Memory On Cloth: Shibori Now

"Best known in the United States as tie-dye, shibori is a traditional Japanese resist-dye technique that gained popularity along with other folk art movements of the 1960s and 1970s. With the rediscovery of its techniques, shibori's popularity spread worldwide; there have been three international symposiums on shibori, the last in 1999 in Chile. Artisan and author Wada (Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing) has promoted and taught this technique for years. Here, the author outlines shibori's transition from craft to fiber art in traditional and nontraditional formats, focusing on the works of several artists. The descriptions are accompanied by illustrations that are well placed though a bit muted. For in-depth information on both the technique and its history, there is no substitute for Wada's earlier book, which is in its ninth printing. Focusing on more advanced forms of a dyeing technique, this volume is rather narrow in topic and recommended only for specialized or fiber art collections. Public libraries that have the earlier book will want to pass" -Library Journal "... substantially broadens the [Japanese] term shibori ... to similar processes used all over the world." -European Textile Network "... this book will confirm old passions - and ignite new ones for initiates." -Textile Fibre Forum "... a sumptuous book, sure to delight the art lover and the expert designer. Profusely illustrated, it captures shibori's planned and accidental evanescence, its ability to express seemingly endless variations of color and texture." -Sigrid Wortmann Weltge, American Craft

For nearly thirty years, surface-design artist, curator, and textile researcher YOSHIKO IWAMOTO WADA has been teaching shibori, first in Berkeley, California and then around the world. Many who took her classes went on to become artists and teachers themselves, and thanks to Wada's efforts the field has expanded geometrically over the course of a single generation. In 1983 she also coauthored, with Mary Kellogg Rice and Jane Barton, the definitive book in English, Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped-Resist Dyeing. As Jack Lenor Larsen puts it in his foreword to Memory on Cloth, "Through her first book, Shibori, and through her exhibits, lectures, and personal persuasion in every communication medium, Wada has single-handedly changed our field and its language." Because of her commitment to keeping shibori traditions alive, the word "shibori" has now become universally accepted as the term for shaped-resist processes. Wada continues to travel the world searching for shibori innovations and outstanding artists.