Animals
Year of the Rat Pop-Up Card
This is how Jean created her Year of the Rat (2020) pop-up card. She started with an idea of a scholarly rat in a study surrounded by books, screen, chair and humorous rows of mice with a nearby cat. She then drew all images that she wanted to use in her design. 1. Jean’s paper…
Read MoreYear of the Sheep/Goat
The Goat, or in some countries, the Sheep or Ram, is the eighth animal in the twelve-year Asian zodiac cycle (see dates below). Smart, kind, easy-going and reserved, those born in the Year of the Sheep/Goat have a love of harmony and prefer co-existence to confrontation. The serene and sincere Sheep or Goat will use…
Read MoreJean’s Painted Wooden Animals
During a trip to Myanmar (Burma) back in the 70s, Jean bought a set of artisanally crafted, wooden, hand-painted farm animals at a market in Yangon (Rangoon). Burmese dog, cow and horse wooden animals 2021 Back in Seoul, South Korea, where we lived at the time, Jean had the Burmese wooden horse, cow and dog copied…
Read MoreThe Year of the Horse
The Horse is the seventh animal in the twelve-year Asian Zodiac cycle (see dates below). Those born in the Year of the Horse are always in motion on an endless search. The Horse may reach the ‘ends of the universe’, but will, nonetheless, keep moving on. Matilda the Horse and Blueberries by Jean Tori Always…
Read MoreKorean Folk Art and Laughing Tigers
Living in Seoul, South Korea, during the early 70s, Jean was introduced to Korean folk art. This style of naïve artwork was very graphic in design. Compositions could be simple or intricately decorated with bright colours and patterns, often portraying humour and satire. Korean folk art was based on Shamanism, a religion that believes that…
Read MoreThe Year of the Snake
The Snake is the sixth animal in the twelve-year Asian Zodiac cycle (see dates below). Those born in the Year of the Snake amalgamate intelligence with charm. Although sociable and charismatic, they are also mysterious and one of the most enigmatic of the zodiac signs. The interesting thing is that the cerebral and philosophical Snake enjoys…
Read MoreLeo’s Birthday Adventure Cover Design
Designing the cover of our children’s book “Leo’s Birthday Adventure” was a design adventure of its own. We first chose Jean’s illustration of lighthouses and sailing ship and then added a painted cut-out of Leo the Falcon to best represent the story. We added a Prussian blue background and worked on the title design. Jean drew…
Read MoreLeo’s Birthday Adventure Book Design
The design of our children’s book, “Leo’s Birthday Adventure” was somewhat of a challenge for various reasons. One of the issues was that some of Jean’s paintings were smaller in proportion compared to the size of the book. The solution to the sizing issue was to add details around the paintings. This is an example…
Read MoreDogs and Artwork
Like a painting in a painting, Jean’s artwork with our dogs creates the illusion of an image with furry characters surrounded by colour. Imo and Leo and Bali by Jean Tori The photographs we take of these unusual pairings often transform into collages filled with patterns, textures and colours. Cats and Lupins by Jean Tori…
Read MoreThe Year of the Dragon
The Dragon is the fifth animal in the twelve-year Asian zodiac cycle (see dates below). Dragons are the only sign in the zodiac based on a mythical creature. Although, if you were born in the Year of the Dragon, you would say that this animal was once probably very real, roaming the Great Wall of…
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