Stitching Paper: Quilting Japan and America by Lucy Arai

The exhibit will be on view from June 19 to July 9 in the J-Sei Gallery. The gallery will be open M-F, from 1 to 4 pm, and by appointment. For the community programs on June 24th, the gallery will open at 1 pm and July 9th, the gallery will open at 12 noon.

Lucy Arai creates art with a confluence of traditions and innovations. She uses temari (Japanese embroidered balls) and sashiko to fabricate structures, to articulate details in forms, and to respond to the deposits of ink and indigo pigments on handmade papers. These are traditions that were transmitted to her through her Tokyo uncle and Issei mother, while her formal art training was in ceramic sculpture at the University of South Carolina and University of Michigan.

Sashiko is the Japanese tradition of unshin, sewing running-stitches, to strengthen, layer, and connect fabric to protect and warm the body, and for utilitarian items; and temari are intricately embroidered hand balls for games that were introduced to Japan from China around the 7th century A.D.

Arai will present work that retain the integrity of the traditions she practices with innovative applications and non-traditional materials. Her use of sumi ink, the medium of the literati and aristocracy of Japan and Asia, is deliberately untrained to emphasize the eloquence of her humble stitches responding to the deposits and strokes of visceral action, not intellectual expression.

The exhibit, artist talk and workshops are presented by Friends of Topaz Museum and J-Sei.

 Sashiko & Senninbari-Knot Doodles Workshop 

Th, June 29, Fri, June 30, Sat, July 1

Sashiko, running-stitch patterns, is popular among quilters and stitchers for the graphic and geometric patterns inspired by nature and Japanese design; senninbari, is not widely known.  Senninbari is a sash sewn with 1000 knots of red thread that Japanese women made for their husbands, sons, and brothers to wear when they went into battle. Women in WWII camps followed this custom when their young Japanese American men enlisted into the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Participants will learn about sashiko and senninbari, as stitching traditions of Japan, and how to sew them. Each participant will sew small sashiko and knot doodles using traditional materials to make a 4” x 6” composition that will be mounted in a frame and 5 mini-doodles that will be mounted onto blank notecards with envelopes.

No experience is necessary. All ages are welcome.

Workshop Dates:

Th, June 29, 1 to 3 pm – Closed *

Fri, June 30, 10 am to 12 pm – Closed*

Sat, July 1, 10 am to 12 pm – Closed*

Th, July 6, 1 to 3 pm – Closed*

Sat, July 8, 10 am to 12 pm -Closed*

*Workshop is full.

Workshop fee: $30, includes materials.

Participants may want to bring their own scissors and a notepad.

RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Threads Workshop” in the subject line. Please indicate your first and second choice of date.