(printing at home) Itsuko Naka

Heute reisen wir virtuell bis nach Japan und schauen uns an wie Itsuko Naka ihre besonderen Collagen erstellt. Sie schneidet ihre Illustrationen aus zuvor bedrucktem Papier und legt dann ihre Motive, inspiriert von der Natur in und um Kyoto, aus den Papieren zusammen.

Today the papercut artist Itsuko Naka takes us into her japanese home where she's working on her collages. She inks the paper before cutting to give it a unique structure and colour and then turns it into nature inspired illustrations.

Hi Itsuko, please introduce yourself and tell us what you do.
Hello, I’m Itsuko Naka and I live in Kyoto, Japan. It is the country with a mountain and the river. I love watching birds, scenery of the seasons and nature all around me.
I get a lot of inspiration from there when making art. I work with the paper I painted and cut and sometimes do silkscreen printing.

Where do you work mostly and is that a temporarily setting or a permanent corner in your home?
I work mostly in a permanent small corner in my home. It is a corner of the bedroom but sometimes I work in temporarily setting (dining table etc.). That differs depending on the work. (The corner in the picture is neatly arranged in the time of not having worked. During work, it is scattered.)

Which equipment and tools do you need for doing your artwork? Where do you store it?
I paint paper in a color with brush, roller, linoleum, piece of wood, crayon and so on.
I put a small shelf beside the desk which usually works and store them there.

A creative process is mostly not done in a certain time. Do you have a place where you can have things laying around when the family is coming home or do you need to put everything away?
I am living by two persons with my husband so I relatively have free time. When work is the middle, it places as it is, without tidying up. It's alright because the space to use is small.

I love paper and collect scraps, books, maps, envelopes and so on. Do you have criteria for collecting things because they can take up so much space… how do you store it?
I don't collect things in particular a lot but I sometimes pick up a stone, leaf, flower, pinecone and so on from the outside. They are displayed in the various places in my home.
Cloth or the art supplies which I used for work production take much space. They are put away in the closet.

How do your family members like your art making at home?
My family supports my art making at home and provides time and the place.
We respect time and space for each to do a favorite thing.

Where can we find you online?
This is my website: www.equaldesign.net
online store is here: www.etsy.com/shop/itsukonaka

Thank you so much Itsuko for taking the time to answer all my questions!