Japanese inspiration for a new adventure

A long overdue post, but really, just the beginning of a new story.

My weaving adventures in Japan have lead to even more weaving adventures in Australia and I have plans underway to open Art Weaver Studio in Melbourne in 2014.

With a view to becoming an accredited SAORI studio, www.artweaverstudio.com.au will soon be the web address to visit to keep up to date with what is happening.

Discovering the freedom to create at a young age

My wonderful full week of weaving training in Japan at Saorinomori in Osaka affirmed my desire to create a place where people of all ages and abilities can come together to discover and develop their own creativity. Saori weaving encourages, inspires and delights; enabling absolute beginners and experienced artists alike, to create individually unique cloth from the outset. 

Under the instruction of Kenzo Jo, co-founder of SAORI worldwide

Art Weaver Studio is the culmination of my lifetime love of colour and design, of the immense satisfaction in creating with one's own hands, and now of teaching and sharing this joy with others.

Here's a glimpse of what I enjoyed whilst at Saorinomori, a taste of what I hope to bring to others with Art Weaver Studio in the years ahead!

Metamorphis: cloth to couture

My very first hand-woven cloth transformed into a hand-made couture garment!

 

Inspired by Japanese design, informed by patterns in a wonderful Saori design book, here is my first garment. The weaving referencing the tidal sea and sands, the garment constructed using the entire finished woven cloth, with minimal cutting and not one scrap of wastage!

I purchased the book Fuku no Katachi ni Suru (or How to make clothes with SAORI cloth) in Japanese from Kaz Madigan at http://curiousweaver.id.au a few months ago. Pouring over the images and pattern diagrams (not even attemting to read the Japanese text), gave me lots of ideas for construction of a range of garments using the whole cloth. With their sizing based on a "typical" woman of 163cm (I am 170cm) I figured that using a wider weave would take care of fit and proceeded to weave my piece at 50cm wide x 300cm in length. After washing and pressing, the finished dimensions were 45cm x 280cm - which proved how essential this step was BEFORE finalising the pattern measurements!

 
Having sewn since I was 14 years old has given me a good grounding in garment construction, yet I first set to work to make a toile from some old fabric. Never having pieced together simple rectangles of fabric previously, I wanted to make sure the reality matched the theory. It worked! I then adjusted the proportions of my pattern pieces to utilise the entire piece of my hand-woven fabric.

Constructing the jacket, which I discovered with delight, can be worn in several distinct styling variations, was simplicity itself. I would love to know what you think of my Silken Sands garment?

BAREFOOT weaving

With my looms currently empty and awaiting a new warp, I had planned to get onto a new weaving before the end of 2012. However, currently laid low with a severe throat infection since Boxing Day, means it will be 2013 before I trust both my brain and body to go through the complexity that is the warping process again!

Portion of woven tapestry by Marie Gnarajah

However, weaving and woven textiles are still close at hand, with my son's gift of a wonderful new woven tapestry from weaver Marie Gnarajah of the BAREFOOT weaving studion in Sri Lanka. This weaving is 1700cm x 900cm and will be hung in my family room (opposite my floor loom), the colours perfectly complimenting the decor. 

A few months ago he also brought back from his visit to their studio in Colombo, two lengths of fabulous warp faced heavy cloth. One has already been in use as a perfectly sized tablecloth for my rather large family table and the other (pictured below) currently draped across the back of a sofa as I cannot bear to cut it. Simply constructed in plain weave, but the use of colour is superb, with each piece of cloth imbued with an energy that only handweaving brings to cloth making.

 

BAREFOOT began over 40 years ago when Barbara Sansoni was invited to design cloth for women learning to weave in a convent workshop North of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Today the company she founded has a small team of dedicated designers who work with our own dyers, weavers and skilled needle women. Take a look at http://barefootceylon.com/ to see something of the beauty that is BAREFOOT.