Fibers Through Time ~April,2010~ Phoenix, AZ

First a quick apology to my readers for such a long stretch between blogs. Last year I was given the opportunity to participate in an artist's co-op at our local mall. Needless to say I jumped at the chance! Turned out my scarves started selling as quickly as I could make them! But, I have caught up now and vow to blog on a regular basis.

Thanks for sticking with me!

On April 15-18 I was privileged to participate as an instructor at the Arizona Federation of Weavers and Spinners Guilds conference in Phoenix. I was teaching a 2 1/5 day "Taste of Shibori" workshop to 10 participants. They had 4 workshops that required water, so we shared a tent outside. It turned out to be a nice set up that worked well. I was very impressed with the entire conference - they were well organized and I was very comfortable teaching there.


I had 10 students in all and because we were outside everyone had their own 8' table to work on. Really made it easier to work! The way I like to structure this workshop is to give everyone an overview of the techniques, make some samples, and then let them free to explore whichever methods attracted their attention. I always find it fascinating! Here are some of the examples of what they came up with:

Lovely eye candy isn't it?

They really stuck in there even though it was a bit unseasonably warm. Every day there were some who came early and/or stayed late.

One of the things I love about shibori techniques is that no matter how long you practice, there are always new avenues to explore and surprises to discover!

It was a lovely conference - the vendor area was packed with new goodies. And yes, I gave in and brought back a few things to play with. As I try them I will tell you about it. One thing they had was a raffle. Many fiber goodies were donated to the cause and tickets were sold. They even had a Macomber loom as one of the raffle goodies. Trouble was, no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't figure out how to get it in my suitcase. So, I didn't use one of my tickets for the loom but there was plenty of other fun things to try for. I didn't win anything, but my roommate (Susan Wilson) won a pile of old monographs and samples! There was a dinner on Friday at a local Cajun restaurant for the instructors and a grand banquet on Saturday. One of the traditions they have is to gift the instructors with handwoven scarves. It was a lovely undulating twill using the colors of the Phoenix sunset as their inspiration. I want to thank everyone who participated in the weaving for my lovely scarf. I will treasure it.

A New Twist on Shibori

One thing I love about shibori techniques is that they tend to keep evolving. Wrapping cloth around a pole to create designs is a relatively new technique. It was developed in the late 1800's in Japan, and brought to the United States 100 years later by Yoshiko Wada. In Japan a de-barked tree trunk was used, the US adaptation called for plastic plumbing pipe. Many people do not realize there are several ways to wrap the cloth. Many different fiber artist's imagination was fired up with this technique and they are still exploring the possibilities. Judith Content, returning home after a workshop only found an empty wine bottle to work with and found it worked beautifully. Sue Bleiweiss made a video about her technique and posted it on You Tube. This is a much quicker way to get the fabric on the tube and get down to the fun bit - the coloring of the cloth. Sue uses paints for her pieces, but I decided to try it with MX Procion dyes. Here are pictures of the two scarves I made. I think they look great and I plan to make a few more this summer, playing with the technique as I go along. The effect is more subtle than traditional arashi shibori, but is an avenue worth exploring.

Sue Bleiweiss Silk Shibori Demo
Sue Bleiweiss demonstrates her favorite method for painting silk. Note: I know that the volume is a bit low on this video and I hope to correct that by using a portable mike when I shoot the next video.

Cool video!

Shibori T Shirt

For a while now, I have had vision of a TShirt with a vine twirling up the arm, across the back and down the front. Seeing the TShirt in this months swap seemed perfect to try this. The original owner screen printed some leaf shapes down one side of the T.

The next person did some green ombre dyeing to the bottom 25% of the T.
I decided this was a good time to try my vision. I sewed the design using 3 different type of stitches. For the vine I used a foldover running stitch on the arm & back and on the front I used a chevron stitch. The leaves on the arm and back are stitched with a simple running stitch outlining the design. The front leaves I folded in half before stitching half a leaf design.

Then I pulled the stitches tight to form a resist.

Now it is time to dye! I chose to continue the spring green up the arm and down the right side. I put all of the previous ombre dyed area as well as the left side of the shirt in plastic bags and bound them tightly.

After dyeing, washing, drying and removing the stitches I find the effect a bit subtler than I originally envisioned. But, I think the softer design works well against the stronger silk screened side of the T. I can hardly wait to see what everyone else does with this!

Taste of Shibori Class A Fun Way to Spend a Saturday

Yesterday I was privileged to teach a class for the Black Sheep Weavers on the subject of Shibori. Because it was only one day I could only give a taste of the numerous different methods the Japanese have developed over the years to resist fabric prior to dyeing.

I divided the day into 4 traditional resist groups: binding, stitching, binding and clamping, and of course, pole wrapping. I could make a 3-5 day workshop out of any one of these groups so we had to keep a rather quick pace.

Binding:
Essentially this is pinching a bit of cloth and wrapping thread at the base. In Japan a skilled artisan can make thousands of these to create designs. I must admit that I do not have the patience to pursue this, but I do like making circles on the cloth by putting beans or marbles in the cloth and putting a rubber band at the base. Can't get the small designs, but these can look pretty nifty. I also like the variation of taking a bit of the cloth and pulling it through a ring until it is snug and then dyeing. I like to use pony beads or straws cut to about 1" in length. You can put lots of these on a yard of fabric pretty quickly. This is a variation of a Japanese technique that used bamboo rings to create a resist.

Stitching:

One of my favorite techniques. I really like pole wrapping, but when I am doing the hand stitching there is a zen like rhythm to the process. For most of the stitching techniques all you basically use is a simple running stitch. Making rows of running stitches creates the mokume design- which translates to wood grain, a great description for the effect. There are also variations where you fold the fabric and then make a running stitch. Whatever method you choose, the fabric is scrunched on the thread prior to dyeing. This is what creates the resist design.

Fold and Clamp:

This method is one everyone has probably tried - either in art class at school or with some other group of friends. The fabric is folded in a certain way and clamped prior to dyeing. Many times only the edges of the fold are dipped into the dye creating lines on the fabric. Or a board in a smaller but similar shape to the folded fabric is clamped on top and the entire piece is dyed. Here is Jacqueline Gilbert admiring the piece she made using this method.




Pole Wrapping

This is the method many people think of when they think of shibori. Essentially, the fabric is wrapped around a PVC pipe, thread is wrapped around the cloth and the cloth is scrunched on the pipe to form a resist. I then have people soak the pipe in soda ash solution, apply as many colors of dye they want, and wrap plastic around the entire piece to let it set overnight. This insures a better dye set, but it is the most frustrating! I can not see what everyone has done! Hopefully, some of them will share their pieces with me at meetings we both attend, because as a teacher that is one of the best parts - to see what others have done and to have them happy with the process.

The pace of the day was quick, but everyone got to go home with some great samples and a pole wrapped silk scarf. Many people said they were glad that the class covered all the different methods as there were some gaps in their understanding of shibori that they can now understand.

Overall it was an exhausting, but terrific day!

A Taste of Shibori

I am presenting a workshop this weekend on Shibori. Only one day from 10-3 so that is why it is just a taste - I think of it like eating lunch with the free tastings at Costco- they are generous and tasty but not quite a full meal. But, that's all we have time for.

I have been doing various forms of shibori since 1998. Using the book Shibori, The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing by Yoshiki Wada, Mary Kellogg Rice & Jane Barton (which is THE definitive book) I made samples of every technique and kept excellent records. So, I have been having fun going through them. Amazing the information I took away the last time and what I utilized. There was SO much information in that book I think I absorbed and used only a fraction. That fraction has served me well, but it is nice to visit 'my old friends'.

I especially forgot how much I enjoy stitching designs. Ironically, loom shibori was created by Catherine Ellis because she didn't enjoy the stitching process and wanted to recreate the idea on her loom. But, I find it meditative - and a lot easier to carry around! The designs that can be created are endless and beautiful. One of the major kimono pieces I created used strips of 4" wide silk matka - each of which had a different stitched design. My inspiration for this came from an exhibition in Rochester, MI on Japanese Indigo dyeing. One of the kimono's they had was a salesman's sample. Each strip had a different design that the shibori house could recreate- all in different techniques. Now that I am writing this I remember how much I enjoyed carting the strips around and having something to pull out of my purse when those odd moments of idleness occurred. Maybe it's time for another.......

More Loom Shibori....Or the sister is off the loom

Putting a special warp on the loom is always an exciting experience. I like to make at least 2 items per warp and showed the first half of this warp in an earlier post:

Handwoven Loom Controlled Shibori

This week I finished weaving the last 5 yards which I lovingly call 'her sister'. Right now, she is destined to become another shorter kimono. This time I went a bit color crazy with the middle section and most every color is well represented. I enjoy going from the somewhat quiet and contemplative project to one that is more vibrant. To make it even more exciting and I decided to vary the spacing between pull cords : I would throw 6, 9 or 12 shots in between merely depending on my mood. I suspect that after pulling, painting and discharging the shibori 'flames' will look pretty much the same to most people. But, it made for more interesting weaving and reminded me how much I enjoy weaving painted warp with black weft. Perhaps I will follow up by painting the entire warp, not just the middle.

Handwoven Loom Controlled Shibori

Sometimes a customer likes my work, but wants something different. I welcome these challenges - although at times they seem daunting. A customer saw my new silk kimono's and really liked them, but as a petite she needed a different size. She also wanted it to be long and mainly black. Here is the one she tried on :

This one was done entirely with Procion dyes, but the only way to really get a good black on silk is with Acid dyes. So, that is why I decided to use Lanset dyes for the middle warp painted section. I wrote about this last week:
http://artweardesign.blogspot.com/2009/04/warp-painting-with-lanaset-dyes-in-10.html
From there I warped the loom as normal. I had 10" of hand dyed black, 10" warp painted, and 14" of hand dyed black (the extra 4" was to create a band to go on the front center). I used a monks belt threading. After every 12 shots of plain weave in a hand dyed black silk weft I raised either shafts 1-2 or 3-4 and put in a 'junk' weft.

After weaving 5 yards I cut it off the loom and pulled the junk weft tightly and tied it off. The warp (a silk noil from Treenway silks) compressed from 34" on the loom to 4" pulled tightly. In the original kimono, I used thickened dye to 'paint' the top of the compressed fabric - each side got a different color. Because I used dye both colors showed on the fabric. But, using the black any dye I used would be totally lost. Therefore, I decided to use paint and discharge techniques. I lightly painted one side with red fabric paint. The other side I used discharge paste which I steamed. This proved a wee bit trickier than I thought. Naturally, the sample was perfect-but I don't have a professional steamer and the fabric took up most of my steam pot. The paste was quite stubborn in removing the dye. After the first try- with minor success- I repainted the discharge paste on half of the cloth and steamed that. Then I did the other half. This proved to work a bit better. If I were to do more of this, though I definitely would need a bigger steamer.



I never put just one project on the loom - so there is another 5 yards waiting to be woven off. It is also black, warp painted and black. I haven't decided what I want to do with the shibori bits yet, though. I just got some shimmer paints from Pro Chem that I am itching to try, so some of them might just sneak into the next piece.



This technique was created by Catherine Ellis and she graciously shared her ideas with us in a book: Woven Shibori. If you are interested in this technique, I highly suggest adding this book to your collection. I, personally, am looking forward to exploring other ideas on my new (to me) 8 harness loom!

Kimono as Art Exhibit - Canton, Ohio - Eye Candy for Fiber Artists!

I can't think of a better birthday present than the one my husband gave me this year - a trip to Canton, Ohio (a 4 hr. drive each way) to see the Kimono as Art - The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota Exhibit. All I can say is if you even think you might like it - GO! It will only be there until April 26 and who know when or where it will be again?

SOME HISTORY:

In 1937, as a young artist, Itchiku saw a piece of 350 year old fabric in a museum that fascinated him so much he studied it for hours trying to figure out how it was done. It was shibori but it was different -more magnificent than the anything he had ever seen. The technique was called Tsujigahana, but the directions had been lost in time. As with most of us, life got in the way of artistic exploration. He married and was creating kimonos for a living. Then the war. Even as a POW in Siberia he was couldn't shake his memory. When he returned to Tokyo in 1951 he was raising his family and his kimono business began flourishing. But that little scrap of fabric still eluded him.

Then in 1977 - when he was 60 years old - he finally achieved what he considered to be an equivalent piece of fabric. He named his interpretation "Itchiku Tsujigahana" and spent the rest of his life working on his artistic vision of creating kimono's depicting the changing landscape in the four seasons. He fully expected to live to be 120 to realize his full vision (he had plans after the landscapes of creating the universe), but left us in 2003 at the age of 86. The kimono's he left behind are magical.

THE EXHIBIT

Starting with a good example of the work that goes into shibori as well as some fabric to touch the exhibit had a nice 15 minute or so movie depicting Itchiku and his exhibit that was in the Smithsonian over a decade ago.

Then on to the kimono's:

Itchiku wanted the viewer to have a personal experience with his work and the exhibit was generous as the viewer is not hampered by glass between you and the kimono. While, naturally, there is no touching you can bend over and look- getting to within a foot of the fabric to really see it up close! The first half of the exhibit had about 10 different kimono's to enjoy.

But, it was the next part that was so delicious words fail to describe how delightful. You enter the long rectangular room. In a 'U' shape on three sides are 8' tall kimonos arranged cuff to cuff in such a way that they depict one continuous scene - starting with the mountains in the fall and ending with winter. He wanted to do all 4 seasons, but with each kimono taking up to a year to produce time took it's toll. Standing in the middle was a spiritual experience - the majesty of the project and the mastery of the execution was enough to take your breath away. Even people who had no clue how much work went into each kimono were taken aback. You can get some feel for this in this YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6pixh7m2s&feature=PlayList&p=AF72090841EADF51&index=0

So, if you are even thinking this might be a good exhibit to attend , I can pretty well assure you that it will not disappoint.

For a different look at this exhibit here is another blog I found:

http://creativityjourney.blogspot.com/2009/04/kimono-as-art-landscapes-of-itchiku.html

The link to the museum exhibit complete with pictures to whet your appetite and all that stuff you need to know to go (hours, location etc.):

http://kimonoexhibit.com/exhibit.htm

Now, all I need to do is to take a trip to Japan and see the exhibit the way it was truly meant to be seen - at the museum that Itchiku built in the woods for his kimono's!