes. I love the shape of leaves of Swedish ivy.

Now my pieces are available at Mark.

2011-09-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Mark is a newly opened showroom with handcrafted furniture by Makoto Nakahara.
I am so happy that my pieces have been selected to be with his simple and warm furniture.
If you are around the Kobe area, please come visit this beautiful showroom!

Mark
5-2 Aokicho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan 662-0862

+81-(0)798-31-6457
info@mark-mf.com
11:00-19:00

Now more mugs are available at graf

2011-09-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

My mugs sold out at graf (thank you!)and I delivered new mugs. Margaret's new birds and white flowers were delivered too. Please drop by graf if you are around Osaka.

Thai Bah Mi hang

2011-08-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially gone after today. I had a lot of thai food this summer. My Thai friend told me "Bah Mi" stands for the egg noodle itself and if it is in the soup, it is called "Bah Mi naam". If it is dry, it's "Bah Mi hang".
I tried to remember the taste of my best "Bah Mi hang" and cook with soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, peanuts, cilantro, fried onion, pickled chill and oil tossed egg noodle and grilled pork which was marinated with fish sauce.
I heard the best fish sauce should be the first pressing and have a nice color. Where can I get the best one in NYC??

The Netherlands-Haarlem again

2011-08-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Soona and her family made our trip to the Netherlands so special. We had known each other through our blogs and she came to my show in NY. We found out we live in the same building!I was very happy to see her great life in the netherlands because I understand all the challenges and feelings as a foreigner. Now we live far away but our friendship became even closer!
Her beautiful works;soonhwa kang
Her design blog is;here and there

The Netherlands6 - Amsterdam&Belgium Antwerp

2011-08-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

One sunny and hotday, we walked everywhere in Amsterdam.
Day trip to Antwerp. 2hrs by train, with half hour delay, of course. There were pro bicycle race in old city center.

The Netherlands5 - Dutch food

2011-08-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

My friend prepared nice organic breakfast for us on the day we arrived. Dutch bread, yogurt, cheese & ham...delish!For dinner, her tasty korean feast,(We were too busy to chat and eat to take pictures). Her husband P cooked typical dutch food "Stamppot" (mashed potato with kale/veges) and sausage. Home cooking with love is the best!
I snacked fried Kibbeling(cod) with garlic sauce from fish stores, but I did not have a chance to try herrings!
She also took me the bistro and had a great time.
Indonesian are also popular in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands4 - pannekoeken

2011-08-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

My friend took us to the pannekoeken(dutch pancake)cafe after the ride in the forest. The pannekoeken is thicker than crape and thinner than pancake. Yummy!

The Netherlands3 - cycling in the forest

2011-08-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Netherlands2 - Delft

2011-08-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

My friends took me to Delft where is famous for "Delft blue pottery". Tile museum was closed but we still enjoyed old interesting pieces at nice antique shop.

The Netherlands1 - Haarlem

2011-08-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

We went to see our good friends in Haarlem in the Netherlands. It's about 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam.
The Gothic style town is just so beautiful with the ringing church bell and people talking in bars.
It was cold and grey the first couple of days and this weather seems to be typical. But we were lucky to have nice sunny days for the rest of our stay. Everyday people were out on the boats in the canals.

kyoto2-nishiki market etc..

2011-07-19T20:06:00.001-07:00

The Gion festival in Kyoto was held on 7/17. It is hot in Kyoto, but it is worth it.
These photos are from the trip a month ago, at Nishiki market and at a temple. My friend and I were planning to visit Hinaya, Ms.K had the directions to the store, in Gojo. We started around Nijo area and could not make it. There were so many things to see and we ended up with talking to a shop owner for a long time...Next time for sure.
If you are textile lover, check it out.

city of rivers

2011-07-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

My city Osaka has many rivers. When I was a kid, I went to "Toro nagashi"- floating paper lanterns down a river to guide spirits of ancestors who are coming back to our world during the Bon festival.
Whenever I walk along the side of the Hudson river, I miss my city.

I went for a walk to the riverside the other day, and was thinking about the quote from the book I am reading now.
"We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always a sketch. No sketch is not quite the right word, because a sketch is an outline of something, the groundwork for a picture, whereas the sketch that is our life is a sketch of nothing, an outline with no picture." -Milan Kundera-

Turtle Forest

2011-07-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help telling him "what a beautiful necklace" when I first met him. Few years later, I had an another opportunity to talk to him and found out he has his jewelry line "turtle forest".
He showed me couple of his works in person and they were just gorgeous, of course much better than photos. I also enjoyed talking to him for hours about how things has changed in NYC, Japan and passion for being creative.

His works are available at A&S, Tokyo.
Björk　has his work too.

Easy sewing projects-Apron&coasters

2011-07-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

I don't really like sewing, but when I find beautiful fabrics, OK, I will try it.
I found this deep colored veges at Crate&Barrel It was a kitchen towel. I made purple strings out of other towel and attached them to it. It's made in India. I always love fabrics from INDIA!
My mom had this wonderful striped fabric from NUNO and she made a tote bag and place mats. I got the rest of it and made coasters. NUNO shop used to be in Osaka long time ago and my mom made couple of lovely skirts for us.

T's carrot cake

2011-07-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

T brings her baking to the studio sometimes and I really liked her carrot cake. I asked for her recipe and she gave it to me. But a few days later, she left a message for me on the answering machine at the studio "It was wrong!!".
Her cake has no frills, but tastes honest with a little twist, and very warm.
I like her and her cake a lot.

Cat M.

2011-06-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

My parents' cat M. loves to lie down on her back when the weather gets hot. She always lies down with my dad in the same pose and probably found it is fun to do it by herself. She also has a fetish for being scratched by a handcrafted broom by me. By me!

My mom's green tea roll cake

2011-06-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

My mom told me that she will bake something for me. It was a little hot day, so I asked her to bake strong green tea roll cake. My mom is the best!
I bought her new baking book written by a famous chef at AU BON VIEUX TEMPS in Tokyo as a thank you gift. So she can enjoy more baking and we can enjoy more eating.:)

Chogoro brooches

2011-06-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

My mom asked me to make simple tea cups for wooden tea saucers with Raden decoration hand crafted by Yushiro Kojima.
Yushiro Kojima's wife and daughter, Miyoko&Sawako also make raden accessories. Traditional, but modern and interesting. You can check more items at Chogoro.

Margaret's brooches are now available in Japan

2011-05-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

My good friend Margaret Wozniak makes beautiful ceramics and her brooches are now available at graf (http://www.graf-d3.com/)in Osaka. Her new white series is so beautiful with its color and texture.
You can have her little art works in your hands.

thank you! -Creators for Japan

2011-05-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

It was another great success. Raised $9,011 for 2 days. All my pieces were sold.

Thank you so much for your contributions, Organizers and staff, customers, supporters and creators!
photo by New People

Double flowering cherry blossoms in Central park

2011-04-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

pink, pink, pink!

Brooklyn Botanic garden2

2011-04-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

2011-04-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Dramatic named flower"Bleeding heart" is called "Taitsuri sou" in Japan. It means "red snapper fishing". Hmm...we are always interested in food.

Artistes Solidaires avec le Japon-paris @4/24 in Paris

2011-04-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

People in Paris, please check this out!

Afin de ressembler des fonds pour les victimes du séisme et du tsunami au Japon,nous organisons un événement qui aura lieu le 17 et 24 avril prochain au Pivot.La Croix-Rouge, à qui nous reverserons les dons réunis, le transmettra pour en faire bon usage auprés de ces étres humains en détresse.

Artistes Solidaires avec le Japon-paris

Le pivot: 20, rue Oberkampf 75011 Paris24

Avril 2011 13:00-21:00

13:00- Plus de 50 œuvres d'artistes de petit format vendues à un prix unique.
13:00- Brocante vente de livres d'enfant, de livres d'art,DVD et T shirts
14:00- 18:00 Workshop Atelier pour les enfants
18:00- Concert de JazzVenez nombreux! Parlez-en autour de vous !

Creators for japan in San Francisco @4/30-5/1

2011-04-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

People in San Francisco! Please tell your friends and come to the event!

creators for japan

acqua pazza

2011-04-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

I cooked acqua pazza with fillet of red perch and cod from the fishermen at the farmer's market. Ocean perch looks like red snapper and stays firm even after you stew it. But you need cod or some other seafood to add more flavor to the soup.

bean salad

2011-04-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

When I was a high school student, I always looked forward to having lunch at an Italian restaurant at the basement of Daimaru department store after shopping. It was not exactly a restaurant, it was a Italian deli counter, where you can buy antipasta and something like that.

Their dishes were very delicate and sophisticated, especially I loved their white bean salad appetizer.

It was very new to me to eat beans as a salad. My mom cooked beans as "nimame" -japanese sweet stewed beans or tomato stewed beans. And I did not like either of them so much.

Since then, I always remember the nice feeling of having lunch with my mom and excitement of finding new dish whenever I make bean salad.

One love-tableware for Japan in Sapporo

2011-03-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

22 (Fri.) to 24 (Sun.) April 2011 Site: Illums / Station 999Nihon Seimei Sapporo building 2nd floor, Kita 3 Jo Nishi 4 Cho-me, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi

website

cat paper weight

2011-02-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

I went to an event and saw a Japanese calligraphy performance. The scent of the ink made me miss caligraphy which has been one of my other hobbies since I was kid.

Caligraphy and pottery have many things in common. Preparing the ink and clay, the moment of the strokes and throwing...both are the most beautiful and deep moments of being my self.

I brought all my caligraphy tools to the States - a handmade water container, my stone name stamp, brushes, ink - everything except a paper weight. I only had an ugly weight so I left it.

So I needed a weight and found a clay cat beside the window. Cats can help us sometimes.

chocolate color pitchers

2011-02-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

I am reading a book "teshigoto no nihon" by Muneyoshi Yanagi. The title means "Craftmenship in Japan." In the introduction, he says "People's hands don't just move, these moves are based on peoples' hearts and this could create something beautiful and also pursue ethical development -and it exposes people to the joy of working."

All the great crafts made by great skill and spirit create a special attachment and universal design and quality will never fade.

Craftsmanship - serving trays

2011-02-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

My mom has 2 trays I adore. The left one is handcrafted by Yushiro Kojima. The Moku shitsu with Raden, which is wooden ware or lacquer ware with decoration of mother-of-pearl or shells inlays.
The other bent woodware is called "magewappa" in Akita prefecture. Interesting point is the color of the urushi lacquer. Usually the colors of urushi are black or red traditionally, and his olive color melts into our modern lifestyle. By Kurikyu.

about pottery class

2011-02-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

Some french company had a pottery party at our studio the other day. They wanted to make mugs with their names. After Mr.D showed how to make mug, half of them made mugs, and the others made XL jag, very neat bowl from mold and even a martini glass. I liked their ambition:)
People were so excited to work on their own projects and they looked so satisfied and happy when they headed to the restaurant. bon appetit!

photo: It is still cold in NY! I am still stewing.

Agnello alla calabrese

2011-02-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

Snow, snow snow. OK, let's try to cook some new Italian. I stewed the lamb for an hour and half. The cook book said that red chili is essential in the Calabria area.
It was OK, but I much prefer to cook lamb with cumin, coriander, garlic...in a middle eastern way.
The lamb smell will turn into a wonderful deep flavor with those spices. It's magic!

Snowy city

2011-01-31T07:31:00.000-08:00

Garbage everywhere on the street. I've got terrible cold. Snowmen everywhere. City's got quiet and less people. Snow is not too bad.

pink baby set

2011-01-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

I made a baby set in pink. Speaking about pink, I was so happy to be able to go to Lucie Rie exhibition at The Museum of Oriental Ceramics Osaka.

pizza Napoletana

2011-01-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

My whole family got together and my brother baked pizza for us. He uses a thick iron pan which is for Okonomiyaki(a savory pancake which contains veggies and seafood). Yum.

graf show room 2011

2011-01-19T04:40:00.000-08:00

I went to graf in Osaka where I sell my pieces. They are located beside the Tosabori river and in front of the national museum of art. They are a creative unit for furniture, space, product, graphic and food design. Recently their media group moved to Tokyo and became independent. They come to NYC sometimes on their projects with Yoshitomo Nara.
The graf building has an exhibition space on the ground floor, the 2nd floor is a cafe/restaurant and the 3rd floor is a show room for their designed products and works from all over the world.

Kyoto-Nanzen temple

2011-01-14T05:29:00.000-08:00

I always go to Kyoto as soon as I can after I arrive in Japan. Got off at Sanjo station and walked toward to Higashi mountain, to Nanzen temple. I love the Kamo river, sound of the city and the smell of the mountains.

We walked along the aquaduct into the woods around the temple. We saw the inside of the Konchiin, its tea room was very interesting.

We headed back to Sanjo through Keage and Marutamachi, stopped at an antique store where I bought an old japanese bookshelf when I was a student.

coffee and a cat

2011-01-11T03:43:00.001-08:00

My parents' white cat loves coffee. No milk. We always leaves a little bit for her and she comes over and licks the cup. After having a cup of coffee, she looks very happy and washes her face.

Family time

2011-01-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

My family found the white one in a garbage bin near a sushi restaurant. The tabby was adopted through cat people in our neighbourhood. They are 9 & 14 years old. They looked very happy to see everyone in our family.

new year holidays in Osaka

2011-01-02T06:32:00.001-08:00

I can't start new year without those new year food, especially white miso soup with round sticky rice. (It is slightly sweet from rice malt and this style is popular in Kansai area)

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T04:54:00.001-08:00

The seven gods of good fortune in rice crackers. I got Benzaiten (Sarasvati in Sanscrit).

Time for mom's kipferl cookies

2010-12-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas, my mom sends us her famous kipferl & ginger bread cookies. Due to some mail restriction, this year, a little less than a lb of kipferl. She has baked hundreds of cookies for everyone every year.

Apple pie at midnight

2010-12-16T21:38:00.001-08:00

I had an urge to eat apple pie at midnight. I had granny smith apples and puff pastry in my freezer.
No extra butter, made apple sauce with rum and just brushed marmalade jam on apples and sprinkled sugar and spices. Good to go. I use Dufour puff pastry.

silo sugar pots

2010-12-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

When I went to the farm, I loved the silo. I made those "silo sugar pots".

my sugar pot

2010-12-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

My sugar pot makes our guests wonder what it is. It has a nice smooth surface of old wood which was under the ground. My mom bought it at a store which used to be in Shinsaibashi in Osaka a long time ago. She gave me the pot when I moved to the States.

I am working on a project making sugar pots. I wish I can make somthing like this pot, something to make people's tea time happy.

thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-27T07:38:00.000-08:00

A heritage turkey fresh from the farm, wonderful flavors for a healthy, tasty feast. Kids were constantly making us laugh and smile. What a warm and great thanksgiving.Look at this comfy high-quality+high waist leggings. Handcrafted by his mom. Great concept.
available at OWL.

pitcher

2010-11-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

I love pitchers. Pitchers are everywhere in my house. Tall ones, small ones, round ones and straight ones. I use them for flower vases, milk, kitchen gadgets and lemonade.

small white filing cabinet

2010-11-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

I realized I didn't have a nice cabinet to keep things in. Finally I ordered the white drawer unit

from Bisley. The drawer moves smoothly.

My shopping policy is that I only buy something impressive that can last a lifetime or DIY-type items that I can customize. So any shopping is a big event for me and very fun.

When it comes to clothing, I don't like the recent fast fasion trend. I remake and resize vintage colothing, which are typically much better quality and have more interesting design.

green bowls

2010-11-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have customers come to my apartment to buy my ceramics. Even if we have never met, we can be confortable with each other. We share the same sense of style or beauty of life, it is inspiring for me.

Spoon shaped biscuits from Poilâne

2010-11-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

I received a package from my friend in Paris. It was biscuits of Poilâne. My friend knows I like spices and sent these tasty biscuits with cinnamon, cloves and some other spices.
I had a nice tea time by myself with this sweet and my new white cup and a creamer just BAKED from the kiln.
It is getting colder here than Paris.

small mint green bowls

2010-11-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Small mint green bowls. 4"w x 2"h.

Fall in Blue hill at Stone Barns-1

2010-10-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

The last time I visited Blue hill at Stone Barns was at our friends' wedding. It was one of the most beautiful and memorable ceremonies. This time we enjoyed the fall all over the farm.

Forbidden kima curry

2010-10-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Since ground lamb was sold out, I bought beef instead. I feel little guilty for using beef for Indian curry...Anyway, I cooked it quick like Indian mothers make their daily curry for short time. I added potatoes, chick peas and carrots. Of course, chai for after the meal. I heard that milk works for the heat. Not water.

baby set fro miss.L.

2010-10-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

I made a baby set for Miss. L. I found a perfect basket for it and stuffed with felted vegetables I made. Miss. L is now in her mom's country to see her family and to celebrate her great grand ma who is 100 years old!
I am looking forward to going on a picnic at central park with her, carrying full of tasty goodies in a basket.

Grilled scallion and artichoke dip

2010-10-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was wondering where I would go for my next trip. Spain sounded like an interesting scene in Europe. OK, so I started by watching Anthony Bourdain's no reservations Spain episode. Hmm....there seems to be very passionate and maniacal people out there!
I got so excited and changed my dinner plan and rushed to get some Spanish ingredients.
One of the highlights was grilled scallions with dip. I don't know about the dip, so I just mixed artichokes, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and olive oil in the food processor.
What a feast. I simply grilled vegetables on a grilling rack that was handmade in Kyoto. Yum.

Pictured is a gray plate I found at the flea market for $8!

simple forms

2010-10-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

I was throwing vases while imagining my favorite kind of flowers. I just felt like making simple forms with a color like roasted marshmallow.

fabric, fabric, fabric!

2010-10-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

I went to the garment district to see fabric. My friend and I ate lunch at my favorite cafe

before we went. At the cafe, pink on the walls and the same color palette in the chair cushions caught my eye. I was ready to get inspired.

At the garment district, I was browsing thousands of fabrics at retail stores and grabbed samples that caught my attention. From my picks, I could clearly see my taste. I like deep colors, not prints, but textures, and interesting combinations of colors and stripes.

little blue plates

2010-09-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

5" dia. little blue plates. It's good size for snacking on little pieces of cake and fruit. Good size on PC desk with coffee.
Someone who served dessert on this plate to her roommate told me that the next day the roommate asked to borrow the plate and she served nice presentation of fruits. They shared the nice tea time again. That makes me happy.

Weekend breakfast

2010-09-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

When I was in Japan, I only wanted to have Japanese food for breakfast. I never wanted to eat something sweet, bread or coffee. But here, I even enjoy pancake breakfast. Is this weather or humidity issue? I still hate cereals though.

baking!

2010-09-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have only baked bagels before. Maybe I am too tired to wedging clay to knead bread dough.
I should read a book again " Science of the bread" I bought long time ago.

The end of summer

2010-09-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

The last weekend of summer. I couldn't sleep at all because the new neighbours had a crazy party in their roof terrace until 5 in the morning. I miss the old tenants who enjoyed nice breakfast, reading books and had an elegant parties.
I went to the US open but the rally made me sleepy and I left the game.

I am making new series of vases.

in his little hands

2010-09-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

I love picnic. Since my hometown Osaka has the Yodo river running through the city and I loved the Kamogawa river in Kyoto, I go to hudson river side more than central park.
I finally met little mr.c who is one year old. He already can drink his water very nicely from a baby cup I made. He was so adorable!

Yoshitomo Nara @Asia Society

2010-09-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

I went to the open studio of Yoshimoto Nara+YNG(Yoshimoto Nara +Graf) at Park Armory.

We wonder "Who am I?" and try to figure it out or express ourselves.
Even people who are not artists, they explore to find something in their jobs and activities in everyday life.
It is very difficult, painful and scary to face yourself. I am very impressed and inspired by people who try to do it very hard and stoicly.
Nobody's fool you can watch Mr.Nara's discussion video.
Mr. Konishi's blog (in Japanese) You can read the process of projects by gm products(ex graf).

Brazilian dinner

2010-08-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

My very good Brazilian friend and I had a great time together as always and we cooked her Brazilian dinner together.
Chicken and pepper stew, colored green and beans. She used crushed garlic for everything. It was simple and very tasty. I was so inspired and cooked it at home next day.
Estou satisfeita!

metalic black

2010-08-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

I used to use this black glaze. But I have stopped using it because it is not food-safe.
Now I am making series of vases and tried to make one sample of this glaze.

pitcher sample

2010-08-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Just trying to make different shapes of pitchers and with new white glaze, mat&shiny spots.
Diameter; 4"(11 cm). As for sauce or butt vase.

Hitoshi Toyoda-photographer

2010-08-11T10:48:00.001-07:00

© Hitoshi Toyoda　2010　
Hitoshi is a photographer who has been exhibiting his works in slide shows at film festivals, museums, galleries and public spaces in the US and Japan.
Slide shows are different from printed photos. They are not permanent objects like photographs. They are fleeting images.

When I was a kid, I thought photos were simply taken by cameras using certain techniques.
It took a long time for me to realise that this is not the case. Photos capture something that you saw, not just with your eyes, but with your mind and all of your senses.

I saw his photos in small slides on his work desk. I was in his views and memories - in the moment. I experienced his very warm and sensitive views of daily life.

I wonder what kind of experience I can have if I see those images as momentary time flows.
I haven't had a chance to go to his slide show yet and I am really looking forward to it.

He will exhibit his work, including a new series, from Aug 13 at several museums and galleries in Japan.
for more info
Hitoshi Toyoda

Mary and Max

2010-08-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mary, an 8-year-old miserable girl in Melborune and Max who is a 44-year-old obese jewish guy with Asperger syndrome in NY.
Those lonely two happens to be pen pal and coresponse each other about each others lives for 20 years.
This is one of the great hilarious and lovely movie to made me laugh at the begining and cry at the end.
Adam Elliot's claymation from Australia in 2009

tasty paris-9

2010-07-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

We met great people at tables. We enjoyed conversations with Japanese people at table next to us "if we knew the dish was this huge, we could have shared!". Some french madams "I can take picture of you two. Be close, be romantic! It's Paris!"
Food was great and these conversations made meals even better.

design paris-8

2010-07-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Rental bikes looked good, but I preferred the pace of walking. To observe the details of people and the city. This is the best part of trip.

Sweet paris-7

2010-07-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

My new friend told me about La Patisserie des Rêves. I bought one slice of tarte tatin and the staff wrapped it up in a cute pink box and bag. Other patisseries were usually casual and wrapped cakes with a sheet of paper - well it was fine with me though.
The apple flavor was very strong and thick.
Here is pink again. Chic but pop colors everywhere. People aren't afraid to enjoy colors here.

street paris-6

2010-07-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

Paris's streets are smokey with cigarettes and exhausts. Stone bricks and little passages made me feel cool and let me breath. I just walked and walked until I couldn't walk anymore.

sewing paris-5

2010-07-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

My mom was in Paris around the same time. I wonder what my mom saw there.
People in Paris are chic as I expected. The fashion was architectural and classy.
I bought some dresses by Russian designer.

old paris-4

2010-07-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

The flea markets are like museum of ethnology on the streets.

Madame and Monsieur are very interesting too.

peeking paris-3

2010-07-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Walking around the little streets in the city. I love what I can see through the narrow approaches of the entrances. I totally understand cats' feeling when they are in between something. This makes me feel good. There are a lot of them in Paris.

tasty paris-2

2010-07-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

Friends took us to merci and a nice restaurant Glou. The food was sophisticated and sensitively seasoned.

We had a great crepe dinner at west country girl with other friends. I loved their dessert crepe which had a whole baked apple, ice cream and caramel sauce.

Glou 101, rue Vieille du Temple-75003 paris
west country girl 6, passage Saint Ambroise paris

sweet paris-1

2010-07-06T08:02:00.001-07:00

My second trip to Paris. Friends, new friends and tasty conversation and food. And sweet sweets everywhere! tres bien!

home-made gnocchi

2010-06-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday party for an 8 year-old girl at our studio. We made piggy banks. They made interesting banny, flog or bee banks. They don't need to break them since we told them how to make "easy access" bank. The kids grimed.

It's too hot to have appetite. I just make something simple and easy...ok, let's make noochi.

brown striped bowl

2010-06-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

I modified the color and texture for this bowl little shinier and brownish. This is one of the pieces available for purchace at Steven Alan store.

Lisianthus

2010-06-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

I found poor Lisianthus at the super market on the way home from conservatory garden in central park. The Lisianthus were beaten up pretty badly. I never buy non-fresh food or flowers. But today, I felt bad for them. So I took them home.

They looked alive again in my new vase.

weekend power salad

2010-06-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

When I make a green salad, I like to add a variety of ingredients as much as possible to give it nutrition and volume.
Flax, sesame and sunflower seeds for topping. Pear&rose vinaigrette. Potato and mushroom frittata.

Steven Alan Bazaar @east hampton

2010-06-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

I shipped my pieces to Steven Alan east hampton store.
Steven Alan BAZAAR
East Hampton
52 Newtown Lane
East Hampton, NY 11937
t: 631-604-1726
Thurs-Sat 10am-7pm　Sun 10am-5pm

Sweet williams in new vases

2010-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

A white vase is such a basic vase which does not bother the color of flowers.

vases with flowers

2010-05-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

bike jumble in park slope

2010-05-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

I produce ceramics and he collects vintage bicycles. Well, the space for them is our struggles.
We join the NY bike jumble as a vender.
There was a street fair at 5 Ave right next to the old stone house where the jumble was.
Bike maniacs came first in the morning and hipsters came afternoon.
A lot of people came to the market and hang out the area.
It is nice to see people into bikes, like people into ceramics.

New glaze test

2010-05-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Studio friend mixed new glaze and I tried it for inside of the vase.
It is very runny but has beautiful bronze sparkle.

Moddified snow white on a new vase

2010-05-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

The snow white formula does not work at my current studio, so I did a couple of tests and tried to lower the melting point. It seemed to work.
I made a sample vase for my new project.

SOFA in NY2010

2010-04-20T04:23:00.000-07:00

I went to SOFA(sculpture objects&functional art)mainly to see some ceramic artists works.

Lucie Rie, Hans Coper's, Ruth Duckworth, Olga de Amaral and Kati Tuominen-Niittylä's works were fantastic.

Spring in Central park

2010-04-19T07:04:00.001-07:00

Look at those beauties!

cup&saucer

2010-04-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

I made cups to go with these serving plates . There are usuall curves in the saucers for use with cups. It is a little frustrating that they don't look as good when you use cup and saucer separately.
hmm...I should make cups which I can use as mugs on their own, right?

my vegetable tacos

2010-03-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

I was a little hungry and tried to make a quick snack, but I ended up making my own corn tortillas.
I bought this heavy stone spice mill at a Thai store a long time ago. Mexican restaurants use simillar mills as bowls for making guacamole. So I do the same!

Mom's florentine

2010-03-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

Florentines are one of my mom's specialties. Our family prefers the caramel part to be a little chewy, not completely hard. I don't know how many florentines I've had in my life. Now my mom is sending them to us - all the way from Japan to NY.

serving plates

2010-03-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

dia;6" useful size for anything!