I have long wanted to be an artist. I never felt like I could paint or draw anywhere near as well as anyone else. I have had great success with origami but I am merely folding what others have designed. My stained glass pieces are as good as anyone else's but only a few are original designs. And each piece takes a lot of time and money.
So, I am very happy to have come across the perfect art form for me: Etegami (picture letter). My high school friend Debbie Patschke Davidson is a master etegami artist.
Here is how she describes etegami:
-" a Japanese art form that everyone can partake in. It translates to "picture letter" and basically consists of drawing a picture and writing something on it, like a proverb, a line of a poem, haiku or simply a description of the picture. Etegami are usually created on postcards and are meant to be sent out not framed! They often depict some ordinary item from everyday life, especially items that bring a particular season to mind."
-Koike is the current president of the Japan Etegami Society, and may rightly be considered the ‘father of the modern etegami movement.’ The etegami motto, which he made famous, is ‘heta de ii, heta ga ii”’This translates roughly to: ‘Clumsiness is not a problem. In fact clumsy etegami are often the most charming!’ Encouraged by this motto, more and more people have taken up etegami as an enjoyable and relaxing pastime.
Well, this is perfect for me!! I am as "heta" as they come and yet when I make an etegami card, I feel a sense of accomplishment and creation! My first one was quite a sophomore effort for st. Patrick's day:
I posted this one on the Etegami Fun Club site and got wonderful feedback. Now almost everywhere I look, I see an etegami in the making. My artistic brain is firing like crazy and I love it.
This has even gotten me to take up this blog site which I abandoned for 3 years.
Here we go!!
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