Travels in Japan: The Wonderful World of Ghibli

There's something magical in Mitaka! Disembark from the train, take a short, suspense-filled stroll through some leafy suburbs and you will be in for a real treat...

OMG! It's Totoro!

...because Mitaka is home to the truly amazing Ghibli museum. But, it's more than a museum, it's a fabulously joyful Ghibli microcosm with fantastical animations, models, artwork, topsy-turvy architecture and lots of opportunities to encounter well loved characters.

Although a supposedly grown up woman (whatever that means), I love cartoons! From the silly crude humour of Family Guy and American Dad to the schmaltzy cheese of Disney (yes, that's me happily singing along in an off key manner to Tangled!). So, as soon as we started talking about Japanese travels Ghibli was top of the list.

Just thinking about this day brings a smile to my face as I remember how emotional I felt to see this wonderful body of creative work presented in such an original, interactive and loving way. On arrival you are welcomed into a lively warm and friendly homage to Totoro, Ponyo, Kiki and their many companions. The spaces that resonated most for me were those which replicated artists studios filled with inks and drawings, books of inspiration and bound rough sketches for the films. Beautiful and so inspiring!

It's not permitted to take photos or recordings within the museum and rightly so! Such a special place can only really be appreciated in person. It's an incredibly immersive experience and I can most thoroughly recommend the trip, even if you do have to travel across the world to get there ;)

I'm leaving you with a handful of photos outside the museum (just a tantalising taster) and a promise for tales of imperial castles and woodland adventures to come.

If you've read this post wondering what on earth I'm talking about, why not give one of these fabulous films a try?! From the story of a girl with magical abilities to communicate with cats through to harrowing tales about war there really is something for everyone and they are all truly beautiful.

Happy times in Ghibli land :)

A Sable Silver’d: or the printmaking class that never was

Back in ye annals of history… Well no, a couple of years ago, I hit one of those uncomfortable phases. A low, a rut, a downer, a funk if you will. I felt like I was drifting aimlessly. My then wonderful bf, now wonderful husband, kept urging me to do something (!!!) – in a supportive way, you understand. However, being a somewhat obstinate creature I plodded onwards with determination for quite sometime in my funk.

Looking back I’m not sure what it was that did it, but the resolve came for me to venture out into the world once more and try my hand at something creative. The dusky environs of evening classes beckoned and I spotted an evening class just down the road in printmaking. I had tried my hand at the same as part of a City and Guild course in Life Drawing and really enjoyed it. I decided the time for action had come!

I was wrong.

Due to insufficient interest the class was cancelled, my cheque was returned and I was sorely disappointed.

That could so easily have been the end of the story. Return of the funk.

Here’s the good news – it was just the beginning! The beginning of a far superior story. The story of how I became a silversmith…