Threads of Tradition-Japanese Textiles: Rika Kushida 串田 里佳 and Ikuko Tanaka 田中郁子

12/8/23 - 20/8/23

An opportunity to see a very special textiles exhibition, featuring the work of two visiting Japanese designers.  Working with upcycled Japanese kimono material to make quilts, clothes, bags, and other items in a variety of patchwork styles in the traditional style of the area.

Rika Kushida 串田 里佳

Rika is from Mikuni, a small coastal town on the west coast of Japan. She has been sewing for almost 2 decades and specialises in Sashiko. Sashiko is the traditional style of reinforcing clothes for sailors. By stitching layers of patterns into the cloth, its strength is increased. There are various patterns of sashiko and each has a different meaning and philosophy. Rika's family has a long tradition of sewing, her grandmother was a professional kimono tailor. She was first attracted to sashiko because of its connection to the Japanese ideal of make do and mend. At the moment she uses sashiko to make old cloth into beautiful and robust everyday items.

Ikuko Tanaka 田中郁子

Ikuko is from Fukui a rural prefecture on the west coast of Japan. She first started sewing seriously in 1997 and now runs a sewing school in-between exhibitions. Her work covers a wide variety of areas, from quilts and bags to clothes and tapestries. She mostly uses the material, either cotton or silk, from antique kimons as the base for her work and it is this cloth that is the source of her passion. Recently she has also been incorporating antique buttons in to her work as well.