Sometimes, you just have to go back to basics and see if you’ve actually improved or just think so. I pulled this figure detail from the Heiji Monogatari, which details a series of civil wars in ancient Japan between the Heike and Genji clans.
This one, I used light color washes on his clothing, and a bit of peach pink on his flesh. At some point, I flipped this image left-to-right in my library. His sword is on the wrong side.
One more with watercolor washes. Maybe I can actually learn how to do this? If the outline for the soldier looks a little crude, he is fairly small in the original scroll, and I only have a very bad black+white image in my reference. These images will make good scroll for minor archery recognition, I hope.
I understand that your timetable says that your stores should start preparing for Spring and Summer, but really most of us still have needs for winter.
Ever decide in February that your old winter coat really isn’t cutting it? Good luck finding any winter coats in stores!
Ever run out of ice melter in February and you know there are three more storms before thaw? Good luck finding any in stores! Ever have your snow shovel break in February?
Just come on. Stores like hardware stores used to be about selling you relevant supplies you need today, not luxuries like patio furniture you won’t be able to use for three more months.
This emaki (illustrated scroll) presents portraits of the members of the Imperial Guard Cavalry, and is representative of the highly realistic “documentary” style of emaki that flourished in the Kamakura period.
It is interesting because although this emaki is from the time period when the black-and-white hakubyou style was the dominant expression of Yamato-e, it has light washes of color on the clothing of the rider and the tack of the horse.
I have exaggerated the coloring on this copy, but left the horse pure white.
Next, I decided to copy another image from Sesshu‘s “Long Scroll of Landscapes”. Sesshu is one of my favorites, and I bought book about the Long Scroll when I visited the Tokyo National Museum during my first trip to Japan (for the TV show) in 2016. They have an excellent bookstore in the TNM, but I knew that I didn’t have a lot of room for books flying back, so I just bought this one. Anyway, the copies:
This first one is done primary with black ink lines, then some shading in paint (mostly gray) to simulate the light ink washes that Sesshu was great at and I am not.
For this one, I added a little bit of color, mostly from my smaller set of sumi watercolors. I’ve done this kind of thing before, and I really like the effect this produces. It’s less traditional than the pure ink style that Sesshu used, but I like it anyway.
For this last one, I used entirely paint and no ink. Even the black lines a re black paint instead of ink. I was trying out some of the color variations in my larger set of sumi watercolors, some of which I had never used before. The overall effect is a little impressionistic, but I like the way some of the background washes came out.
Back in the Spring, I started teaching myself a new kumihimo braiding pattern. It’s called the “Sankaku-kumi 1” braid. It is #116 in Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise on Braids: Marudai. It is a triangular braid with fifteen strands.
Most marudaibraids have a number of strands that is divisible by four. Eight, sixteen, and 24-strand braids are the most common. Odd-stranded braids are uncommon. I’ve done a 9-strand braid and a 17-strand braid in the past, and I’d love to be able to run a workshop on odd braids. This one seemed like a good candidate.
First, I did the braid in some acrylic yarn I keep around for learning purposes.
First try at the sankaku braid
It’s a pretty thick braid because I used two plies of yarn on each tama. You can see that there are a number of errors in this braid. Most of them seem to be of the “doing the wrong step at the wrong time” kind. There are 9 white strands, and 6 red strands. They are separated into six positions around the marudai: RR WWW RR WWW RR WWW. Each iteration, you move one white strands from each group two positions clockwise, and one red strand from each group one position counter-clockwise.
Second try at the sankaku braid
For the second try, I used cotton crochet thread, and reversed the colors. I don’t think there are any visible errors in this braid. There are some structural twists in it, though, that keep it from being smooth.
Third try at the sankaku braid
For the third try, I went with lace-weight silk yarn. I got started on this, then it sat on the marudai for at least six months. I got side-tracked onto other things and it stared at me accusingly for all that time like a one-eyed daruma doll. For this try, I used back and gold threads for the 6 center strands, plus red and white threads for the 9 outer strands. I did not quite plan out the color pattern well enough, so you can see where two white strands come one after the other. There’s also a big error from when I got started on the braid again and did the wrong thing at the wrong time. I’ve hidden it in the photo, though.
Anyway, this is a nice, fast braid when you don’t take a six month break in the middle of it. I’ll probably give it a rest for a bit, then do a fourth try to lock the pattern into my memory. Once I do that I can create my own instruction sheet and I’ll be ready to teach a class on it.
I was recently inspired to start painting SCA scroll blanks again, like I did (gulp!) six years ago. My first recent efforts were these, traced from a photo I took of some Azalea blooms in Sharon’s garden.
Original images are all about 8.5″x5.5″ in size. These are all done with Sumi ink and watercolors on 9″x12″ hosho paper. I’m still in love with my “Kolinsky small” brush from Kuretake. Preserve the kolinsky!
The third picture is probably the least “medieval Japanese” of all these, but I think it’s the most attractive. It is difficult to get good shading and depth in watercolor, and I’m just not good enough yet. The outline form is a little easier to achieve.
When you buy an actual physical CD from a band you want to support that doesn’t have their music in physical stores, they often include a thank-you note, which is a charming bit of memorabilia.
Thank You note
‘Wintergatan’ is a band from Sweden. Martin Molin is the composer of (all?) their music, and the designer/builder/operator of the musical Marble Machine in this now classic YouTube video. He is currently working on the next generation Marble Machine X, and posting videos of the whole process. I decided to buy a physical copy of their 2013 album to support the process while they can’t get into the studio to record their next album or go on tour.
Such exciting things come out of musicians these days, if you ask me.
Does this sound like something that happened recently?
Initial analysis, repeated by top government officials, indicated that the attack spontaneously arose from a protest. Subsequent investigations showed that the attack was premeditated—although rioters and looters not originally part of the group may have joined in after the attacks began.
At first, the protestors planned a symbolic occupation, in which they would release statements to the press and leave when government security forces came to restore order. This was reflected in placards saying: “Don’t be afraid. We just want to sit in.” When the guards brandished firearms, the protesters retreated, with one telling them, “We don’t mean any harm.” But as it became clear that the guards would not use deadly force and that a large, angry crowd had gathered outside to cheer the occupiers and jeer the hostages, the plan changed.
An organized attack. Anybody who tells you that what happened was as a result of a protest, you should ask them why they think that. That’s the first version of events we heard. That does not seem to explain what happened that night or by the facts or the more facts we get.
Each year, as I acquire new music (Still mostly purchased on CD then ripped to MP3, though an increasing amount of music is only available as digital downloads.), I add new tracks to a yearly playlist for occasional review and December retrospective use. This was 2020 (in order of acquisition):
Bladerunner 2049 Original Soundtrack Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch
Arrival Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Johann Johannsson
The Blue Notebooks Max Richter
Decksanddrumsandrockandroll Propellerheads
Ad Astra Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Max Richter
Asbury Park Live 8/8/13 They Might Be Giants
2020 Zombi
Les Revenants Mogwai
Beethoven or Bust Don Dorsey
Chemical Chords Stereolab
Cloud Atlas Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil
Pieces in a Modern Style 2 William Orbit
Good Morphine
Adrian Legg Live Adrian Legg
Dead Bankers Adrian Legg
The Ambient Collection Art of Noise
Evans City Zombi
Interstellar; Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Hans Zimmer
As usual, lots of soundtracks and old friends. Both Sharon and I adore the movie Arrival, which set off a big Max Richterkick for us this year. Some of the artists I like who have strong followings, but not large enough followings to interest major music outlets, have switched to online self-releasing, like They Might Be Giants and Adrian Legg. Zombi put out their first new album in years, followed by an EP of some work they did for a Night of the Living Dead (Filmed in Evans City, PA. Check out that “Sound Engineer” credit for Sharon’s dad.) tribute event. I also found an online site for a chain of stores in Maine that had a bunch of CDs that have been on my “Wanted” list for years, just to explain some of the older stuff (8 through 13) on here. The Art of Noisealbum was the only thing I saw that I wanted on the new Tower Records online store.
