ABOUT THE BAMBOO GROVE COLLECTION
Bamboo is an integral part of Japan and China.
As an unrivaled building material.
An important element of gardens.
Part of spiritual life.
It symbolizes male wisdom and is the bearer of vital chi energy.
In more expansive Japanese gardens, it appears in the form of groves (hence the name of our collection), not as solitary trees like pines. It thus forms a kind of background scenery in the garden. In fine art, it is often depicted with a rock and an old tree (this is considered to be a perfect composition). Among animals, the tiger often appears with bamboo.
I started painting bamboo in 2014. That is, in the year I started painting "for sale". Along with the Morning under the Sakura collection, it is among the first motifs (besides Japanese animated films and series) that I painted. While the hanami motif has remained practically unchanged, the way I paint bamboos has undergone a long evolution.
I started with a classic black outline and green shading inside. In the very first year, I painted on porcelain, glass, and silk.
However, for this year's collection, Bamboo Grove, I tried TWO new techniques!
For glass products, I picked up a diamond-tipped grinder from Dimapa for the first time (highly recommended!). It's a lightweight tool that looks like a pen. Absolutely ideal for my purposes. The grinding technique gives the bamboo grove depth and airiness, like a subtle shadow behind the actual painting.
I like the ground bamboos on glass candles the most. The actual engraving is practically invisible there, but it will gradually reveal itself as the candle burns down.
For ceramics and porcelain, I tried using Bellisimo glazes fired in a ceramic kiln at 1060 °C for the first time. And it was a great alchemy. Two unsuccessful attempts preceded the usable products. And there is still much to refine. I will try it a little differently next firing. Above all, however, painting with these colors is completely different from what I'm used to. They cannot create such detail, and the color scheme turns out differently on each product. That's why I chose the bamboo grove, for which these "imperfections" suit me.
You can traditionally see the Bamboo Grove collection from this June on porcelain, ceramics, glass, and jewelry.