A Yen For Paper

INSPIRATIONAL JAPANESE PAPER

In one of my first posts, I mentioned one of my favourite washi shops in Tokyo, namely Ozu Washi. I was tremendously fortunate to be able to visit there again in May as well as the Japan Traditional Craft Centre and thought you might like a peak at some of the truly beautiful handmade and hand-dyed paper that I purchased on my most recent trip.
The image above is just a little part of one of my favourite sheets.

But the trouble is that they are all beautiful and funds are limited naturally, so I just have to spend hours browsing, and trying to decide which ones I can't bear to leave behind. This one reminds me of the paintings my children did at the Rudolph Steiner school.

However, the more closely I look at them the more their beauty is revealed.  I can easily spend 3 hours in there and not even notice that time has been passing.

Each one is so different from the last and a work of art really in its own right. That's what makes it so difficult to choose.

I find these papers truly inspiring, but sometimes I find it extremely difficult to cut into a sheet such as this. I feel instead that they should be exhibited in a gallery somewhere.

Please let me know what you think?

BOOK MARKET

Here in Aix en Provence, the first Sunday of the month is the day of the book market in the Place de la Mairie, and as you can see today was no exception.  So I ventured out into the heat of the day to have a little browse around, equipped with my camera and my fan, in a vain attempt to keep cool.

There are various pleasures to be enjoyed here-

admiring and browsing through the beautiful books,

being part of the general community of booklovers,

taking in the surroundings,

and of course the joy of finding old, yet beautiful publications,

complete with wonderful images inside.

APOLOGIES

Apologies to all for the hitch in proceedings.  This was due first of all to busyness and then to a technical hitch with the internet connection here in France.  To make up for it a little, here is a photo taken from the driveway, just to prove I am really in Provence :-)