In the same book store, on the same shelf and at the same time that I discovered Kitty Crowther, I also made another discovery by the name of Katsumi Komagata. Katsumi as the name may suggest is a Japanese designer and illustrator, although he insists that he is not an illustrator. Technically it’s true: his work is not touched by any pencil or brush, his images are made entirely of colored paper cutouts. The theme that he explores is almost always nature, or just abstract colour play, are his books in their essence are a visual mediation.

I had the pleasure to do a workshop with Katsumi in 2014, it was a special workshop, so creative and  really fun. (this is what came out). He often does workshops for both children and adults and I really recommend it, for both experienced artists or someone who has never worked in visual arts.

He briefly explained that with the birth of his daughter he was looking for a way to connect with this new arrival, and noticed that she was responding to some shapes he showed her. He created games with colors and shapes for her, and from there began a very unique and rather prolific period of book making.

I could probably fill many pages here speaking about this artist’s work, but instead I recommend holding some of his books in your hands – they are special, often 3D and really unique. I recommend a book called the Little tree, but there so  many to choose from and it’s so personal. His publishing company is called One Stroke, and you can find his books easily in Europe and Japan.

** images are property of the artist