Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Feb 26, 2012 15:21:48 GMT -5
In honor of Li Guang Ming's impending knighting, I'm working on an ensemble from the Chinese-influenced Nara period. Today's project, stencil a mandarin-duck motif on the panels for my mo(skirt). The design was taken from a floor covering in the Tokyo National Museum collection that appears in my copy of Jodai Gire: 7th and 8th Century Textiles in Japan from the Shoso-in and Horyu-ji by Kaneo Matsumoto. Similar rokechi-dyed designs appear on a skirt from the Turfan tomb finds in China which dates to about the same time.     I ended up not cutting out an extremely fiddly bit between the duck's feet as the finished fabric is going to end up being pleated so much it won't be missed. And on that note, the paint should be dry enough for me to shift to the next section. |
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Mar 17, 2012 19:22:41 GMT -5
The classic Chinese tale of Monkey's Journey to the West mentions him wearing cloud stepping shoes. Imagine my delight when I saw a pair of Tang dynasty slippers at the Secrets of the Silk Road exhibition last year, complete with little padded "clouds" on the toes. The Shoso-in Repository contains four surviving pairs of similar sengai from the 8th century. This image is of the pair in the best state of preservation.  The originals are constructed entirely of fabric (ramie and silk brocade) and the padded decoration on the toes stuffed with grass. They were women's slippers, intended for wear inside the palace. Mine, however, have to stand up to outdoor wear, so my treatment is definitely more costume than historical reconstruction. A pair of rubber soled flats from Target gave of themselves unstintingly. The fabric is one of those Asian "silk brocades" that's actually some sort of silk blend. I opted to display what is actually the back of the fabric as (a) I liked the color and (b) I hope it will be less prone to the sorts of snags that the smooth side of this sort of fabric tends to be. 1. First shoe with fabric glued in place, waiting to be trimmed.  2. Template for toe ornament. Believe it or not, I traced a wooden kitchen spoon to create the lobes. (Hey, you KNEW my mind was a strange place....)  3. Attachment of stuffed toe ornaments in progress. I used a combination of hot glue and stitching to attach them. You can see the first one is standing at attention at the moment.  4. Finished shoes.  (I can see I may need to go back and trim a few threads....) |
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Post by Ishida Kentarou Mitsumasa on Mar 18, 2012 0:09:01 GMT -5
Those look fantastic!
The Nara period is so strange to me. Most of the things that come from it don't occur as Japanese at all to me, and I never know what to do with that. You are going to look fantastica as always, I'm sure, but you may provoke many questions...
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Mar 18, 2012 0:27:19 GMT -5
The Nara period is so strange to me. Most of the things that come from it don't occur as Japanese at all to me, and I never know what to do with that. Look at Tang Dynasty China, that's what. ;-D Weather permitting, I'm hoping to field test this stuff at Crown next weekend and will try to get some pictures. Doing my hair properly is going to be a bit exciting, though. |
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Post by Please Delete on Mar 18, 2012 9:26:23 GMT -5
What she said... also, if you study that period, you can start to see how things flow from the Nara period to modern Japan. It isn't necessarily a straight route, but it is there.
-Ii
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Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Mar 18, 2012 14:53:00 GMT -5
Seriously, if it weren't for the fact that Li's being knighted at Estrella, it might not have occurred to me to explore Nara period dress at all. (Fortunately Ii-shonagon and his lady, Abe-shonagon, have been emailing me photos and links of things throughout the process!) And it is kind of nice to have a court-appropriate outfit that clocks in at less than 30 pounds of fabric.  |
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bovil
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Fnord. Moo.
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Post by bovil on Mar 18, 2012 23:57:50 GMT -5
Look at Tang Dynasty China, that's what. ;-D Yeah, Nara Japan is pretty much wholesale cultural appropriation of Tang China. They honestly believed if they were Tang enough, they might be seen as equals and could forestall being invaded by the Tang. When the Tang dynasty started falling into decadence (what Larry Gonick refers to as "the half-fullness of the Tang") China became less of an actual threat, and Japan had a chance to start becoming Japan. |
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Apr 2, 2012 1:08:10 GMT -5
Very, VERY quick post before I collapse for the night. The lovely in red and white (with painted blossoms on her dress!) is the talented Furen Wu Xi Lian, wife of the Outlands' newest knight, Wuxia Li Hsiao Lung (and I probably have mangled the appropriate titles). Of course, I managed to get something in my eye earlier that day and was tearing and irritated so I decided not to make things worse with cosmetics.  |
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Apr 11, 2012 0:25:33 GMT -5
 Photo courtesy of Sedania de Corwyn (Ronda Miyake), taken this weekend at Mists Coronet. The shoes need a re-think: I have to keep re-gluing them along the edge of the sole. However, I'm liking the rest of the ensemble for wearable shininess. (Oh, and the big, chunky, wabi-sabi tea bowl is better suited to eight centuries later....) |
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Post by Ishida Kentarou Mitsumasa on Apr 11, 2012 0:35:30 GMT -5
That shot is gorgeous!
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bovil
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Fnord. Moo.
Posts: 411
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Post by bovil on Apr 11, 2012 1:08:47 GMT -5
The shoes need a re-think: I have to keep re-gluing them along the edge of the sole. Look up Sassy Feet. Drop a note to Margot and drop my and Kevin's names, and she will probably give you more help than you could dream of. |
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Apr 11, 2012 9:25:36 GMT -5
The shoes need a re-think: I have to keep re-gluing them along the edge of the sole. Look up Sassy Feet. Drop a note to Margot and drop my and Kevin's names, and she will probably give you more help than you could dream of. Cool, I'll give it a better look when I get home tonight. It may simply be a case of finding the right adhesive for the job. |
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nana
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~Think Pink~ "I'm obnoxious!"
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Post by nana on Apr 11, 2012 14:50:47 GMT -5
If you Modge Podge over the the shoes and let them dry overnight that usually helps keep everything in place. Shoe Goo/Glue is a good one for that too.
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Post by Please Delete on Apr 11, 2012 19:35:13 GMT -5
Have I mentioned, lately, how much you rock? That is an awesome picture.
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Jul 20, 2012 7:59:25 GMT -5
FYI, I tried the $(@^!# Modge Podge. All it did was discolor the fabric and the fabric STILL doesn't stick to the shoe upper.
Will have to revisit this again with a different adhesive. And new fabric.
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