From late August to the end of October 2024, I had the opportunity to help as a studio assistant at The Village in Saga-Koshihata, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto. The Village is the atelier of two artists, Mayo Horinouchi and Jun Tomita, and their current hardworking assistants, Ayako Imai and Taeko Takahashi. The Village is also connected to a number of artisans and ateliers with whom from time to time they collaborate with to host workshops or to outsource certain steps in the production of Jun and Mayo’s works, one such being Honda Silk Works.
The Village periodically welcomes outside helpers for extended stays, who in exchange for their help in the studio, gain experience and some training in the techniques employed therein. After attending Jun’s weft kasuri workshop in May of 2024, I expressed my interest in being such an assistant.
Here, Jun is leading a workshop for 3-shaft weaving. Participants were mostly Japanese, but included one Kawashima Textile School student from Belgium and a Bespoke Tailor from London/Berlin, for whom I translated Jun's teachings from Japanese to English.
During my time at The Village I helped with a variety of tasks including preparing yarns for dyeing and weaving, dyeing yarns in chemical dyes, preparing warp threads and joining new warp to a pre-existing one, tying an assortment of fringe on rugs and shawls, weaving large rugs on a dobby loom, preparing materials for exhibition, in addition to occasional cleaning and maintenance, such as cutting weeds and washing windows.
This is the dobby loom, of Jun's own making, which is fitted with a jacquard punch-card attachment for weaving a double-weave twill structure on his rugs.
The jacquard attachment :)
The rug mid-weaving. He uses ski shuttles for the weft.
Washing windows- the scenery was totally stunning.
Here I am tying fringe on some of Jun's rugs with Ayako. We used techniques from a book by Peter Collingwood according to Jun's design.
Dinner with The Village team- crab hotpot using a giant crab brought back from Hokkaido by Mayo and Jun.
I am incredibly grateful to Mayo, Jun, Taeko, and Ayako for the opportunity to work alongside them. I was able to learn much about creating high-quality textile works for exhibition and consumer purchase. Mayo’s designs utilize innovative and complex structures along with felting to create visual and textural interest, and Jun’s ikat variations reference a diverse range of textile techniques and offer a refreshing viewpoint that attracts many to his work. In working up-close with these individuals, I feel my perspective widened and my understanding of what I want to pursue with my own art deepened.
On our last night together, October 31 2024, I made chana masala for dinner and some Halloween decorations. Thank you to The Village for a memorable experience!
You can learn more about The Village by checking out their website: https://juntomita.com/the-village/
and see Mayo's work on her instagram: @horinouchimayo_textile