-
Kyoto Quilt Festival – March 2025 – Part 2
In March 2025 I was invited to show my work in a solo gallery at the Kyoto Quilt Festival, which was held in the Miyako Messe – the Kyoto International Exhibition Hall. This large building also houses the Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design. Adjacent to the entrance to the quilt show, was an exhibit of kimonos presented by the craft museum. The exhibit was named “Enjoying the Seasons #14”. Quilt and textile artists are always keen to study kimono exhibits, because the traditional techniques are such an inspiration to us. Shibori detail of plum blossoms in this cream, gold, red and black kimono. The Japanese color aesthetic is often…
-
Kyoto Quilt Festival – March 2025 – Part 1
This is the first of a 3- part blog post about my trip to Kyoto. Last fall I started getting mysterious messages on Facebook from someone in Japan who I had never met. Eventually these messages were inviting me to show my artwork at the Kyoto Quilt Festival, which I had never attended. Fortunately, due to my many years of attending the Tokyo Quilt Festival, I was able to find a mutual friend to communicate with the show organizer Reiko to translate the messages. I didn’t want to presume….but I must admit I was delighted when I could eventually accept the official invitation…..and received the event flier listing me as…
-
Kyoto Quilt Festival 2025 – Prologue
Having recently returned from the Kyoto Quilt Festival, I wanted to share some of this experience with you. But also I’d like to share the context of this event. During the early 1980s when I lived in Hong Kong working as a fashion designer, I often went to Osaka to source textiles. I did not have a chance for sightseeing, and mostly experienced a male-centered industry in smoke-filled offices. Starting in 2008, I started to travel to Japan again, to attend the Tokyo Quilt Festival. Honestly, it became an obsession, and I saved up my Star Alliance points all year to get a ticket to Tokyo. Eventually there was a…