@ Intro to Sashiko with mai ide Saturday, June 6th, 10am – 1pm Japanese American Museum of Oregon 411 NW Flanders St., Portland, OR 97209 Cost: $95 for Friends of JAMO / $130 for general public Sign Up In this workshop, you will: Learn about the history and cultural significance of sashiko. Get hands-on practice with the stitches. Make a coaster or patch using traditional sashiko techniques. Receive a special sashiko kit so you can continue the practice at home. Participants will explore the cultural significance of sashiko and its deep ties to sustainability—Mottainai means do not waste, use everything—while also engaging in a gentle practice of mending, both garments and oneself. Through the act of repairing frayed clothing together, participants are invited to reflect on personal experiences of brokenness and to discover new ways of healing through shared creation. Participants reclaim slow, intentional moments as they stitch, meditating on vulnerability, resilience, and connection. Each thread carries intention: a way to care for ourselves, our garments, and the stories they hold—preserving rather than replacing. This cloth becomes more than material; it carries history and, through mending, becomes part of a new story. The following materials will be provided for participants, including a take-home kit so participants can continue their practice: Japanese rough plain fabric Cotton thread Needle; Sashiko needle Paper ruler or template Nippers Erasable Ink Fabric Marker Pen What is Sashiko? Sashiko (刺し子) is a traditional Japanese embroidery and stitching dating back to the Edo period (1615 – 1868). It was first developed among working-class people, farmers, and fishermen to mend their daily clothes and clothing. Through Sashiko, they could make garments stronger, more durable, and last longer. They kept mending in this way and passed techniques down from generation to generation. As such, Sashiko is one of the oldest traditional Japanese upcycling techniques. Artist mai ide finds a confluence between mending fabric and repairing emotional intimacy. About the Artist: mai ide is an artist from Tokyo, now based in Portland, OR. Her multidisciplinary art investigates her own cultural intersectionality and deep ambivalence as a non-immigrant, mother, and woman. Ide’s use of salvaged fabric and sashiko stitches conveys their simultaneous vulnerability, fragility, resilience, and fortitude under a constrained, violent, and volatile society. Ide holds a BFA in Art Practice from Portland State University (OR) and an MFA in Visual Studies at Pacific Northwest College of Art, as well as degrees in sewing, pattern making, and textile design in Japan, where they worked for twelve years as a material designer. Previous exhibitions and performances include at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Kyoto in Japan, and Jordan Schnitzer Museum in Oregon. Japanese American Museum of Oregon Add to calendar Google Calendar iCalendar ...
Sharing and preserving Japanese American history and culture in the Pacific Northwest. 411 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR
