This semester I have been lucky enough to join a lacquer ware class offered by the Japanese Painting department at Kyoto Seika University. We were given free reign to create whatever design we liked, to be applied to a round platter shape called 'marubon'. I chose to keep with my research theme, and used a section of the Rainbow Lorikeet & Eucalyptus design I used to dye a dress last year. On the side of the image, I've included the scientific names of the two species in English lettering. It's so funny to hear Japanese classmates and my teachers say that English lettering looks so "chic" or "stylish". To me it's just English!
今学期、京都精華の日本画コースによる漆の授業を取らせて貰っています。丸盆に好きなデザインを塗るという課題です。テキスタイルの作品と同様な感じで塗っていくことにしました。それで、今年の３月に染めたワンピースのインコ（
五色青灰鸚哥)とユーカリの模様を使いました。葉っぱの間に鳥と木の学名を英語で入りました。同級生や先生がよく、「英語がおしゃれですね！」と言いますが、私にはただの英語ですよ！
As you might expect from a Japanese technique, it is time and labour intensive!
日本の伝統的な技法だからやっぱり時間と手間がかかります！
After first polishing the sheen off our already black platters and ensuring they were nice and flat, we transferred our designs onto the surface with a chalky white paint called 'gofun' ("whitewash"). From there we painted a thin layer of black (almost transparent) lacquer and proceeded to sprinkle very fine silver and coloured powders onto the wet lacquer.
胡粉を使って、丸盆にデザインを写した後、段々白い線に沿って漆を塗って、その上に銀や色の粉を撒きました。
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stage one was to transfer the design onto the platter with a white chalky paint, 'gofun'
最初は胡粉でデザインを写す。 |
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the leaf on the right has just been painted with the black laquer, which acts as a glue. After sprinkling over the various powders, it looks like the leaf on the left.
右の葉は漆を塗った状態です。その上に粉を撒いたら、左の葉のようになります。 |
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the "stylish" English lettering reads "Trichoglossus Haematodus Molucannus & Eucalyptus Leucoxylon Megalocarpa"
いわゆる「おしゃれ」な英字 |
Keep on adding layers of lacquer and silver and coloured powders and the design starts to appear
段々漆を塗って粉を撒きいったらデザインが出て来ます。
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| getting there....進んでいる。。。 |
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| Done with the powders! 全部撒いた後。 |
And then, in what seems like a backwards way of doing things, the whole thing gets a coat of thick black lacquer, which is left to dry til hard, then you polish the black away to reveal the design below, magic!
それで、全体的に黒うるしを厚く塗ります。それが乾燥すると、研いたら、ジャーン！！下に塗ってあるデザインが現して来ます！何かの魔法のように。
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| suffocating the lorikeet beneath a thick layer of lacquer...黒漆を全体に塗って（インコが可愛そう） |
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| then digging him out again! で、研ぐとインコを解放する！ |
We still have 3 classes left, with some more polishing to take place. The surface will be all shiny and the silver will really sing once its all finished. I'll post pictures of the final product in January!!
授業はまだ３回残っています。ぴかぴか、つやつやになるまでもうちょっと研がないといけないです。１月に完成したらまた写真をアップしますので楽しみにしてくださいね！
