On May Day morning, I woke up to the puzzling combination of an onerous jet lag and a blog post bouncing at my fingertips. In various ways I’m beginning a different chapter, including a new iteration of the Alien Botany art series gestating after a period of recalibration. Plus, this quarter positively brimmed, and in these increasingly unsettled days it’s worth commemorating while I can. The result is this Postus colossus, illustrated with images entirely from my phone; I’m hardly …
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Asakusa Horikazu. This traditional tattoo master is the son of legendary Shodai Horikazu; I had the privilege of spending an afternoon in his private studio to watch and document his work. This method of tattooing repeatedly taps hand-mixed ink into skin with handmade tools: varying numbers of needles bound together at the endpoint of a long handle. It’s hypnotic to watch and, at its best, results in vibrant flesh tableaus akin to embroidered silk. Horikazu works in a traditional Japanese …
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Yesterday, I may have looked a little funny as I carried a Very Big Box across downtown San Mateo, but it didn’t matter because I had a mission. My destination: the post office. The box’s destination: Masumoto city, Japan. I’m supremely delighted to announce that if the box in question reaches its destination safely and you live near Nagano, you’ll be able to buy Alien Botany leggings at Schrödinger’s Closet in a few weeks. I’m honored to be included in this boutique’s …
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