Mari's Blog
http://www.orangemari.com/blog/index.php
Optimism
http://www.orangemari.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry120104-192848
Let me go off topic a bit and tell you where I am coming from here. I have never been a good floutist.]]>SHIZENTAI'S EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI RELIEF FUND
http://www.orangemari.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry110311-134334
For every $15 donation you make to one of the following charities, I will mail you a piece of signed artwork made by yours truly.
It might be a sketch or a print, it might be a signed copy of Shizentai, it could even be a hand-painted watercolor. The more you donate, the more you get!
Thanks to all who Donated! Though this art Campaign has ended, I will leave up the following links for anyone who wishes to continue in aiding Japan's relief from this terrible disaster. I will do my best to keep a current list of reputable and efficient organizations that are assisting in recovery efforts:
]]>Are you nonfiction or fiction?
http://www.orangemari.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry110220-221220
Today my dad gave me a terrific birthday present! It's an entirely handmade shelf he put together from pieces of reclaimed floor boards that I picked up from our local green project warehouse. I spent the evening sorting and shelving my poor formerly homeless books, and I have to say, it's a good feeling! ...But then I got to wondering, as I tend to do, about the exact make-up of my bookshelf (which is too tall to show you all of here, but that's the top anyway). After spending way too much time categorizing them I broke it down like this:
Fiction: 4% Nonfiction: 96% A. Japanese Gossip Magazines: 2.01% B. Yearbooks: 2.68% C. Hard-bound Autobiographical Comics: 3.36% D. Martial Arts Books: 5.37% E. Misc. Nonfiction: 5.4% F. Technical Drawing References: 6.71% G. Japanese History/Art History: 8.72% H. Japanese Language: 10.74% I. Sheet Music: 22.15% J. Science: 28.86% --1. Chemistry: 0.67% --2. Geology/Archaeology: 3.36% --3. Biology: 24.83% --4. Botany: 1.34% --5. Entomology: 1.34% (I keep most at work) --6. Books about how to keep field notes: 1.34% --7. Medical: 3.36% --8. Ornithology: 3.36% --9. Mamology: 3.36% --10.Old field notebooks with cool GPS points in them: 4.03% --11.Ecology: 6.7%]]>Karate Posters
http://www.orangemari.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry110109-000726
For the past several months I had been trying to focus on training for my dan exam, which I took and passed back in November. Although, to be honest it was not training alone that has kept me from updating Shizentai. In the past several months I have also been asked to design karate posters for an increasing number of people in my organization. These posters advertise anything from clubs to tournaments, camps and seminars around the country. I do the work for free, although my friends being who they are often treat me to dinner or an unexpected bottle of wine here and there. I especially had fun with this one I helped my friend Joey make the other day. Not only was it fun to make, but he has also waved my participation fee in return for my services! I'm very much looking forward to attending, I am especially interested in the kobudo competition. I myself have no experience whatsoever in that area, but I love to watch others.
I cannot express how much of a blast it's been playing around with old karate photos and making dramatic compilations of them. Though still, as fun as karate posters can be to make, I sometimes run out of ideas. With something like karate, I've found that if I go too over-the-top with my designs the result is something very "McDojo" in terms of the overall message of a poster. At the same time, make one that is too standard and it won't draw people's attention. Also difficult is trying to make something that pleases all of my senpai as well as my sensei and of course, myself at the same time. It's been my pleasure to do of course. As one of the younger members in my dojo I feel an obligation to find my place in helping out. In most areas I think I just get in the way @_@ but I do have a smidgen of time here and there and some small amount of photoshop experience to offer.
