singing shifu

my four selvedge lokta shifu

it's almost ready for us all,

a definitive work about my heart's delight!

A SONG OF PRAISE FOR SHIFU

here's my story:

a very long time ago i read an article

in (the sorely missed) journal fiberarts... it was about a paper textile

japanese made, called shifu.

 written by dorothy miller.

well, as a weaver and papermaker, i was captivated.

thus began my search for the elusive textile shifu.

not long after this event, i found that dorothy miller was teaching a class 

in indigo dyeing and in paper spinning for shifu.

so i made my way to that midwest fiber conference and spun and dyed.

thus began my journey.

 susan byrd's new book, A SONG OF PRAISE FOR SHIFU

will be available very soon for purchase.

i have been a privileged first reader.

 i have seen the faces of the weavers,

photographs of the ones

susan studied with.

 i have seen their brilliant hands

 spinning and weaving.

susan has asked me

to send you all to her site through the hot link above.

(or here)

her text is rich and detailed

the photographs, copious

the footnotes are worth a book of their own (almost).

this book kept ringing out peals of music

YES! YES!

as i read. 

~~~

now, here's really really good news:

this book is pricey

and the proceeds, all of them,

are going to the shifu weavers themselves.

susan is taking the book to japan

(the money, too)

a gift to her teachers, the traditional shifu weavers themselves.

amazing, a full circle.

another gift:

the first copies will have

samples.

amazing and beautiful samples

paper and shifu.