Quilt by Patricia Belyea
64" x 80"
The Japanese name of owl, written in a different set of characters, means luck. Cute owl key chains, stickers on mobile phones, and more are carried everywhere by Japanese citizens who believe in this charmed symbol.
I’m a sucker for owls. At one time in my life, all the gifts my family gave me were owl-themed. A noren panel with a pair of owls creates a focal point on this quilt filled with warm colors plus a few spots of contrasting cool blue. For the interlocking hand-stitch pattern, I drew outlines around the round and oval plates of my restaurant china set.
Lucky Owls was featured in Patricia’s book, East-Meets-West Quilts, as a project with instructions. It was also shown at the 2017 Houston Market. Made with contemporary Japanese cottons plus contemporary solids.
The quilt, signed with Patricia’s applique´signature, comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and a custom linen bag. Shipping and insurance are free to a domestic US address.
Patricia founded Okan Arts—a family business that imports vintage Japanese textiles. Inspired by these found fabrics, Patricia incorporates hand-dyed yukata cottons into her quilt designs. An award-winning quilter, Patricia’s quilts have been exhibited at quilt museums across the country.
Forty years ago, Reiko Sudo co-founded Nuno Corporation with Junichi Arai. Although “nuno” simply means fabric in Japanese, Sudo’s textile creations are anything but simple!
The innovative textiles produced by Nuno, conceived by Sudo and her team, blend traditional Japanese dyeing and weaving mastery with advanced modern techniques.
Sudo has been recognized globally for her contributions to Japanese textile design. Her work includes collaborations with architects, fashion designers, and artists, as well as major museum exhibits.
The project was designed by Ed Marquand, Reiko Sudo, and Alfred Birnbaum.
All 140 textiles included in The Nuno Box were produced by Nuno: Reiko Sudo, Hiroko Suwa, Sayuri Shimoda, Kazuhiro Ueno, Yumi Yasui, Jun Mashiba, Yuki Abe, Gaku Masui, Tomoko Fujino, Fumi Ito, Masaaki Takekura, and Hiroaki Takekura.
The texts, translation, editing, and coordination were handled by Alfred Birnbaum.
The letterpress printing was by Steve Morgan, and the binding was completed by Maria Solorio and Teresa Martinez.
The Nuno Box was compiled and constructed at Paper Hammer Studios in Tieton, Washington.