Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Cloth Paper Scissors


Boro series: old Japanese envelopes, hand painted rice papers


piece of vintage Boro fabric, Srithreads.com


Decades ago, impoverished farmers and fishermen in Japan and their families stitched and layered scraps of fabric for their survival. Boro (rags and tatters) was the shape of survival in their poverty and inhospitable land. The beauty and sheer compositional skill of these boro creations have become national treasures in Japan. Today, there are many artists working with fabric and cloth in similar ways.


Yuko Kimura: Boro no. 4, intaglio, old Japanese book page, on handmade paper, thread


Yuko Kimura is a California artist working with fabric, paper and thread. She has worked on a series titled Boro. Website here.


Yuko Kimura: Paper Window series: etching on old book pages and handmade paper, thread


"My working process is about mending and patching by reusing or recycling old paper or fabric from Japan. I am particularly interested in the beauty of translucency and imperfect uneven edges in homemade paper." -- Yuko Kimura


Matthew Harris: dyed, cut and handstitched cloth


Matthew Harris is a working artist with cloth, paper, thread in the United Kingdom. He makes work that employs dying, cutting and hand stitching. He is concerned with abstract imagery and the translation of drawn marks into cloth. Website here.


Michael Harris: mixed media on paper, waxed thread


"The musicality in Harris' work is clear. We can recognize the complex structural elements of composition... The progressive form of the [musical] score graphically represents the linear unfolding of time..." Paul Harper, Trace Elements
Lisa Hochstein:  salvaged paper

Lisa Hochstein spent several years living in Barcelona Spain and now lives in California.  She works with both salvaged papers and recycled fabric.  Website here.  

Lisa Hochstein:  hand stitching on salvaged fabric

"Each collage is a layered physical record of its own making,  as well as an encounter with the impermanence of objects we at one time hold dear and then later cease to value.  The finished works range from precise geometric constructions to more fluid, painterly compositions.  They resonate with my own intermittent pangs of nostalgia and fuel my curiosity about individual and collective histories."  -- Lisa Hochstein
Dorothy Caldwell:  fabric, stitching
Dorothy Caldwell is a Canadian textile artist.  She maintains an active international exhibition and teaching schedule from her studio in Hastings, Ontario.  Working with paper and cloth, her works examine different kinds of marks including stitching, resist and batik, drawn and painted marks and mending.  Her works address different aspects of movement and gesture that through time and repetition evolve into richly activated surfaces.  Website here.  


The art of the inner work, which unlike the outer
does not forsake the artist, which he does not "do"
and can only "be," springs from the depths of which
the day knows nothing. --Eugene Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery

29 comments:

Leslie Avon Miller said...

The use of worn envelopes with that "well traveled" look that only patina of time can provide combined with the bits of marks peeping at the edges of your collage are very appealing Donna. There is a story there, from some time ago....in your collage.

Beautiful choice of artists with a complementary aesthetic. Your post is a work of art in itself.

Thank you.

eb said...

quiet
persuasive
wabi-sabi love
yes Leslie, well said...

xox - eb.

ZenDotStudio said...

there is something metaphorically appealing about collage work. a lovely piecing together here of this collection of artists.

I love the tiny stitches of the boro work, something so appealing.

inspiring post as always. very wabi sabi as eb says.

Unknown said...

I'm thinking how these pieces would make a wonderful exhibition to wander through. I like the contrasts between the rhythmic and the quieter pieces. Thanks for posting.

Jennifer said...

What a wonderful post. The more I see and learn about boro, the more intriguing it becomes to me.

I was in Philadelphia over the weekend to see some of the exhibits included in FiberPhiladelphia and got to see a number of Dorothy Caldwell's pieces. All stunning.

One of the exhibits is entitled Mending = Art. Very interesting to see how the artists interpreted mending. Included was a very old, very mended and patched Japanese farmer's jacket that was exquisite...a wonderful example of boro. I fairly drooled over it.

Thank you for this post.

lyle baxter said...

Donna, what a wonderful post. I know I'll be spending time at your house reading about each artists take on "Cloth,Paper,Scissors" thank you for such a gift! and thanks for visiting my "circles" I cant seem to let go of them!

Caterina Giglio said...

another great post with a very complimentary group of artists, lovely works all and am especially attracted to the quote...

jlag said...

Thank you for this post. I am inspired to learn more about these artists.

henrietta (aka ani aka zani) said...

oh you have given so much in this post - i must spend more time hear just looking and finding my own words for what i see and listening to the echo of yours. beguiled. i work with jude hill so you must know how much pleasure this post brings.

ArtPropelled said...

Stitched and layered, rags and tatters .... all these pieces speak to me. Beautiful post and I love your Boro series, Donna.

sukipoet said...

I recall so well your previous Boro posts. all these works are lovely. Interesting seeing your carefully arranged beautiful collage next to the rough edges and wabi-sabi cloth Boro example. Thanks for find all these wonderful artists to explore.

Magdalena said...

I really love boro...it has so much soul...
Thank you for beautiful post.

anca gray said...

it's breathtaking so much richness can be uncovered from these deceptively simple pieces.

Judy Shreve said...

Such a beautiful post. It reminds of the old quilts from West Virginia - an appalachian version of Boro -
The old seamstresses could hold the fabric and tell you a story about each of the pieces that made up the quilt. It was quite moving . . .and inspiring as most of the tales were stories of strength and survival.

Jo Reimer said...

I love seeing these odd bits of cloth and paper pieced together to form a whole and embelished with line and stitch. These are my roots.

india flint said...

joy

Emma said...

Beautiful pieces, I can feel them thru your post.

yucca said...

So beautiful and lovely stitches of the boro work!
I'm interested in Yuko Kimura,and her beautiful site.
Thank you for wonderful post.

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful old papers and fabric in this post. I was brought up to appreciate them through my mother who wove and hired me to weave for her for a while. thank you for sharing these artists.

Don said...

You always find the good stuff!

Teri said...

I love the work of Dorothy Caldwell. I was not familiar with her or her work so I really appreciate you featuring her here. There is something very "cozy" and "homey" to her work. Primitive and salvaged. Love it. Hate the word verification thing!

mansuetude said...

Truly Lovely.

Jann Gougeon said...

. . . love, love, love . . everything!

Thank you Donna

Carol said...

Truly beautiful. A wonderful blog.

Petra Eller said...

always really great and interesting posts. especially your work inspired me very much. i love stripes , dots and circles .
many greetings

Cynthia Monica said...

How wonderful to know Boro means rags and tatters...I had not heard this before and it adds another layer to my admiration and love of this beautiful art form. Thanks again Donna for a wonderful post on such fabulous artists!

Lynn said...

I got lost in your links to these wonderful artists the other morning and forgot to leave a comment.
Thank you - again - for a brilliant post!

Claire said...

Wonderful.

Lisa Graham said...

Hi Donna, I saw you and your work in Seth Apter's book...your self portrait is so wonderful and very interesting.

These paper works are so peaceful to look at. I really like the colors and patterns in yours.

Greetings to you from Wichita, Kansas!