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By Patricia Belyea
OKINAWA JP My timing turned out to be superb. Ryukyu-bingata artist Yuki Miyagi moved into her new studio one week before my visit and was mostly unpacked.
The studio was obviously custom-made for dyeing long lengths of kimono fabric. A hanging system that stretched across the length of the galley-style room could be raised or lowered for her dyeing projects.
Yuki, who has been bingata dyeing for 22 years, showed me a stencil she created. Not only did Yuki design the pattern, she cut out the stencil.
To cut through the persimmon-dyed washi, Yuki used a mini knife tool, going straight up and down. The sharp blade punched through the stencil paper into a hardened block of tofu.
What about the perfect little holes in your stencil? I queried. Yuki then showed me her round punches.
Next Yuki pulled out the resist she uses to protect the background of her fabric when she dyes. The blue goop (made with glutinous rice and coloring) is applied through the stencil.
The dyeing step is repeated three times—with the third pass using accent colors.
When Yuki chooses to dye the background of the fabric, she washes out the resist. Then she carefully paints another layer of resist over the dried bingata-dyed patterns.
Once those areas are protected, she dyes the background with a single color using a wide brush.
Asking about her designs, Yuki answered that she likes to make original work. That said, she also shared an example of a published pattern made in red that she emulated in blue.
There are two places in Okinawa where Yuki sells her works:
—Yambaru Craftworks in Ogimi +website
—Shuri Suikara in Naha +website
I felt very special spending time with Yuki in her new studio!
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria sell Japanese textiles online, host creative quilting experiences, and lead quilting & textile tours to Japan.
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