Images of a three-day workshop run at Middlesex
University by Katagami Project Researcher Sarah Desmarais for ten students, at both undergraduate and masters level, from a
range of disciplines including jewellery and fine art. The content of the
workshop was generated from Sarah’s practice-based research with the
traditional materials of Japanese textile printing and dyeing. The
sessions aimed to provoke reflection on the role of traditional materials on
the development of a distinctively Japanese design aesthetic; on drawing as a
key way in which designs are assimilated, translated and transformed by
artists; on the way particular design idioms circulate between cultures; and on
the value of heritage textiles as a resource for artists and designers.
On day 1, students were presented with a selection of MoDA’s katagami and
given some historical background to the stencils and to MoDA’s collections.
They then explored the katagami in detail through drawing from them,
before starting to design and cut their own stencils. On day 2, the
students made rice paste using traditional materials and methods, and used it
to start printing with their own stencils. On day 3, students were shown
how to dye with natural indigo, and dyed the samples they had previously
printed. A questionnaire was used to record participants’ experience of
the workshop, and demonstrated that manual and experiential engagement with the
processes of printing with stencils and rice paste had produced new forms of
understanding, a sense of connection with traditional makers, and inspiration
for further work.