shibui

On the Saori loom at the moment - February 28, 2019

Reds and pinks for a grey day

The Future is Handmade

 

 

Four Slogans of Saori/History of Saori

1. Consider the differences between a machine and a human being

SAORI encourages people to do what only a human being can do that a machine cannot do. This is to be spontaneously original, unprogrammed, making up one’s own rules and even standards of beauty as one goes along. SAORI upholds this idea within a society where we often use machine language to describe people: we may call them more or less “functional”, or refer to them as “human resources” instead of human beings. SAORI, by contrast, values each person’s precious individuality as it expresses itself in each moment. No two weavings are alike. Further, we do not anxiously strive to avoid so-called “mistakes.” Loose or skipped threads, irregular fringes, and inserted bits of yarn or other material all add to the organic liveliness, the “human-ness”, of our creative art.

 

2. Be bold and  adventurous

Nearly all of us live within limits that owe a great deal to what we imagine about ourselves, and to what others imagine about us. We believe that we are too busy, too conservative, too disabled, too un-artistic, too “dysfunctional”, too whatever-it-is to make time for spontaneous creativity. SAORI is a doorway to a larger and richer world than the one we often think we have to live in. SAORI insists that we all have the right and the power to make choices, and to uncover what nature has tucked inside us. When we do anything that lets our inner light shine, as far from our usual track as this may take us, we invite our relationship with the world to fall into place in ways we could not have expected. Sitting at the SAORI loom, our imagined limits are often revealed to us. We then have a safe opportunity to adventure beyond them.

 

3. Look out through eyes that shine

SAORI awakens us to our intuitive ability to perceive beauty. As we weave SAORI, we naturally cultivate this power, and we can also make a conscious effort to do so. “Eyes that shine” are on the lookout for beauty in unexpected, unstereotyped places: a dimple in a stranger’s face, the random arrangement of fallen leaves in the street, the rough edge of a brick, the surprising mix of colors in the weaving of the person sitting at the loom next to you. As we carry shining eyes with us everywhere, not only do they influence our art, but we ourselves slowly become gentler and more flexible as we see new beauty in ourselves, greeting the new beauty we see around us

 

4. Inspire one another, and everyone in the group

The SAORI way is to weave friendships as we weave fabric. Even people who have looms at home often weave in a group setting in order to learn from and help others. SAORI classes do not separate people due to age, length of SAORI experience, or disability. An experienced boy of 10 may coach a beginning woman of 60. New weavers may open new paths for veterans. A developmentally challenged adult may exchange tips with a college professor. Within groups, we encourage each other, share ideas, collaborate on projects, and draw inspiration from watching one another. Thus SAORI bridges differences between people, and celebrates both our variety and our common humanity.

 

https://www.saoriworcester.com/about/about-saori/four-slogans-of-saori/

 

Meaning of SAORI Weaving

Actually, “SAORI” is a trademark of Sakaiseikisangyou Co. in Osaka, Japan for the method and the teaching. This is the company that manufactures the SAORI loom and operates a weaving studio. Originally when the founder Misao Jo was asked to name her work for its originality, she created the word “SAORI”  which comes from “Misao’s ori”. (“ori” means “weaving” in Japanese.) Later, SAORI weavers realized the “sa”  could mean “differences from each other”.  So, because of these spiritual roots, as experienced and expressed by founder Misao Jo, SAORI is more than just a technique. It is also:

• A philosophy that all people are artists: each of us has a latent intuitive power that SAORI can awaken
• An aesthetic that embraces the natural beauty of unintended “mistakes” and encourages exploring the unknown.
• A social movement towards bringing diverse people together to learn from one another. It is especially a movement to include within a larger community people who may be isolated or marginalized because of disability, age, income, occupation, ethnicity, or other reasons.
• An artistic yet practical path of meditation, therapy, rehabilitation, trauma recovery, stress reduction, identity-building, community-building, economic self-reliance, and holistic human development.

History of SAORI Weaving

In Japan in the late 1960s, Misao Jo, then in her mid 50s, decided she wanted to weave a sash (obi) for her kimono by hand. Her husband and sons built her a handloom, and her 84-year-old mother taught her how to weave!

However, Ms. Jo soon felt that her weaving in the conventional style was imitating the regularity and predictability of a machine. She said, “I have a brain and emotion. I’m a human being. I will weave an obi that is full of humanity.” She allowed herself to skip threads in an unforced, rhythmic way, introducing unusual stripes and fringes that resulted in original work of striking expressiveness. She kept experimenting, enjoying herself to a degree that she hadn’t believed possible, but wondering whether others would perceive her work as “really good.”

Finally, she brought her work to the owner of a fashionable kimono shop. To her surprise and delight, he bought all the work she showed him, sold it quickly, and asked for more. When she tried to fill his orders for a specific pattern she had made previously, however, she found that her joy in weaving was gone. Realizing that spontaneity was the secret of her success, she determined to teach this wonderful way to others. Today, at age 99, she is still weaving SAORI. (Update - she died in 2018)

The SAORI Philosophy in 4 steps

Misao Jo at Saori no Mori in 2014.

1. Consider the differences between machines and people.

2. Let’s adventure beyond our imagination.

3. Let’s look out through eyes that shine.

4. Let’s learn from everyone in the group.

 

“SA” of SAORI has the same meaning as the first syllable of the word “SAI” which is found in Zen vocabulary.  It means everything has its own individual dignity.  And the “ORI” means weaving.

 

http://curiousweaver.id.au/what-is-saori

A small wall hanging

The baby Kromski Harp

Warping for the first time - loom nearly dressed