Home Sweet Home – Minami Kawasaki

At the National Art Center I found this wonderful grouping by talented Minami Kawasaki, 川崎みなみ (what a fantastic name!), of Joshibi University of Art and Design (女子美術大学). Three wonderfully cute little puppies in felt. Called “Home Sweet Home” I guess this grouping is dangerously close to the uncanny valley for some people but one of the things I have noticed about living in Japan is that you get less sensitive to it. Felt as an artistic medium seems to be on the rise as well, every year I see more and more of it. I couldn’t find anything about Ms. Kawasaki online, again it’s my western perspective but it feels strange that young artists in Japan don’t do more to promote themselves!

Felt Cats – Cat Doll

At Design Festa 2010 I came across these incredibly life like cat dolls made out of felt! The skilled craftsman calls his studio 猫人形の部屋 in Japanese, which has been awkwardly translated as “Room Of Cat Doll” in English.

See more great photos of his finished cats and how he makes them at the official home page. Naturally, it’s all in Japanese, but we learn that his favorite movie is Gattaca and his favorite fruit, grape fruits of course!