Developing Creativity
January 2012
Banner photo: Aboriginal artist Charles Inkamala at work, Alice Springs, Australia [© Marianna Massey/Corbis]
Natural Inspiration
Yuki Iwanaga [Senri Nojima]
Yuki Iwanaga has for many years been working in the traditional Japanese craft of Yuzen, or cloth dyeing. She is based in Nagasaki Prefecture.
SGI Quarterly: Why did you choose to follow this particular tradition of fabric painting?
Yuki Iwanaga: My mother often helped family members dress in their kimonos and took care of the sewing for the family, so perhaps it was her influence. As I was growing up, I often played with pieces of kimono cloth, treating them as if they were bits of treasure. I especially liked the traditional "folklore" cloths, which were always very unique. This, in turn, inspired me to create one-of-a-kind cloths myself.
SGIQ: Can you tell us briefly about the Yuzen tradition and its history?
YI: Yuzen dyeing, which I learned in Kyoto, is a form of cloth dyeing devised by Yuzen-sai Miyazaki during the Edo period. Simply put, it is a technique in which rice paste and stencils are used to draw designs and dye kimono cloth. The technique spread, and eventually, dyed fabric itself began to bear Yuzen's name. This technique continued to develop, and now, pattern-dyeing and the designs of this era themselves are being referred to as "Yuzen." Even after leaving Kyoto, I have applied Yuzen dyeing techniques to create unique patterns, which I then use to hand-draw designs with a brush and dye cloth.
SGIQ: What do you try to communicate through your work?
YI: Seasonal transitions throughout the year and day-to-day changes that can be observed in the plants and trees in the garden inspire me to create. This process is never one-way--it is almost as if there is a heart-to-heart communication. I feel this is what is expressed through my art pieces.
Moreover, having lived in a mountainside village, I have learned to "filter things out" until I am left with what I want to treasure most. These things, in turn, influence my art pieces. It would make me happy if my artwork can inspire in people feelings such as the enjoyment of the seasons that Japanese people cherish in their day-to-day lives, and the spirit of respecting nature.
When I was learning the Yuzen dyeing technique in Kyoto, I struggled very much to get the right color in the dyeing process. However, as I continued to improve my skills as a professional artist, I began to realize that the colors were gathering beneath the surface of my mind. Even now, as I live in the countryside, there are many colors stored in my mind, and those colors will never fade. Because I was able to learn this traditional way of using colors, I never lose sight of the colors I want to express and am never swayed by the changes in time.
SGIQ: You work in a traditional art form that is rooted in the past. How open is it to the influences of changing culture and the modern world?
YI: I believe that it would be difficult to engage oneself in creative activities if what you want to express is far removed from what can be observed in real life. No matter how quickly the world around us changes, the kind of world I want to express is the "beauty" that comes out of the things we physically sense in our everyday lives--that is why I express what I express.
I have a partner who is also an artist and with whom I am able to share everything--time, experiences, the creative process. . . Thanks to this foundation, I have been able to develop personally, and this, in turn, is what teaches me the approach I should take when engaging in creative work in my daily life.
SGIQ: Are there certain boundaries you feel it is not possible to cross?
YI: Originally, the art of Yuzen dyeing tended to focus on the design itself, and most artists have maintained this as a central core of the tradition. Also, when you look at the history of Yuzen dyeing, the techniques themselves have gone through various changes as the craftspeople have searched for better ways to embody the designs. So, I don't think there are any rigid or strict rules governing Yuzen dyeing.
For me, while working within the Yuzen tradition, my personal desire is to create works that embody the spirituality and the deep sense of interrelationship with nature that are perhaps the unique quality of Japanese art.
SGIQ: When do you feel most creative? And when do you feel most satisfied with what you have created?
YI: When I'm completely focused on the creation of the artwork--completely giving myself over to the process--I feel I'm entering into a state of effortless concentration, free from all distraction, what we refer to in Japanese as mushin. That's when I feel that I can best express my creativity. Perhaps it would be better to rephrase that--the reason I push myself to create is in order to put myself into that state.
When the works I create through this process resonate with the heart, that's when I feel truly satisfied, a feeling of ease that arises from the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, both spiritually and physically.
