My Travels to Japan
One day I discovered Tomoko Nakamichi’s workabout patronage, its sphere effects, accordion pleats, knots ; sets of lines sketching a bamboo shoot.
She was teaching in Kyoto.
So, I started studying Japanese, in order to meet herin Kyoto
Adding volume to the shapes I was making.
I had been sewing for a few years now – it seemed to me that her work would be easy to achieve.
This was in June 2014.
In October 2015 I went to Kyoto for 3 months to intensively study Japanese and to meet her.
I was staying in the Nishijin district with Mitsuë Sakaguchi san, an elderly weaver.
I lived among silent looms and spools of thread.
This whispers thousand of images.
This trip to Kyoto, 京 都市 was a revelation: it is thanks to this voyage that my work found its way, its dimension and gained depth. Movements of the journey of the body and of the self.
Before leaving I was able to come into contact with Ms. Yoshimi Ueki who agreed to teach me kimono-related sewing – Wasai 和 裁 sewing.
I don’t want to become an expert in the art of Kimono making, that would be impossible anyway.
I want to get closer – approach the garment, come near that “T” shape.
cheerful and surprising encounter : I watched Miss Azusa Ikemori and Yoshimi Ueki at work – their gestures were always regular, light, airy – a dance. A fluid and poetic rhythm – an artistic gesture.
I struggle to get the hang of this gesture, in the middle of our joyful and concentrated silence.
The Japanese thimble, positioned on the second phalanx of the middle finger, is a rather uncomfortable surprise.
I appreciate what the art of ancestral and cultural gestures can truly signify.
After each class I can choose scraps of fabric that had once, made up an entire kimono.
On approaching the garment, I discover the patterns : delightful surprise.
I came to Japan to look for volume , I find drawing at first,
These patterns fascinate me.
These kimono scraps-drops have become my treasures.
One night in November I have to rush back to France – I take my pieces of patterns and kimonos with me.
I will be back for 3 months in Kyoto in October 2016, at Mitsuë Sakaguchi san ever. Travel continuation, open pathways, other discoveries.
This whispers thousand of images.
This trip to Kyoto, 京 都市 was a revelation: it is thanks to this voyage that my work found its way, its dimension and gained depth. Movements of the journey of the body and of the self.
Before leaving I was able to come into contact with Ms. Yoshimi Ueki who agreed to teach me kimono-related sewing – Wasai 和 裁 sewing.
I don’t want to become an expert in the art of Kimono making, that would be impossible anyway.
I want to get close – get close to the garment, that T shape.
cheerful and surprising encounter : I watched Miss Azusa Ikemori and Yoshimi Ueki at work – their gestures were always regular, light, airy – a dance. A fluid and poetic rhythm – an artistic gesture.