Tag Archives: vintage fabric

Where Humanity Meets Divine.

Assigning the symbol a new meaning* – A Cross Pouch (2015, retouched in 2020), vintage kimono and rubber. Inquire for custom works like this one.
Special thanks to Narcissuses.

*Wiki: A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other.
 Me: is a figure symbolizing a spark of Inspiration striking through the human realm; at its crossing point is in the continuous ’now’ where everything is vibrant.

A vintage fabric purse.

Originally posted under the category “Vision Board”, moved to “Journal-Diary” on February 12, 2024.

Sado Island Purse, revisited.

A hand crafted purse with waves.

Photographed and uploaded to Flickr on January 28, 2015, revised edit made on February 14, 2021.
The purse itself was created circa 2004, out of vintage futon fabric I found during my visit to the island in early August 2003. The peak season with very few tourists, I was often alone, the only car on the road.

The place has a unique history as an island of exile, “…was a place of banishment for those who had fallen out of favor with the rulers of the day. More than 70 people—notably aristocrats and artists—were exiled here” (within “” from Smithsonian magazine).

Strange, felt like home there. I wrote a bit about my visit on: Dried persimmons from Sado Island made me think of.

Published on February 14, last edited on February 15, 2021.

Flag Series

An abstract patch work.

Being in the moment is looking at a national flag and seeing a piece of cloth.

An abstract patch work.

Flag Series (2003- ) was born out of my fondness for weathered materials.

Few decades back, I found an old American flag in a dusty pile at a thrift store. Over time as I examined the material, transiency I saw woven into the fading fabric spoke to me that, with all it had seen, what remains is only the beauty of life, pulsating in this moment.

By scissoring National flags, I do not intend to dishonor the Nations or the feelings of those who stand behind them. This is not an act of protest.
Rather, by using the Flags as a mere, yet uniquely attractive material in forms nearly unrecognizable of their origins, I wish to abandon the roles assigned to them so as to bring forth the tales of their individual histories.

古布への愛着からうまれたシリーズ。

20数年前古着屋で見つけたアメリカ国旗の質感や色合いから伝わってきた、その布の持つ時を経た重みを感じ取るうちに、国をしょって立つ役割を負い辿ってきたであろうその布の、個としての歴史に光をあてたいと願うようになり制作に至った。

国旗を素材として加工することにより、その国ないし国を愛する感情を侮辱する、または政治的な発言をする意図は全くない。
あえていうならば、『国旗』を感じさせない作品に仕上げることで、社会において与えられた役割から距離を置き、素材の固の独自性をとらえ美術的に表現することが当方の目指すところである。

A patch worked bikini.

From top:
Flag Bag – detail (2006)
Flag Bag with fringed strap (2006)
Suzi Q Bikini Top (2003)

A patch worked bikini.

Last Edited: November 27, 2020