matulika

[matulika]

Jyuunin Toiro This piece was inspired by the Japanese motto,“Jyuunin toiro,” which is used in the novel “I Am a Cat.” The literal translation of this motto is ten people and ten colors. And the meaning is that everyone is different and has their own ideas. In this art, I used complementary colors to express each person's individuality, and in the middle, I drew myself as a painter using all complementary colors. The setting of this art is in a museum, and I chose to do that to show that everyone is an art piece with a unique style.

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A jewel in a dunghill For this piece, I was inspired by the motto, “掃き溜めに鶴” which translates to “Crane in the garbage dump.” And the English version of this motto is “a jewel in a dunghill.” The leading theory is that a beautiful crane descended on a place like a garbage place. The meaning of this is a beautiful person or object in a place where various things are mixed.

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Reach for the Moon This piece was inspired by the Japanese motto “井戸の中の蛙大海を知らずされど空の青さを知る,” and the literal translation is “the frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean, yet he knows the blueness of the sky.” In the beginning, the motto was only “the frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean,” and it had a negative meaning that with a narrow field of view, people would be trapped in a limited world and knowledge. However, later on, “されど空の青さを知る” or “yet he knows the blueness of the sky” was added, which has a positive meaning. This means that because the frog focused on one thing, it was able to understand the deep part of that world.

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【Hawaii Scholastic Art Competition/Gold Key🏆】 Healing Pool This is a portrait drawing of my mother at Makapuu Beach Park in Hawaii, which is known for being full of healing energy where you can purify your mind and body.

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Marine Plastic Poster After starting beach clean-ups, I decided to make key charms from the collected microplastics and donated a portion of the profit to Hawaii. Then, I made a Japanese charity poster to spread awareness about marine plastics for the Hawaii Fair at Hankyu Umeda.

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花鳥風月 For this piece, I illustrated "Kachoufugetsu" or "花鳥風月" in blue colors. 花鳥風月 is comprised of the kanji for flower, bird, wind, and moon. This motto means the beauty of nature. During the Muromachi Period (1336-1573), Zeami Motokiyo, an actor and playwright, wrote Fushi Kaden, a treatise on Noh. This is one of the earliest writing sources that used kachofugetsu, which meant grace or elegance at that time.

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My Four-Leaf Clover Ever since I was a child, my mother's hugs always made me feel happy. This portrait is like a four-leaf clover that brings good luck to me because it reminds me of that feeling.

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Proposal This portrait is a commemorative picture of my parents where my father proposed to my mother with a hibiscus. I drew this as a 20th marriage anniversary gift.

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Wisdom This piece was inspired by the Japanese motto ”三人寄れば文殊の知恵.” This means even ordinary people can come up with good wisdom like Manjushri if three people get together and discuss things. Manjushri is a bodhisattva who represents wisdom. A bodhisattva is a being who attained the highest level of enlightenment but chooses not to go to paradise to help others reach enlightenment. The lion, often depicted with Manjushri Bodhisattva, represents the Buddhist power to overcome obstacles. One person cannot make a star shape. However, three people can, so by making a star shape with three people, I expressed the cooperation of the people and Manjushri Bodhisattva, giving us wisdom.

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Life is Short This collage art was inspired by the Japanese motto, “Shaka mo daruma mo neko mo shakushi mo.” This motto came from a poem by a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, Ikkyu, meaning everyone lives and dies. Now, the motto is shortened to “Neko mo shakushi mo,” meaning “everyone.” I painted all of the characters in the motto at a hanami, a traditional Japanese custom of enjoying the view of cherry blossoms. The reason is that I wanted to express the Japanese feeling that cherry blossoms have a short lifespan, and the ephemerality adds to the beauty of this tree and is a reminder that life is fleeting. The tree is made with pages of a Japanese dictionary and uses a paper punch in the shape of a cherry blossom flower. On the bottom of the flowers, I did a collage depicting the colorful food stands at the hanami.

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Customer is God This piece was inspired by the Japanese motto, “Customer is God.” This motto was created by the feeling of wanting to make the customers happy with the songs and performances. I drew Buddha and Jesus drinking together and Zeus and Amaterasu drinking together and having fun. I wanted to show that people accept and respect other religions in modern Japanese culture. One of the details I added is Jesus's miracle by drawing the waiter pouring water into the glass and showing it changing into wine. I also chose to show Zeus pouring sake for Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun in Japan, and I wanted to illustrate gender equality because, in Japan, women were usually expected to pour for men in the past. Lastly, I also expressed the meaninglessness of discriminating against people based on skin color by illustrating the red and blue demons in Japanese folklore.

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Candle Night This is a still-life drawing that I did focusing on space and form using the unique touch of oil pastel.

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Happy New Year This is an oil pastel drawing of a traditional Japanese New Year's decoration called Kadomatsu, which welcomes the Toshigami, the god of the harvest.

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Staring I chose an old picture of my mom, who did modeling for her friend. For this portrait, I did stippling with the Micron pen.

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Rainbow Drive-In This is a digital environment drawing of the eye-catching restaurant Rainbow Drive-in in Hawaii. I drew this to improve my perspective drawing and placement of highlights and shadows.

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Dreamy Night This is a piece that I made while thinking about my grandmother, who loves owls. Because she is a sweet and quiet person, I wanted to make this piece calming with a cute owl.