Conkers, Tattoos and Japanese Marbling
Every September the conkers ripen and fall, just in time for children to fill their pockets as they return to school. On opening they are lustrous like pearls.
I wish there was more I could do with them, that they were edible or would keep their shine. Posts like this do show that, with perseverance, it is possible to come up with ’40 things to do with conkers'. From the strategic placement of conkers to deter spiders, to making spiders out of conkers with pipe cleaners!
I did once try using conkers to deter spiders. I have since read that their spider repelling properties are a myth. I also notice that there are fewer spiders than there used to be anyway. (The rapid reduction in insect populations, why that matters and what we can do about it is well documented in articles like this.)
As a child my parents used to regularly pull over on the motor way to clean the layer of bugs off the car windscreen. It’s not something I’ve ever needed to do. But having learned to appreciate insects over the years, I mourn their loss and hope to see their numbers return.
Though I have no practical use for conkers, I never stop admiring them. Pausing to pick them up and marvel at the deep chestnut shine before replacing them where they fell. The natural pattern on many conkers reminds me of the delicate rings of Suminagashi.
Suminagashi is the ancient Japanese art of paper marbling. The word means ‘ink floating’. Swirling patterns are created by dropping ink on the surface of the water and then transferring that pattern to paper. Practiced in Japan since the 12th Century, this craft has evolved over time. Used for decoration and to create beautiful official documents that could not be forged.
This gallery of ancient Suminagashi, documenting how it was used and how it changed over the centuries, shows what an inspiring and rich art form can emerge from a few simple materials - paper, water, ink...
Art forms never stop evolving and Suminagashi has become an inspiration for the work of Katie Mizuno, a tatoo artist in San Francisco. Her striking designs capture ‘the ephemeral beauty of rippling patterns, frozen in time on skin… creating a timeless aesthetic that flows seamlessly with the body’s natural contours’.
'No form of nature is inferior to art; for the arts imitate natural forms' - Marcus Aurelius.
'Art takes nature as its model' - Aristotle.
Comments