How One Personal Project Led to a Book

Back in 2015, we began a personal project shooting video and photographs of people who are dedicated to unique jobs or hobbies. While doing an internet search we stumbled across Bruce Gardner and the not-so-well-known Japanese tradition of hikaru dorodango, which is the art of making beautiful spheres from mud.

Whether people find dorodango fascinating or completely absurd “mastering it nonetheless requires persistence and skill.” Bruce ought to know, having made hundreds of spheres with various soils, studying the process and creating new ways to produce delicate surface patterns.

The video we made of Bruce became very popular. It was shared around the world and was selected for the National Geographic Short Film Showcase. This was all very cool and very unexpected, but we didn’t think much more about it for a few years, until...

…we received a call from Bruce, who was now contracted to write a book about dorodango for Laurence King Publishing. They wanted us to shoot the images.

We returned to Bruce’s studio in Albuquerque and spent a day producing images, getting dusty, and catching up.

And now we are proud to announce that the Dorodango book is here! It is beautifully designed and full of information on how to make your own, should you be inclined to do so.

“The process is the art” says Bruce. Perhaps it is the same with everything. Follow a path that interests you, get into a flow state, and see what comes your way.

Special thanks to Bruce Gardner and Laurence King Publishing. Dorodango can be found at bookstores and online here.