A Thing
To Wear
Kimono means ‘thing to wear” – from the verb “to wear (ki: on the shoulders)”, and the noun (mono: thing) refers to a traditional Japanese garment.
Since all the pattern pieces of a Kimono are rectangular, this was the perfect garment to make from scratch in a sustainable way; by weaving the exact amount of fabric needed. During the first month of my artist in residence period in Blönduós - Iceland, I wove 20 cm every day, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean from behind the loom. The rhythm that this brought to my days was so significant that I wasn’t delighted when 8 meter of fabric was finished. The coloring of it presented new challenges. I dyed the lining using the traditional Shibori technique in an organic indigo bath. The top fabric, in which a pattern was woven, was dipped in and out of the indigo bath several times to create a gradient that would capture the changing colors of the ocean.
Each time after I dipped the cloth in the indigo, I rinsed afterwards it in the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to preserve the scent of seawater as a memory to my new favorite beach.
Now; years later, the smell has unfortunately disappeared. However, the colors are still there, reminding me of the sea and the magnificent colors of Iceland, but more so of the long process it took to make this kimono and the rhythm and meaning it gave to my time there.
