Yasuragi 安らぎ The first in the Michi Collection

Art starts as a small thread that can eventually weave itself into something we can see.

When it becomes fully embodied, communication begins: what the artist felt then, and how you interpret it now.

Yasuragi 安らぎ

When she entered, she came through a crack into this world.

I promised myself that, starting with this piece, it would be different. I can't remember when I had last done this—simply let it happen. I would let her guide me instead of planning.

It was daunting. I often found that I had to stop. A full stop, sometimes for a day or two, to slow my mind so I could hear and feel what came next.

Creating this piece felt like writing poetry in a language I was still learning.

Each step needed space, just as notes need space to create music. And in that space, the next step was shown to me.

It was a gift.

I had twigs and a leaf. 

That is where she started.

The vintage kimono fabric for her dress. 

Paper to design the garments. 

Dyes, threads, gold watercolor.

Listening. 

Hand-sewing. Painting. Dyeing.

The color change happened spontaneously to this brilliant green of nature.

And listening.

I found the fabric's interior more in keeping with its beautiful threadwork.

The dress, dyed, showed the beauty of the threads.

Then the vintage sheer woven cotton appeared. 

I love the threads that run through, showing how the fabric was woven.

Dyeing stages of the apron after the appliqués.

Two pieces of vintage shibori wrap her neckline.

Silk runs along the hemline with embroidered leaves.

Pantaloons are of Australian cotton depicting its native flower.

Yasuragi 安らぎ:
a deep, comforting peace of mind; a feeling of being completely at ease.

At home in your soul.
That is where she was complete.

道 — Michi
The Way. The Path.

How did twigs play a role in this piece?

Read This Meaningful Life:

I AM Koi

Koi is quietly beautiful. 

There is a softness in her face, a sweetness that feels almost vulnerable, yet she carries herself with a quiet strength. 

The koi has long been associated with perseverance, transformation, and the ability to move through difficulty with determination. 

But for me, Koi is less about any one symbol and more about movement—the way water carries us, changes direction, and continues on.

I wanted that sense of movement to live within her clothing. 

The translucent blue of her overskirt drifts around her like water, revealing what lies beneath while never quite settling into one shape. 

She seems to stand in stillness while everything around her moves. 

Perhaps that is where her strength lives: 

not in resisting the current, 

but in knowing how to move with it.

PROCESS of Skirt:

PROCESS of skirt: Grasses in paper, cotton, silk, vintage kimono

appliqued onto hand-dyed vintage cotton'

Hand-painted mulberry paper as fish.

Topstitched.