Ubaguito.us

You would think that bringing to Japan one of my bags, made entirely of traditional Japanese patterns like the wonderful large wave or seigaiha pattern on the front flap–repeated many times over on our Tokyo hotel’s elevator doors for example, would be superfluous, like bringing coals…., but I have never had such an enthusiastic response. We were first checking out a department store in Osaka and wandered into one department where we attempted to communicate with a saleswoman about the various kimonos. At one point she pointed admiringly at my bag and when I indicated to her that I had made it myself, she clapped appreciatively. The same response–with variations–came from a Ryokan matron, a taxi driver, a museum shop salesgirl, and various and sundry other folks.

Those Japanese have such good taste.

Contemporary Yellow Kimono

I have written much about my working with traditional Japanese patterns and deconstructed kimonos, a search that has taken many hours of my retirement–a joyous search, I might add, because I have always been fascinated with the Japanese aesthetic. I can probably trace that passion back to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and one of the finest collections I know of Japanese art and design. Mass Art was just a stone’s throw away and the teachers there were fond of using the Museum’s collection as source material for assignments. I can even remember a fabric design–probably my first–using the ubiquitous stylized waves of Japanese art. So I was excited that a major exhibition of “Kosode: Haute Coutoure Kimonos of the Edo Period“  would be at the Suntory Museum in Tokyo when we were there. While we were in Kyoto, we had visited the textile museum and arrived in time to see a fashion show of contemporary kimonos which, while pretty, were less than awe-inspiring. Most of the kimonos sold on Ichiroya‘s web site–and certainly many of those I had bought in order to deconstruct them–were far more compelling. (more…)

When Gloria Swanson uttered the now infamous line, “Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up” in the film, Sunset Boulevard, she imagined herself the glamorous star she had once been–and star she was–in her own private studio, complete with director and cameraman and staircase. A star, indeed–no waiting for recognition, no competition, no auditions. (more…)

Where to begin? What led to my current obsession with fabrics and with my “bags”? Blame it on Joan. My daughter, Joan, is (let me get this right) Associate Dean and Director of the undergraduate program in the College of Business & Economics at Lehigh University. She is probably the first multi-tasker I ever knew. Whatever she may be doing–whether she is watching television or riding in the car, whatever–she always needs to be doing something with her hands. One of the things she has been doing for several years is quilting. She has made some wonderful quilts including one for her step-father that, after nearly twenty years, exists prominently beside his own work and which he considers to be her very best (and he is one fussy customer). She was really anxious to make a quilt for me to rival BW’s. I suggested that I select the fabrics. Ha! And that’s where it all began. Anyone who has ever been to a fabric store or who has searched on line for a particular piece of fabric or a pattern or motif will understand the wealth of choices and the myriad ways in which it is possible to get caught up in all the splendor–kid in a candy store kind of stuff. (more…)