Two Fukinagashi lanterns created for the West End Select Shop five year anniversary party.
Andi, the owner was very interested in creating something based on Fukinagashi lanterns as seen in the Sendai Tanabata festival in Japan. I researched how to create the paper flowers and the spherical frame. Armed with a few inspiration images and multiple framing experiments I got to work to create my spin on Fukinagashi with a West End Select Shop sensibility.
Each lantern was wired with an LED light and adorned with dozens of hand cut, folded, and sewn “doodads” along with transparent, iridescent streamers and origami lanterns and flowers.
Balsa framing complete, first quadrant of paper flowers attached. Each globe required hundreds of pieces of paper to be crafted into flowers and wired onto the frame. This was a painstaking and zen like process.