Misako Nakahira

Name: Misako Nakahira

Studio location: Hyogo, Japan

Website / social links: @nakahira_misako

Loom type or tool preference: Four-Harness Floor Loom, Vintage wooden frame

Years weaving: 6

Fiber inclination: Wool, paper

Current favorite weaving book: Sheila Hicks / Weaving as a Metaphor

Contact information for commissions and collaborations: email address

 

 

1. How did you discover weaving and was what your greatest resource as a beginner?

My first encounter with weaving came through my grandmother who was a kimono-dresser. Watching her work in kimono was elegant and dignified, I couldn't help but be mesmerized. Looking at my grandmother, I started to wonder how these beautiful kimonos were made and thus led to me textile. After learning weaving at an Art University in Kyoto, I deepened my studies mainly in tapestry. As a source of information at that time, I read books on textiles and got information from galleries. Living in Kyoto was also a great benefit for me as a textile city.

2. How do you define your practice – do you consider yourself an artist / craftsperson / weaver / designer / general creative or a combination of those? Is this definition important to you?

I consider myself an artist, and a teacher for weaving. My creative work reflects the images I gained while interacting with society and people. There is no "correct answer" for each work I present, so getting feedback helps with new ideas for my next work. And any ideas I get I connect it to my new piece like shiritori. “Shiritori” is a Japanese word game in which the players are required to say a word which begins with the final kana of the previous word(wiki).

On the other hand, the job of an instructor requires "correctness" to accurately teach basic textile knowledge and techniques. For students who are learning textiles for the first time, my motto is to have fun while learning. At this point, having two pillars, as an artist and an instructor, is important to me to keep me motivated.

3. Describe your first experience with weaving.

I first experienced weaving when I learned the basics at University. I was fascinated by the structure of woven fabrics, where the lines become surfaces by crossing the threads. At that time, I also noticed that there was a "woven color" peculiar to woven fabrics. Different from mixing paint, it was a three-dimensional layer of color due to overlapping threads. I thought that its unique beauty was a color that can only be produced with textiles.

4. What is your creative process, from the initial idea to the finished piece? Are there specific weave structures, looms, or fibers that are important to your process?

My creative process starts with a book that piques my interest, or from a conversation. Through the conversations, I decide on a sole word or image for my designs.

Secondly, I think about a motif that fits the image I've decided, usually something you find in daily life (I try to stay away from anything special and choose something that everyone can relate to). Then, I create my rough draft based on the motif I've decided. After creating multiple samples, I then decide on the materials and color.

Lastly, I dye the yarn, set up my loom, and weave my piece accurately to my design. The thing I always keep in mind when creating my pieces is to not restrict myself to the techniques I've chosen from, but to weave each piece freely. On that note, tapestry weaving fits my creative process well as the vivid colors that wool radiates is an important aspect in my piece.

 5. Does your work have a conceptual purpose or greater meaning? If so, do you center your making around these concepts?

It's been 3 years since I pursued stripes into my design. My interest in stripes started when I read Michel Pastoureau, 1993 “The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabric”, translation by Matsumura Tsuyoshi, Matsumura Eri. From then on my interest in the genealogy of striped patterns grew, and the realization of the pattern abiding public values also aroused my interest.

Stripes are a pattern that compose of lines that are parallel and do not intersect. The stripes symbolize sin, festivities, cleanliness, chic, and rest. People have found meaning in their simple patterns for centuries.

In 2020, threatened by the existence of the invisible, our lifestyle has changed dramatically. Among them, the scene where people lined up at regular intervals reminded me of the stripe patterns. I am creating works based on the pattern of this new order, which is the stripes created by alternating people and space.

 

6. What is your favorite part of the weaving process and why? What’s your least favorite?

Making the draft, dying the thread, and weaving, are all the steps needed to create my image into shape. Not one step can be skipped and each of the moments I'm creating my piece is fulfilling. If I were to bring up one step I least favor, it would be the finish. Disposing of the end threads, and finishing off loose ends, all affect how my finished piece would look. The importance of this step makes me always nervous, thus it would be my least favorite step.

7. Do you sell your work or make a living from weaving? If so, what does that look like and how has that affected your studio practice?

Although I do put a price on my pieces, selling isn't my main purpose for my work. So, at this point, I wouldn't say that I'm making a living solely out of my artwork. Knowing the importance of artwork to be seen and critiqued, I try concentrating on taking each step with care. Since each piece takes a long time to produce, I would like people who appreciate the time I've spent and can honestly feel that the finished artwork is beautiful to own my pieces.

8. Where do you find inspiration?

My inspiration comes from things you find in daily life. The things I find would be nothing special and just ordinary. Subtle things you might miss unless cautious would become my motif. Other than that I find inspiration from conversations I have or from books I read.

9. What other creatives do you admire – weavers, artists, entrepreneurs – and why?

Sheila Hicks, Agnes Martin, Yasuko Fujino.

10. If you could no longer weave, what would you do instead?

It's hard imagining myself not being able to weave, but if I were to pursue another path it would be cooking. I imagine myself interacting and affecting people with my “artwork” through the media of “cooking”.