Spoon & Tamago

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600 octopi made from recycled newspaper by Natsuko Kogure

Japanese artist Natsuko Kogure uses recycled newspaper to create quirky, often humorous sea life. She turns her paper creations into everything from whales and blowfish to sea cucumbers and hermit crabs, often photographing the results on actual beaches. But for an exhibition at Gallery Le Bain in Roppongi that just opened yesterday, the artist is displaying 600 octopi that she’s created over the years.

You can see the colorful creations (hard to believe it’s all newspaper!) through the weekend until August 11.

source: PEN

ArKhe | a beauty salon inspired by Greek philosophy

August 6, 2013 / Johnny / 4 Comments

photos by atsushi ishida /nacasa & partners | click to enlarge

According to Greek philosophy, arkhe was the cosmos or everything, and was often interpreted as referring to the element of water which, in turn, gives life to everything. Based on that concept, architect Moriyuki Ochiai designed a Beauty Salon just east of Tokyo using recyclable aluminum sheets to express the flow of water.

The detachable aluminum reflects light like the sparkling surface of a stream and “fills the space with elegant and sensual curves,” says the architects. “Water is the source of all life, and this space projects an image of clarity as a beauty salon in pursuit of the origin of beauty.”

The flexible aluminum sheets can be easily detached from the ceiling and rearranged. This was also a consideration for the potential of relocating – the can be easily reinstalled in a new location, effectively reducing the cost of moving.

ArKhe has been added to our collection of beauty salon architecture.

source: submission

From Here to There | the art of asking for directions

August 5, 2013 / Johnny / 1 Comment

Outfitted in a souvenir baseball cap and Century 21 shopping bag, Japanese artist Nobutaka Aozaki hits the streets of Manhattan, asking strangers for directions wherever he goes. However, Aozaki is not a tourist nor does he have a horrible sense of direction. This is “From Here to There,” an ongoing art piece in which Aozaki is constructing a map of Manhattan based on hand-drawn directions people create for him.

“Sometimes my destinations come from Japanese guide books but other times they’re just where I’m headed to meet friends or, if I’m hungry, to get a bite to eat,” Aozaki tells us. The NY-based artist isn’t necessarily trying to complete the map. What’s more important is that the artistic process reflects his daily life; almost like a diary.

“But this is becoming a lost form of communication,” Aozaki points out. “Most people just pull out their smartphone and try to show me a map. When this happens I tell them I’ll forgot so please draw me directions!”

Personalize your Suica Penguin with decorative stickers

August 5, 2013 / Johnny / Comments Off

If you’ve ever used public transit in Japan you’ve surely encountered Suica Penguin, the adorable mascot character that appears on the front of the smart card. Designed by illustrator Chiharu Sakazaki, Suica Penguin got it’s name from the onomatopoeic phrase sui-sui, meaning to glide smoothly (through the turnstile).

Now a new set of stickers are giving straphangers a way to personalize their commuter companion. Currently available in 3 categories – wear, music and art – ic Card Wear lets you dress up Suica Penguin. Available in 15 variations (735 yen each) there’s something for everybody including art enthusiasts, revolutionaries and skaters.

the art category places Suica Penguin in well-known works of art.

left: che guevara suica pengion | right: knight suica penguing

left: skater suica pengion | right: statue of liberty suica penguing

source: roomie

New Bicolor Series from SIWA

August 2, 2013 / Johnny / Comments Off

I’m a huge fan of SIWA, the collaborative washi paper project between Naoto Fukasawa and ONAO, a paper maker with over 1000 years of history. Their latest designs, hitting shelves this month, is a limited edition bicolor series that includes a tote bage, iPad holder, book cover and card case. LOVE.

Source: hitspaper

3D Paper Scenes by Shogo Kisara

August 2, 2013 / Johnny / Comments Off

“In Park 2” | photos courtesy shogo kisara

Twenty six-year old paper craft artist Shogo Kisara creates three-dimensional scenes using only paper. Unlike German artist Thomas Demand, who recreates real scenes but with obscured details, Shogo’s scenes are entirely fictional. The colorful, pop-scenes often feature animals and have a humorous or somewhat nostalgic touch to them.

Inspired by the toy paper craft kits often included in kids magazines, Shogo took an interest in paper at a young age. But it wasn’t until 2010 that he got serious, and began constructing elaborate scenes.

“Helping Hands”

“In Park”

“fishing”

“desert and a girl”

Source: takeo paper

Household Ceramics by Michiko Shimada

August 1, 2013 / Maddie / Comments Off

These whimsical, yet simple and sometimes so realistic ceramics are created by Michiko Shimada. Michiko is a Japanese ceramics and product designer who studied at Parsons and established a small ceramics studio in Brooklyn. She takes inspiration from shapes and forms around our everyday life to create household items used in daily life.

Porcelain Twig Spoons

Poison Apple Trinket Box (also available in white & gold!)

Vita Vase

Products by Michiko Shimada are currently available through her Esty store, Still House among other online retailers.

Photos courtesy: Still House, Michiko Shimada

Ballpoint Pen Drawings by Shohei Otomo

August 1, 2013 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Katsuhiro Otomo is a world-renown manga artist best known as the creator of Akira. But did you know that he has a son who is also an amazing artist in his own right? Shohei, as he simply calls himself (perhaps to escape from the hegemony of the Otomo name), creates dauntingly dense and bold illustrations using just 1 tool – a ball point pen. Having started out doodling by pencil, Shohei eventually migrated to ballpoint pen. “I realized that ballpoints are cheap, so I’ve been using them for a while now. I also like drawing bit by bit, and ballpoints are perfect for that.”

Shohei often depicts furyo, or Japanese delinquents. “Their style is so uniquely Japanese,” he explains. “Japanese people can do the “uncool” thing really well. We have the originality of an insular country.”

If you want to see Shohei in action, check out the latest tie-up he did with Pilot, the Japanese stationary company, creating an portrait of epic proportions using only their Justus fountain pen.

source: vice interview | hakuchi

Conic hiragana series made from paper by Makoto Sasao

July 31, 2013 / Johnny / 1 Comment

Each year since 1990 Takeo Paper, a major Japanese paper manufacturer, has hosted a paper art exhibition to select awesomeness in paper. The most recent winner was paper craft artist Makoto Sasao, who wowed the judges with his prize winning entry titled “Togari Hiragana.” Meaning pointed hiragana, Sasao used a single piece of paper to create a 3D representation of each hiragana character that stands up in the shape of a pyramid or cone.

When viewed from the side the objects merely look like paper cut-outs. But when the vantage point is shifted to a birds-eye view, the characters are revealed. “I wanted to create a code,” Sasao said in an interview. “A secret code that looks like nothing but when you follow specific instructions the message is revealed.”

Check out other cool ways people have reinterpreted hiragana.

source: takeo paper

Fine Art and Manga Collide in the quirky colorful world of D[diː]

July 31, 2013 / Johnny / Comments Off

If you’ve been in Tokyo over the last couple years there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the artwork of young, enigmatic illustrator D[diː]. Pronounced simply as you would say the letter D, the female artist chooses to use a pen name because she prefers that her sex, race and age not factor into the way people view her work. However, it’s worth noting that a simple google search reveals almost everything that was intended as obscure.

D[diː] has admitted that she has been a fan of Hayao Miyazaki classics like Laputa and Naussica, and has attributed her interest in art to Studio Ghibli. She began creating manga-style characters in the medium of tempera. Having dropped out from the prestigious Tama Art University, D[diː] went on to create fantastical, colorful prints that are both sweet but also somewhat cynical. Her motifs almost always include animals, or small dolls, which she has explained is an influence from her childhood days when she would talk to her stuffed animals or imaginary friends. But her fantasy friends are now very much real, gracing the covers of everything from iPhones and CD jackets to elevators, t-shirts and bags.