At Kawashima Textile School (KTS) where there is a foundation of traditional tsuzure-ori, we arrange tsuzure-ori workshops for groups from overseas. KTS's tsuzure-ori workshop, which is part of a weaving retreat tour organized by textile artist Natalie Miller, has been held continuously since 2016, and is always filled with the enthusiasm of the weavers.
In Part 6, We will bring you another interview with one of the participants. Jenny Gillis, who lives in Australia and works for the state government, while creating a life with handweaving.
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| "At work on my weave in 2019" |
-Could you tell us about your weaving background, and what made you interested in joining a workshop at KTS and to come back?
I have been following Natalie Miller’s Instagram for a number of years. I really loved her work but had never met her and in 2016 I saw a number of photos of a trip to Japan and I was very interested and registered my interest in a future trip to Japan. At the time I was not a tapestry weaver – I am an Australian Aboriginal and my grandmothers and ancestors were known for their weaving using natural grasses, bark and leaves to help them with their everyday life. I had learnt this type of weaving but wanted to learn more about tapestry style weaving. I have also travelled to Japan a number of times for work and leisure and thought this would be a way to combine my interest in weaving and Japan.
In late 2017 Natalie contacted me to see if I was interested in joining her on the first tsuzure-ori weaving course at KTS and I signed up straight away. That first year was a year of many firsts for me – learning about tsuzure-ori, learning to weave on a loom, getting to know the team at KTS, Natalie, Tasneem and the other ladies who were part of the group. I felt a very strong connection to KTS and the people there and loved every minute. Some nights the caretaker even had to tell us it was time to leave – we loved working on our weaves so much. I’ve now returned to KTS three times and was to return last December – I’ve really missed it last year as I love immersing myself in the KTS and Japanese way of life there, catching up with Natalie, Tasneem and finding out what everyone has been up to and planning to weave. The team at KTS under the guidance of Mari-san are always there to help us and I am truly thankful for every visit and the assistance they have given all of us.
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| "A little bit of KTS and Clouds (2019) in my studio" |
-What do you remember most about Kondo-sensei’s way of teaching?
Kondo-sensei is a master and I have learnt so much from him and feel very lucky to have been taught by him and develop my work. He is always in the atelier with us and available for questions and ideas for our weaving projects. He is encouraging, even with my first few wobbly goes at weaving. Sometimes when we forget to follow the technique, he is there to remind us how to do it the right way.
Over time I have been trying to learn Japanese and I know Kondo-sensei understands us more too. It has also been great to meet and work with an interpreter, Harumi-san who has been a wonderful addition to the team.
-How has your experience at KTS influenced you?
KTS has been a major influence on my work. I didn’t know how to do tsuzure-ori or any kind of tapestry weaving and now it is a passion of mine. I weave as often as I can and during the past year during COVID I have continued to weave and even completed an online rug weaving course and use many of the techniques I learnt from Kondo-sensei. I still refer back to the original samples I wove and have used all of the techniques in my weaves. I’ve also created a little bit of KTS in my home studio with tools and wool I purchased there – it makes me feel close to KTS. I look forward to being able to weave again at KTS – I have lots of ideas and can’t wait to return.
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| "Inspired by KTS" |
You can follow Jenny on instagram at @making.it
