The Art School of Peterboroough 2009

I took the beginner's drawing class in 2009 at the Art School of Peterborough.
The first project I completed was a drawing of Elvis.
This was using a grid technique that was similar to putting together pieces of a puzzle.


I took a colour photograph, photocopied it into grey scale and used the photocopy as a reference. You draw a grid on the photocopy of the picture, dividing it into precise squares and do the same on a piece of paper. There is a view finder (piece of cardboard with a square cut out in the middle) used to focus on one square of the photo at a time and then you line it up to the location of the square on the paper and draw from what you see through the view finder.

At the end of the class the students had to submit a drawing to display for a public viewing of works from each class .  I chose a photograph of my mother.

Valentine's Day in Japan

Valentine's Day (February 14) is the day women give men chocolates or gifts. Attractively packaged chocolates are widely sold at stores in Japan before Valentine's Day. Japanese women are usually too shy to express their love, so Valentine's Day was thought to be a great opportunity to let women express their feelings.

Women give chocolates (either homemade or store bought) to their loved ones. A "true-love" chocolate is called Honmei-choko.

Chocolate is also given to their bosses, co-workers, or male friends (whom they have no romantic interest in) just as a sign of friendship or gratitude. This is called Giri-choko which means chocolate given because of obligations. The concept of "giri" is very Japanese. It's a mutual obligation that the Japanese follow when dealing with other people. If someone does you a favour, you feel obligated to do something for that person in return.

 A new custom on Valentine's Day is called Gyaku-choko (reverse chocolate). Men give women chocolates on Valentine's Day. Also, Tomo-choko (friendship chocolate) is popular among Japanese girls. They give their friends chocolate on Valentine's Day. 

Men who received chocolates/gifts on Valentine's Day are supposed to return gifts to women on White Day (March 14), a day unique to Japan. Gifts for White Day are usually sweets, i.e. candies or cookies.

Screenshots are from the anime series Super GALS!

Screenshots are from the anime series Fruits Basket

New Year's in Japan

New Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu) is the most important holiday of the year.

Years are traditionally viewed as completely separate, with each new year providing a fresh start. All duties are supposed to be completed by the end of the year, while bonenkai parties ("year forgetting parties") are held with the purpose of leaving the old year's worries and troubles behind.


Homes and entrance gates are decorated with ornaments made of pine, bamboo and plum trees, and clothes and houses are cleaned.

On New Year's eve, toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles), symbolizing longevity, are served.Various kinds of special dishes are served during shogatsu. They include osechi ryori, otoso (sweetened rice wine) and ozoni (a soup with mochi).

January 1 is started by viewing the new year's first sunrise (hatsu-hinode), and traditionally believed to be representative for the whole year that has just commenced. Therefore, the day is supposed be full of joy and free of stress and anger, while everything should be clean and no work should be done.


It is a tradition to visit a shrine or temple during shogatsu (hatsumode). Many people visit a shrine after midnight on December 31 or sometime during the day on January 1. If the weather is good, people often dress up or wear kimono.

Adults give money to children on New Year' Day. It is called "otoshi-dama" or the "new year treasure." The amount of money given depends on the age of the child but is usually the same if there is more than one child so that no one feels slighted. It is not uncommon for amounts greater than 10,000¥($100) to be given.

There are many "good luck" charms associated with the New Year. Cranes and turtles are symbols of longevity and happiness. Houses are decorated with origami cranes to bring peace and happiness to the New Year.

Stores sell sealed "lucky bags" filled with unknown contents to customers, which feature items valued at much more than the price of the bag. These fukubukuro grab bags are so popular, you can see lines of customers waiting to buy them at department stores. 

All screenshots are from the anime series "GALS!" 

Christmas Eve in Japan

Christmas Eve has been hyped by the T.V. media as being a time for romantic miracles. It is seen as a time to be spent with one's boyfriend or girlfriend in a romantic setting, so fancy restaurants and hotels are often booked solid at this time. It is often also a time when girls get to reveal their affections to boys and vice versa. Because of this, extending a girl an invitation to be together on Christmas Eve has very deep, romantic implications. Christmas seems to be closer to the Western concept of St.Valentine's Day.


Christmas presents are exchanged between people with romantic commitments as well as close friends. The presents tend to be 'cute' and often include teddy bears, flowers, and scarves. Sometimes they are slightly expensive because of the relationship to the person to which they are given to. (i.e. rings and other jewelry). Christmas cards are also given to close friends.


For the more elderly couples, many hotels host dinner shows featuring major singers, actors, and actresses. Tickets to these shows, due to the season, are very pricey.


Christmas lighting and displays are often up at the end of October.  There is also a trend developing for make-it-yourself presents. (written by Billy Hammond)

Shōjo Manga

shōjo, shojo, or shoujo manga refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10 and 18. 

The name romanizes the Japanese (shōjo), literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction - often with a strong focus on human and romantic relationships and emotions. Strictly speaking, shōjo manga does not comprise a style or a genre per se, but rather indicates a target demographic. 

(definition taken from Wikipedia)

Shojo Beat, a shōjo manga magazine published by Viz Media in North America from 2005 to 2009.

Some of my favourite shoujo manga are: 

Absolute Boyfriend, Fruits Basket, Fushigi Yugi, Ouran Highschool Host Club, Tokyo Mew Mew (all of these manga have been made into Anime series except for Absolute Boyfriend, it has been made into a short Japanese drama live-action series called "Zettai Kareshi")