Blog Entries

  • Empty Skies: Farewell to Beloved Kite Maker Nobuhiko Yoshizumi
     Originally published on Kitelife.com
    Read more
  • Miniature Kites by Nobuhiko Yoshizumi at Paper Hammer
    Check out this great article in Seattle Art & Performance Quarterly about the Nobuhiko Yoshizumi exhibit opening Wednesday at Paper Hammer in Seattle. We love how they refer to Drachen Foundation, and that they suggest flying kites down escalators and in your cubicle. Brilliant.  And Now for a Few Words from a Miniature Kite
    Read more
  • Pictures of the Floating World from the Skinner Collection
    Scott Skinner has one of the most unique collections of Japanese prints in the world because of his focus on collecting prints with kite images. This collection, however, does not have a corner on uniqueness, as we know of a Seattle collector of Japanese prints who collects only prints with images of cameras.. The point is, when collecting, one should have a focus, trying not to stray too far from the subject matter, so that you build a strong base for the collection.
    Read more
  • The Power of Drachen's Online Archive
    "After 17 years of collecting, studying, documenting, digitizing and finally redesigning a massive website that could not only hold the DF collection, but also the world’s kite collections, I am delighted to share these examples of how the new website is working!" 
    Read more
  • Living Life Like Liz
    The magic of the Checkley family touched many in the kiting world. Beginning with Dave and Dorothea and ending with their daughter Liz, the Checkley's embraced the kiting community, sharing their love of kiting and making friends throughout the world. We will miss them all.
    Read more
  • KIWA Kites on Exhibition in December & January
      For the 6th KIWA Exhibition held in the Kyoto City Museum in April 2011, we devoted space to woodblock printed kites!  This coveted collection of print kites made their way to the United States and are featured in two locations.
    Read more
  • Mokuhanga Wrap Up
    It’s been interesting to see what individuals and organizations find their way to the Drachen Foundation’s doors and it proved out again as interaction at the Foundation led Ali Fujino and I to participate in the first International Mokuhanga Conference (IMC) in Kyoto, Japan. Ali, in learning more about mokuhanga (traditional Japanese woodblock printing on damp paper) attended classes taught by Richard Steiner of KIWA (Kyoto International Woodblock Association), who suggested we take part in IMC.
    Read more
  • Hanga Kite Update
    The word is out in Japan. Hanga Kites will be featured at the 3rd Annual Kyoto International Washi Association (KIWA) Exhibition March 29-April 3, 2011 (www.kiwa.net) as well as at the 1st International Mokuhanga Conference (www.mokuhanga.jp) to be held June 7-13, 2011! Join in the fun... Create a design, cut it out on a woodblock and print it! One or more colors! Your print should not exceed more than 13 x 25 inches in finished size. If you like, spar the kite for flying, but if you do not want to spar it, send the print to us and we will create the kite.
    Read more
  • Yukio Akiyama: the art of origami kitemaking
    It's amazing how something that seems so simple can actually be fairly complicated & meticulous in its construction, and something so small can bring an incredible amount of joy. This is the origami kite world of Mr. Yukio Akiyama, a talented kite designer, kitemaker and author from Japan. This October he travelled to the U.S. to attend his first AKA Convention in Seaside, Oregon, and to teach an origami kitemaking workshop. Yukio Akiyama and his tulip kite
    Read more
  • Bird Kites: Raptors
    A new exhibition, "Birds, Birds, Birds" has just been installed at The World Kite Museum in Long Beach, Washington. It is an exhibit of "Western" bird kites, and is quite timely. Fall bird migration is at its peak on north-south flyways across the globe, and Washington State is a major thoroughfare for birds migrating south from the Arctic. Hearing about this exhibition spurred a look at all the kites in DF's Collection tagged with the keyword, "bird."
    Read more