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My Photo in the Art Byte Critique Anniversary Exhibition

This is the photo written about in the post. It's a black and white photo. The bottom third shows a log covered with a group of mushrooms. The rest of the photo shows the surrounding ferns and vegetation. The mushrooms seem to appear in a spotlight.

When selecting what I work I wanted to show at 10: Art Byte Critique Anniversary Exhibition, I knew it had to be something mushroom related. I spent a lot of time looking through photographs of mushrooms I’ve taken through out the years and discovered a photo from a trip I took to Aomori the same year Art Byte Critique was established.

This is the photograph discussed in the article. A black and white photograph. The lower third, has a group of mushrooms on a log in surrounded by dense vegetation. The rest of the photograph has ferns and high bushes. The mushrooms appear to almost be in a spotlight.
Mushrooms in Shirakami Sanchi, originally shot on ILFORD SFX 200 120 film

MUSHROOMS!

Mushrooms became a main theme of my artistic exploration since joining Art Byte Critique. I created mushroom-themed work ranging from macro photography, to artist books, zines and fiction. This photo is my first piece in that exploration. I was doing infrared-type film photography in the Shirakami Sanchi forest in Aomori in 2012. I still remember the light filtering through the beech leaves put the mushrooms in a kind of spotlight. This photo has the kind of fairytale feeling that I try to capture in my photographic work.

The film I used is in Ilford SFX 200 film. I liked shooting forests with this film quite a bit. But to get that amazing infrared effect, I think it worked best for really sunny days. I remember one of the challenges for shooting this day was trying to capture the angle I wanted without leaving the path and tramping all over the forest. I wasn’t (and am still not) sure if we could leave the path for the health of the forest. Some places in Japan are quite strict about that.

Traveling in Aomori with my husband was a pretty special trip as well. We took the Shinkansen to Aomori city then rented a car and explored a lot of the prefecture. Since we went in the autumn, we also got to experience the apple harvest in Aomori prefecture.

Shirakami Sanchi

Shirakami Sanchi overlaps the border of Aormori and Akita prefectures. The area is designated as a UNESCO site and according to the site has  “largest remaining virgin beech forest in East Asia.” The criterion for the area’s selection is actually pretty interesting reading and if you are interested in ecology and conservation, this page is about a 5 minute read.

Last Days for “10”

Monday November 28, 2022 is the last day for “10” Art Byte Critique Anniversary Exhibition. The show is at Launch Pad Gallery which is an easy walk from Ishikawa Cho station in Yokohama. Yokohama’s Chinatown is also near this station, so you could have a great day exploring the area and enjoying art and tasty snacks.

Some of the art work is for sale as well as a selection of art books and zines. I even have The Poison Issue from my MaiNichiMushroom Magazine series on sale.

SHOW DETAILS

Launch Pad Gallery is less than 10 minutes away from Ishikawa Cho station on the Keihin Tohoku Negishi Line. But Launch Pad Gallery has more detailed information for other train lines. For those who like to do their own map navi, the street address is:

5-186-8 ISHIKAWACHO, YOKOHAMA 045-641-1511 

FRI-MON 13:00~19:00/ 金-月 13:00-19:00

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Setting Up “10” the Art Byte Critique Anniversary Exhibition

The Art Byte Critique exhibition “10” is currently showing at Launch Pad Gallery in Yokohama. One thing you may not see when you come to the exhibition is one of ABC’s best features which happens behind the scene— the professionalism and teamwork each member brings to the group. This makes groups events work smoothly.

The exhibition install at Launch Pad Gallery had a two-hour window. Exhibition organizer Deanna Gabiga created a time-lapse video compressing the 2 hour process into a 5 minute video. If you ever wondered what it’s like to set up an art exhibition, check out this video.

Time-lapse 2 Hours in 5 minutes to set up the Art Byte Critique Exhibition

You can read more about the show on on my first post and if you are interested in finding out more about Art Byte Critique you can look on our webpage or our facebook group.

The exhibition runs started November 18, 2022 and ends on November 28, 2022.

Some of the work is for sale at a variety of price points. There are also several art books and zines for sale as well as work seen on the wall.

SHOW DETAILS

Launch Pad Gallery is less than 10 minutes away from Ishikawa Cho station on the Keihin Tohoku Negishi Line. But Launch Pad Gallery has more detailed information for other train lines. For those who like to do their own map navi, the street address is:

5-186-8 ISHIKAWACHO, YOKOHAMA 045-641-1511 

FRI-MON 13:00~19:00/ 金-月 13:00-19:00 (the gallery is closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

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10-FINDING & CELEBRATING ARTIST COMMUNITY with ART BYTE CRITIQUE

ART BYTE CRITIQUE: CREATING AN ARTIST COMMUNITY

Gotta admit, I’m pretty lucky. Creating art can be a lonely endeavour. Having a safe community to discuss one’s work and share ideas is invaluable. For me, Art Byte Critique has been my art home.

Arthur Huang started a meetup which evolved into a more structured, but still open and informal, format that became Art Byte Critique (ABC) . You can read more about the evolution of ABC here. I got to meet a variety of artists who work in such an array of media. We’ve now been a community for 10 years sharing art successes, woes and showing work together. Meetings with this group has helped me grow as an artist and makes my life in Tokyo so much richer.

Arte Byte Critique has been pivotal in connecting artists living in the Tokyo Bay Area and over the decade we have been around, many artists have moved on to other areas around Japan and to other countries around the world and we are so grateful to be able to keep these strong connections going. The participating artists are both local and international artists from a wide variety of nationalities and backgrounds

-Deanna Gabiga
A black and white woodblock print of overlapping concentric circles provides the background for the ART BYTE CRITIQUE 10th Anniversary Exhbition information. November 18-Nov 28 at Launch Pad Gallery in Yokohama.

10—CELEBRATING 10 YEARS!

From November 18 to November 28, join us for 10 at Launch Pad Gallery near Ishikawacho Station in Yokohama. Our 10th anniversary show organized by member Deanna Gabiga of Studio Deanna. This show is a great way to see a variety of work. If you’re an artist, you might even want to join our community!

Some of the work is for sale, just in time to treat yourself or someone special to a unique gift. 🙂

PARTICIPATING ART BYTE CRITIQUE ARTISTS

Arthur Huang – Founder
Mariko Jesse
Julia Nacimento
Timo Wright
Yuko Kamei
Eva Li
Misako Oba
Patty Hudak
Michelle Zacharias
Lori Ono (me!)
Etsuko Sato
Nick West
Natale Adgnot
Yuko Otani
Yoko Kanahama
Janette Maxey
Yiru Sun
Yoneko West (Yoneko Shiraishi)
Caitlin Brutger
Deanna Gabiga
Mia O

SHOW DETAILS

Launch Pad Gallery is less than 10 minutes away from Ishikawa Cho station on the Keihin Tohoku Negishi Line. But Launch Pad Gallery has more detailed information for other train lines. For those who like to do their own map navi, the street address is:

5-186-8 ISHIKAWACHO, YOKOHAMA 045-641-1511

FRI-MON 13:00~19:00/ 金-月 13:00-19:00 (the gallery is closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

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Mushroom Art Book Stop Motion Animation

Another take on the handmade book created mint tin covered in polymer clay decorated with realistic looking mushrooms holds a concertina-style row of water color mushrooms.

I made a series of stop motion videos for three of my mushroom artist books in 2020 for the Vancouver Art Book Fair. The videos give a better sense of the pieces as sculptures.

The Book of Eringi

Eringi (king trumpet mushroom) is probably my favorite mushroom. I love the simple shape plus it’s delicious! This unique concertina-style artist book is made from polymer clay and hand drawn pages. I went through many different drawings for the inner pages before settling on the simple border inspired by the microscopic world.

I was tempted to stop at the maquette stage. I could see the project coming together as I imagined, but I started to worry that I would mess it up and have to start over. This is probably my biggest challenge as an artist.

Size: 80x50x33 mm 
Materials: polymer clay, paper, ink
Finished! The Book of Eringi’s stop motion animation

Pop Out Mushrooms (day)- an Altoid tin mushroom art book

I LOVE Altoid tin art. LOVE it. I wanted to use them somehow in the creation of a book. I covered the outside with polymer clay and made concertina-style inner pages. The folds are not so crisp so when the tin is opened, the mushrooms pop out. The pages took forever to design. I wanted to take some shortcuts and use cut outs from old books, but ultimately I decided to paint the pages with watercolors. Both sides of the page are painted.

Size: 60x42x20 mm 
Materials: polymer clay, paper, ink

A short stop motion animation of Pop Out Mushrooms

Pop Out Night Mushrooms – a glow in the dark version

I really enjoyed making the Pop Out Mushroom piece. Remember I said I LOVE Altoid tin art? Once I saw that I had some glow-in-the-dark polymer clay, I knew what had to happen. The biggest challenge with this piece was working with the glow in the dark paint for the inside pages. It was very difficult to create an even layer of paint. It took many tries before it didn’t look like a gloppy mess in the dark.

Size: 60x42x20 mm 
Materials: polymer clay, paper, ink

Now the Pop Out Night Mushrooms gets its turn!

I’m working on more mushroom art books and zines. I will be adding more posts about making books, but my Book Arts page will form the collection of all my posts. At least that’s the plan for 2022.

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Vancouver Art Book Fair 2020

Art Byte Critique goes international by joining the Vancouver Art Book Fair for 2020. Different book makers and zine artists from around the world are joining in. I think the organizers have done a great job to make the show interactive. When the book fair goes live, many dots on the main screen represent different tables. This does a good job or recreating that feeling of discovery when wandering and searching through a physical venue.

A map of the tables at the Vancouver Art Book Fair with Art Byte Critique’s location highlighted.

Six of Art Byte Critique’s members will be showing work at this venue:
 @lifeasaconsumer
@nickweststudio 
@mariko.jesse
@misakoobaart
@silica.le
@loriono_thespendypencil (my instagram)

Purchasing is available via links to artist’s preferred online shops. The part I’m really excited about, and eager to try, is the chat function where viewers can chat with the artists. I hope that you will check it out.

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Setouchi Art Book Fair

SABF 2019 Information image

I am excited to announce that I am one of eight Art Byte Critique artists participating at the Setouchi Art Book Fair (October 25 – 27, 2019) in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. The book fair coincides with the last weekend of the Setouchi Triennale. Looks like there will be lots of great art books. I’m really looking forward to seeing new books and meeting more creators.

You can check out the Art Byte Critique members’ Instagram posts for possible updates on our projects for the fair.

  • @nickweststudio
  • @loriono_thespendypencil (ME!)
  • @louise.rouse.art
  • @hudakpatty
  • @kan_i_bun44880404
  • @chouchou_red
  • @silica.le
  • @lifeasaconsumer

    • Find out more about the Setouchi Art Book Fair at their website: https://setouchiartbookfair.com or check out their Instagram @setouchi.art.book.fair.

    Image courtesy of https://setouchiartbookfair.com

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    Moonchaser–photography exhibition

    September is moon viewing month in Japan (月見) and I will be sharing selected photos of moon chasing and night photography at Neighbourhood and Coffee Okusawa, a Starbucks Reserve cafe 3 minutes away from the south exit of Jiyugaoka station.

    This ongoing project began in 2012. So far, locations include Japan and the United States. I’m currently working on a book of moon and night photography for the Setouchi Art Book Fair held in Takamatsu as part of the Setouchi Triennial 2019 where I’ll be with Art Byte Critique.

    Enjoy the night, lovely coffee and the great people at Neighbourhood and Coffee.

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    Snow Fences is at Starbucks Okusawa 2 Chome Store in Time for the Heat.

    The photos are up!

    Last night after closing I got to hang the photos while staff prepared the shop for the next day.

    Snow Fences – Crescent Moon

    I want to thanks the staff for being so great and for the manager, Nakano-san for the opportunity.

    If you check out Snow Fences, please feel free to  share pictures and tag me at loriono_thespendypencil on Instagram or @thespendypencil on twitter!

    I hope you enjoy photos of cold snowy days during this hot weather!

    The 2 Chome Starbucks store is a 3 minute walk from Jiyugaoka’s south exit.

    If you see some work that you like, prints are for sale at my web shop. I will change the prints weekly so check out the web shop often. If you are interested in something at Starbucks that you don’t see on the web shop please contact me!

    EDIT: 2020.
    I’m currently taking a break from selling prints from Big Cartel but you can still see some work there. If you’re interested in prints please contact me directly.