Discover Nikkei Logo

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1662/

From double weaving to microfilament “flat” hangings

Trude taught us how to do double weaving. So I put a small sample on my loom, thinking that I'll just try a little piece and double weave, and by golly, when I took it off the loom, I saw that I had crossed the lairs, and when it came off the loom, I could see that if I chose the right material, it would open out and stay open. And then I tried a piece in nylon monofilament, which lengths were given to me… I put the monofilament on the loom and tried my double weaving, and by golly, when I cut it off the loom, I had a monofilament hanging. So that was the beginning of my whole series… The first ones, I called them ... they were the flat pieces, because if you flattened them, they would be flat. But then I knew in weaving you could go around and around and around, and you could make a tube. So, using that idea, I turned one of those monofilament hangings into a tubular piece, and that kept me going with more ideas about making them a little bit more sculptural.


artists arts weaving

Date: November 23, 2018

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Patricia Wakida

Contributed by: A Co-Production of the Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum and KCET

Interviewee Bio

Kay Sekimachi, born in 1926 in San Francisco, is an American fiber artist best known for her masterful, three-dimensional woven monofilament hangings as well as her intricate baskets and bowls. Born in San Francisco on September 30, 1926, Sekimachi was interned with her family at Tanforan Assembly Center in California and then the Topaz concentraton camp in Utah from 1942 to 1944. (June 2018)

Eric Nakamura
en
ja
es
pt
Eric Nakamura

Giant Robot, a stepping stone for young artists

Giant Robot co-founder and publisher

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Shinoda
en
ja
es
pt
Mike Shinoda

Role as an artist

(b. 1977) Musician, Producer, Artist

en
ja
es
pt
Akira Watanabe
en
ja
es
pt
Akira Watanabe

Taiko, an element that represents strength (Spanish)

(b. 1974) Director of Ryukyu Matsuri Daiko in Peru

en
ja
es
pt
Evelyn Yoshimura
en
ja
es
pt
Evelyn Yoshimura

Emergence of Graphics in Gidra

Community Activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mitsuru "Mits" Kataoka
en
ja
es
pt
Mitsuru "Mits" Kataoka

The first print image from film

(1934–2018) Japanese American designer, educator, and pioneer of media technologies

en
ja
es
pt
George Kazuharu Naganuma
en
ja
es
pt
George Kazuharu Naganuma

Art helped him to feel less foreign in school

(b. 1938) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

en
ja
es
pt
George Kazuharu Naganuma
en
ja
es
pt
George Kazuharu Naganuma

Painting murals and signs in the army

(b. 1938) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

en
ja
es
pt
Iwao Takamoto
en
ja
es
pt
Iwao Takamoto

Developing Art Skills in Camp

Japanese American animator for Walt Disney and Hanna Barbera (1925-2007)

en
ja
es
pt
Ben Sakoguchi
en
ja
es
pt
Ben Sakoguchi

Differences between Parents

(b. 1938) Japanese American painter & printmaker

en
ja
es
pt
Ben Sakoguchi
en
ja
es
pt
Ben Sakoguchi

Starting out in Art

(b. 1938) Japanese American painter & printmaker

en
ja
es
pt
Ben Sakoguchi
en
ja
es
pt
Ben Sakoguchi

“I did what I wanted to do”

(b. 1938) Japanese American painter & printmaker

en
ja
es
pt

Discover Nikkei Updates

CALL FOR VIDEOS
Pass the Food!
Be in our video celebrating Nikkei worldwide. Click to learn how to submit! Deadline extended to October 15!
NIKKEI CHRONICLES #13
Nikkei Names 2: Grace, Graça, Graciela, Megumi?
What’s in a name? Share the story of your name with our community. Submissions close on October 31!
NIMA VOICES
Episode 17
November 12
5pm PDT | 7pm PET
Featured Nima:
Graciela Nakachi
Guest Host:
Enrique Higa

Presented in Spanish