Japanese Textile Demonstration and Workshop

On the 28th and 29th of August a Japanese Textile Demonstration and Workshop was held at the ANU Canberra supported by the ANU School of Art. Tuesday’s (28th) workshop was open to the public and attended by a capacity class including Mrs Ueda, the Ambassadors wife. The demonstration held on the 29th was attended by ANU textile students.

Ms Tokitomo instructs one of her new apprentices

The classes were held by Ms. Hisako Tokitomo, accompanied by her four students. With the venue only able to support 30 students per session, the classes were overwhelmed with people wishing to attend.

A feature of Ms Tokitomo's works is that they are all created using dyes taken direct from nature.

After giving a short lecture on traditional Japanese dying and displaying many Kimonos and other clothing bought from Japan, Ms Tokitomo demonstrated how colours can be produced by cultivating the seeds of indigo, and other plants. Sometimes colours can even be extracted from fruit peels and insect nests.

The final products were quite unpredictable in many cases.

All participants were then able to try their own hands in the Shibori method of dyeing by stitching a piece of cloth and dip in their favourite dyes. The participants were all most pleased and often more than a little surprised after their work was unstitched and revealed. Some truly amazing works were produced, and hopefully this demonstration will lead to many more being created in the future.