Fourth International Shibori Symposium-Europe (ISS-E)

Held in Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK in conjunction with Knitting & Stitching Show, an annual traveling fiber art and craft show displaying textile art, artists' booth, commercial exhibitors, and learning curve (one hour hands on workshops).

Harrogate is located in the country of North Yorkshire around 200 miles north of London. It is a beautiful spas town set in the countryside just 20 miles away from the City of York.

Wednesday, November 20, a visit was made to the Whitworth Museum in Manchester. The Whitworth's collection of historic and modern textiles is the largest and most comprehensive collection of flat textiles outside London. The importance and range of the collection, in both a geographical and chronological sense, as well as the museum's fine research facilities make it second only in importance to the collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Objects in the collection, which number between 15,000 and 20,000, range in date from the 3^rd century AD to the present day. Textiles have formed part of the Gallery's core collections since it opened to the public in 1890.

Sunday, November 24, a coach outing to York gave people the opportunity to explore York Minster, the Jorvic Viking Center, the National Railway Museum, and other features of this significant medieval British city.

Session 1

Session 2

Jenny Balfour-Paul (UK): Indigo dyeing in Shibori textiles; Caroline Bartlett (UK): Process As Metaphor; Marian Clayden (UK/USA): Walking Backward: My Evolution from Painting to Clothing; John Gillow (UK): Shibori Around the World (excluding India and Japan); Kaei Hayakawa (JPN): Arashi Shibori in Architecture; Ana Lisa Hedstrom (USA): The Reverent Renegade; Joan Morris (USA): A Shibori Life: Composing The Terrain; Aditi Ranjan (India): Bandhani and New Fabric Dimensions in India; Karen Urbanek (USA) (with Catherine Ellis (USA)): An Amarras Replication Project; Yoshiko Wada (USA/Japan): Overview of traditional and contemporary shibori .

Margaret Barnett (AUST)-Shibori Down Under; Patricia Black (AUST)-3-Dimensional Shibori: Bound and Stitched Resists; Karren K. Brito (USA)-Discharge Shibori; Genevieve Dion (USA/CANADA)-Sculpting and Degumming with Gunma Silk; Yukiko Echigo (JPN)-origami and stitching; Michelle Griffiths (UK)-Lumps and Bumps: The Nuts and Bolts of Shibori; Marie-Helene Guelton (FRA)- Images of Thread: Stitched and Resisted Marks on Cloth; Ana Lisa Hedstrom (USA)- Sheer and Opaque: Scouring and Dyeing of Silk; Mie Iwatsubo (JPN/UK)-Shibori Fusion: Fulling and Knitting; Trine Mauritz-Eriksen (NOR)-itajime on wool; Jay Rich and Catherine Ellis (USA)-Shibori for Knitters and Weavers: Resists for Dyeing and Felting; Judith White (UK and Africa)-Methods of Indigo "Adire" from Nigeria.

Art to Wear: A Shibori Symphony" Fashion Show

5:30-6:30 for General Public
7:30-8:30 for ISS-E delegates and artists (Session 1 and 2 together)

Curated by Yoshiko I. Wada
Directed by Hilary Hollingworth
Choreographed by Clyde Sheriffe

More than 24 artists and designers from around the world participated in this unique fashion show. The wonderful array of designs shown in the collection was evidence of the designers' exuberant delight in working with colour, texture, and form. And what better place to wear this art than on your body. The movements of the body activate the fibre work, transforming it into a kind of moving canvas where textures imprinted by shibori processes move and shift in patterns of ever-changing visual delight.

Patricia Black (Australia), Elena Boccini (Italy), Karren K. Brito and Grace Meacham (USA), Candiss Cole (USA), Marian Clayden (USA), Andrea Cleary (Ireland), Angelina DeAntonis (USA), Genevieve Dion (Canada/USA), Dorita Gomen and Mariana Carreño (Chile), Ryoko Haraguchi for SIND (Japan), Ana Lisa Hedstrom (USA), Catherine Henggeler (Switzerland), Yoshiki Hishinuma (Japan), Sara Keith (Scotland), Christina Kim of Dosa (USA), Jennifer Mackey (USA), Joan McGee (USA), Aisling McLoughlin (Ireland), Mascha Mioni (Switzerland), Jeung-Hwa Park (Korea/USA), Barbara Rogers (Australia), Carol Lee Shanks (USA), Peter Boyd and Denise Sprynskyj for S!X (Australia), Carter and Terri Jo Smith (USA), Ellen Marsh and Robin McKay for Studio E (USA).

Tactile Dimensions: Shibori Now" Traveling Exhibition with The Knitting and Stitching Show

October 10-13, Alexandra Palace, London
October 31-November 3, The Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland
November 21-24, International Halls, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK

Curated by Yoshiko I. Wada
Installed by Yoshiko I. Wada, Michelle Griffiths, Kyoko Y. Jackson, and Kaei Hayakawa

The intent of "Tactile Dimensions: Shibori Now" was to introduce shibori– and the design concept of approaching cloth as a pliable plane to The Knitting and Stitching Show. Our goal was to invite viewers to expand their perceptions. By blurring the boundaries between art, function, material and media, we aimed to challenge the notion that textile craft be relegated to hobby work or home craft.

Keiko Amenemori-Schmeisser (Australia), Junichi Arai (Japan), Sharon Baurley (UK), Marian Clayden (USA/UK), Inge Dusi (Chile), Yukiko Echigo (Japan), Marie-Hélène Guelton (France), Kaei Hayakawa (Japan), Trine Mauritz-Eriksen (Norway), Veronika Moos-Borchhagen (Germany), Joan Morris and Michele Ratté (USA), Almira Sadar (Slovenia), Barbara Shapiro (USA), Hiroko Watanabe (Japan), Hitomi Watanabe (Japan).

Shibori Community" Traveling Exhibition with The Knitting and Stitching Show

October 10-13, Alexandra Palace, London
October 31-November 3, The Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland
November 21-24, International Halls, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK

The Shibori Community is a collective of artists united in their desire to explore the infinite possibilities of shibori. Formed in 1985 in Nagoya, the group was created under the leadership of Kaei Hayakawa – an artist of a dyer's family from Arimatsu Nagoya, a folk shibori center since the 1600s. The Shibori Community was formed out of the artists' desire to explore the art of shibori without the constraints of technical perfection. Unlike most other Japanese artist groups, emphasis was placed on personal creative expression rather than technical mastery or group aesthetic.

Since its inception, the Community has grown upwards of 100 members and has expanded beyond Nagoya to several major cities including Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Hakata. Each local group meets monthly with Hayakawa, exchanging ideas, feedback, and constructive criticism. They have held annual group exhibitions at various institutions, including the Kyoto City Museum, Aichi Prefecture Museum of Fine Arts, Meguro County Museum of Art (Tokyo), Hakata Municipal Museum of Art, Hiroshima Prefecture Museum of Art, and Yokohama's Gallery Renga-kan.

Hatsuko Baba, Hanae Doi, Yayoi Inada, Kazuko Iio, Sayoko Ishibe, Kiyomi Kato, Etsuko Kida, Yuki Kimura, Mikako Kurose Fuyuko Kusano, Kikuko Matsui, Etsuko Miyazaki, Hisako Oda, Midori Sakai, Hitomi Sera, Kinu Takatsu, Emiko Takeuchi, Noriko Takeuchi, Tomoko Uchida, Madoka Yamaguchi, Seiko Yamashita.

Shibori in the UK and Ireland" at the International Shibori Symposium-Europe

Plans for "Shibori in the UK and Ireland" were formed less than two months before ISS-E was held. The show came about as a result of Yoshiko I. Wada's time spent stewarding the World Shibori Network booth at the Knitting and Stitching Show in London. During this trip, she also spent time lecturing, teaching, and visiting galleries/small exhibitions in England and Ireland, providing her with opportunities to meet UK artists and see how their work incorporates the concept of Shibori. Besides "Tactile Dimensions: New Shibori", the main exhibition at the ISS-E which featured international artists known to Yoshiko, the ISS-E co-chairs decided it was equally important to create an opportunity for UK artist to show their own work of this nature. The hope was to generate a truly international feel to the Symposium and stimulate an ongoing dialogue. Due to the extremely limited timeline and demanding logistics, artists were asked to submit pieces that were easily hung and not too fragile or large. With the cooperation and generosity of many featured artists and of Twisted Thread, the exhibition was viewed intimately by all delegates of both ISS-E sessions. Feedback from delegates has conveyed an appreciation for the opportunity to see the diverse and innovative work being done specifically by artists of our host country and region.

June Barnes, Caroline Bartlett, Jo Buckler, Jane Callender , Jean Draper, Louise Ellis, Michelle Griffiths, Sue Hiley Harris, Rosemary Hufton, Ann Israel, Jaidevi Kerai, Ewa Kunizak, Leslie Morgan, Vivien Prideaux , Rebecca Raudaschl, Jennifer Rowland, Jenny Rowlands, Susanna Sale, Joanna Waller, Kathy Williams.

Workshop by Yoshiko I. Wada at Harrogate Ladies College

This workshop focused on the exploration of basic shibori concept of imprinting memories on pliable surfaces with a force. Participants were taught basic shaped resist concept in knotting, binding, stitching, pleating, fold and clamping, pole-wrap and other traditional processes. The participants were encouraged to expand them by using unconventional means or materials in order to explore the possibilities that lie beyond a traditional approach to pattern fabrics. In some cases, application of the conceptual apparatus derived from shibori processes could include a wide range of creative activities, such as sculpture, complex weaving, or even performance art.

During this brief workshop, participants explored various kinds of fabrics such as different weights and weaves of cotton, loosely woven wool, or silk organza or greige good (untreated silk cloth). In the case of untreated silk, by selectively applying the process of scouring (removing sericin to soften), silk will register the pattern as permanent textures, or sheer vs. opaque ground.

Number of participants: 22 ISS-E delegates, seven Harrogate Ladies College students, one Harrogate Ladies College teacher.

Trunk Shows at "Joss Graham Oriental Textiles" and "also"

"Joss Graham Oriental Textiles", 10 Eccleston Street London SW1W 9LT Tel: 020 7730 4370

Patricia Black (Australia), Karren K. Brito (USA), Marian Clayden (USA), Candiss Cole (USA), Michael Davis (USA), Angelina DeAntonis (USA), Genevieve Dion (Canada/USA), Mie Iwatsubo (Japan), Mascha Mioni (Switzerland), PockeTee (USA), Jay Rich (USA), Barbara Rogers (Australia), Barbara Schey (Australia), S!X (Australia), Carter Smith (USA), Karen Urbanek (USA).

International Shibori Symposium-Europe Facts and Figures

The Knitting and Stitching Show Facts and Figures

Future Projects

Fifth International Shibori Symposium-Australia, 2004
Sixth International Shibori Symposium-Japan, 2005

For More Information

World Shibori Network

Yoshiko I. Wada
696 Hilldale Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94708 USA
T: +1 (1)510-527-3432
F: +1 (1)510-527-0231
Email: shibori8@pacbell.net and yiwada@pacbell.net
Web: www.shibori.org

The Knitting and Stitching Show, and Creative Exhibitions, Ltd.

Creative Exhibitions, Ltd.
Exhibition House
8 Greenwich Quay
London SE8 3EY England
T: +44 (0)20 8692-2299
F: +44 (0)20 8692-6699
Email: mail@twistedthread.com
Web: www.twistedthread.com

And Related Events

Theme: Tactile Dimensions: Shibori Now