Exhibition Hours: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm | Free with JFG admission. | Hours subject to change during special events.
* Due to popular demand, a second workshop with Maki Ishiwata has been added! *
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Live Workshop 2: Flower Making Using Washi
Sunday, Jan 26 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
JFG Activity Center
Live Workshop: Flower Making Using Washi
Saturday, Jan 25 | 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
JFG Activity Center
JFG is proud to present an exhibition of Japanese fiber artist Maki Ishiwata from the Chiba prefecture. After receiving her BFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in California, Ishiwata worked as an art instructor at the local elementary and middle school for 14 years. During Ishiwata’s 25 years in America, her potential in various creative fields grew. Since returning to Japan in 2007, and under the influence of her mother who worked with the lore of the traditional Japanese handmade paper (washi), Ishiwata became deeply charmed by its beauty and started to create original “plant figures” using washi. Development of the technique with paper strings and ligature became her characteristic style.
Washi has a supple texture and structural sophistication. It is so airy and lithe that if you hold a sheet up to the sun, you can see the bright light shining right through it. At the same time, its fibers are intertwined in a way that imparts great strength and durability. In these characteristics, Ishiwata found a metaphor for the spirit of Japan.
In 2014, three kinds of washi - Sekisyu-hanshi , Honmino-shi, Hosokawa-shi - were registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. However, like many crafts, washi is facing a decrease and disappearance of its makers. For washi culture to survive, greater appreciation for the durability, purity, beauty, and versatility of this paper is essential. Through Ishiwata’s art work, she hopes to be able to connect traditional washi and Japanese aesthetic sense to global context and provide a unique experience for people to see an amazing transformation of one sheet of paper through one person`s hands.
For more information on Maki Ishiwata and her work, click here.
Inquiries can be sent to Emiko Scudder (619) 232-2784 or registrar@niwa.org
SPONSORS
AKIKO ITO
NAGATO ISHIWATA
MAI UEHARA
KAIJINSHA CO. LTD
KIKUMI ITO
KEIKO ASANO
SHONAN WAGASA STUDIO
YOSHIYUKI OKI
TAKASHI KASAJIMA