tokonoma

In recent weeks, since finishing the textile component of this work, I’ve had a new idea about how to bring the whole thing together. Last post I mentioned reading about shinto as I had been thinking about framing the entire piece as a sort of small shrine. Now however, wanting to feature the indigo shibori hand-woven piece more centrally I’m thinking about making something more like a tokonoma — a sort of alcove in a traditional Japanese room in which seasonal items are displayed. The working title is Tokonoma (Spring, 2020).

My thought is to make a wall-mounted horizontal wooden frame that cantilevers out to define an “enclosed” space beneath it. The textile can hang from this, flat against the wall, in the manner of a scroll in a typical tokonoma display. There will then be a wooden platform directly underneath the frame to define a floor/stage, and on the stage I’ll have a single ceramic vessel to complement the textile.

I haven’t been able to wood-fire any of the ceramic pieces I’ve made this year but here is a photo gallery of some candidate works as greenware. Hopefully it will be possible to fire again this summer!