TAC. De Young Museum. Barbara Shapiro. Japan Tour with Yoshiko Wada

Barbara assisted by her daughter shares one of the pieces she dyed
in the Shibori workshops in which she participated. 

A shibori dye skirt with woven in inlay pleats 

One of Barbars' prized collected baskets. 

Barbara bought several baskets, as her own art is basket sculpture; she has returned with materials and new ideas for her basket sculptures and was commissioned to do a basket on site in Japan.

See websites for Barbara Shapiro on her Surface Design blog.    She bought and donated some shibori samples to the Cooper Hewitt Museum, as the curator, Susan Brown, was also on Yoshiko Wadas tour.

Some interesting facts from her discussion and slide presentation of her tour.

Mature tea leaves have alluminum in them.

Mechanized labor now permits two women to do what 80 women did, in terms of weaving silk.

Most silk in Japan comes from China.  In Japan, the demographic has shifted from 80,000 to now 500 growing silkworms...

Safflower is fugitive dye.  It cannot be exposed to light.  They visited Yoshimuni home, where three generations have dyed with safflower to produce beautiful red robes.

These shops were recommended:  Kanaegi, Kyoto.  (her favorite)  Galerie Galerie,

Museums:  She visited the Shinto Indigo museum   the Mingei museum in Tokyo as well as the Dover Street Mall(also in London)  The Amuse Museum.  21 21 Sight Museum, by Miyaki,  The Miho Museum outside Kyoto which was displaying Indian Chintzs and Dutch porcelain.  .

She visited Kozo Paper Maker.  She bought poem strips and some paper samples. She shows up woven paper jackets.   We also see "rice in manifestations", or rice straw amulets.  Puppet floats are present in festival.

Kakeshibu is a cloth used in the production of saki.  She found pieces.

Mrs Hanma is 94 and revered shibori maker.

Metallic yarns are coated with alumninum.

Linen or Cotton clampled in lye bath shrinks it.