Katazome: Textiles by Karen Illman Miller
April 2 - May 24, 2009
at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center

Karen Miller is an artist and a naturalist. She creates painstakingly crafted handmade mulberry paper stencils, used to transfer detailed designs onto fabric. The cut stencils are placed on the fabric and a paste is applied to cover the design, protecting it from the next round of hand dyeing vibrant colors onto the cloth. This is the art of katazome – traditional stencil and paste-resistant dyeing of cloth that can then be sewn into beautiful textiles.

Each fiber is cared for in the artist’s hands, as rounds of dye are applied and details in the stencil designs emerge. Karen brings to life the cycles of the seasons, the day into night, the flowers, fish, trees, and creatures from her beloved seas and her home in Oregon. Whether sewing quilts or making noren (silk room dividers), Karen’s designs are modern and unique while her craft is ancient and steeped in the loving, attentive aesthetic of Japan.

Please join us for an exhibit of her work that runs through May 24. A special trunk show will offer additional textiles for sale the weekend of May 23-24.

Karen’s work has been exhibited in Japan as well as the United States, and she teaches workshops on the art of katazome. An exhibit at the Benton County Historical Society Museum in Philomath May 1 – June 13 will feature many more pieces. Check out her website for more details www.nautilus-fiberarts.com.

Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center
121 NW 2nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
503-224-1459
www.oregonnikkei.org