LITTLE TOKYO OPEN:
DARUMA’S EYE
Role:
Art Direction / Design / Fabrication
A custom hand-crafted mini golf course built for Little Tokyo Mini Open, a pop-up event and call-to-artists from Sustainable Little Tokyo.
The course celebrated the Little Tokyo community of Los Angeles by featuring: recreations of iconic sculptures and monuments, nods to neighborhood favorites, and traditional symbols like the daruma doll, which represented well wishes for the community’s future as well as a token of encouragement for mini-golfers to reach their goal and conquer the course.
DESIGN CONCEPT
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FINAL SURFACE DESIGN
A Daruma doll (達磨) is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism. Regarded as a talisman for good luck, the Daruma doll is a symbol of perseverance, making it a popular gift of encouragement.
When received, the figure's eyes are both blank white. The left eye of the figure is painted when a goal or wish is set. Once the desired goal is achieved, the right eye is filled in.