Sky Tree Feudal Leftovers

Today in class we looked at the Bernini's St Theresa and the katagami exhibition book. Kamei san and Yamaguchi san were interested in how they were related.   The conversation was interesting as we were all primed for the subject because the 'Sky Tree Tower' opened in Tokyo today. Heavy news coverage anyone? The general population seems embarrassed by this ugly carbuncle (What's one more?) on the face of Tokyo.  Something like a nuclear reactor... foisted on the people who will just grin and bear it. Hardly necessary, poorly designed and it will be there for several million years in one form or another. Why is Tokyo such an ugly city? How can Japanese have such exacting high standards of quality and aesthetics and manage to build a city that sounds like fingernails on a blackboard every time you look out the train window?

We will fight back we figured by making really beautiful indigo dyed and woven projects  in the future. A pretty paltry and insignificant weapon but it is about all we have. Kamei san dyed half of this cotton scarf with gardenia pods the other day. She contrasted the light green with a belt of the darkest blue indigo with white circle shibori.  The exhibition and the Sky Tree opening was a little kick in the butt to get back to the original direction I wanted for the textile classes when I first opened them. Cocoons to naturally dyed thread and then made into small bags like the ones used in the tea ceremony.  Sato san and I set up this silk warp from thread I had long ago dyed with thistle leaves, pomegranate skins and walnut tree bark. This silk will be used to make tea ceremony items.

I set up three kumihimo stands to braid cords for the bags. The Sky Tree somehow energized the class and made our priorities clear again.

The silk thread on the left was dyed with onion skins and a copper mordant. The silk thread on the right was dyed with walnut tree bark and an aluminum mordant. They were wound onto wood waku and then  set on a small warping board. Next step onto the bobbins and then onto the kumihimo stands. 

And Snoopy had it right. Sky Tree hmfffff.... Bernini grmffff.