New Atelier "1st Floor
Hello, I am Hiroya, a Japanese paper artist who has been renovating his own atelier and has become overly interested in DIY. I really need to make some accessories, though.
It took me about 16 full days to paint the ceiling, walls, floor, and every possible surface of the interior. It was really hard work, but I'm glad I did it and it was fun. Knowing the structure and mechanics of house building, I actually would like to try my hand at building a house someday.
Well, today, I would like to introduce you to our new atelier. It will be a long story, so I will write it in two parts.
The theme of this atelier renovation is "excitement.
This is where Washi artist Hiroya's atelier and his family business, Nakamura Bijutsu Kogei Ltd.
Entranceway. It is said to be a Kyoto machiya built over 100 years ago, but there is nothing quaint about it. It has been repeatedly extended, remodeled, and renovated. However, elements of a machiya such as the low ceilings and eel beds are still present.
Atelier on the first floor. This is primarily a workshop for the family business, with large machinery.
This is how it used to be. I heard that a printing shop used to occupy the building.
This is a paper cutter that cuts paper. It is indispensable for bookbinding.
This is a press. It is like a large iron. 60 x 90 cm can be pressed at once at high temperature. We mainly use it for bonding paper and fabrics that are pressed by heat.
This is an old-fashioned tool for making folded lines on paper. By manually inserting a piece of paper and stepping on the pedal, you can make a crease using the principle of leverage. The round ball in the lower back is made of steel, and the pedal in the front is pressed to make the creases.
Generally, mass-produced products use convenient, fast, and automatic machines, but we do more manual work than mass production, so we make fine adjustments by hand according to the product.
We do not use electricity and rely on our senses. It is my personal favorite tool.
This is a piece of cardboard with stripes. The stripes make it easy to bend. The width of the stripes varies depending on the thickness and what is being made.
This is a flip-up rack for drying printed materials. This also feels dated.It is not used particularly often these days, but I am wondering if it could be used for some kind of display.
The space that used to be the boardroom on the first floor. Shelves will be placed to store paper in the future.
The walls will be covered with washi to represent clouds and the passage of time.
First floor studio, rainbow-colored polka dot room.
It had been hollowed out in a circle for wiring during the electrical work, but the electrician said he would return it to its original state when the work was finished, so I thought it would be cute to make it more colorful, so I asked him to hollow out more randomly and leave it as it was.
Behind the sliding door at the back is an earthen floor for dyeing, etc., a former bathroom that was converted into a storage room, and a toilet.
The polka-dot room will be the workroom for printing.
This is a large Epson inkjet printer that can print on sliding doors. We use it to produce replicas of shrines and temples on contract.
The original was this.
This concludes our tour of the first floor.Next time, we will take you to the 2nd floor.