Bingata and the Okinawa Rail
The Yanbaru Kuina, or the Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae), is a beautiful bird endemic to Okinawa Island. It is an unusual bird in that it is almost flightless.
Since the Yanbaru Kuina is an endangered species, i have worked to incorporate it into my bingata artwork as a reminder for us to cherish our natural environment…
Let’s take a peek at Yanbaru Kuina in its natural environment: Yanbaru Kuina Video. Isn’t Yanbaru Kuina lovely?
I recently incorporated my own interpretation of Yanbaru Kuina in a Bingata style textile. How about if i provide a brief introduction to my Bingata dye work process with you?
First, i cut a reverse design stencil, then lay the stencil atop my handwoven cotton bag and applied a Nori resist paste…
Note that I added color to the ordinarily white Nori resist paste so that i’m able to view the outline of my artwork atop the white cotton fabric.
Next, i painted my artwork with Bingata natural dyes…
After the Bingata natural dyes dried, i removed the Nori resist paste with running water. Thereafter, the entire Bingata image was revealed…
How do you like my Yanbaru Kuina Bingata bag?
3 Comments
stunning! You are so talented.
Thank you for visiting my blog Marie–i’m sooo glad that you like my bingata creations!
WONDERFUL Post — a nice one for share!