Fukumi Shimura

Message from the Universe

Several years after I began this work, I was weaving on the loom in the deepening shadows of sunset one day, when suddenly I felt as if color was rising, nay, ascending from the woven surface. I believe that color is, at its very essence, not something that is "applied," but rather it is the transformation of light that shines in from afar. So my sense of that ethereal ascension of color was most likely true, and something quite natural. But I remember being moved by this sensation, which seemed miraculous at the time. When color functions simply as color, that phenomenon never occurs. In fact, I rarely ever encounter it while doing my work. So how then does it occur? I believe that when color meets a person's eye, reaches the depth of his heart, and stirs his soul, it conceives with that person new life. And thus, through the artist, the color manifests itself again in the world of expression. Cƒzanne, Redon, Kandinsky, and Klee were able to express light, water, and wind through their rich worlds of pigment because the soul of each artist and his color were united in fertile conception.

		A realm in every color Hues, which on a musical scale would signify half or quarter tones—how complex the sound that lurks in the space between. Thus it is with color, and with plant dyes; each and every color is extracted from a different plant. Each color has a world that belongs to it alone. —Fukumi Shimura

My work happens to involve extracting color from plants to dye and weave fiber. My every motion and all of my materials receive the enormous benefits of Nature. In carrying out my work, I am following the laws of Nature. And yet, my labors seem effortless. I believe my work is harmonious with the process of living itself. People do not dominate Nature; we are guided by Her. For that reason, when I obtain color from plants, I relinquish—in certain respects—all control. In the end, I do not know what color will result. When I ask a plant to transfer its color to me, the color that is born is "color received from the plant." If a color is unsatisfactory, I know that I was somehow sloppy, or arrogant toward Nature. In that respect, She is solemn, something one cannot lie to, or joke with.

Born of a magical cocoon A silkworm bequeaths its life to its thread; in exchange for a tiny life we receive lustrous thread. When you hold silk thread in your hand, it is warm, and if you squeeze it gently it responds with its inner power, initiating soft, lifelike movement. This is raw life itself. —Fukumi Shimura

Nature embraces seasons, endures adversity, suffers death. Exposed to Nature's earth, water, fire, wind, air, and light, we are permitted to live according to the principles of the Universe. Indeed, color is a message from the Universe in its own language. Sound—the echo of the Universe—is even more intangible than color. However, through their work, people can experience the manifestation of light upon Earth as sound, words, and color. That is what we call art.

continues in magazine...

Fukumi Shimura
textile dyeing and weaving artist

In 1955, Shimura began textile dyeing and weaving at the age of 32, and had her first submitted work selected for the Japan Traditional Arts and Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogei Ten) in 1957. She has since received numerous awards and in 1990 was designated a Living National Treasure.