Hokkaido Shiretoko Shari
 
Noragi 2000 Tsugi
 Traditional Textile Arts
If you would like to host an exhibition of my quilt, piease contact me.
　
Japanese
　
TEXTILE ARTTIST
Tomie Nagano

A Brief Statement of My Life Story: Tomie Nagano, 2014


I am most fortunate to be able to fulfill my life long dream! About 29 years ago, with the encouragement and support of my mother, I committed my life, my dream, to preserve the history of making cloth in Japan. I believe it is extremely important to preserve the history of our past generations for the benefit of future generations. Much research has already been completed on the history of textiles and the design of clothing. Many books have been written on these subjects. I have attempted to combine the study and preservation of antique textiles and creation of new art.

My great grandparents were in Iwate Prefecture and moved to Hokkaido Island about 1870. Hokkaido is the nothernmost island in Japan and the last region to be developed in recent time.
My grandparents were born in Shari-town in about 1877 and were the true pioneers of their time.

My father was born in 1910 in Shari-town, Hokkaido, one of nine children. He married my mother in 1939 and they lived in Shari-town their entire life. I was the youngest of five children, and was born in 1950. I built my studio on my grandparent’s property in Shari-town. I have spent nearly every day of my life for more than 25 years working on my quilts and weaving.



My interest in making quilts was inspired by my mother when I was 35 years old. My mother had accumulated a collection of antique silk kimonos, many of which had belonged to my grandparents, who were great pioneers of their time. She challenged me to preserve them, or to put them to good use in my own creative way. This moment marked the beginning of a life changing experience for me. These kimonos were very dear to my heart! This was a special event of love and respect between mother and daughter, as my future life was forever changed by accepting my mother’s challenge.
2013

I made the decision to make a very big change in my lifestyle, a change to spend as much time as possible to ensure my heartfelt dreams could come true. I have spent the subsequent years studying and collecting many antique kimonos. My mother had recycled family clothing into quilts. And I realized that I could learn from her, and I committed to utilize my artistic interests as I accepted her challenge and learned from her skills.

As my mother had recycled family clothing into quilts, I felt this was a way of preserving the history and family ties to my grandparents. I pulled apart their special kimonos, and washed and pressed the material. I then cut it into small strips to use to make simple patterned quilts in the early years of my career. Every quilt that I have made is completely done by hand; I never use machine sewing and have never employed any other assistants to help me.

As my interests grew, I became more convinced of the importance of preserving the history of fabrics in Japan, and was hopeful that I could use my art to help tell the story of fabrics and educate future generations.

I travelled all around Japan for three years, visiting many antique markets to buy other old kimonos and antique fabrics. The years of use had taken its toll on some parts of the delicate fabrics, but I worked diligently to clean and salvage the good pieces. I carefully sorted the materials by type of cloth and by color. Today I have pieces from more than 4,000 kimonos in my studio. Most of the kimonos were made and used from about 1883 to 1950. Many of these have been worn by Japanese farmers. I have transformed the bits and pieces into new works of art in the form of quilts that I have designed and sewn completely with my own hands.

I have made about 60 bedcover sized quilts since I began my project. Some people have asked why I decided to transform kimonos into quilts. Of course I had some inspiration from what I learned from my mother as a child. I also know that humans spend about 1/3 of their lifetime in bed. I feel that while we sleep, our hearts are treated lovingly by the wrapping of our bodies in a quilt. During sleep, our hearts, minds, and bodies slowly regain enough strength and love to face another day.

I chose to make my quilts using very simple and basic techniques. It is important to me to preserve the warmth and spirit of our pioneers, not display their fabrics in lavish quilts sewn using the most up-to-date techniques.

It is a tribute to our pioneers that the techniques of indigo dying and the weaving of fabrics 100 years ago ensured that they still remain beautiful and of high quality today. The origins of those who weaved and dyed is unknown, but I feel their dreams are alive and well today. I feel the special care and craftsmanship that went into every piece; a feeling that I work hard to continue as I use these wonderful fabrics to make my quilts today.

It is my dream to preserve the history of not only my family and their memories, but for all of the pioneers of Japan. I want to do my part to help preserve this history for future generations.

As my career progressed, I envisioned a special project of larger, more complex designs based on the classic log cabin pattern. This is a series of ten quilts that I have titled “Two Hearts in Harmony”. My goal was to be able to exhibit these works not just in Japan, but in other countries around the world. Most of us understand our own country’s pioneering spirits, but we can also learn from other cultures and their pioneers. The symbolism of the “Two Hearts” title is to first honor and respect the heart and spirit of our Japanese pioneers which is based in the fabrics used in the construction of my quilts. The second heart belongs to the culture of another country. I have used the American pioneers’ log cabin pattern as respect for the hardships endured and the beautiful art created by the pioneer American women. And I hope that the hearts of many people from many other countries around the world can be touched by the feeling of my heart that I have sewn into all of my quilts.

I am very pleased that the “Two Hearts in Harmony” series successfully toured six museums in Australia for about two years from 2005 to 2007. I want to thank my friend, Dana McCown of the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery for her curatorial skills in helping to prepare for this tour. To obtain more details of this series, and some of my other works, you can obtain a copy of the exhibition catalog from the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, or selected bookstores in Australia and other countries, and other textile museums and galleries around the world.

And I am especially pleased and deeply honored that my goal of preserving my quilts for the enjoyment and education of future generations has now been achieved as the Textile and Costume Department of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has added the entire “Two Hearts in Harmony” series to its permanent collection! The MFA has outstanding facilities for the care of delicate fabrics and a very highly skilled staff to ensure that my quilts can be viewed by many generations to come.

The MFA will have exhibitions of the quilts from time-to-time, and will make the quilts available for scholarly research by future students and artists. The may also make the quilts available for temporary loan for display by other museums. The MFA web site is www.mfa.org.

My newest work will be exhibited by Mobilia Gallery at the Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Fair (SOFA) in New York City from April 16 to April 19, 2009.

I hope that you can enjoy seeing my "Two Hearts in Harmony"& "Noragi 2000 Tsugi" quilts at the MFA, or any of my other quilts as they are displayed at other venues around the world.
Tomie Nagano’s Life Story,
2003.9.10 studio
　Profile
　Exhibition Information Vol.1
　Exhibition Information Vol.2
　2005. Exhibition Information Vol.3　
　2005. Exhibition Information Vol.4
　2005. Exhibition Information Vol.5
　2005. Exhibition Information Vol.6
　Austraila Tour information 2006
　Central queensland newspaper article
　Albury opening.10.6.2006
　Studio news, 1/8/2007
　Boston studio news; Feb, Mar, and April 2010
　Boston studio news; May 2010
　Boston studio news 2010 June
　Shari studio news 2010 July
　Summer, 2010: Studio activities
　Boston Studio news Sep and Oct.
　Save the date - Tomie's Mobilia Opening reception
　January 2011 update
　Shari Studio News: March / April 2011
　2011.5 Boston Studio news
　June 2011 Boston studio news
　July 2011,Shari Studio News.
　August 2011 Shari studio news.
　Sep. 2011 Boston studio news.
　Oct. 2011 Boston studio news.
　NoV. 2011 Boston studio news.
　Dec. 2011 Boston studio news.
　Boston Studio News - February 2012.
　Boston Studio News - March 2012. 
　Shari Studio News - July 2012.  
　Boston Studio News - September 2012.
　Boston Studio News - December 2012.
　Boston Studio News - February 2013.
　Boston Studio News - November & December 2013.  
　Boston Studio News - June 2014.
　Shari Studio News - July August & September 2014.
　2014.11 Boston Studio News
　2015 February Boston Studio News 
　2015 March Boston Studio News  
　2015 April Boston Studio News  
　2015 May Boston Studio News
　2015 December Boston Studio News
　January, 2020 Boston studio news
　September, 2020 Boston studio news
　November, 2020 Boston studio news
　2021.June..Boston studio news
　2021.September.Shari studio news
　　
Directly Tomie's Quilt at The MFA permanent collection web site is.
　　
Traditional Textile Arts