Up on the Hill

Hey everyone! How was your week so far? I'm so glad it's Friday. It's been a wild week for me. The little painting above was finished a while ago and inspired by Alexander McQueen's Fall 2009 collection.

My hubby took me to see the Studio Ghibli movie "From Up On Poppy Hill" today. I really enjoyed it!  It was a very tender and heart wrenching film. If you live in Houston it is only playing at the Sundance Cinema downtown. You should definitely go see it before it goes away! I love Japanese animation so much. Studio Ghibli movies are some of my main inspirations for my art work.




From the legendary and highly celebrated Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Ponyo, and The Secret World of Arrietty) comes From Up on Poppy Hill, the uniquely inspired and highly anticipated coming-of-age story from Goro Miyazaki and Hayao Miyazaki.

Set in Yokohama in 1963, this lovingly hand-drawn film centers on Umi (voiced by Sarah Bolger) and Shun (voiced by Anton Yelchin) and the budding romance that develops as they join forces to save their high school’s ramshackle clubhouse from demolition. The top-grossing Japanese film of 2011 and winner of the Japan Academy Prize for Animation, From Up on Poppy Hill captures the innocence of new love as well as the beauty of Yokohama’s harbor and lush surroundings. With its rich color palette, stunning exteriors, sun-drenched gardens, bustling cityscapes and painterly detail, From Up on Poppy Hill provides a pure, sincere, and nuanced evocation of the past, and marks yet another creative triumph for Studio Ghibli.

There is a list of the showtimes in theaters across the US on their Facebook. Don't miss out on a great film!

One Thousand Paper Cranes

I was inspired to make this small painting by Christian Dior's Spring 2007 Haute Couture collection. His crane dresses reminded me of a famous story from Japan called "1000 Paper Cranes." It was written into a book titled "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." I read this book when I was in elementary school and thought it was extremely profound. It was one of the stories that really touched me as a child. I will never forget it. This is the kind of book that continues to haunt you long after its put down.

An old Japanese legend said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes so pleases the gods, the folder is granted a wish.  One of the well know story is Sadako and her 1,000 paper cranes.

Sadako Sasaki (January 7, 1943 – October 25, 1955) was a Japanese girl who lived near Hiroshima, Japan. She was only two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.  As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1954, at age eleven, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease".

Sadako's best friend Chizuko, came to visit her and brought with her some origami (folding paper). She told Sadako the legend of the crane. It is Japanese legend that folding 1000 paper cranes (senzaburu) so pleases the gods that the folder is granted a wish. Sadako wished to get well. So, after hearing the legend, Sadako decided to fold 1,000 cranes.

After she folded 500 cranes she felt better and the doctors said she could go home for a short time, but by the end of the first week back home the dizziness and fatigue returned and she had to return to the hospital. 
Sadako continued to fold cranes. Even though she was in great pain, she tried to be cheerful and hopeful. Not long afterwards, with her family standing by her bed, Sadako went to sleep peacefully, never to wake up again. She had folded a total of 644 paper cranes.

Sadako's story had a profound impact on her friends and classmates. They completed her thousand cranes and continued to raise money from school children all over Japan to build a statue to honor Sadako and all the children affected by the bomb.

Chrysanthemum

I recently sold this painting and never got a chance to take some pictures of it. It's inspired by ancient East Asian art. The dress is from Elie Saab S/S Haute Couture 2012. I am in love with this collection. When I saw this dress I knew that I had to create a painting for it. The dress itself is a work of art to me. I love the floral and spring themes in this collection. I'm so happy that now this painting will in hung in a loving home :) I love this collection so much that I plan to make some more paintings with the dresses.

Perhaps these: