Thursday, October 11, 2012

working with a master

in 1997 i attended a wonderful workshop
we worked with pina
so 
when aimee lee told me asao 
was coming to the u.s.
and I found that he would be teaching in syracuse
i asked holly greenberg about it 
and received a gracious invitation to
sit in on the class.
so i drove down yesterday
 asao creates magic: a table full of color
(pigments, dyes)
 placed  by asao shimura
master papermaker
 who is on his kon'nyaku tour
 so we ogled the dyes and pigments he prepared
and used them
asao wearing pina shifu
up close
asao clothed in shifu with dyed paper yarns
bengara (for jean)
holly and a sutra by asao
printing 
kon'nyaku thickened pigments and dyes
holly's papermaking students got to play
with the "paste"
genevieve nordmark
a lover of hand papermaking
and a friend 
who may find her way to my mill sometime soon
some of her lovely paper
working into her paper with kon'nyaku and pigment
coating sheets with kon'nyaku
the lime cook
a short immersion
rinse and dry
printing blocks
and a final note:
pina spun paper, colors to dye for.
i almost jumped over the table for these treasures.
it was a good day.
making marks, making friends.

20 comments:

  1. oh, yes I'm on a bengara mission - but I love them ALL. what a fabulous workshop, such an opportunity to work with a master/true sensei

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  2. jean, it was a terrific day, i learned so much, and have so much to experiment with on my own.

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  3. I got so excited seeing the bengara/dyes that I didn't mention the pina shifu - now that is something to really get excited about.
    wonder if I could just stop eating, sleeping, cleaning and gardening and get on with the important things?

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  4. me, too, jean. that pina shifu is superb. now, maybe i should dig out my pina paper and see about making some shifu with that. hmmm.

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  5. I don't know where to start! so many words that sound delicious (yet i have no idea what they mean) - those paper yarns and pots of colour (swoooooooon!)

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  6. I'm in his Cleveland workshop. Can't wait! Thanks for the preview.

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  7. india, yep!
    ronnie, exactly how i felt when he laid out the colors!
    lucky lisa, be prepared to learn, quietly, and well.

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  8. oh i can imagine that it was a very peaceful day and there must still be that inner glow of warmth one feels when one has done something that one truly loves...glad you had that moment.

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  9. wonderful!! now i have to source konyaku

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  10. you are the most wonderful storyteller! thank you for doing this, all of it.

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  11. henrietta, you said it perfectly
    neki, yes, you could check with aimee-
    aimee, you are so welcome, my dear. it was a pleasure, really.

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  12. V-always such a joy to see and be involved with the masters. It looks like you all had such an opportunity. B

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  13. What a special day - of quiet delight.

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  14. barry and fiona, it was indeed a special day

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  15. I loved reading about this workshop and viewing your illustrations of it. Those pigments and dyes in the small dishes are very inspiring.
    Well, everything was.
    Best wishes.

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  16. A very enjoyable post, I loved every phrase and every picture.
    I wish this sensei would come to this part of the world too.

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  17. judy, thanks. it was very simple, very huge/profound. asao is a treasure.
    blandina, i'm glad! i know what you mean--it's been 15 years since he was here.

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