roketsuzome-japanese wax resist dyeing

roketsuzome is traditional japanese wax resist dying, a batik process. my mom and i did a class at the yamamoto roketsuzome studio in kyoto. they are very relaxed, and used to foreigners. they have lots of info on their website, and the whole experience is set up for you to take a nice handmade souvenir home. they have tons of designs to choose from (you can draw your own too) and you can transfer them to many different cloth articles: T shirts, handkerchiefs, scarves, etc. my mom and i both chose to do japanese noren curtains (the kind you hang in front of a shop in japan). mom's finished work is at the top of this post: irises and maple leaves.
mine are bamboo, which you will see a little later.
the inside of the studio, with the master working on an intricate design. the fabric hanging above is kimono fabric, which is dyed with this process using rollers.
the studio has a number of these desks, basically a pair of light tables with a wax heater pot in between them. example works are hanging all around.
the rollers used to dye kimonos.
roller close-up
these are the machines that apply wax with the rollers. each kimono fabric is 12 meters long, and is run through these machines. most of the work visible in the studio is not this rolled kimono fabric, but rather the hand painted wax designs.
the beginning of my design. the paper pattern goes on the light table, under a piece of waxed paper. then the fabric. then you apply wax with a brush.
the grandma instructor (and my mom!). she gave my mom a lot of pointers, and was not at all bothered by the fact they didn't have a language in common. i asked her how long she had been doing this, and she said: "forever. ever since i got married." their website says the studio has been in business for 50 years. so that's a lot of experience!
more wax
the brushes are dipped in the hot wax, wiped off on the edge rack, and wax should be applied right away to the fabric.
the dye kitchen. the fabric is going in the indigo vat. this is commercial indigo, different from the plant dye mentioned in previous posts. so the square metal vat is indigo, and the plastic bucket on the floor has water for rinsing. on the stove are the pots of boiling water (to melt the wax off the fabric) and soapy water (to get rid of the wax).
dyeing

the fabric is circulated in and out of the vat for about 20 minutes
and hung to dry. at this point, the dyed cloth looks almost black (it will become dark blue after it's washed out and dries). the yellow wax is still on the cloth.

melting the wax
after the wax is melted off, the white fabric is visible, but the cloth is still darker because it's wet. next we ironed the fabric, which was basically to dry it faster and press the wrinkles.

natural plant dying at ohara kobo, north of kyoto

this is the view of ohara kobo, a plant dye workshop in ohara, which is a small town an hour north of kyoto. i was really excited to try their dye course. we stayed overnight at a traditional japanese onsen ryokan, and went here on sunday morning. it was great. the guy spoke some english, and gave us lots of information (more so when we kept asking detailed questions!).

this is the view from their back porch, with dyed cotton hanging.
inside the shop/example area of the workshop, showing all the scarves and colors available.
in the dyeing shed, with the proprietor at the stove. he was a very entertaining fellow.

yarn dyed with loquat, or japanese medlar, or 'biwa' in japanese
madder plant (grown very very locally). in japanese 'akane'.
traditional cotton spinning wheel in use. they grow a small amount of their own cotton.

ohara (kyoto) japanese indigo dyeing

this is the japanese indigo plant, or polygonum. in japanese, it's called tadeai. ai is indigo as in 'aizome' means indigo dyeing.this is what it looks like dried. the leaves can be used directly to dye, but this is not really ever done. tadeai is fermented in a big bucket. it's really a huge bucket, the size of an oil drum.and goes into this vat, which is 1 meter deep.dyeing a silk scarf using oxidation to get a deeper color: one minute in the dye, one minute in the air. *repeat.*
silk scarf

renegade in the nytimes

being in japan, i can't get to the renegrade craft fair in new york or chicago this year.

i had a great time in chicago last year, and in brooklyn the year before. renegade has had a huge impact on the d.i.y. craft movement, and keeps getting bigger. and today i saw an article in the nytimes about it!

sue from the cool store giant dwarf was the feature photo, and the nifty felter penfelt showed up too. etsy got a mention as well. yay for crafts!

june handmade market

since summer is here, the handmade market at chionji temple in kyoto (the 15th of every month) has been really busy. lots of cute new summer things for sale, of course...like the glass summer bells (above) or whimsical creatures (below).
lots of zakka

and awesome feltmakers whose work i hadn't seen before. these dolls are so lovely!
and crazy tissue holders in the shape of animal heads!
and wee walnut mice.

vacation blog lapse

i'm back in japan, and have tons of pictures to post from last week's handmade market and a natural dying workshop i did with my mom last weekend. she doesn't seem to mind that i plan to make her do a lot of fiber classes with me;-) i promise to post pictures.

for now, check out the new design over at craftster, it looks great!

new books sneak peek

i'm rushing around getting ready for a vacation trip that starts this weekend. i'll be shipping all received orders on friday (japan time) and then after i get back on june 14th.
here's a sneak peak of some of the new titles i will be carrying in my etsy shop, including these from the lovely handmade zakka series.
there are also a few new felt books that have been published recently:this is the most amazing needle-felted food i have ever seen. seriously. so detailed and perfect!
this is another new book about sewing with felt. usually i don't carry many sewing with felt books, but this one is especially lovely and has a great modern feel to the projects and designs.

i haven't posted them yet, but plan to in the next few days.
if you want one right away, you can email me directly.

my gocco treasury is on etsy's front page!

oh my god, how exciting! i feel positively giddy. AND...people are buying the items, which is good for the awesome gocco artists, but means my treasury is shrinking! here's the original treasury below.

andrea zittel

ever since i posted about the bueys bunnies, i've been thinking about my other felt hero, andrea zittel. she is a very cool young contemporary artist, and her work is very broad, often related to ideas of inhabitation.

she's done some lovely work with felt, as a very direct way to form clothing. to see more, you can go to her website, click on 'works' on the top, and A-Z Fiber Form Uniforms will take you to felt objects like the one above.

also, i learned about her new project, smockshop
from the site:

The a-z smockshop generates income for artists who’s work is either non-commercial, or not yet self sustaining. The smocks are designed by Andrea Zittel and produced by a group of smockers who reinterpret the design based on their own individual skill sets, tastes and interests. And of course as we craft the smocks we are also working on a "guide for better working".

neato.

owly shadow puppets

i just got an email from andrea of owly shadow puppets announcing that her new website is up and running.

i bought one of her puppets last year at renegade chicago, and they are great. andrea laser cuts heavy black matboard, and attaches rivets to make shadow puppets with movable joints.

she has fun designs, too: yeti, owl, sea monster, mermaid, and tooth fairy (with molar skirt, pictured above). and they are only $10, can you believe it?