We
started Y2K with a bang, and as luck would have it, I started a new job and had
gone back to uni. It was also the year we bought our house on the wonderful Hawkesbury River and I took on a stint of single-parenting teens. This of course put an
end to most of my “spare” time and took a bit of an edge off my patching/quilting
progress. Meanwhile, the pile of UFO's seemed to be multiplying in the deep, dark recesses of my sewing space. However, I did have a textile
trip planned - an escape to Japan no less, so it
was certainly exciting times.
I’m
in the process of documenting my travel notes (slim pickings here) and photos (all
pre-digital) of the Japan trip with Margaret Wright over on Textile Tourist, so
I won’t re-invent that wheel here. Needless
to say, I had a great time and came back with just a tad more fabric (2 large boxes - cough! cough!). This experience only served to re-affirm my belief that we
(in Australia) were settling comfortably into “American style” crafting. Japan’s textile heritage, fabric choices and
sincere respect for craftsmanship just blew me away.
P rior to our trip we also were invited to an
exhibition "Common Threads" showcasing the work of Textile Artist Wendy Lugg and Sue Leighton-White’s Japanese textile collection.
There were two big lessons from this; one that it really is ok to follow textiles in your own way – be it creator (in any style) collector or even admirer! The second is that it’s ok to take inspiration from history and translate it in any direction you care to drive it. But always respectfully of course!
Year 2000 was also the start of what I call my
Japanese Discovery Period. Somehow,
something cropped up each year (until end 2003) that steered me towards
learning about Japanese textiles, techniques and culture. I was in blue & white heaven; imagine a
culture that reveres its textile masters and cultivates its textile heritage! This passion was of course driven by a wave
of enthusiasm for something different – not only by me, but the textile
community generally.
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| A magic ferry ride |
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| Up in the cooler Japan Alps we found cherry blossom! |
There were two big lessons from this; one that it really is ok to follow textiles in your own way – be it creator (in any style) collector or even admirer! The second is that it’s ok to take inspiration from history and translate it in any direction you care to drive it. But always respectfully of course!
