About the School: Internationality 7 | Interviews with Graduates

-Making things by hand in a space that connects the bistro with weaving-　Patricia Schoeneck

The Internationality segment of a series introducing Kawashima Textile School (KTS). We are bringing you interviews with graduates from all over the world who have various relationships with weaving. In this 7th part of the series, we asked Patricia how she came to study at the school from our partner school in Sweden, her impressions of the school, and as a bistro owner, how weaving exists in her everyday life, and what her job at the bistro has in common with weaving from a perspective of making things by hand.

Patricia Schoeneck (Swedish)

Owner of a bistro

Currently living in Sweden

Courses: Foundation Kasuri, Applied Kasuri I (May to June 2012), Applied Kasuri II, III* (October to November 2013) as a foreign exchange student from Handarbetets Vänner Skola

*now part of Applied Kasuri II

-Could you tell us why you chose to study at KTS?

The school HV (Handarbetets Vänner Skola) where I did my weaving studies is a partner school with Kawashima and that was my first way in to discover Kawashima. As I read about the school I felt that it was a wonderful place to study and explore traditional but also modern handcraft in the field of weaving and dyeing techniques.

The atmosphere at Kawashima both impressed and inspired me. The atmosphere of taking creation, craft, and textile extremely seriously. It made no sound, it needed not, it was just there led by teachers and accompanied by the students.

-You first studied at KTS in 2012 and came back to continue studying kasuri after 1.5 years.
You wove a large work by yourself at home by combining the techniques you learned at KTS. Did you find any new points of views? You might have found something that you want to learn more clearly, by leaving once in terms of place and time. Perhaps, such a sense of distance may lead to your current lifestyle between working at a bistro and weaving.

Both at Kawashima and in Sweden I had so many ideas and visions about things I wanted to create. Since both dyeing and weaving are pretty time consuming it is not possible to realize every big idea that was growing in my head. I think, when looking back, I had to complete a big work first in order to start making smaller works, samples. And working like that enabled me to create and realize more of my visions. Now in my current lifestyle I might be leaning towards both ways of practicing weaving and creating in general. Since running a bistro takes almost all my time I need to have small/short textile work that is realistic for me to complete but I also need a big over-years-lasting work that I can return to whenever I have some time left.

-How has your experience at KTS influenced you?

It gave me patience and confidence in my ability to succeed towards my visions within weaving, dyeing and overall projects in life.

-How do you use the skills learnt at KTS in your career, life, etc?

I try not to rush, I source to take away unnecessary work or objects that risk to stand in conflict with my final goals or visions.

Elfviks Gård Bistro

-Could you tell us the background of renting an atelier, starting to work at a bistro, and then becoming the owner? Perhaps this lifestyle works well for you, as a mother of a small child?

Both the atelier and the bistro are situated in the countryside at a sheep farm. I love nature and old buildings so when I one summer day found that place I knew I wanted to work there. As weaving is hard to make money off of, I had to find other ways to be able to earn my living, especially because my partner and I wanted to become parents soon. So when the former owner of the bistro wanted to leave, I said I could take over. Soon after that our son was born. It is a lovely way to live, although it is very hard and means a lot of work, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

-From the view of creating things by hand, your bistro job and weaving seems to be related somehow. Do you feel that way?

My bistro job and weaving are related in several ways I think. They are both hard works, takes a lot of time, a lot of unreflected time when you just do what you have to do to accomplish what you started, but they also consist of and start with an idea, a thought, or just a feeling. I bake a lot of buns, cakes, and cookies, and I feel, just as repeatedly that it is, still, satisfaction. Because every once in a while or very often I get the same feeling that weaving gives me. For example, running the bistro is like working with my hands, having something in front of me, a lot of routine, making the same things over and over again, but also here and then, as twinkling stars, the feelings of creation appear and kicks in right to my heart, just like weaving.

-What does weaving mean to you?

At this moment weaving has a small part in my physical day to day life. I run my bistro everyday, with all the work that comes along. But my weaving studio is situated just above the bistro, and every once in a week I go up to the attic and enter the studio and breathe, deep breaths. I know that in a short future of time I will be working there again. Until then I inhale the wonderful scent of fibers and loom and dream about my next textile project.

Visit the Elfviks Gård website or follow Patricia on instagram at @patriciaschoeneck and @elfviksgardsbistro.

Patricia's "Student Voice" article from 2013, with photos of her work in the KTS Graduate Exhibition.

About the School: Internationality Series 1/2/3/4/5/6

About the School: Internationality 6 | Interviews with Graduates

-Looking at the fusion of cultures, and exploring the possibilities of weaving spaces-　Rosa Tolnov Clausen

The Internationality segment of a series introducing Kawashima Textile School (KTS). Over four weeks starting from Part 4, we are bringing you interviews with graduates from all over the world who have various relationships with weaving. In this 6th part of the series, in addition to how she came to learn at KTS, what influenced her, how she uses the skills she learned, and what weaving means to her, we asked Rosa Tolnov Clausen about the idea of practicing a completely different approach to seeing weaving as a space, and her motive behind holding the workshop "Everything I Know About Kasuri," instead of weaving her own piece, which is what is usually done as the final project at KTS.

The Weaving Kiosk project. A series of nine temporary weaving spaces 2017-18 in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Photo: Johannes Romppanen

Rosa Tolnov Clausen (Danish)
Textile designer and PhD student
Currently living in Sweden and Finland
Courses: Foundation Kasuri, Applied Kasuri I, II, III*
(October to December 2013)

*now part of Applied Kasuri II

-Could you tell us why you chose to study at KTS?

I already knew about Kawashima Textile School. I cannot completely remember from where. But I was definitely aware that my friend Johanna was at KTS in the previous year and I knew that I also wanted to go. I saw a stay at KTS as a perfect opportunity to visit Japan and at the same time to get practical insight into the Kasuri technique. I had already been interested in Kasuri for a while and had made a research project about it during a school exchange to Aalto University in Finland in 2012. As a matter of a fact Finland has a Kasuri tradition as well, but in Finland it is called Flammé (Flame). Finnish weavers have used very simple Kasuri variations in different folkloristic costumes. But Flammé is to my knowledge not taught anywhere in Finland. Studying at KTS offered the possibility to go to Japan for a longer period of time and gain some insight in Japanese textile traditions and be introduced to practitioners in the field.

-How has your experience at KTS influenced you?

Being part of the environment at KTS and being in Kyoto was an incredibly stimulating experience for me, which I still draw on in my work.

I did a quite alternative project at KTS, which was about cultural exchange and aesthetic development, but departing from weaving. Basically I invited people in Kyoto for a pop-up Kasuri workshop called “Everything I know about Kasuri.” The idea was to use the Kasuri technique as a catalyst for cultural exchange. Arguing for the project, receiving the trust and support from the teachers at KTS and actually conducting the project in Kyoto, have definitely meant increased confidence in my ideas, which has affected most of my projects since.

Flammé textile sample from the collection of Dräktbyrån Brage, Helsinki.
Photo: Rosa Tolnov Clausen

-Was your decision to hold a workshop as a final project at KTS connected to your previous experience to create spaces and/or teach to share with people? Could you tell us your thoughts behind the idea of creating spaces?

When I came to KTS I had just graduated from the Master’s programme as textile designer from Kolding School of Design in Denmark. My graduation project in Denmark was a collaboration and co-design project with blind and visually impaired weavers. Through that project I became aware how the weaving space in addition to being a productive space, also holds other meanings for the people who weave, for example as a social space to be among others and as a physical, material and creative space in an increasingly digitalised world. It has been my interest since then to explore these additional meanings of the weaving space through my projects.

When I came to Japan and especially Kyoto, I was so fascinated by the presence of handcraft in urban space. When I walked around, I saw professional craftsmen sew, weave, hammer etc. as a completely natural part of a highly modern and digitalised urban landscape. It felt like the handmade and the digital could co-exist. Furthermore there were textile workshops open for participation around the different cities I visited. People were printing, knitting and weaving.

Lastly I had this almost physical feeling of aesthetic development taking place in and around me. I myself was inspired and influenced by the Japanese culture and fashion, and at the same time I could see many Japanese people and brands being inspired by the Nordic/Scandinavian culture. We interpret each other and the outcome are fusions, which are not completely Nordic or Japanese, but something new.

These were the impressions and the background that the “Everything I know about Kasuri” workshop grew out from. I wanted to create a textile workshop in urban space, which could serve as a moment of cultural meetings and exchange.

-Were there any points you were careful about,culturally,with aspects as a foreigner teaching another country’s tradition?

Yes, certainly I was very aware and very, very careful of not claiming to teach Japanese people about Japanese culture as a Dane, having only spent three months in Japan. That was why the workshop was called “Everything I know about Kasuri” and not “Everything there is to know about Kasuri.” I did not want to pretend to be an expert after only two months of education. Also, when I gave the introduction to the participants in the workshop I emphasized the Finnish history, which I knew better and which would maybe add something the participants did not know.

Everything I Know About Kasuri workshop in Kyoto in December 2013. 
Photo: Kohei Usuda

-Could you tell us more on how your confidence increased through your workshop experience,and how it has affected you afterwards?

Based on all these impressions that I describe above, I had a very strong intuition that a workshop would be the right project as a final project at KTS. But maybe because it was such a different approach from weaving my own work and/or maybe because of the risk of overstepping cultural borders in an inappropriate way, not all the teachers were completely convinced about my idea. I was asked to create a time plan of how this project could be realized. I did that and then I got an OK from the teachers and they helped me very much in the planning process and for example when I had to find supplies or make contact with somebody.

Teachers and students from KTS came by the workshop. All in all the experience of following a gut feeling, trusting it and working hard to realize a vision in a foreign context and then succeeding, I felt, gave me a lot of confidence both when it comes to trusting my ideas, but also when it comes to trusting that I am able to do what I set my mind to.

-Has your experience at KTS influenced you in your academic and professional career? If so,could you describe how?

I think mostly in the sense described above concerning self-confidence. Furthermore, though my first visit at KTS and in Japan, I developed many private and professional relationships that have helped me very much and made it much easier to come back to Japan both in 2015 and two times in 2017. In 2017 I was invited to host a series of workshops in 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa in 2017 in occasion of the celebration of 150 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Denmark and former KTS student Kanako Watanabe and Tokyo based photographer Kohei Usuda really supported me very much.

-What does weaving mean to you?

My relationship with weaving is constantly changing. When I started weaving I felt something fall in place. It was fun and I felt that I was good at it. Over time it has become my way of living and is part of everything I do in my profession. Today I mostly create spaces where other people can weave, rather than my own textiles, but I imagine that this will even change over the coming years.

Export/import workshop at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, in 2017.
Photo: Kohei Usuda

You can visit Rosa's website at rosatolnovclausen.com

About the School: Internationality Series 1/2/3/4/5

A Look into Our Classes 5 "Reeling Silk Thread from Cocoons"

We will introduce some of the classes from the Professional Course at Kawashima Textile School (published irregularly).

Mr. Honda reeling silk thread from the cocoons

For Hyôgenron (Creative Expression) class, we invited Yuji Honda of Honda Silk Works, for the students to experience silk thread making. The class started with boiling a pot of water. The class proceeded with a rhythm similar to cooking, such as boiling the cocoons, turning off the heat, and waiting for a few minutes. It is a rare opportunity to learn the entire process, from boiling the cocoons, zaguri, which is to reel the thread, to making a skein.

In the class, the students first tried making kiito. They were able to see "kibiso," which is the harder thread the silkworm first spews out, and also made "mawata." The mawata they tried was "kakumawata," which is made by soaking the cocoons, which have become small without the kiito, and spread out by pulling on the corners. The students' hands were timid at first, but were boosted by Mr. Honda's words. "Even if you pull tightly, they won't break." When the thread spread out smoothly into a square, cheers rose. Mr. Honda showed the completed form made of twenty layers, and the students felt the texture, commenting on its softness. 

While working, Mr. Honda talked about various things such as the habits of the silkworm, cultivating mulberries, and the amount of work as a livelihood. The pupae in the cocoons start to appear. By actually witnessing this, many questions about silkworms were asked by the students. Mr. Honda says that at first, the silk thread and the existence of the "insect" did not connect in his mind. He was surprised at the scene of the cocoon making site, where silkworms were bred, and was shocked, and thought, "so this is the origin!"

He said that at the site, he "felt conflicted about killing insects and making thread." As he continued to face that fact, he came to think that he is "receiving life to make clothing, like meat or fish," and that the feeling of people and insects connecting, by cherishing the insects and the thread they spew out, should not be forgotten," and began making things with respect to the origin.

At the end of the class, the same number of pupae as the threads drawn, appeared. "From now on, when you see silk, you will be reminded of the silkworms," Mr. Honda said. "I learned for the first time that silk has many expressions. Usually, we only have the opportunity to see them as thread," a student commented. The class turned out to be a time where students were able to experience the origin, and learn the process of silk reeling.




-What does weaving mean to you?
"Something that can express how interesting silk thread is."

"I originally liked clothes. I moved to agriculture, then after I encountered sericulture (silk farming), I started to do everything from thread making to weaving. My current job is to make things from the beginning, and do everything I love. I am completely absorbed in thread making, and am excited about the wide range of possibilities, such as how you can see the expressions of various threads from the cocoons, how easily it takes dye, and how the texture changes depending on how it is scoured, and so on. I think weaving is something that can express how interesting silk thread is. "


About Yuji Honda
Yuji Honda started sericulture and weaving with his wife in 2009 upon meeting a silk farmer in Chichibu, Saitama. He moved to Kyoto in 2016, and after two years of training in weaving at Jun Tomita Textile Studio, became independent in 2018 and started Honda Silk Works. They make and sell handwoven shawls using threads that are reeled from cocoons, dyed with natural dyes, and threads that are made from cotton with a strong twist.

instagram: @hondasilkworks

About the School: Internationality 5 | Interviews with Graduates

-From an indigo workshop in Thailand to KTS, making in a way that suits the land and lifestyle-　Zazima Asavesna 

The Internationality segment of a series introducing Kawashima Textile School (KTS). Over four weeks starting from Part 4, we are bringing you interviews with graduates from all over the world who have various relationships with weaving, where we ask about how they came to learn at KTS, what influenced them, how they use the skills they have learned, and what weaving means to them. This is Part 5 of the series.

"At the previous family indigo workshop in Sakon-nakhon where I first learned about indigo vat dye. The Indian indigo (indigofera tinctoria) is local to the area, they were planted, harvested, and made into indigo paste here. These small earthen jars contain indigo vat dye, normally a small skein of yarn can be dyed once or twice a day per jar."

Zazima Asavesna (Thai/German)

Textile artist, Natural dyer, Designer & maker of a small apparel business

Currently living in Thailand

Courses: Beginners, Foundation Kasuri, Applied Kasuri I 

(May to June 2013)

-Could you tell us why you chose to study at KTS?

I started my career life as a small animals veterinarian , got married and moved to my husband’s hometown in Sakon-nakhon, where the family had been practicing natural indigo vat dye for over 20 years. There, I got the chance to learn about natural dyeing and tried my hands at indigo and other natural dye dyeing which later led me to the interest of textile weaving. My first experience of weaving on a floor loom was led by a few local artisan women who were so kind and very pleased to share their knowledge with me. There were absolutely no theories, I just copied what I see.

After that experience, I had so many questions and I was eager to know about the possibilities of weaving, so I started to look for a place to learn how to weave. Without knowing if a weaving school really existed anywhere on earth, I accidentally found KTS on the internet. I knew right away this is the place I am looking for. The school was located in one of my favourite towns I’ve ever been to, plus a wonderful location near nature, not so far from the city, where Japanese culture/contemporary art and lifestyles also took place. I was so excited to get to know more about the principle of weaving, the Japanese weaving tradition and also excited about the small international students community where there is a chance to get to know people from different backgrounds and weaving traditions.

-How has your experience at KTS influenced you?

Being surrounded by a group of textile enthusiasts of different ages really inspired me. Our energy was exchanged, I felt connected and welcomed to the world of textile weaving regardless of my past and background. Not only engaging with international classmates, I also made friends and secretly observed the long term talented Japanese students who are working on their amazing projects next door and upstairs. I was mostly amazed by the Tapestry class taking place in the 2nd floor atelier. It was the very first time I ever saw a tapestry being woven from a cartoon (draft) in real life.

Being a self-taught artist, KTS gave me the confidence to weave, the confidence to start learning and seeking new knowledge in life. After that spring I decided I want to seriously weave and was determined to make time and plans for my future so that I can spend time on my weaving projects and make a living out of it.

Tiny tapestry portrait #014 (left) #016 (right) (2020)

“My first solo exhibition at Ranlao Bookshop Chiangmai, Thailand in 2018. The concept was about self exploration of feelings in the era of social media. The exhibition displayed 6 pieces of handwoven textile made with traditional floor loom and tapestry frame loom. All of them were dyed with my favourite natural dye, indigo. The technique seen in this photo is a stencil dyeing technique using rice paste."

-How do you use the skills learnt at KTS in your career, life, etc?

I often work with local natural materials such as cotton, hemp and locally harvested natural dyestuffs. In my early years, my work involved dyeing a piece of simple plain weave cloth with a resist-dyeing technique. For me, weaving plain weave is quite stressful because it is the most simple form of weaving which easily shows a lack of skill of the weaver.

I don’t own a western loom so I kind of adapted the knowledge to what I have. With my loom (Isaan traditional floor loom), I aimed for the same results such as even warp tension, nice and even edges, how to fix the broken warp neatly etc. keeping in mind “Anybody can weave, but not everyone can weave a beautiful textile” the concept my awesome teacher shared with me at KTS. It reminds me that I should try to improve my skill whenever I can.

My personal belief is that the efforts and skills you put into the textile you are weaving is as important as the imagination or the ideas behind it. Art and craft doesn’t have to separate itself from each other. I have been wanting to learn tapestry weaving so badly for the past few years but never got the chance, so 2 years ago I made myself a nail loom from a canvas frame and started learning by myself. A year later I discovered that I really enjoy weaving tiny human portraits (some may have embroidery details added) and since then I have been continuing doing so. Tapestry was not the skill I earned from KTS, but I know in my mind it all started from there.

-What does weaving mean to you?

Weaving is like a journey into myself, a self exploration. By sitting there and repeating the body movements, instead of traveling with your body, your mind travels. Physically I am trying to find the balance of my body rhythm.In many occasions It allows me to explore my thoughts, my emotions and feelings. Sometimes I feel like I am in a battle, a battle with things that will constantly go wrong. Whatever the result will be, you have to accept it.

""Isaan floor loom"
The loom is an old traditional loom made of hardwood by a local carpenter. It originally belonged to an old lady who passed away, then was passed on to another weaver who used it as a spare loom before it was left unused. The reed, heddles, shafts, and treadles are attached to the loom with ropes and bamboo sticks. The tension is made by tying the warp into a knot directly to the loom and manually released and pulled by hands.

Follow Zazima on instagram at @zazieandherloom and @wildinstagram.

Zazima's "Student Voice" article from 2014, with photos of her work in the KTS Graduate Exhibition.

About the School: Internationality Series 1/2/3/4