Hands on with Japanese Handmade Paper!

Date: July 29 & 30, 2017

Venue: Craft and Folk Art Museum
(5814 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

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Lecture and demonstration

Strong and Versatile: Japanese Handmade Paper and Paper Thread
 

Saturday, July 29, 11:30am-1:00pm and 3:00pm-4:30pm event is full

(Casual reception will follow after the 3pm presentation)

free to attend rsvp required

 

Can paper be turned into wearable clothing? Absolutely. In Japan, thread made from handmade paper has been used for weaving cloth since at least the 17th century. The cloth is called shifu (shi means paper and fu means cloth in Japanese) and traditionally it has been employed in a variety of uses, from making kimono for the elite, to work clothes for farmers. Hiroko Karuno, an expert spinner, natural dyer and weaver presents a slide lecture on the process of making Japanese handmade paper. Afterwards, she will demonstrate the intricate method of producing paper thread from a sheet of handmade paper and how to prepare it for weaving.

 

 

 

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Workshop

Master Class with Hiroko Karuno: Making Paper Thread

Sunday, July 30, 12pm-6pm

Program is full.

 

Learn the uniquely detailed method of making kami-ito from a sheet of washi. In this hands-on workshop, Hiroko will lead participants with step-by-step instruction on everything from folding the paper to spinning the paper with a drop-spindle. Space is limited to 10 participants who have experience with spinning and weaving.

 

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Family fun!

Papermaking workshop presented by Hiromi Paper Inc.

Sunday, July 30, 1pm-3pm
Free and no reservation required.

Join Hiromi Paper, Inc., JFLA and CAFAM as we explore the world of traditional Japanese paper making. Through this hands-on learning experience guided by Hiromi Paper staff, all participants will make their own 4" x 6" Japanese papers using a postcard size suketa (paper making mould). All materials will be supplied and participants will keep their sheets of paper.

 

 

 

 

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Hiroko Karuno is a spinner, nature dyer and weaver.  Her textiles are an intricate hybrid of traditional Japanese processes and materials.  She spins paper thread from Japanese handmade paper, dyes it with natural dyes and then weaves it into a cloth called shifu.  This is a highly skilled traditional technique that almost died out in the 19th Century.   
Hiroko has travelled and researched traditional Japanese papermaking, spinning, dyeing and weaving.  All of her research is brought together in her current work  which incorporates traditional methods of making paper thread, dyeing it with natural dyes and weaving shifu.  
In 2013 she published a book “Kigami and Kami-ito, Japanese Handmade Paper and Paper Thread.”  Her 2016, solo exhibition “Moro-jifu (both warp and weft  paper thread)” was held in Nara, Japan.

 

 

This program is presented by The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, Craft and Folk Art Museum and Hiromi Paper Inc.