The final part of the Tsuzure-Ori series is an interview with a graduate. Hsiang Hsuan Chen, who joined Kawashima Selkon Textiles Ltd. in April 2020, and works as a tsuzure-ori craftsperson as well as being an artist. We asked Hsiang Hsuan about what she is working on now, the difference between working on a piece by herself and working on a large stage curtain with others, what is interesting about it, and thoughts on her group tapestry project that she made as a student.
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| Hsiang Hsuan practicing tsuzure-ori |
-Please tell us about what attracts you, and what you are learning about tsuzure-ori at work.
At the moment I am working on stage curtains, but the very first time I was fascinated by tsuzure-ori was when I visited the tsuzure-ori obi production site. When I looked at the craftsperson’s hands, they were pushing down a very fine weft thread with the tips of their fingernails, and I admired how they worked. In tsuzure, everything is fascinating, not just the finished textile, but from the original design to making the weft, weaving, finishing, and the tools.
At work, I am learning general skills related to making stage curtains, not only weaving. In the actual weaving, we practice tsuzure-ori techniques that we have learned through training, and weave a variety of things, from muji-ori (plain weave, in which there is no pattern and the weft travels across the entire width), to patterns. In tsuzure, the woven surface changes depending on the amount of pressure used by the fingernails. At first my weaving was uneven, but now I weave with the right amount of pressure in mind. Our eyes and body learn how to weave each shape through gaining experience, instead of weaving the patterns exactly from the cartoon. There is no textbook, so every day I first ask and learn from my seniors, and then apply those techniques in my work.
-How did you choose the path of being an artist while working as a tsuzure-ori craftsperson?
Actually, I hadn’t really thought about it in a complicated way. I had been thinking that I would be grateful if I could become involved deeply in traditional Japanese culture, so when the job listing came to KTS, I applied, thinking it was a good opportunity.
However, I don’t want to give up creating my own artwork, so even though working as a tsuzure-ori craftsperson is a full time job, I thought I should keep on creating as long as I had time outside of work. I don’t have the confidence to say that I am an artist, but I do have a strong sense of wanting to make the ideas that come to mind. That is how I chose the path I am on now.
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| mom, i’m fine 4/1/20-6/7/20 "Through the Coronavirus pandemic, I have realized that I exist every day, and felt that strongly. This piece was made as a record of my changing feelings.” (shown in "Kyoto Art for Tomorrow 2021," Museum of Kyoto ) |
I imagine that weaving by yourself, and weaving a large stage curtain with several other people must feel different. Please tell us about the differences and what is interesting to you, as someone who also works as an artist.
There is freedom in making a piece by yourself, but you have to decide on everything on your own. Usually I would draw a rough design, and work toward a final design through experimenting with such things like materials. I can change it whenever I want to. When I am weaving, I can weave at my own pace. So I feel it’s fine if you can take the responsibility yourself.
On the other hand, stage curtains are produced through division of labor, and are woven by several people, based on rules. I am still new, so I shouldn’t weave based on my own assumptions. Since it’s not a piece that I designed myself, my goal is to weave as neatly and faithfully to the design as possible. For that I always have to keep in mind that I am “making products of Kawashima Selkon Textiles,” and take responsibility in making items for the customers.
Of course it is fun to make my own work, but I think weaving someone else’s design is surprisingly fun, too. Things or ideas that I don’t have feel like a challenge, and are an opportunity to learn.
-When you were a student at KTS, you worked on a tapestry as a group, and it is still displayed at a facility in Ichihara. It is an elaborate piece, incorporating realistic patterns of the plum tree and expressing the light shining through the branches, and I think it shows the power of the original design, which made the best use of expressing with weaving. Upon making the piece, you drew the original design, and worked on the weaving. I think that right now you are learning many rules for weaving a stage curtain as a job, but when you look back, do you think that there were challenges you could take on because you were a student, or unconventional ideas that were born precisely because you didn’t know the rules?
Yes. I first thought of making an abstract piece, but the people at the facility wanted something more realistic, so we went to observe plum trees, and took many photos. The blossoms on the plum tree that we researched then had not bloomed yet, but on the contrary, I felt a tremendous power from it. How to express the vitality of the plum tree through the tapestry, and how to convey it to people was a challenge.
Because we were still beginners in weaving, it was quite difficult to make a design from the perspective of weaving, but I think we just tried to create the design from what we felt. For example, we emphasized the uniqueness of the trunk in the sunlight, and the vibrance of the sprouts. We had a naive idea, "Once it’s drawn, we will somehow be able to weave it," leaving the reality of if it could be done, and how to weave it, to the side.
I thought it would be uninteresting if it was too realistic, so upon choosing the color for the weft, I chose colors that were in between the real and the imaginative world. As our work progressed, it was especially difficult to express the shades and light of the trunk with weaving. It was also difficult to weave the thin shoots.
-Upon seeing the finished tapestry, the people at the facility said, “I felt a very powerful sense of life. I think that this piece supports the meaning to live, and also shows us the preciousness of life.”
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輝樹 (2019) (First Year Students' Group Tapestry Project) |
-At work, are there times when you feel that you are glad to have had the foundation that you learned at the school? If so, could you elaborate on that?
I was able to gain some knowledge about textiles at school, so it was easy to understand when my seniors at work explained techniques and weaving structures. Also, when I do technical work, I'm somewhat used to it, so I think it was a good experience. However, just because you studied it, you shouldn't work based on your own beliefs. Weaving has different terms and techniques depending on the place and people, so it is important to understand what you have been taught without preconceptions.
You can follow Hsiang Hsuan on instagram at @shung_shouko
You can read about how Hsiang Hsuan came to study at KTS in our article from 2020, “About the School: Internationality 8 | Interviews with Graduates -A Connection Across Generations, Learning Japanese and Studying Abroad Long-Term- Hsiang Hsuan Chen.”
