On February 15, I was at a charming little house/production studio bathing under the Southern California sun. We had been wanting to do this project for a long time.

The project concept is to create a video featuring a real customer of ours who is learning and enjoying Chigiri-e. The short video will be able to convey a message to the audience and that they can imagine creating Chigiri-e in their own lives.

Anne came all the way from Chicago to help us to implement this project. She was a model student of ours after she found us online in 2017. She always showed a desire to learn new techniques while working constantly to create Chigiri-e motifs. We were so proud to watch her grow into a Chigiri-e expert!

A shelf dedicated to Anne’s Chigiri-e artwork in her house in Tubac, AZ. (These are still only a few of the many!)

We’re rolling!

She spoke in words of her own in front of the cameras.

“A lot of people have asked me what Chigiri-e is and the way I describe it to them is that it is the Japanese art of town paper collage.”

“The thing that differentiates Chigiri-e from regular paper collage has to be the Washi.”

“The [Washi] paper was beautiful – from a touch standpoint very interesting. The way it tears… the feathering was really fascinating.”

“I love that it’s very relaxing, it’s very creative and I can make beautiful things to put in my home.”

Watch the completed video here!

The professional crew of editorial team, director, camera operators, sound engineers, lighting techs and make-up artist did what they were excellent at - film a great video.

After five hours in the air to cross the country, I arrived home well past midnight. The thermometer showed 28 °F. Missed California already!