fuji-san ☀🗻

fuji kenta and aizome. a young craftsman's story.

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

white silks

all scoured waiting to be dyed. all 7 hanks. most of them are going to be dyed in an ai vat yet to be started. need to buy one of those plastic drums, the small one is sufficiently big. sad because i invested in an electrical stainless beer making vat .but keeping the temp warm is beyond thinking with the  energy prices.lucky bcse i can get them locally at the wonderful hardware stores in town.

different silks, some for warp some for weft and different weights also.

today there's no japanese class and we're going to have lunch in a newly opened izakaya. will report.

neki desu 

 

to compost or not to compost?

that is the question.heartwarming to hear the guru say japanese indigo masters.

neki desu

 

dying to dye

one of the most exciting local projects. following anxiously. turn on the captions.

have a good weekend.

neki desu 

 

edo ramblings

 handwoven panels from a project stamped with ferrous at 2%. needed to occupy myself with other stuff as the loom business was driving me nuts.

went on into something that had been  on the backburner for a while. have been reading about how blue got into ukiyo-e  and developed. from prussian blue to alternatives. also other mentions in the ellis-butrop bible book.

moi? experimenting painting  with ai dregs.

more to come.next is going to try thickening and printing with it-them?

neki desu 

 

a red like no other

cochineal on silk 2%wof. never had had  such bright results and the cochineal i have can be qualified as vintage.the silk was mordanted with aluminum sulfate and i believe there lies the reason for the results.

a lovely cool red.

playing with modifiers this excellent

bishop purple was achieved.

cant be more chuffed.

thinking about combining a warp of blue and this. but firts i need to run an ai vat for the blue.

coincidentally found out about a beautiful project here. some youngish folks contacted farmers whose land was fallow and convinced them to plant indigo,persicaria tinctoria, while at the same time contacting people from the textile industry luring them into indigo and sustainable dyeing.

the project is based on circular economy and suatainability and they have gathered their first crop this year.

the good news is that small folks like me will be able to source the dye from them as well.news can't be better.

neki desu

 

future possible

two hanks of already scoured organzine silk. if this weather continues and the warping goes so slow  i am considering running a mini ai vat and dyeing these babies.

if i don't frizzle before.

neki desu

 

furoshiki

a bit lopsided bcse i did not want to cut the fabric to square it. heavy -according to my standards-cotton yarn indigo dyed and tied kasuri style.pleasant and pleasing all in all. just in case pattern here

on to giving use to  the furoshiki.

neki desu

 

concerned about offending buddha

everything about this is perfection. 

the warping process was effortless, 

 

debugging presented just 

one crossed thread

in the reed.

the weaving ,albeit on a table loom is going  fast and pleasant.

and to round out a two year old unattended ai vat was revived successfully. ai is much tougher than what we are inclined to think.

neki desu

 

ai ,kasuri, nihon

these are 3 of my favorite things.

have a good weekend

neki desu 

 

country perks

aizome rinse from neki rivera on Vimeo.

when there's a brook nearby and you can rinse your dyes away.

have a good weekend

   neki desu 

 

ai doings

  

 cotton gauze some 3 dips in a well behaved ai vat. joy.

                  

another view. of the  itajime fabric.started out as an origami shibori, but somehow along the way i decided to fold it and clapmp it.

neki desu

 

the outcome

ai on cotton gauze.will be left to cure and then ironed. sort of boroish because it was a ecoup from a failed avocado pit dyeing. re use re dye re mi fa soletc.



















neki desu
 

hisashi buri

aka long time no see. proper vat with proper dyeing.

nice itajime ppractice warm up.still wet but promising.

an act of self control,things you learn during confinement. ( -_・)?

aching to unwind and unbundle, but holding back for more dips.the ai gods are cooperating so might as well go with the flow and try to produce the darkest blue.

neki desu
 

more blues

not only the dyeing, but also the conversation is priceless.

 have a good weekend.








neki desu

notes on the blues

left: 3 dips, middle: 5 dips right: 7-8 dips.






the silk skeins started with a cochineal dye, then proceeded into the ai vat.the morale of the story is that if you want a very dark blue start with magenta.
i know, i know that the japanese get this color, but bear in mind that they are masters and that they use sukumo fermentation  vats. a different big league ball game.











neki desu
 

creating a new set up

and trying not to risk my marriage.dyeing aromas and husband-san do not cohabit well.
don't know the reason,perhaps i am being more thorough, but dyeing is looking up. starting with the reduction which showed a good profile as seen in the photo. yep, the jar is organic sofrito
＼（＾▽＾）／

my original plan was to use the beer brewing vat to dye.however after much thinking about the process it didn't seem adequate to have the  sediment in contact with the metal bottom that gets heated. came up with a compromise: put a pot upside down, fill the vat with water and rest a plastic pail on top of the pot. i have less depth but it's safer, the water gets heated and the dye is kept warm.

the dyeing experience in this new set up

is more efficient. i am also timing the length of the dips after years of hit and miss.

new set up to oxidize and dry skeins. very careful so as not to stain floors and walls. something that could really drive husband-san to file divorce papers.

this skein is 2 dips of 10 minutes each.the teal blue is because the silk yarn had a yellow cast.hopefully after more dips it will disappear.
i also think that the quality of water here is much,much better than in barcelona,this w/out testing the ph. i'm cringing at the thought of what we drank all those years. (　ﾟД    )

new backdrop/ set up for photos. not quite the  usual sienna,
but not bad.
















neki desu
 

of ai again

have a great weekend.hang in there spring's coming.







neki desu

new generation

all's well.
have a great weekend!



neki desu

another episode of the frugal weaver

threading two meter remnants of the ai silk warp. i have realised that i have traded meters for natural light and this has enabled a revision of my processeses.

one who never makes excuses for not going into the studio and working,i had adequated every part of the process as well as the weaving itself to lack of natural light. working with lights, no matter how well designed the illumination is, had some effect on me.

not only is it more comfortable, it also is more pleasant. there has been a considerable streamlining.
on a very happy note one of my japanese classmates has located a cousin who has a fireplace. happy dance as he is saving the ashes for me. aizome ahead! now i only have to source the milk heating thermos.but that's another post.





neki desu