2014 Okinawa Gotochi & More Eco-Craft

Sorry to all my beady friends who may be wondering why so many postcard posts.

I Love Postcrossing!

I'm very active and many of my fellow postcrossers have asked 

about my collection so my blog is taking on a duel duty.

Today I found the NEW 2014 Okinawa Gotochi, and 

I'm sharing the Gotochi from other prefectures I've received since my last share.

 Each prefecture launched a new card for 2014. If you want to check them out you can do so HERE.

So you aren't totally handmade creativity deprived 

here's what I've been working on with the eco-craft band material.

Yep the first one is slanted. 

It hurts my finger to pull it tight enough to keep it square, 

but I got it the second time.

This basket will have handles eventually, but I wanted to share 

the new design inspired by Tammy, a newcomer to our local eco-basket weaving group.

Thanks for the inspiration Tammy.

My birthday is in four days! What shall I do to celebrate my 34th?

UPDATE:  To keep my followers from being overwhelmed by my Gotochi posts I'll add all new Gotochi here.

 Update: 5-29-13

Show me the Soup!

My soup has been simmering for a bit

 so I figure I should show it to you before I begin to create.

My lovely partner for this year's Bead Soup Blog Hop is 

 Carmen Lau author of the blog Little Maketto.

She's such a wonderful woman with kindness and 

creativity spilling into everything I've seen of her.

I should have taken pictures of the packet with it's lovely gold embossed organza bags, but I was in too much of a rush to open it. There is just something about mail delivered to your door that makes opening it an urgent need.

 

 I did capture a bit of the packaging. These cute little paper slips with the bead descriptions.

Now all I have to do is quit wondering what this notch is for and start building my ideas.

She also included yummy Malaysian candies and 2 postcards. (I love postcards!)

One of which was made of wood! Yep, one of my coolest postcards ever and I don't have a picture to show you. I'll get one for you by the reveal...promise.

Thanks so much Carmen. I am thrilled with what you sent.

For those of you who haven't seen it on Little Maketto already here's what I sent.

You'd figure as long as I stared at this lot, added this, took out that to refine 

my selections for this year I'd have a better picture, but here's the best shot of the lot.

 You should still go look at her post. Her pictures are magazine worthy.

Wishing you had some new beads to play with?

 There is a mega celebration & GIVEAWAY going on over at the Silver Parrot.

You should check it out for your chance to win.

I know I will.

There are so many prizes up for grabs. Here's the a sneek peek.
UPDATE:  The contest prizes were to be given out every other day after the 14th, BUT all entries had to be in prior. Sorry for misleading you. I didn't understand. There will be one prize offer for all us who came to the party too late.

Sorry. commenting here will not enter you in the contest, 

but I'd be thrilled to hear from you anyway.

Coral Bingata

As with so much of my inspiration I found this pin on pinterest, 

and unlike the 100s of other pins 

this one stuck in my mind till I completed it.

Only problem is it takes you to a dead end. Fortunately I'm in half a dozen local craft related facebook groups and someone shared information on where she had gone to try her hand at coral bingata. So I pinned this so I had information when I was ready:

But I'm getting ahead of myself. For those of you who don't know what bingata is it is a textile dying technique that either uses wax, a stencil or coral fossil to created the pattern. I've see examples many examples, but my visit to Shuri Ryusen helped me understand how labor intensive the process is.

 The top floor is set up with fabric on a roll where the design elements are added in stages.

I really wish I'd focused more photos on the designs than trying to show the set-up.

Maybe I'll use that as an excuse to visit again. ;)

Anyway on the second floor we received a brief instruction on the process.

Then my husband and I were literally left alone in this room with four tables set up like this.

So of course after trying two of the coral on our table my husband proceeds to try coral from every other table and both the giant coral that had their own table. I'd have never thought to use anything other than what was set before me, but I'm glad he did because every coral was different.

 

This one is as big as a stool!

 

Well, here's what we ended up with. I made a tote bag and he made a t-shirt.

Here are some of the more traditional bingata pieces I have in my home.

 Above is a representation of Shuri Castle and below...

oh I've forgotten what I was told about this one.

I really should learn what that flaming turtle means though.

Next is a tiny snippet of a piece of fabric I bought from Shuri Ryusen.

 Finally some mass produced fabrics mimicking the bingata style.

Hope you enjoyed this. 

If you'd like to learn more there's a great video on youtube.

For those of you who read my Gotochi post at 3min in you'll hear sanshin music.

When you know better you do better, right?

UPDATE: It's not wax, but a starch or seaweed paste that's used to make the blank space in the stencil designs. It can also be piped out (think cake decorating) to make original designs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gotochi: Japanese Prefecture Postcards

As I've been so fortunate to live in Japan for the past few years,

and stumbled across the Gotochi series. 

Each prefecture (which is sort of like a county or district) 

has high quality, shaped, over-sized postcards with 

images that are symbolic of their prefecture.

As I live in Okinawa the southern most prefecture I'll start by showing you those cards.

This is the card from 2009. It shows a shisha or lion dog. You'll see these in pairs at many entries to homes and businesses. I was taught the open mouth of the pair is the male which keeps away negative spirits or energies while the closed mouth or female keeps in good spirits.

(You may see a tiny version in the top corner of the photo. If you buy 5 they give you a mini at my post office. )

This is the 2010 card which shows a goya. It is a very bumpy wonder vegetable that is often mentioned when people talk of the renowned longevity of the Okinawan people and their diet. 

The 2011 card show a Ryukyu dancer. Before Okinawa was governed by Japan it was the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429-1879). This is traditional dress for that time. The lotus hat and bingata textile dyeing technique I could go on and on about, but I'll save that detour for a future post. I will say that back then that yellow of the kimono was special to Okinawa because it was made from the bark of tree that only grew here.

The card of 2012 card is a sanshin and hibiscus. I honestly know next to nothing about this 3 string instrument other than I've been very fortunate to hear it at sunset a few rare times on my walks by the sea. A single local men sitting on a very large rock by the water plays the most serine melodies. It's also common in local summer festivals as well. The hibiscus of course is the flower of Okinawa as it blooms here all year long. (Yes, this gardener LOVES living here!)

The 2013 card shows eisa dancers. I've been fortunate to see this style of performance as a feature of festivals, but also as a side street treat. When walking one night we heard this thunderous, rhythmic sound and followed it a few blocks off the main streets to stumble across a group of eisa dancers. The chanting and drumming is contagiously uplifting. There is also an annual 10,000 eisa festival, but I prefer smaller events to giant crowds.

I do hope the 2014 card is released before we leave the island this summer. I'm excited to see what it will be. In the mean time here are a few I've collected by trading Okinawa Gotochi for those from other prefectures.

click an image to enlarge

 

 

One day I hope to go through all the lovely notes and add for you the information I've received about some of these cards. Until then hope you enjoyed another peek into my world. Oh and sorry facebook friends for the repeat.

The collector in me will sure miss this place.

Yeah, they have seasonal postcards shaped like the old post boxes as well.