In 1608 eight formerly farming families settled along a stretch of The Tokkaido or 'Eastern Sea Road' connecting Kyoto and Osaka to the new capital, 'Edo,' now known as Tokyo.
Taking up handcraft, they mimicked expensive Kyoto textiles with new techniques that were adapted to achieve less costly results to reach a wide audience of admirers and wearers.
This fascinating DVD documents the work of the Shibori artisans of Arimatsu and Narumi today and shows the ancient techniques of hand Shibori as well as some rarely seem machine-aided Shibori. Twenty artists from the villages of Arimatsu and Narumi demonstrate the most refined Shibori techniques. Narrated by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada in English & Japanese. Subtitled in English, Japanese, and Spanish. Spanish Subtitles Courtesy the Textile Association of Madrid, Spain.
I've received a review copy of the film Arimatsu-Narumi Shibori and have watched it with great interest. Starting with a brief historical setting of the Arimatsu-Narumi Shibori village and community, it introduces us to the Shibori process. Following that, a significant amount of time is dedicated to different Shibori techniques done by hand and even machine aided techniques are touched upon. The entire presentation is accompanied by pleasant background music and sober aesthetics. The presentation is very didactic and shows such a wide range of different Shibori techniques in depth that it is a document to treasure. Anyone who really wants to study a variety of hand knotting techniques with tools, stitching, pleating or folding and clamping techniques will find an exhaustive step by step approach of each of these techniques. While viewing the DVD you may notice that nearly all persons who were willing to share their skills have already reached maturity which made me conclude that this film was made "just on time". Thanks to this initiative, a new public will be encouraged to learn these techniques but also-- and not in the least-- to preserve them. As Yoshiko states, "There is no limit to what can be achieved, with skill, practice and imagination". The film is a document but no doubt it is also a vat full of possibilities. On the quest of blowing new life into Traditional Shibori Techniques this is yet another milestone. --Karla de Ketelaere, Tobasign Natural Dyes - Barcelona, Spain
Anyone who is interested in traditional textile techniques or who is involved in designing and making contemporary textiles will find inspiration in this fascinating new DVD from Studio Galli. Being a silk painter with a love of resist techniques and a consuming interest in traditional Japanese textiles, you can imagine my excitement when I heard that Andrew Galli (of Studio Galli Productions) and world-renowned Shibori scholar Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada were making this film, documenting the work of the Shibori artisans of Arimatsu and Narumi. A copy arrived on my doormat in due course and I sat absolutely riveted for over 2 hours, watching old hands binding and stitching with extraordinary speed and dexterity, dyes being mixed and folded fabric emerging from vats of colour, transformed into sophisticated and intricately patterned cloth. Shibori is an ancient resist technique which involves compressing cloth in various ways before dyeing it. Many different methods of binding, stitching, pleating, and clamping have been developed and refined in Japan and elsewhere, elevating Shibori from a craft to an art form. The Shibori artisans of Arimatsu and Narumi still work as a village co-operative, each family specialising in an aspect of Shibori production, be it designing, binding, dyeing or finishing. The skills have been passed on within the families and watching the DVD I felt privileged to have the opportunity to view a private world and grateful for the knowledge so generously shared and for the insight I gained into an extraordinary culture. The film starts with a short history of Japanese Shibori, brought to life by the beautiful woodcuts of the Ukiyo-e artists. It is then divided into three parts. Part One focuses on the Shibori process, from designing and stenciling, through the Shibori methods to dyeing, steaming and finishing. It ends with an overview of design inspirations using mixed techniques - of special interest to all contemporary Shibori artists. Part Two takes us through a wide range of hand Shibori techniques: hand knotting using tools, stitching, pleating and folding and clamping. Part Three looks at machine aided Shibori and Sekka dyeing. Each --Mandy Southan, Textile Artist & Author - United Kingdom
--Mandy Southan, Textile Artist & Author - United Kingdom
Anyone who is interested in traditional textile techniques or who is involved in designing and making contemporary textiles will find inspiration in this fascinating new DVD from Studio Galli. Being a silk painter with a love of resist techniques and a consuming interest in traditional Japanese textiles, you can imagine my excitement when I heard that Andrew Galli (of Studio Galli Productions) and world-renowned Shibori scholar Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada were making this film, documenting the work of the Shibori artisans of Arimatsu and Narumi. A copy arrived on my doormat in due course and I sat absolutely riveted for over 2 hours, watching old hands binding and stitching with extraordinary speed and dexterity, dyes being mixed and folded fabric emerging from vats of colour, transformed into sophisticated and intricately patterned cloth. Shibori is an ancient resist technique which involves compressing cloth in various ways before dyeing it. Many different methods of binding, stitching, pleating, and clamping have been developed and refined in Japan and elsewhere, elevating Shibori from a craft to an art form. The Shibori artisans of Arimatsu and Narumi still work as a village co-operative, each family specialising in an aspect of Shibori production, be it designing, binding, dyeing or finishing. The skills have been passed on within the families and watching the DVD I felt privileged to have the opportunity to view a private world and grateful for the knowledge so generously shared and for the insight I gained into an extraordinary culture. The film starts with a short history of Japanese Shibori, brought to life by the beautiful woodcuts of the Ukiyo-e artists. It is then divided into three parts. Part One focuses on the Shibori process, from designing and stenciling, through the Shibori methods to dyeing, steaming and finishing. It ends with an overview of design inspirations using mixed techniques - of special interest to all contemporary Shibori artists. Part Two takes us through a wide range of hand Shibori techniques: hand knotting using tools, stitching, pleating and folding and clamping. Part Three looks at machine aided Shibori and Sekka dyeing. Each process is clearly demonstrated and beautifully filmed, often in slow motion to enable us to see exactly what is being done. Yoshiko s narration carefully explains each step, making this an excellent DVD for teachers and textile students. I tried out a number of the techniques myself, pausing play while I practiced a movement or tied a knot, and found it easy to follow. Mind you, you will need a Zen frame of mind to tackle some of the techniques; Kanoko Shibori, for instance, involves binding and knotting thousands upon thousands of minute dots on a 12 yard bolt of kimono cloth. You will need to foster patience and serenity to become a Shibori master! --Mandy Southan, Textile Artist & Author - United Kingdom