the two year scarf

two years ago via joan lintault , another inveterate japanophile, i came in contact with the movie sakuran and the concept of oiran.it is carelessly signified along with geisha as prostitute. however as all things japanese it has many  nuances that for most western eyes go unnoticed and thus concepts get grossly mistaken.

i was taken by the lavishness of sakuran's costumes which kept popping back into my mind until i had to work on that and  create my own modest interpretation of such lavishness. 

color etiquette in japan follows very strict rules.

red of course, which carries connotations of sexual desire, flashy and vibrant for a tayu kimono.  red paired with white, Kohaku, means happiness and celebration in japanese eyes, not a bad start for a shibori scarf.nuances of red, using my then new peony brush.black, no mourning here, just contrast.

folding, dyeing, creating a subtle gradation in the red background, folding and dyeing again.

then a need for gold;lavish, opulent, flashy.a sakura flower printed with my already qualifying for vintage metallic pigments bought at  uematsu in tokyo.

cutting the stencil, finding a proportion of binder to pigment that would not alter the hand or at least not too much. stamping, curing.

this in a nutshell is the story of the oiran shibori scarf aka the two year scarf.

         

 will be in the shop on friday

neki desu