| |
(Photo courtesy of Kikuko Dewa)
|
|
The
well-known tie-dye technique, shibori, has a long tradition in Japan,
where it is applied to such materials as cotton and silk to create
three-dimensional effect. The origins of tie-dyeing in Japan, as in
the rest of the world, are ancient. It would seem that shaped resist
dyeing was already widespread by the six and seventh centuries. Tie-dyeing
found its way into the Heian period in various forms.
|
The simple, but laborious technique involves (1) laying out the
design with mark on the cloth, (2) tying a portion of the cloth
at each mark with thread, which becomes a dye resist, (3) doing
the actual dyeing, and then (4) untying and removing all the thread.
Fabric artist Kikuko Dewa of Seattle is demonstrating the technique
at this year's matsuri. Her ancestors in Kyoto were traditional weavers;
but she has found her own style of expression in adapting shibori.
|
|
|
