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Here are our finished amigurumi. One member had difficulty with the project so her doll deviated from the original plan. However, they’re all very cute!
Our dolls engage with Tsutsui’s themes of kawaii, elegiac, animism, apocalypse. These themes are frequently seen in Japanese popular culture.
Our amigurumi also plays with Lacan’s theory of “lack” as the creation of the dolls is an attempt to fill the hole left by the loss of the Real.
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Here is Gumi fully finished! I debated on whether or not to give her twin tails as opposed to a different hairstyle. However, to accompany the “kawaii” aesthetic, I opted to give her the twin tails to give her an innocent charm. If I had extra time, I would have added additional details to further emphasize the cuteness of the character.
She is very cute and her colour palette is very reminiscent of watermelon with its green and pink tones. If I had to attribute the colour palette to Gumi’s personality, it would be that she enjoys fresh watermelon in the summer, especially at the beach with her family. The concept may seem cliche, but if this was added into the backstory it would lend itself to the elegiac as Gumi is stuck in a foreign country and has lost the simple summers of her childhood.
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The arms were crocheted separately and will be sewn together using a specific technique to give her a bit more mobility. The head will be sewn on in a similar fashion to allow for poseability for photographs. As the completed project was to be a visual demonstration of ability, I feel these small details will prove useful.
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I usually create my dolls from the head down, but I opted to challenge myself by working from the feet up. I feel this way allowed me to add layering effects. The body, from the feet to the neck, is crocheted in one piece. With larger dolls I create, I make the clothes separately as to be able to create different outfits, but given the nature of this project, I feel having removable clothes would give the doll a negative connotation.
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Here are some photos of the humble beginnings of Gumi. It is a simple head, stuffed with polyester stuffing. At first, the head looks distorted but becomes round as it is filled. The basic shape of the head is created first to ensure the doll will be created with some semblance of proportions.
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My character Hana is finally done, not bad for a first-time crocheter. I had to put her in a pot or else she wouldn’t stay upright, I also think the plant pot makes my character look more kawaii. My character is based on the Pacific dogwood flower, although to some it might look more like a daisy. My character was designed to include the themes of kawaii, animism, elegiac, and apocalypse often found in Japanese pop culture. The making of amigurumi can also be related back to the Lacanian theory of lack which stipulates that the “lack” is the result of not being able to go back to the “real,” or in other words the time before language. The lack is a constant need to go back to that time, but our ultimate failure to do so, leading people to try to fill this hole by doing activities, practicing consumerism, etc.
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Kawaii onigiri - had a lot of fun making this little guy!
I went to Walmart and the Dollarstore to get what I needed. I bought black and white felt for the rice and eyes, some pink yarn for the Kawaii blushed cheeks, sewing needles, black thread, work glue and a green ribbon for the seaweed.
t was very difficult for my hands to crochet because of a past injury. In the future, I’ll need to keep that in mind. I tried to not let it discourage me, talked with my group about changing my character, and moved forward with the Onigiri, which worked out well for me, and I really enjoyed making it!
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My character Hana is still a work in progress, but she’s coming along. So far I’ve made the head, attached the eyes, and made three of the flowers petals. What I still need to do is make three more petals, a stem, vines, sew on the mouth, and find a tiny pot to house my flower. I hope to have my character completed by Sunday, April 8th, 2018.
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This is the design for my amigurumi character Hana. Based on a Pacific dogwood flower my design has six white petals, green vines, and a yellow face with eyes and a mouth. The materials I plan to use for my character are Yellow yarn, green yarn, white yarn, brown yarn, a crochet hook, and thin metal to insert into the stem to make it more pliable. My character will be free floating and move through levitation.
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Backstory
We approached this project similar to creating an anime. We wanted to have a backstory in order to enhance the characters and character design while creating a setting and world in which to centre them.
Setting: Vancouver Island
Characters: Hana, Kuma, Gumi Aminaka
Summary: Gumi Aminaka is a 16-year-old girl from Japan who comes to Canada as an exchange student. A mysterious apocalypse event happens that allows Hana, a Pacific dogwood flower to become animated and speak, and allows Kuma, a Spirit Bear, to communicate with humans. Cut off from the outside world, Hana and Kuma help Gumi try to find her way home as they uncover the mysterious apocalypse.
Themes: kawaii, apocalypse, animism, elegiac, monstrosity
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Gumi
Here is Gumi Aminaka’s design. I chose her name based on the kanji character 網 which is present in “amigurumi”. Her name “網中 ぐみ” (Aminaka Gumi) is a play on the word “amigurumi”, which is Japanese for crochet stuffed toy.
Her design incorporated William Tsutsui’s recognition of “kawaii” in Japanese pop culture. Additionally, the creation of the doll is reminiscent of Lacan’s theory of “lack” as the process of creation is an attempt to fill the incompleteness due to the loss of the Real. A yearning for a simpler time is demonstrated by her childish design. The tactile quality of the doll lends to this effect.
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Kuma
(Image Credit: B.C. Symbols)
Kuma is based on the Spirit/Kermode Bear, which is British Columbia’s provincial mammal.
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Hana
(Image Credit: B.C. Symbols)
Hana is based on the Pacific Dogwood flower, which is British Columbia’s provincial flower.
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About
This blog is part of a group project for MEDI 215 a class about East Asian culture, at Vancouver Island University. For our project, we plan to make crochet amigurumi characters that include local imagery with kawaii designs. We decided on three characters Gumi Aminaka, Hana, and Kuma.
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