Printing, Pattern, Paper, Play….:)

When professor asked us to push out 50 ideas concerning our final project using creative card and stuff.. that really forced me to break stiff mind-set and come up with some interesting thoughts. for instance, instead of thinking how to modify traditional craft with modern technology, think backwards:

– What can we learn from old technique, and apply in modern art or design practice?

take kimono textile printing for example, most of the exquisite and complecated image was composed of repetitive pattern printed and dyed several times using different color and combination (reminded by professor Frances Stevenson, kinda like photoshop brush and layers)

this printing technique can be more easily observed in the making of Chiyogami, a kind of precious japanese paper,(memo for future study: why can paper making always be linked with cloth and textile…)

this origami crane (the same as the page image) was made by chiyogami paper given by professor Kumilo from Yamakuchi prefectural university in Japan.

you cansee that the image was basically composed of “background”(背景用文様), “gradation”(ぼかし染め文様), pattern” (白抜き文様) and “icon”(和風アイコン)

this website explians how it works quite visually:   http://yokohama.cool.ne.jp/alisato/chiyo/

the reason that those combinations can conjure an image that is sophisticate but not messy, I think, may because the harmonious color arrangement. (memo 2: somaybe  it can beused as an education tool for people to learn about color theory or try things out… )

anyway, these are some modern design using the same fomula, just replacing the traditional objects with new one, still worked quite well!

Japanese pattern designer and illustrator Aya kato can be viewed as a master of using brush and layer to create astonishing beauty. nearly all of the objects in her painting are used more than once but never appear to be repeative.

in a nutshell..和の色を千代紙に学びましょう
こういう「和」の情景を切り取って、暮らしに取り込めるようにしたのが、千代紙です。「和」の色を絶妙なコンビネーションで組み合わせ、伝統的な柄や文様をアレンジした、美しい千代紙たち。
私が子供の頃には、たいていの女の子は千代紙をコレクションしていました。仲良しの子に気に入りの千代紙を贈ったり、友達同士で交換したり。その千代紙を 使って、姉さん人形を作ったり。そうやって私たち日本人は、色彩感覚や、柄、文様に対する美意識を磨いてきたのでしょう。
着物を着ると時の、あの独特の色使い。半衿や帯揚げ、着物と帯、羽織や足袋などなど、洋装とはまったく異なる、色と色、柄と柄のコーディネートは、こうした千代紙遊びからその修養が始まっていたのかもしれません。

a little knowlege about chiyogami

ORIGAMI DISCOVERS CHIYOGAMI

by Kimberly Crane

Chiyogami is a type of Japanese paper decorated with brightly colored, woodblock-printed patterns. Used today for a variety of handicrafts, such as covering small boxes, origami, and making kimono for paper dolls (anesama). Ukiyo-e artists first produced Chiyogami in the late 18th century. The word is a combination of chiyo (literally, “a thousand generations”) and kami (gami), or paper, and has auspicious connotations similar to those evoked by the pine, bamboo, and plum-blossom motifs with which it is often printed. Pine and bamboo trees remain green throughout the coldest weather, while winter-flowering plum trees bloom even when their branches are decked with snow, thus giving hope to mankind during the bleakest season of the year. Combinations of cranes and tortoises are popular, because these animals have always served as emblems of long life and happiness.

As anesama began to flourish at a time when ornamental paper was increasingly regarded as a necessity; in return, the influence of anesama upon chiyogami became apparent. One direct result was the enormous number of miniature adaptations from standard all-over fabric patterns, such as stripes, plaids, dots, or other geometric designs, and floral scatter prints. The origami folder of today need only walk into a modern fabric store and glance around at all the wonderful fabric patterns and think of how the patterns would look on a piece of paper. Perhaps this accounts for a small part in the growing popularity of fabrigami.

During the Edo period (1603-1867), chiyogami was an outcome of the many established papermaking centers throughout Japan. It was the paper of choice by many who could not afford the beautiful washi papers. Like washi paper, its popularity spread from Kyoto, to Edo (modern Tokyo), and Osaka. It is from these three main cities that it is still being manufactured and sold by a handful of woodblock printers.

For the origamist of today, chiyogami has caught the attention of the prospective folder who does not want to pay a hefty price for attractive and foldable paper. Like in times past, chiyogami continues to remain the choice for the origami folder when compared to its rich cousin – washi paper.