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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Happy Friday + Randomness

April 12, 2013

Happy Friday! First of all, thank you so much for all the lovely, thoughtful and thought-provoking comments you left on my post about comparison and its thievish-ness. I loved them all and felt like the topic was a seed for future riveting conversations (hence the illustration - I used watercolor and it's from a while ago). ***************************************************************************** There have been a million hilarious conversations between my mom and K in just the last ... Read more

Filed in: illustration, life, watercolor • by sanae • 5 Comments

Have you heard? It’s officially spring…

March 21, 2013

...but I'm not sure if Seattle got the memo. Maybe it's been blown away by the gales of 40mph winds? I would like to wear a kelly green dress and carry a gigantic bouquet of flowers like my watercolor illustration, if weather will permit some day. Yesterday, I had to run some errands in downtown and a little boy about the age of three or four came up to me and handed me a daffodil. A creamy white one with a lemon yellow center. A celebration of the first day of spring. I'd forgotten about ... Read more

Filed in: illustration, life, watercolor • by sanae • 8 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

March 15, 2013

  Happy Friday! Every day, K makes me laugh. I can't possibly record every single utterance, but these were my faves this week: K: I'm so into bugs right now. Me: Oh yeah? K: Yeah, I love books with pictures of bugs with information and all that stuff. Chapter books are so last season ago. ******************************************************************************** K: Mommy, I really want an asteroid. A fluffy one shaped like a ... Read more

Filed in: black and white, illustration, ink, watercolor • by sanae • 4 Comments

Mer-girl

December 18, 2012

This week, I am hunkering down to get the last of my Christmas gifts done and want to make headway on some art projects. I'm getting close. Above is one of my all-time favorite illustrations I did in watercolor many moons ago. I love that the mer-girl is riding a seahorse, exploring through the depths of the sea. One day I want to wander through the world on a trusty steed too, seeking out adventures. Alright, back to hunkering down... ... Read more

Filed in: illustration, watercolor • by sanae • Leave a Comment

Sewing Illo

December 4, 2012

I haven't posted a recent illustration in a while...this here's a wee work in progress. I scanned in a small chalkboard and painted sewing notions with gold watercolor to merge with the scanned image. I'm liking the painted texture against the chalkboard surface. I used Yasutomo Asian watercolors, which are amazing. The pigments are vibrant and a little goes a long way. I have the 6-piece set, but want all the colors! With the magic of Photoshop and a flick of a button, presto! We have ... Read more

Filed in: digital, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 4 Comments

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I just realized that this week marks 10 years sinc I just realized that this week marks 10 years since my first craft book Sewing Happiness was published. I’ve sewn literally thousands of garments and other textile projects in the last decade! I included a Sashiko primer in the book, and I’m delighted that this humble Japanese embroidery practice has stood the test of time - if anything, I’ve noticed that there’s an ever growing enthusiasm for hand stitching. Fun news: I’ll be teaching a virtual Sashiko workshop for @tatterbluelibrary on Thursday, April 30th at noon ET. Link in profile! Would love to see you there! 💙💙💙💙💙
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