Student's Invisible Work

Students can work for months incrementally on a shibori or weaving project at the house and when finally completed the work vanishes forthwith.  It is like pulling teeth to get it back at the house to get a decent photograph. Kamei san worked away for a few hours each week for one eternity last year in the cold half- finished broken floored center room.  The blanket and the construction came to completion within minutes of each other and then the blanket was mysteriously gone. It had been a constant in the chaos peeking from under a separate dust protecting blanket thrown over the top of the loom. After a good nettling she sent some pictures of her first twill indigo-dyed blanket with the flawlessly twisted fringe.

So many wonders come out of the indigo vat as well. In the rush of cleaning up and the excitement of having made something the piece of work seldom gets the attention it merits. Set on the table with a round of green tea with praise and observations. Taking time......some quiet silent time to observe... where the object made is the subject, not the maker or the mistakes the maker felt they made.

For the past year with the nuclear accident and then the house construction and then the tour coming the subjects have been: the disaster, the victims , the radiation , the cedar plank flooring , the necessary extra bathroom, the mysterious coming guests, the unfinished electrical wiring. Now the subject is: me, me, me. I didn't finish this. I spent too much on that. I didn't listen to instincts. I need to get this done, etc. Life is exhausting with "I" as the endless subject. Somehow a shift took place. Where is the 'caps unlock' button for this?

Maybe in observing the finished piece of indigo work on the table and figuring out why it turned out so good or why it was a bit of a flop.

Good work Kamei san. The light is playing cooly off all those indigo dips and shuttle passes.