Last month, my tsumami zaiku work was exhibited in the AJC Creators Contest in Tokyo. So I would like to introduce my 2024 AJC Creators Contest entry items. It’s a wonderful journey with the AJC in the 2024 spring.

My work name was “Years of Sea and Mountains”, I used Japanese paper to make the sea and mountains, and made the Japanese paradise flycatcher by using the tsumami zaiku technique.

First I made the double-thickness Japanese paper with glue and then drew 55 pieces of sea and 15 pieces of mountain patterns on the paper, finally will cut along the lines with hand-carved paper with a carving knife.

I need to use the white acrylic color to make the base color like the texture painting and make the sea and mountains color with pearlescence pigment.

The sea pattern is decorated with 1500 pieces of pure and extraordinary Austria Swarovski crystal diamond, revealing its noble and flamboyant.

I want to make the bird vivid, so I used the 3 Momme Japanese habutae to do it, more than 500 pieces of 1cm~1.5cm square habutae to make it by ken tsumami and maru tsumami, it’s all of the basic techniques for tsumami zaiku.

This is an ambitious piece of work. And I hope the necklace was like the water flowing through the neck, lithe and graceful. The Japanese paradise flycatcher contains the meaning of harmony and auspice.

And it sounds like a Japanese “moon, sun, stars”, it’s like Light and shade come in swift alternation; Days and months flash by as quickly as a weaver’s shuttle. Light travels like an arrow, and time links. But the sea and mountains are imperishable and indestructible and thus eternal.

It’s my first time in AJC with tsumami zaiku and I hope I can join the journey every year with the tsumami zaiku!