Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Obi Dyeing Challenge: Australia's 4 Seasons 帯を染める挑戦-オーストラリアの四季

For the first time, during this May and June, the Kyoto Seika Textiles department ran an obi dyeing class for the second year students. The project brief was to dye an Obi with the theme of the four seasons. You were allowed to focus on just one or all four of the seasons and could utilise katazome or yuzen techniques.
この六月、京都精華大学のテキスタイルコースが始めて二年生のために帯を作る授業を行いました。テーマは日本の四季で、型染や友禅染の技法をどちらも利用できました。

Myself and another Master's student, as well as one exchange student from Finland managed to join in with the class. I was given permission to focus on Australia's four seasons as my theme.
私ともう1人の大学院生とフィンランド出身の留学生が参加させてもらいました。オーストラリアの四季をテーマにしてもかまわないと言われました。

Whilst Australia (well, where I'm from at least) does have four distinct seasons, we aren't conscious of these changes in the same way that Japanese people are. Seasons and very subtle changes in between the standard four seasons are celebrated and marked in all kinds of ways in Japan: sweets are made in seasonal shapes such as cherry-blossom petals or hydrangea or pine needles, people send particular fruits and vegetables as seasonal gifts, imagery in Japanese art is tied up with symbolic seasonal combinations like Red leaves and a clear moon for autumn or morning glories and dragonflies for summer.etc etc
オーストラリアには(とくに自家があるキャンベラには)はっきりしている四季がありますが、日本人のように意識していないです。日本では、季節の移り変わりや微妙な違さは色々な場面で見えます。桜やアジサイの和菓子、お中元やお歳暮に旬の果物などを贈る、日本画に季節のシンボルがいっぱい使われているとか。

Japanese sweet I had just last week, shaped like a hydrangea, which flowers during this hot rainy month of June.
ちょうど先週食べたアジサイの生和菓子。さすが皿にも梅雨ってかんじますね。
When I thought about Australia's four seasons, the things that came to mind were things that you wouldn't really put on an obi: bushfires, floods, bright sunshine, Canberra's "fluff trees" that bloom in the spring (see ANU Fluff Trees ), sunburn...haha you get the idea. So instead, I chose to depict the changing cycles of the seasons by making a pattern with the Swift Parrot, a migratory parrot that breeds in Summer in Tasmania and flies across Bass Strait in one go to spend Winter in South Eastern Australia. It returns in the Spring and the cycle continues.
キャンベラの四季を考えて見たときは、帯の模様に適切じゃないことしか思い浮かべなかった!例えば、山火事、じりじりしている太陽、日焼け、大水などなど。だから、その代わりに、四季の流れを表現するために、渡りインコである「オトメインコ」を模様にしようとしました。このちっちゃいインコが夏にオーストラリアの南にあるタスマニア島で繁殖して、海峡をいっきに渡ってから、わりと暖かいビクトリア州で冬を過ごせます。春になるまで、タスマニアへ戻って、サイクルを繰り返します。

Here's an image of my design. I tried to include patterns of the ocean and the flowering eucalypts which the Swift Parrots follow as a main food source.模様にこのインコが探しに行く食材になっているユーカリの花や海を入れました。
almost one full repeat of the design I created to depict Swift Parrots オトメインコの模様
My design was a repeat, using one stencil and resist paste. I dyed all the circular sections first and then did a second run and after covering all those dyed circles with resist paste, dyed the background green. Oh and did I mention it  takes 5 METRES of fabric for an obi?! Luckily it's only 30-35cm wide but it certainly makes things take longer.一枚の型紙を繰り返して、帯に必要な5メートルにも糊をおきました。その後、この写真に見えるように、だんだん円形の中に染めていきました。

starting out, have pasted the repeat design onto the 5 metres of narrow silk and starting to dye the circles.

slowly but surely.だんだん染めていて。。。
もうちょっと!Just a little bit to go!

Swift Parrot dyed but with the brown katazome resist paste still on fabric
Being the keen bean that I am, I decided to dye my own lining for this obi too (yes, just another 5 metres!). I wanted it to be simple. I love the writings of John Gould, a famous English Ornithologist (bird-man!) who spent time in Tasmania and Australia studying birds. He published these lavish volumes of bird illustrations and writings that are just so wonderful to look at. I used parts of John Gould's fanciful paragraphs on the Swift Parrot to 'write' on the obi lining fabric.
帯の裏地も染めようと思いました!(また5メートルなんて!)ジョン・グールドは19世紀イギリス人鳥類学者であって、オーストラリアにもしばらく鳥を研究しながらすんでいました。その結果、とても素敵な「オーストラリア鳥類図譜」を5巻で出版しました。その本の文章が華やかで面白かったので、オトメインコについての文章を部分的に裏地に書きました。

John Gould's flowery writings about the Swift parrot, in yellow resist paste. ジョン・グールドの華やかな文章を黄色ぽくにした色糊で

after that, I dyed the whole length this dusty purple. それが乾いたら、この紫をそめました。
I am currently sewing the lining onto my finished fabric but here's a view of them together at the assesment day. Also some of the other student's obi. 
好評会で帯の表と裏地
好評会で二年生の帯生地。ピーマンやトマトや花紋や幾何的模様
some of the second year students' obi fabric. capsicums, tomatoes, circular floral motifs, geometric patterns


more second year obi. morning glories, Kibune Shrine, a giant Carp streamer, peonies 二年生の帯-朝顔、貴船神社と椿、鯉のぼり、牡丹
By the way!!! (once I finish sewing it up...) I will be exhibiting my finished obi at a group exhibition in Kyoto starting next week. It's called "Parade" at 3F Project Room from July 4-16. If you happen to be in Kyoto, please feel free to drop by!! http://www.3-gai.com/
ちなみに!!!完成した帯を来週から始まる「Parade」というグループ展で展示します!3Fプロジェクトルームで、7月4~16日です。もし興味があったらぜひ立ち寄ってください!http://www.3-gai.com/
Parade. 6 person group show, 3F Project Room Kyoto, 4-16 July 2013. 6人グループ展「Parade」3FProject Room 京都7月4~16日

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful Mellie! Especially love the lining... I think you should tie the obi wrong side out once in a while!
    Are you planning to wear this with your kimono?
    Steph

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    1. Thanks Steph!
      I made it so that it can be used either side out, but with the green side as the lining it will be a very luxurious lining that's for sure!
      I made it with the intention that it would match my kimono but it turned out brighter than I had planned (that is, I accidentally dyed it brighther than I had planned....woops)so now I'm not sure if they can be worn together.
      Japan has some pretty wacky obi/kimono combinations though, so I will ask some Kimono expert's opinions and see if they think I could get away with it ;p

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