I went to see The Importance of Being Earnest, my favourite Oscar Wilde play, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London last week, and took some photos of the beautiful interiors. 
I love the paintings they do on the safety curtains, especially the calligraphic text…
I joined a community sketchbook project run by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY last year, and recently completed my book for the 2012 project.
I chose the subject ‘forks and spoons’ and researched folklore, sayings, and proverbs from all over the world concerning cutlery. I experimented and doodled in the sketchbook in a variety of media, including collage. 
All the sketchbooks in the project will be going on tour around the States, before they’re permanently archived in Brooklyn. Please keep a look out and see if they’re going to be near you. I’d love to hear from you if you see my sketchbook!
My HK toile teasets have been getting a lot of press in Hong Kong recently, thanks to kapok in Wanchai, where you can buy all the ceramic pieces in both colours…
This weekend I went to see Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House in London. It was beautiful, romantic, and also rather frightening. And melodramatic, of course, but that’s what opera is for.
I adored Donna Anna, (I liked her voice the best) who was buxom, amazingly pale and wore a gorgeous deep black velvet flowing gown. Such great style!
A very happy, prosperous and lucky Chinese New Year to you all! May the year of the dragon bring you everything you wish for…
This weekend I went to Liverpool to visit some friends and see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the Tate Gallery. Although the Tenniel illustrations (the ones the story was originally published with) are fabulous, my favourite are those by Tove Jansson (of Moomins fame) and Mervyn Peake (author of Gormenghast). It was great to see so many original documents relating to Lewis Carroll and the original Alice.
my sketch of Lewis Carroll's drawing of Alice Liddell
We walked around the docks in the glorious sunshine and blue skies…
and also enjoyed a drink in the amazing Philharmonic pub. I loved all the period details.
I’ve just come back from a visit to Budapest, where it was chilly but clear, and very relaxing. We visited the castle and walked around the old cobbly streets. I loved the houses all in pretty colours with different architectural details…
I particularly enjoyed the cake shops and cafes, especially this one, with its lovingly restored ceilings and mirrors. Heavenly!
We went to different spa baths every day, and my favourite were the Rudas Baths, a spa dating back to the Ottoman era. No photo of that one unfortunately, but here’s one of the Szechenyi outdoor baths.
Wishing all my readers a very happy, beautiful and creative 2012…
I hope everyone is taking a break, spending time with family and friends, and having some well-deserved tasty treats (here are some I made earlier).
Have a wonderful holiday season….Love from Mariko x
I did the illustrations for the recent one-off special episode ‘River Cottage Christmas’. My drawings were animated in a cosy wintery way. You can see the episode on catch-up for a few weeks here.
