Monday - August 06, 2007
Amphibian artistry.
Froggy arrived two weeks ago. He is the work of Mr. Hironobu Okazaki, son of the great maki-e artist Koichiro Okazaki. I've been keeping Froggy in a metal case that came with my new eyeglasses. It's his home until I can find someone to sew him a kimono.
Paraphrasing Kevin: The pen is painted with red and black urushi to simulate the grain of red sandalwood, then covered with shuai urushi in orange. Froggy is done with the taka maki-e method, using green urushi and gold powder. Taka maki-e means Froggy is in relief, not flat. The gold powder highlights areas where the sun would naturally fall given his shape.