Shibori is the ancient Japanese art of embellishing textiles with rich patterns by shaping and securing cloth before it is immersed in dye. I use variations of this process — wrapping or stitching raw silk, dyeing it, and afterwards enhancing the designs with embroidery.
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A Mokume (wood grain) pattern is created with row upon row of running stitches that are pulled tightly and knotted before the cloth is immersed in dye.
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Arashi Shibori involves wrapping fabric around a cylinder with string. Modifications allow for variations of pattern on a single piece of fabric.
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Pleating and folding the cloth before stitching a resist pattern is a path toward creating a “repeat”
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Aiming to incorporate dyed patterns with stitched imagery, I have developed a process where the two are intimately intertwined. The work is accomplished in three stages.
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Embroidering an image with white silk thread on raw silk, I follow the surface planes of my subject with lines of thread, much the same as when drawing with pen and ink.
That white-on-white work is then hand-dyed with a stitched-resist technique, resulting in a pattern that envelopes both the embroidered image and the silk it is sewn upon.
The image is then coaxed back out into the open by re-embroidering with another layer of threads in contrasting colors.
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