how it all began

Strata nº1. The central image is a photo of Bryce canyon manipulated beyond recognition :) and transfered on pelmet vilene which was then further manipulated. i saw it as too literal so the transfer idea was abandoned. However it acted as the springboard for the rest of the series.

Nº 2 is somewhat less literal and the concept behind had already started to gel. Layers recording time.
Curious here. Do you work in series? Or do you make individual pieces?

AIZOME Day 10

Starting to worry, there's no change in the vat, no bubbles indicating fermentation,no bronzy film and no change for the worse in smell. On the other hand madder dyeing is coming along well. Hope these do not turn into famous last words.

neki desu


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あかね or how to learn the basic words

Every summer when i start the natural dyes session i can't help but smiling. As the days progress the smile turns into laughter recalling episodes of Dr.Slump one of the cutest, most hilarious anime ever.
Why so? because among others of the Kimidori family whose names are all of the traditional Japanese dyes or colors. How did i learn the word akane? Akane Kimidori of course! Indeed a most efficient tool for learning languages.Then after that it was a matter of putting 2 and2 together and practicing :)

The scarf here is a simple silk crepe weave piece dyed with akane茜(madder) that i found some days ago in the bottomless drawer- remember ?
The kanji for madder is beautiful, too bad i didn't get it on my kanji test yesterday. Test which by the way was borderline bummer. But i'm digressing .

This year's akanezome is turning well. i'm doing it Japanese style dyeing,drying and resting for a day then dipping again.Strange how as you get older you become more patient. It's all about time, slow dyeing.

AIZOME Day6

The color is somehwat bronzy green with some yellow overtones. Apparently this kind of color is "listed" in books. The ph is ok. and it is starting to get smelly. i'm not doing the wave yet.

neki desu

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the zeitgeist

It seems that nowadays everywhere i look i find ai, natural dyes and animation.
There's something else that makes this video special.
The morning i went to Fushimi Inari as i was crossing the torii passage i could hear a sutra being chanted : the sutra, the early morning light filtering through the red gates , the silence broken by the monotone repetition, it all created a very special mood which i can still recall 13 years afterwards. This is the sutra.

Ai vat Day 4

Added cooked wheat bran with the morning stirring.No significant change from yesterday.

neki desu


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