Frances
Geesin - September
September has been a very full and fragmented
month; with a trip to the Shetland islands and conferences
in Italy and Scotland. I have been in contact with Kaori through
email and fax. The fax has been a useful tool for communicating
photocopies of work, drawings and related information.
After several exchanges we are now
communicating final thoughts on our collaborative work and
I have received her first pages to electroplate. Kenji Toki
emailed me images of his trials of Urushi onto fabric and
I am looking forward to receiving them. Earlier this month
Kaori sent me some
Urushi. I love the colour and the smell
and have applied it to a sample fabric. However I have put
it on hold as any spare time has been plating my pages and
meeting our micro electronics designer. I have been drawing
up a budget with my partner for an interactive work. I must
stress that it would be impossible to make this type of work
without them and especially my partners creative input on
sound. We want to make something quite magical with a fabric
rock face on one side and fossil abstract patterning on the
reverse. It would be designed to emit sound and light. There
have been numerous technical developments since we made our
last interactive textile for the Science Museum in London
and many of the components are no longer available. This will
mean the re designing of software and purchasing more sophisticated
compatible equipment. I won an award earlier this year and
had planned to use the majority of the award for the interactive
work. Unfortunately there will be a cost short
fall.
On reflection I am having some
doubts as to how successful the work will be in the context
of the exhibition. The exhibit requires people to engage with
the work, to touch and play it and discover the 'trigger points'.
On the plus side the sound can be changed to suit the venue,
and would demonstrate an alternative and exciting application
of textiles in public places. It might be that it is only
featured when it has ' a room of its own'. I hope it will
be possible but the final decision has yet to be made. I shall
continue to make tests for the electronics and fixings and
am concentrating on my shibori work made from knitted shielding
fabric. I am so looking forward to October when I have more
time and can spend it developing work with fewer distractions.
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Kaori
Hosozawa - September
Since I returned to Japan I have been
aware of being so far away from Frances. We have to complete
the work by maintaining the distance we have. We correspond
by email. I let her know my current movement in my
work and some new ideas, though mainly I proceed with my work
towards the theme we decided just before I left England. “Are
we going to succeed?” “Am I not being a burden
for Frances?” “Am I too slow?” There are
endless doubts in my head.
7th, 8th
I sent Frances some samples of my work that I made with papers.
Later Frances said that she liked it. That encouraged me to
visualise the appearance of the final product. However, I
have to adjust details.
I sent some lacquers and Japanese styled
books.
12th
When I came home I found that Frances had left a message on
my phone. Suddenly the telephone rang and it was her. It has
been a while since I spoke last to her, I felt a little nostalgic.
She faxed me the final image of the work.
14th, 23rd
I could spare some time to work on the piece during the bank
holidays. Frances sent me some samples of copper plated pieces
which are the samples of the joints. One of the samples was
from the unwoven fabric. The rest were made from copper threads.
Both were interesting, however I liked the one with plating
more, chose I chose this one. We still have to find the end
part of our work.
I made a piece with carbon fabrics and
knitted fabrics. I made a size slightly bigger than the postcard
size and sent it to Frances for plating. I also sent her some
ideas for the end part of our work.
Each one of our works is relatively
small though it takes a while to make each one. We exchanged
ideas and samples when I was working in England. It seems
to me that our communication has become increasing important
since I came back to Japan. Am I feeling this way because
of the distance between us? Alternatively, it may be because
of the stage we are now at in our work. Either way, I expect
it will be beneficial for both of us.
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