Tag Archives: scrapbook

Three books: various kinda & important for various reasons

Three important book, of various kinds and origins.

1) Taisho/early Showa era commercial art about which I am quite fascinated – plus, the cover reminds me of my wife // this era of Japan before militarism took over and there was for a brief golden time with a burgeoning international mindset, a “jazz age” of sorts, s3xual opennesses and class conventions dissolving. Curious to peruse the book further

2) “Confidential” one of the many journals, scrapbooks, scribble books, diaries etc. I filled up this year with words of course, but also items, dried flowers, artifacts and memos… Reminding myself that I didn’t “publish” a lot beyond my own channels, yet I created a lot of material, it’s just confidential for now // ps seen behind is the Shawn Parkinson designed print issue of Narwhal from Vancouver

3) 70 from my dear sensei Larry Harper who introduced a 17-year-old high school dropout at the community college that creative writing is a noble endeavor and life pursuit. This is his book “70” with appropriately, 70 different components including short plays, poems (long and short), stories of various lengths, and lists – it’s very punk rock as there is no ISBN, UPC barcode, not available on that major international book reseller. And yes, there’s shades of me in here, including a blurb, a riff and an inscription

Accordion-style Postcard Scrapbook hangout (with jazz and sage)

various beloved correspondence, mostly post cards, cards and whatnot, taped and glued with affection, maybe from you

Hangout in the Kura barn while i light sage, spin Ornette Coleman and fill up an accordion-style scrapbook with postcards and other postal treats using various sticky corners, washi tape, double-sided tape, envelopes and odds and ends. No chit-chat (not even my lovely beard), just ambient craft session.

Grab a chair if you want some company or otherwise have a notion.

Post’d: sometimes requires a circuitous route to find a recipient

to an expired address, now-irrelevant archive
Archives mailed 
to an invalid address,
delayed upon transition,
relevance no longer relevant,
however, archive as needed
if needed
affectionately assembled
Remembering shelter from the storm every possible kind in San Francisco, “here are the keys tie use anything you like“
Postcard, written last year, was waiting for an address, now acquired - as such, sent this curious chap on his journey from the scotch and cigar "Drawing Room" at the Majestic Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to a mountain town across the Pacific. Red Velvet jacket not included.

Also: “I find that postcards require something quite beautiful between countries beyond politics and governments In that that little slip of paper touched so many hands making its way from me to you. It carries so many memories and so many intentions…

At first glimpse it’s just a goofy picture scribbled up but that original photo came from me on a meandering healing journey, not all that long after we sat together in San Francisco or I hid out at your house… in the “drawing room” at the Majestic Hotel in kuala lumpur, I made friends with a barman named Sunday (wrote a poem about him), wore a red velvet smoking jacket, drank hot toddys as i picked up a terrible cold on an overnight train from Thailand where i shared a cabin with a Buddhist monk in his saffron robes, a suitcase full of cigarettes and gold watches.

From one Leo to another, we carry-on, gently, kindly and intrepidly”

Scrapbook Session: hand sewn binding, calendar substrates & reconciliation

A conversation about DIY constructing scrapjournals with board game backs, calendar paper fronts, mixed blocks inside, with a side sewing technique. Including: what materials to gather and adding a few treats to start so you “don’t get precious”. 

Arts and Crafts with Peace and Intention

Plus using a Tin Tin calendar as a substrate for a travel scrapbook with a ephemera (coaster, tickets stubs, boarding passes, maps, etc) from Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Greece, Rome , Istanbul (with space for Suez).

Plus a few comments about the Vatican’s reconciliation *campaign* with Indigenous people of current-day Canada. Lighting incense and sage in hopes of sincerity and action.

All from the “Giggling Piglet studio” in a historic storehouse barn in provincial Japan with *Special hellos* to Kim in Austin, Jason in Gifu, Dan in Mass, Vincent in Victoria, Aki in the islands, the students of a school near Yokota, and others along the way.

More Importantcy:

* Indian Residential School Survivor’s Society (donate)

* DownieWenjack foundation (donate)

* First Nations reconciliation & shame of residential school (poem)

Post’d: Brautigan & airplanes towards Tokyo and… “where postcards go”

As the summer days roll by, items arrive by post, I share here for amusement of both you and me and anyone wandering by.

The originals hang on “a string of honour” for a time before finding a home in a scrapbook of sorts.

First stop is a card my darling wife sent on her recent trip to the Noto Peninsula with Ichiro. (Yes, I was home alone for4.5 days yet survived). This was Ichi-kun’s first airplane ride and he was very excited about it, especially since they travelled was on our favourite airline of them all.

Oh i should add a photo of them onboard (in the meanwhile, this diary shares snaps of me and F-i-L hanging out watching them roll in). UPDATE: Here he is on board:

This next handcrafted beauty rounds out at a trifecta of awesomeness (referenced in the cards and letters scrapbook assembly process video if only briefly), remixing Richard Brautigan’s “June 30th June 30th” book in which he travelled to Japan to reconcile his feelings about his dear uncle who died in the Pacific war. SueAn is starting a web shop so i’ll check it out and add a link when ready [update: linked ^^]

While there are a few more meaning to add to this, consider this a placeholder with the cover of the recent accordion-style scrapbook holding postcards and letters with a special note on the front from a friend in Amsterdam (who is like guardian angel for us from afar sometimes).

He sent me a beautiful new journal with this note on the front saying “scrapbook goes here?” Indeed, indeed it does. Thank you. Thank you.

Scrapbook Session: glueing and taping Kyoto stuff (with punk records)

Just hanging out at Giggling Piglet Studios – an historic kura storehouse in provincial Japan – taping and glueing ephemera, snapshots, stamps, postcards etc from a trip to Kyoto for Kominka Summit, plus stops at Gion Post Office and Ginkakuji temple – into an accordion-style scrapbook.

While listening to records by Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop, The Ramones, Husker Du, JFA… maybe something else.

No narration, banter (witty or otherwise) or “action” beyond, playing with papers, scissors, glue, double sided tape and whatnot.

Hang out if you wanna hang out.

(Another) scrapbook for #io / this time: school days

You are no doubt not surprised that adorable son Ichiro’s life is widely documented in a series of analog scrapbooks…

One for the days leading up to his birth, another for early days at home, another for cards and letters received, and so on.

And here’s another one made on a pleasant Sunday with his mom and the dude himself with all the arts and crafts he’s brought home from school as well as some “semi pro” photos taken at his great preschool.

Many/most of the arts and crafts are made with paint/ink and his hand prints/foot prints and turned into some other kind of character, often with a seasonal theme.

Within the photos are many with his classmates (so we won’t share here), as well as a *very special visit* from Santa Claus sporting a very fetching and somehow familiar beard.

Of course, was just recently his second birthday so meaning to share some more artifacts from that time… Did I already do that? I can’t really remember.

Anyway, here’s a scrapbook and here’s the dude for now.

Scrapbook Session: snipping and sort-ganzing, Shimane + Kyoto (with troubadour records)

Sorting, cutting and organizing scrapbook items –  snapshots, insta-photos, fliers, brochures, stamps etc – from trips to Shimane and Kyoto in a historic kura storehouse barn (dubbed “Giggling Piglet Studio”) in Tsuchida, Japan.

Sort-ganizing ephemera from Shimane and Kyoto (with records) and cutting snaps.

While listening to records from Dan Mangan, Bob Dylan, and Courtney Barnett.

No chit-chat, narration or blah blah, just hanging out, playing with scissors, paper, scrapbooks, and cheap cutter knife.

Maybe you wanna hang out too? No big deal.

Stationery in Cinema, vol. 3 (2 ID cards, a painting, a telegram & a letter)

From Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel (i have my own version of this item now)

Due to an affection for stationery, letters, scrapbooks and whatnot, i notice such items when viewing moving pictures. As such, i am often inclined to capture screenshots for my memory.

Sometimes, oddly enough, these are printed and put into scrapbooks in a sorta meta-remix. Either way, to keep these tidbits close at hand, assorted specimen are collected within.

From Miyazaki’s (ummm which one is that? Totoro?) with a Dempo (telegram) being delivered… Yup, love telegrams
The titular (Marvellous) Mrs Maisel character hanging art in her apartment – warms my heart
A radio and air mail envelope from… ummmm maybe The Crown or The Americans (i should take notes, well i did “Alabama” – what does this mean?)
Another radio, can’t recall from where but sure amused by the lovely inky pen details
From one of the versions of GTO Great Teacher Onizuka – not the original, a re-do of some kind, anyhow the point is this great ID card/certificate with luxurious “preferential treatment” translation

Post’d: Condolences and Thanks (on new letterhead!)

A little stack of letters for the post including three of condolences of loss, and two of thanks for contributions to my “stamps and ink” fund via buy me coffee – all of them are written on my [exciting] new homemade letterhead with my engraved 50th birthday present fountain pen.

{I even tried some cursive writing which rendered my already squiggly writing as almost incomprehensible but hey, something about the thought matters…}

Noting not really sending festive cards per se but I’m *always* sending cards and letters so every day is festive, right?

Fondly from Tsuchida cottage

PS eventually you might see what’s in the “Kraft Scrap Note“ book or maybe that will be my special reservation only… It’s kind of special #Mom 

Hopefully made the 2PM cutoff time (was a few minutes late but ya never know…)