GypsyRoses.Org's
Page of Asian Art Inspirations!
Out
of touch with your Asian studies? Never been in touch
with anything Asian? Want to be exposed to Asian Sculpture,
Chinese Painting, Anime, Popular Japanese Snacks, Sushi
and Mandalas all in one feel swoop?! Well, you came
to the right place!
Gypsy~Rose
has been interested in Asian Art for as long as she
can remember. When she was in college
she had the privilege of having a Chinese teacher, (Gan
Xu), that taught a semester of Japanese Art History
and Chinese Art History, both were wonderful! At the
time Gypsy~Rose was also working with clay and getting
interested in tea
ceremonies etc.. she also lived across from
a terrific little Asian store in Portland, ME. :)
Since
college she has still been interested in our Eastern
friends and slowly exposed herself to more of their
culture, in small steps. Below you will find her slow
evolution and self education about Chinese and Japanese
aesthetics as well as some of her inspirations, examples
of her art and some of her favorite online shops that
sell fun goods and Gypsy~Rose's artistic process.
So,
being enveloped in Asian interests, and having the opportunity
to watch and chat with a Tibetan
Monk that her teacher had brought over for a
visit, (that took days to make a sand mandala
and then "released" it into the ocean), Gypsy~Rose
was soaking up all things Asia as quickly as she could.
This page will be a little walk through that segment
of her mind! The links will be to other sites and also
through her works and inspirations.
Some
of her guilty pleasures, at the time, were: Ginseng
Gum, (which she only found out recently, gives
one very "Earthy" breath but she still loves
it!), little Japanese flower candies, fruit
drops, fortune
cookies, rice
pottery out of porcelain and tea.
Her tastes, and personal study of more recent Asian
Art and society have given her a love of new things
like: Gothic
Lolita, (not that she'd wear it but it looks
cute), whole
leaf and Pu-Erh
tea, gaiwans/gai
beis, pocky,
Feng
Shui, Yixing
pottery, throwing
off the hump, (a wheel throwing term... she
hasn't done it much but wants to start), tea
ceremony, (now that she's slightly more educated
about it), norens,
plum
blossoms, lanterns,
inros
and netsukes,
(which are usually attached to the end of an inro's
rope), Chinese
kites, Tibetan
prayer flags, Koi,
Chinese
paintings, bamboo,
rice
balls, (aesthetically, she hasn't eaten any
yet), sushi,
(aesthetically, she doesn't have much of a personal
taste for it). She also enjoys Asian music, geishas
and dance as well as tai
chi, (though she is brand new to it), and pressure
points /acupressure and reflexology,
(once again, new to it but wanting to learn more.
........ 
As
far as some of her more contemporary inspirations, Gypsy~Rose
loves shows like: Samurai
Champloo, (she loves Jin), Fruits
Basket, (Shigure and Kyo are her favorite characters),
Avatar,
Gundam
Wing, (Duo is her favorite character), Inuyasha,
Totoro,
and almost anything by Studio
Ghibli... if nothing but for the gorgeous backgrounds!
Gypsy~Rose
has tried making some of her own Chinese food, also,
just a few basics like her favorite, "General Tso's
Chicken" and her husband's favorite, "Shrimp
with Lobster Sauce". She is a big fan of Americanized
Chinese food like steamed dumplings, spring rolls, chicken
with broccoli and lo mein. She and her husband also
love terriyaki!
A
while ago Gypsy~Rose started on a hunt for the perfect
hanging to go behind her bed on the wall, something
as wide as the bed and about 3' high if possible. She
found a wonderful Koi kite, with two koi forming a yin/yang
symbol, (perfect feng-shui-wise), but the dealer fell
through. she has been searching and searching and found
a few things that almost fit but she has resolved herself
to the fact that she may have to make something, herself,
that will fill the bill...something with koi and bamboo
or plum blossoms.
Now
that Gypsy~Rose is wheel throwing again and loving working
with water based clay, like she used to, she is designing
tea cups and tea
bowls and is very excited to start making them.
Her new mugs, that she just finished painting as of
1/10/09, have sushi and squid on them as well as koi
and she is looking forward to bringing them back to
be divvied up: hers and "for sale". :)
We
hope you have enjoyed your little jaunt into what inspires
much of Gypsy~Rose's brain!
Below
are some links to Inspirations and Shops that Gypsy~Rose
has dealt with as well as some wonderful art she has
found... happy surfing!
