Check ‘em out!

Here are some examples of the accessories for sale…

Who knew a 12-hour layover at the airport could be so much fun?  Too bad I discovered the fan-painting area an hour before our flight after walking/sitting watching Friends on my husband’s laptop and playing Nintendo DS for the first 11.

Obviously, I could have thought harder about what to make if I’d had more time.  But as Rody was urging me to hurry or we’d miss the plane, all I could think of was my standard beach scene with flowers.  In retrospect, given the colors available, a sunset scene might have been more appropriate.

Thanks to Rody for helping me out in Photoshop.  I normally don’t resort to such measures, but pastels are a bitch when you want to stay inside the lines…and also, for the second time this month, I came home tired from my day job, decided to work on a painting, and carelessly jabbed a big blob of paint in the middle of the cardboard with an extra paintbrush I was holding but not using.  Normally this would be fixable by painting over the blemish, but with no plans to paint a background in this particular illustration which focuses more on the characters, I was freaking out and wanting to kill myself until Rody came to my rescue.  Who knew Photoshop could make things so easy?  Well, I’m not going to resort to it again unless I have to.  It somehow cheapens the whole painting experience.

In any case, this experiment included all of the 2-dimensional drawing styles I am familiar with: acrylic paints, manga markers, pastels, and now Photoshop.  Whew!  Time for bed.

Coloring is the simplest form of art, and I’m all for it.  In fact, I often make up coloring pages for the kids at the school where I work (mostly of popular characters at their request).  So let me know if there’s a particular coloring page you want to see, and I might just draw one for you!

(Adults and teens welcome as well if they don’t mind being around our 4th, 5th and 6th graders.)  

Lessons conducted in Japanese and English as necessary!  

第一週：マグネット作り

最初のレッスンは簡単な形から始めます。自分の名前や好きな言葉を粘土で書いて、シンプルで可愛いマグネットを作ってみましょう。(ペンダントやブレスレットにしてもOK!)

Week 1: Make a magnet

Starting with easy flat shapes, we’ll learn how to form letters out of clay to make a cute magnet. (You can make it a pendant or bracelet if you want to!) 

第二週：ピカチュウ作り

みんなの大好きなポケモンキャラは実に作りやすい！先生の指導に従って作ってみましょう。

Week 2: Make Pikachu!

The lovable, chubby yellow Pokemon is surprisingly easy to make. We’ll make a figure of him together watching the teacher’s example.   
 

第三週：シーサー作り

シーサーは、ずっとみんなを見守ってるわけさ〜。粘土４〜５色を使って、自分のお家を守ってくれるオリジナルなシーサーを作ってみましょう。

Week 3: Make a seasar

Seasars will always watch over you. You can experiment with many colors of clay and make your own original seasar to watch over your house.  

第四週：自分の好きな動物を作る

沖縄には、ネオパーク、こどもの国など楽しい動物園が沢山あります。一番好きな動物がいたら作ってみましょう〜写真があったら是非持ってきてくださいね。（愛子は、アリクイが好み♡♡）

Week 4: Make your favorite animal at the zoo

Okinawa is home to many zoos, like Neo Park and Kodomonokuni. If you have a favorite animal from the zoo, bring a photo and learn how to make him or her! (AIKO likes the anteaters at Kodomonokuni.)

第五週：人形作り

人形作りは粘土の世界で最も高度なチャレンジですが、上手く出来あがったらその分自慢できるでしょう。自分自身・親友・お母さん・好きなゲームキャラ（マリオとか）を作ってみましょう。（写真忘れないでね！）

Week 5: Make a figure!

You are finally ready to try your hand at making a human-type figure, one of the most difficult challenges known to sculptors and one of the most rewarding when you get it right. Make yourself, your best friend, your mom, or your favorite video game character. Just bring a picture!    

ハイサイ！I’m Aiko Miyamoto, an aspiring writer/illustrator of children’s books from Okinawa, Japan.  This site is a collection of photographs of some drawings, illustrations, and sculptures I’ve done recently.  This should go without saying, but don’t use these images without my permission, as doing so will violate international copyright laws, and worse, make you a bad, bad person.  

To all the good law-abiding people reading, hope you enjoy my pictures!  

Aloha, 

Aiko