“I am starting to feel the profoundness of weaving” Aiko Kanda
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I am taking a year off from an art university in Tokyo to study here. Although at the university I major in Spatial Planning Design, I love fabric, and feel that my skills will broaden if I could make them myself. I am here to achieve techniques that would help me work independently as an artist.
I discovered Kawashima Textile School during my second summer at the university, starting from seeing a photo of a product from Kawashima Textiles (Kawashima Selkon Textile Co., Ltd.) in a Fashion class. Back then, I had a fixed idea of finding a job right after graduation, but I decided to make a plunge into a world I love, after being inspired by a film I saw at a craft exhibition around the same time, and finding out there are many ways a person can live.
When I visited the school, I saw the students’ work, how they were working towards the Graduate Exhibition, the many tapestries, and imagined myself making them as a student. I thought that maybe here, I could change in a significant way. Another option was changing my major at the same university, but since the curriculum at Kawashima Textile School is very dense, and there are many types of looms and a possibility to study various weaving techniques, I think I can find a weave that is a good match for me, while gaining a wide variety of experiences.
I am starting to feel the profoundness of weaving. Now knowing the different characteristics of each thread and fabric, and the freedom of weaving, I am interested in combining different materials. I am excited to see the potential of weaving, which I didn't know of before.
