Saturday 28 November 2009

Learning in Phases

Like many things in Japan, Nuido is taught in Phases.

In Phase I the new student learns the most fundamental stitches, those that form the foundation for all other techniques. In Phases II and III, you build on these stitches, learning some padding techniques and special effects. Phases IV-VIII are a little different because they concentrate on specific techniques. In Phase IV, you learn the basic gold work techniques. Phase V concentrates on cords and has a bit of a reputation for being difficult.

I am stitching a design called Himotaba, which is traditionally stitched in Noh Drama colours; red, green, blue, purple and gold. As I know nothing about Noh drama I asked my tutor to choose an appropriate colour palette for me. The colours she selected were really strong and quite unlike anything I would have choosen for myself.

At the start of this Phase I was feeling intimidated by the fabric and the design, and the colour palette left me cold. This was a totally new experience for me; normally I am filled with excitement at the prospect of starting a new Phase.

2 comments:

Christine said...

I am so pleased to hear you are moving on to the Cords Phase. My Himotaba is on white fabric, and I was given a choice of 2 color schemes - one is stronger/brighter and the other is softer. I chose the brighter. I thought it would be 'easy', but of course nothing in JE ever is. I'm on Phase 8, and am gaining much respect for fuzzy effect.

Anonymous said...

I have visited your blog on other occasions and find your work absolutely magnificent. Do you take classes for this work? Where do you find such designs? I have never heard of this before... "Himotaba". Very lovely.