Tsuzure-ori is a weaving technique that is popular around the world, known as "tapestry weaving." Kawashima Textile School (KTS) can hold Tsuzure-ori workshops with an interpreter for groups from overseas, set according to the participants’ level or experience. The workshops have been well received as a special experience, as students are able to design and prepare a cartoon, and weave their own unique tapestry on a Nishijin-style loom.
In Parts 5 and 6 of the Tsuzure-Ori series, we share interviews with two students who have been participating in the Tsuzure-ori workshop every year through the weaving retreat organized by textile artist Natalie Miller, and ask about how they came to take part, and what left an impression on them at KTS. Part 5 is an interview with Tasneem Tyebkhan, who lives in Hong Kong and works as an interior designer.
Ever since I majored in Interior Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design, I have always had an interest in textiles due to the richness and depth that it presents. I am fascinated how textiles can be made part of an object and how it can be formalized into a third dimension. My journey into textiles was rekindled with my attending two workshops by Natalie Miller. This brought back my desire to pursue my interest in this discipline after many years. With Natalie, I learned how to weave on a hand loom using various types of yarns such as wool, cotton, and mohair, in different thicknesses and weights. I was able to explore free weaving of organic lines in a balanced composition of colours and textures.
My mother’s love of Sogetsu Ikebana, followed by my education in design, greatly influenced my deep appreciation and love of Japanese works in architecture and furniture. I have always been in awe of the mastery of balance, composition, timelessness and quietness in Japanese works. When Natalie organized the first workshop to Kawashima Textile School (KTS), I leapt at the opportunity to attend. I was able to visit Japan as a student to learn the Japanese way and to experience Japanese culture first hand. I am truly honoured, humbled and most appreciative to have had the opportunity to learn the Japanese technique of Tsuzure weaving, and with it, patience, attention to detail and creation of balance and harmony.
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Rocks 2: Deep Water Bay, HK. (2019) |
I visited KTS for three consecutive years in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Each trip, the short but intense training I received from Kondo-sensei of learning how to focus on a single weaving technique before moving on to something new was an invaluable lesson to me. He taught how to create depth and texture, while also imparting knowledge of composition. Kondo-sensei has taught me patience, to stop, to be careful, to look at something, to take time and to notice details, all of which are important disciplines.
KTS is truly an enchanting place. In addition to the unique training from Kondo-sensei, the ambience of the studio filled with large wooden looms evokes a sense of structure and stability, which is comparable to how a tapestry is formed. The architecture of the school’s buildings, the surrounding quaint village, and the dense blanket of pine trees all add to the charm that drew me back to the school year after year. I greatly missed spending time at KTS in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I yearn to return in 2021 to continue my journey at this most mesmerizing place, and to further my learning under the masters of Japanese weaving.
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Rocks 1: Kyoto, Japan. (2018) |
You can follow Tasneem on instagram at @tasneem_tyebkhan
