Braving the rain - Strolling through Kyoto's Gion district

Some of you might recognise the pictures from... oh dear, three years ago!? Now there is an article to go with. Written for Taiken Japan: http://taiken.co/single/braving-the-rain-strolling-through-kyotos-gion-district. Enjoy!

Back from Oi Keibajo - Japanese photographic treasures from the past

Yep, I found some treasures again! Come check out this wonderful collection! http://www.bijoucaillou.com/back-from-oi-keibajo-japanese-photographic-treasures-from-the-past/


* PS: Grigori, talking about photography, I got your Essay in a Box and will post pictures soon! I first thought it was a pack of cherry pies and took it to work for my afternoon break delicacy, and then..
:-)))

Best of Tokyo by Night - 8 Sites with Breathtaking Atmosphere

Another article for Taiken Japan, you can find it here: http://taiken.co/single/best-of-tokyo-at-night-8-sights-with-breathtaking-atmosphere
Enjoy!

Still on time for the sakura snow!

Another short article I wrote for Taiken Japan, about one of my favourite places in Tokyo:

http://taiken.co/single/a-different-cherry-blossom-experience-in-yanaka-cemetery

A Sunday morning at the Toshimaen amusement park flea market

http://www.bijoucaillou.com/a-sunday-morning-at-the-toshimaen-amusement-park-flea-market/

Mail art goodies

My mail art activities have now come to a complete standstill but I amazingly still receive the best goodies from my favourite people. I wanted to show you a few of them and to thank you for keeping in touch even when I'm not sending anything out! All of this made me smile and laugh and giggle, you are very talented artists and I'm the usual lucky cookie. I sure am.

A wonderful amended Hokusai from David Stafford, this is what happens before Marie's head explodes, LOL!! (he even got the colours of my jacket and scarf right. Amazing).

Artist Insane Dean needs some fresh air but it seems he doesn't mind the smell of goat cheese. Alright then, chèvre it is. But not just any chèvre. Chèvre-la-Pointe or nothing! On est gourmet...

"So how was your day?" is SO not a rhetorical question, I found out by reading Cheryl's free verse poem. A fantastic read, as is all of Chery'l work, needless to say.

Carina sent such an elegant diptych, I love the composition, colours and textures. And below, a stunning visual poem (sorry for the prominent folds, my scanner is on strike and has been replaced by a camera). Simply beautiful, Carina.

Patti and Dave's latest effort arrived just on time for Christmas, thanks you two! You look so peachy. Aren't we all getting warmer and warmer....

This one is from a few months ago and cost me to lose my favourite barcode art piece (the barcode sink) after a disastrous Facebook bid. Well, I didn't exactly lose it, I got 1Euro for it and it's now somewhere safe in a Finnish forest close to a Finnish lake where it is protected from mosquitoes. So there.

Rebecca Guyver sends a beautiful stitched and painted card and a collaborative boekie. So much visual poetry!

This one is from RCBz. I like it so much I'm thinking of asking him to design the logo for Bijou Caillou who's in desperate need of one.

And more from David (I told you I was spoiled). I love the Authentic Lone envelope, and the dinette, yea, tell me about it, it's all the rage in Japan now and my in-laws insist I should get one. No way.

I said no to the dinette but I quite fancy the small bull calibrator. My birthday is May 16 :-))

Et la cerise sur le gâteau, barcodes now have their own airline!! Barcode Air! OMG. Now that's a cool logo there! :-)) Are they flying to Tokyo? Say they do! I sure have the barcode illness but I'm flying first class so who cares. I'm sure they serve Chèvre crackers.

Arigatoo my friends! And happy new year to all of you!

Panorama

It can get quite poetic on top of the Hancock Tower. And maybe a little lonely too. Or that's just my interpretation of it. Breathtaking nonetheless.
The photos below are by Ming-Ching (that mini tripod is a riot!).

Trash Sunday (12)

Noyau de Prune

Shameless Self-Promotion Thursday (7) - Growing Trees [Books of Ether Vol.4]

Growing Trees is a poem about making roots

in our own garden and extending branches towards

the world outside.

It's about taking care and caring, about the gardeners

that we all are.

Marie Wintzer

Don't second-guess

growing trees

write off

the unanswerable questions

plant every seed

      springing forth - 

      a compatible labyrinth

welcome to the secret world

Cheryl Penn

Fresh from the oven, the collaborative poem Growing Trees, Vol.4 in Books of Ether, is now available for free download at Scribd. Here are a few lines from the poem, and for the full text please visit: https://www.scribd.com/doc/258595673/Growing-Trees

They said to him you don’t take 
care of yourself in the midst of

mimosa madness
    we shall have to get

someone fake to take care
of you/words/paint/roots 
your memory may be wiped 
but your hat was on
I could not see your eyes 
in
Rows upon Rows

    of Phylogenic Trees.

You had a dream
Sit down, I will tell you 
running backwards
with your hair
in your face
in a parallel world
where even Time cannot fly. 
That's nice, but
can we make a living
with those shrubs
or are they only going to grow 
roots-into-blind-pipes?
You know their mirrors 
aren't that acute anymore 
Are you sewed-up? 

collecting shattered glass roots 
hitting dust from books
eagles on wooden cupboards 
mirrored in dirty bowls
everything is off
when we dream backwards
in a discarded house.
Hey Dad
it’s Madison (from a parallel world
       Sans trees) 
how are you
fine, you 
know
fine
a connectionlost. 

Maybe you should see
the Taxman on the Hill
(he irons his electricity bills 
but they don't love him back). 
He too
  lost connection
  lost his mind on the Light Rail 
  lost his wedding ring in the mailbox
  lost a decade of photographs 
  lost all craving for junk food 
  lost the remote while TV was watching him
It won't be long until
Dust relapses into Libraries 

Dance Report - on hiding

hide in the cupboard
a) until your family starts to wonder
b) until your family forgets you
(make choice)


Yoko Ono - Grapefruit, 1964

Collaborative Vispo with Cheryl Penn for Books Of Ether - Sneak Peek 2

As promised, more treats in the new year :-))
And drop by http://an-encyclopedia-of-everything.blogspot.jp for the ever so growing Encyclopedia of Everything!

Trash Sunday (11)