Scrapbooking Sunday: Crafticism

I made up that word "crafticism" today because certain people were criticizing my hobby, and the actual page I was working on today at my monthly Craft 'n' Chat event. Are they against scrapbooking in general? Are they annoyed because they themselves have done nothing with their photos and then it bothers them to see scrapbookers at work? Do they really think that making "off-handed" remarks about someone else's craft is okay?

Let me just begin by saying that I created this event as a way for women to get out of the house once a month and work on their crafts (whatever they may be) together with other women while chatting about our everyday lives. I suppose it might be necessary to explain that a person's choice in craft should never be criticized during these events. Just because one does not choose to do (fill in the blank here), does not mean that she has the right to criticize it. One would think this would not be necessary to explain to people, but I find that scrapbooking has become a "love it or hate it" type craft.

Whereas one would never think to look at a needle-pointing crafter and say, "What you are doing is absolutely insane, and I would never do that. I mean, in 20 years, people are going to think all your needlepoint projects are hideous and they'll be trash." No, people usually look at the needle-pointer and say, "Wow, that's a lot of work. How cool!"

I haven't done a scrapbook page in several months at a CnC because I was working on some decoupage frames for quite a while. Other times, I had Luka with me and couldn't do much, so I just brought magazines and chatted with people while I paged through my magazines. This time, I prepared 2 lay outs, and I was hoping to work on both. I only got one done, but I was met with much "crafticism."

Here is what they said:
"Your kids are going to rip those pages apart."
"Those pages are going to fall apart in 20 or 30 years."
"Your kids will need certain photos for school projects and will go through your albums, take photos out and then not put them back."

Here is what I say:
Well, you know how when people say really shocking things to you, but you can't say anything right at the moment because you are too shocked, or because right after they say it, they have already moved on to another topic? So, perhaps I will feel better if I defend myself here and now, on my blog.

My albums aren't sitting out for my kids to play with. In fact, I only bring them out once in a while to show them because they are still young. Anyway, the pages are protected with plastic sheet protectors, so they wouldn't actually be able to rip them apart easily. I do make a small-sized album which my kids can touch and play with, but they are all digital pages. We use it as one of their bed-time stories, in fact. This is when digital scrapbooking really comes in handy.

Okay, if my scrapbook pages do indeed fall apart in 20 or 30 years, does that mean I just shouldn't bother? (Kind of like how most people don't bother doing anything with their photos?) The truth is that I enjoy the art of scrapbooking, and I enjoy trying out various techniques on my pages - it is not always for future generations to look at.

Maybe YOUR kids removed photos from your collection and never put them back because you had kids before digital cameras were invented. Fortunately, I have computer files & a scanner. If my kids need a photo, we can scan it and print for them or we can find it in the digital archives and print it off. I do this all the time, even now, with my scrapbook pages from several years ago.

And finally, get off my case! I don't know what the big problem is with people who do NOT scrapbook making comments about people who DO! Events like Craft 'n' Chat should cultivate a non-judgmental atmosphere where women can come together to make progress on their crafts while chatting about whatever they want.

Traveling Tuesdays: Sawara, a piece of heaven

Last week, on Thursday, we went on a field trip with the students visiting from our sister school in Texas. We took them to Narita Temple, and then to nearby Sawara. These are some of the photos I took on that day. I was trying to stay in manual mode, when possible. 

Narita Temple

Just behind the main building of the temple is this display of over 100 monk statues. Apparently, these disciples are here to remind us of our need to let go of our earthly desires.

Behind Narita Temple is a huge park, and this is the view from above.

And, from below. Yusuke thought this was a nice photo because of the clouds and how the tree branches sort of frame the photo.

The teacher who went on this trip with me, Mr. Ishii, took this photo of me. I kind of like how it turned out.

Gotta love those tree canopies.

The most striking thing about this park is the waterfall, and both of the Japanese teachers accompanying us had never known about it, so we just had to show them.

It's a little blurry, but I had never seen a live shrimp before. This one had caught a little fish and was devouring it.

Sawara

Sawara is a small village northeast of Narita, and in June, the irises are in full bloom. This botanical garden houses hundreds of species. It was gorgeous and serene at the same time.

We took a boat ride on the river. The bottom of the boat was covered in tatami, and we had to remove our shoes before getting in.

I have never seen so many lilypads in my life. No cute little cartoonish frogs though.

And, finally, my 2 best photos of the day. I worked hard to get these. Yusuke says I am getting better all the time.

Manic Monday: Photography

I love taking photos, and when I can, I try to do manual. Manual, with my camera, only really works on cloudy days. Sunny days produce stark shadows, and I have not figured out how to get around this. Anyway, when I have a chance, I try to practice what I learned in that photography class I took last year from Candace Stringham.

This was taken late in the day when we had a chance to take a spontaneous walk on the cycling/walking road just in front of our apartment building. Ailin grabbed my sunglasses from me and was striking a pose.

Last weekend, we stopped at a park in Makuhari and I shot some photos of Ailin. It was about 3 or 4pm, so the light wasn't horrible, but you can see the contrast is still a bit stark.

Again, in the same park. She likes to pick flowers for me lately. Chiba is known as the city of flowers, so there are many for her to choose from. I know, these are always part of the landscaping, and technically, she should not be picking them, but it is too darn cute when she says, "Here, Mama."

I have more photos to show but am saving them for tomorrow. We took a field trip last week and I took some nice photos.