Spring Etagami

"Aluminum Afternoon Companion"

I sent off and received back my second installment in the Italian/Japanese Etagami exchange.
My latest attempt reads, in Japanese, "Aluminum Afternoon Companion".

In return I got from my Japanese penpal/Etagami-pal this little postcard drawing with the phrase:
"It's already Spring!"

As I wrote last month, there is a very active Japanese association of Etagami enthusiasts that create and exchange small sumi and watercolor drawings....Etagami are small, brush-painted images of daily life married to a short, written comment or poem and they are meant to be sent, or shared with others. This year (and for the first time) they've opened up to an Etagami exchange here in Florence through LAILAC, the local Japanese Cultural association that is acting locally to collect and then send off our cards and distribute them when the returns arrive from Japan. I signed up as of January and will try to draw and exchange a monthly Etagami with this group.

As I mentioned in my earlier post the somewhat childlike drawing quality is due to the technique. A calligraphy brush is used, but held vertically from the very end so just the tip of the brush touches the paper and the brush is hard to strictly control.
They are drawn on washi and the slight bleed of the uncontrolled ink and paint add to the magic and spontaneity.

Regular readers will know of my fondness for coffee and espresso (see my moka genie post: http://rospobio.blogspot.it/2009/11/moka-genie.html...) and I've two coffee-themed prints in the not-quite-past the initial stages. But this was fun to draw and I'm already looking forward to my next try. It's also a treat to be getting a new one in the mail every month as it feels like I'm receiving a little gift. Which I guess is exactly the idea.?