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Now it jumps to life, with the base tone for the sea, and interestingly, right away the kimono colour turns 'duller' and loses interest. None of these tones really make sense until everything is in place. It's fun too, that we get both positive and negative bubbles from the one block ...

Overprintings here include the little plant at the left which has become lilac, one at the right which is now very light green, and of course on the grass at the bottom, most of which will receive another touch later, and parts of which will get two more ...

And I think this image is perhaps too small to see it, but a mistake is now visible ... Nothing dramatic, and it will be mostly covered up later, but a mistake nonetheless.

And the second overlay on the turtle:

This uses exactly the same pigment as the undercoat, but a little denser.

OK, this stone is now beginning to roll ... although still pretty slowly! Here's the plan:

• Seki-san goes to Doi-san's home for a 'lesson' in senshafuda : study old samples, and get ideas for how to develop her own designs. That is happening this afternoon (as I type, actually) and I also want to attend, but I can't. I am too busy with the Mystique printing work (which is also her design - Urashima Taro). [Update: photos of the meeting have been added to the Comments section below ...]
• Seki-san goes home and begins to prepare some sample designs. When some sketches are ready, she sends them to David.
• David studies the sketch ideas, and selects three for production.
• Seki-san prepares the three ideas in finished form: sen-gaki (outline drawing) and an iro-mihon (colour mockup), and sends these to David, with copies also going to calligrapher Tauchi-san, the lady who has done all the calligraphy for my recent projects (including the current Mystique series).
• Tauchi-san discusses ideas with Seki-san, and prepares a calligraphy title for each one. Something 'playful' would be good! When they are ready, she sends them to David.
• When David has received the sen-gaki and the calligraphy, he prepares the hanshita (block cutter's drawing), and sends this to carver Sato-san, together with the blank woodblock.
• Sato-san begins carving.
• When Sato-san has finished the key block, he calls David. It is time for iro-sashi (colour separation). Because we have no printer chosen yet, David and Sato-san meet to make these, and decide colour blocks. It . . .
  [Long item has been trimmed at this point. The full blog entry can be viewed here]