This is the last in my series of blog posts showing the pieces I created as part of my tsumami zaiku teaching certification course – though it’s actually the third project that I completed. I chose to hold on to this project for the blog until November because that is when Shichi-go-san is observed, and this set of two kanzashi are intended as a shichi-go-san set.
Shichi-go-san is a children’s festival celebrating the healthy growth of of youngsters. The children are often dressed in traditional garb and young girls wear small kanzashi sets like this one.
When I design autumn kanzashi pieces, I usually chose more earth tone colors – like oranges and yellows that reflect the shifting of leaves, shades of purple or maybe a brick red. But, because this is a child’s kanzashi set it features bright, lucky colors that give this set more of a youthful feel.
I really enjoyed creating this set. I rarely make multi-piece set; this might actually be the second time – the first being my Sailor Moon set. I have a tendency to concentrate on either making lots of small individual pieces, or creating singular big pieces. But, having worked on this set I think I would like to create some sets in the future. Maybe doing four seasonal sets with custom boxes; it’s an idea anyway!
Crafting this set was a bit of a challenge. Not because it was particularly hard or something I’ve never done before – but because sometimes, mentally, starting new pieces is still hard. While working my way through the course work for my certification, I kept having flashes of emotion – especially when finishing pieces – remembering that this time last year I was very sick.
In fact, November of 2023 is when I was officially diagnosed with cervical cancer. And, before we knew how bad it was, there was a lot of fear that maybe this time next year I wouldn’t be here to create new art. Luckily, we learned that my prognosis was good; we caught it a little late, but not too late.
It makes it a little bit difficult to work on new pieces when every time you finish one, you burst into tears. But, at least they are happy tears. I am so happy and proud to have gotten through my treatment and, with the support of SK Arts, to have achieved my long held goal of tsumami zaiku teaching certification.
That said, I hope that soon someone will be able to enjoy wearing this set as much as I have enjoyed making it.
Anyhoo, keep an eye on this page or follow my Instagram for more crafty chill updates – and if you’d like to own a piece of my work feel free to check out the Shop.
