Tag Archives: artists hands

A Gift from the Lilies

October 08, 2014. On the day of the special full moon, I finished making five dye sample swatches. Each drawn on a different fabric, all silk, holds dye particles in its own way.
The one below is on ivory-colored silk chiffon georgette, so far my most favorite, quite unexpectedly so, as I thought it’d be too fluid even for the faintest touch with a brush-point.

An artist's hand and a dye work.

Twenty days in September spent beside red spider lilies had left me with a gift that seems to be growing on its own. Just as the project itself has a life of its own. Last year I drew the lilies off photographs, dragging my feet at times as I study their complex shapes on a series of pencil drawings. Weary, I’d put my pencil down, on, off and so forth. When I return to it though, I found myself, once and again, in ideas and skills, at a place further ahead from where I left off.

Fairies, has got to be. The red lilies and their hired hands. They followed me home and started building an engine, a gift to the repeat visitor and her adoring eyes.

The lilies were here only for a short time; the rural landscape feels even more muted since. But those fairies they never quit, day after day, working on the motor that is fueled by my remembering the special tone of red. The spider lily red.

Moon-lit sea surface.

The blue photo above was taken on the night of total lunar eclipse, shortly after the moon rose above the horizon, just a few hours before the show time. I omitted the moon in the photo but trust me it was there, sprinkling glitters on the darkened surface of the Big Fluidity.
The swatches are about to be sent off to specialists in Tokyo for steam-setting very soon. They are made as the first step for “Spider Lily Red”, the latest addition to my dyed threads series. You can view the progress of the project as well as the Lilies – the muse, sans fairies, in these posts.

Thank you for your visit.

Last Edited: November 30, 2020

Every petal’s a masterpiece.

For last two weeks, my priority #1 has been to spend as much time with spider lilies, bloom for a short while each autumn.
This year they are back earlier, and seemingly more in numbers.

The blossom has been my muse for sometime now, and here’s why, shown in pictures.

A flower petal close up.
Flower painting on silk.
Flower painting on silk.
A flower petal close up.

The above two drawings are both dye sample swatches, from top the completed #2 and in-progress #3. On different fabrics – both silk, with slight difference in dye absorption, lines bolder on the #3 just because. This style of drawing is a new trick I am trying out since the above #2 but has been on my mind for much longer.

As for the petals, I couldn’t find a thing to add. Examining them closely somehow grew me muted.

Red spider lilies close up.

I’ve decided to call this project “Spider Lily Red”, the newest addition to my dyed threads series.

最後の屋外プールが閉まった日、彼岸花が咲き始めたのに気がついた。二年前の秋、突然のようにあの赤い色を見ると胸の奥で何かが着火するようになった。なにがどう変化したのか、本当に突然だったのか。わからない、でもきらいな感覚では全然ない。

写真の絵2枚は染め見本、素材は両方ともシルクだがテクスチャーは少し違う、よって染料の染み込み具合の感触も違う。そうすると意識しないでいても描き方も自然と違ってくる。なんでかはわからない、わかろうとする気もあんまりない。

そもそも何故彼岸花がそんなに好きになったかだって不明。でも、わからん、といってそのままにしておけるのが何故かとても嬉しくて、くるくるにまるまった花びらを指に絡めてみたりするのだ。

進行中の彼岸花シリーズ『Spider Lily Red』は当方の染色系統の次作(今までの作品はこちら)。

Red spider lilies in a ray of light.
2020.10.13 – True North

Wing Dress in the Making

ALERT:
This video contains flickering / flashy lights and could-be dizzying movements.
(Strong sunlight reflections at the shore, and may be felt as disorientating camera work.)

In summer 2009 I started recording the creative process on videos – mainly of me working on my dyed pieces,
as a vlog version of my then blog “art is a process” (2007-2012) which documented the making of two Wing Dresses.

Above is titled “Wing Dress in the Making, October 22, 2011”, my most favorite, also one of the last videos of my finishing up the second Wing Dress “Velocity”, synched with a fantastic music I discovered through blogging.

The “synching” thing was what I somehow naturally arrived at. I had a lot of fun experimenting stuff that way.

Special Thanks to Ms. Betsy Grant for her piano piece – the short piece feels to me has the kind of preciseness I always adored,
to the point, on what it takes to become ready for love.

Last Edited: November 18, 2019.