Double Header! Part 2: Classes Continue!

So, moving out of the mythological into present day, and recent events!  This week went by quickly.  Classes are busy as always, and the homework load from the language classes is getting a bit more intense.  But manageable still. My other classes are going smoothly as well.

I've been working on my woodblock printing (はんが - hanga) a lot over the last week, and I hope this one turns out better than the last few.  I like the design a lot more.  I've tried to stick with more traditional designs for this kind of stuff because I think it looks the best.  That and we can only do black and white, so we haven't been able to really go crazy with it yet.  I don't know if we'll be allowed to, either.

 

These are the original drawing and the "final" print
of my second project.  It's got a lot to be desired!
The lines need to be more crisp, the black needs to be
solid instead of half finished.  I did learn a lot about
the process from this attempt though.

 

These two are the wood block used to make the prints seen above.
I added some more waves at sensei's instruction, and I need
to redo my "final" print in hopes of improving the quality.
Sadly, you have to wait for the block to completely dry between
making any edits to it, so while I'm waiting on that one to
dry, I've been working on the sketch for my next effort, seen
on the right.  The trees are very much inspired by Celtic art,
which has a surprising amount in common with Japanese and
East Asian art styles.  The use of intricate line art is very
prevalent in both, and both tend to incorporate repeating
patterns.

In other news!  I just found out for sure that I have a sort of "job-interview" for Tuesday.  There's a family here with a daughter who's like three that is having native English speaking students read to her pretty much around the clock so she'll be bilingual.  There are already three or four other students doing it, but they're looking for more.  So, I'll go try that out on Tuesday!  I guess the pay scale is weird, but the kid is supposedly adorable and the parents are really cool.  So that should be fun!

Also, I'm excited because I've booked my trip to Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima for my November break!  All that's left to do is buy the train tickets and set up travel plans in stone!  It looks like it'll be Sara and I, and we're going to meet one of the Japanese exchange students we made friends with at ISU when we get to Kyoto because she lives down that way.  I'm really excited!  It turned out to be much cheaper than expected, too, so that's a win as well.

I need to get back to studying a bit before bed, but hopefully the Double Header is up to everyone's expectations for these posts!  Take care out there wherever you may be.