Image: Sashiko stitches. All images courtesy of LongHouse Reserve

LongHouse Reserve exemplifies living with art in all forms. Founded by Jack Lenor Larsen (1927 - 2020), its collections, gardens, sculpture and programs reflect world culture and teach the fostering of a creative life. Inspired by the Japanese shrine at Ise, Larsen wanted LongHouse visitors to leave with a unique learning experience about a creative approach to contemporary life. Now, Longhouse is offering a series of three illuminating virtual talks led by one of the leading experts in Japanese textiles and techniques, Yoshiko Wada.

Image: Clamp resist ikat dyeing, one of the techniques that will be discussed in lecture one. 

In his forward to her book Memory on Cloth: Shibori Now (2002), Larsen said “Perhaps more than anyone else, Wada caused the evolution of fiber focus from cloth structure to the dye patterning that we now recognize as surface design.” The first of the three talks, The Dyer’s Art in Japan, pays homage in turn to Larsen's seminal book The Dyer’s Art (1976), which has been credited with bringing attention to the the resist dyeing art of greater Asia, awakening westerners to political and cultural realities of the world beyond the West. Yoshiko will present Japanese resist-dying traditions up to the modern age, including kyokechi, itajime, katazome, shibori, and kasuri.

Image: Clamp resist ikat dyeing - fabric. 

In the second lecture, Yoshiko will delve into Japanese costume, with a specific focus on Kimono, and Japanese clothing from the Yayoi period (200 BC - 250AD) onwards, showing illustrations and images of the remarkable textile art that was worn. Finally, in The Power of Stitchery: Nui Project and Sashiko, two different stitchery practices in Japan will be explored. One ancient and one modern, one a response to the the wear and tear of life during cold winters and harsh physical work, and the other a simple act of stitching, Yoshiko will discuss regional styles of traditional sashiko, and the modern stitchery of members of the Nui Project in Kagoshima.

The first of the three lectures will take place on Sunday 28 February, 4:30pm EST. Tickets are available for $35, $25 for LongHouse members, on the LongHouse website.

We’re thrilled that Yoshiko Wada will be presenting at our talk, Japanese Textiles Pecha-Kucha, on Saturday 20 March. For more details and to buy tickets, visit the talk page.