“boro” Concept

It’s been a while since the “boro” concept project became a serious undertaking, and today marks the completion of the first haori style “boro” . . . as I posted somewhere, “boro” is Japanese for “rag” or as I interpret it: worn, frayed, faded, and patched; an assemblage of blue hued shapes and woven textures sewn together – there are hard-edged seams and unfinished edges that will unravel when washed . . .

I will use “boro” when referring to all the haori style coats I will produce . . .

Here is a series of photographs of my newly born “boro” concept . . .

. . . showing some of the lining . . .

The boro hanging from a tree limb, draped over a tree stump or lying on a pile of twigs is in keeping with the original treatment of boro . . . it is lying near where someone is working, waiting to be picked up and worn when returning home . . .

. . . so desu, is wabi sabi, n’est pas?

Update 2010/10/07 (Photos w/human inside) Model is 5’4″ tall . . .

Front . . .

. . . back.

And “arigatogozaimashita” to Robert Motherwell for his “Spanish Elegy” series . . .

New Page – RAG WORKS

I added a new page titled “RAG WORKS” . . . the new page will be dedicated to my “boro” (rag) project (coats and other patchwork assemblages). Click on the title located at the top of the dashboard . . .

10.08.2010
here’s the old Singer sewing machine that I mentioned on the Rag Works page . . .

Well, I had a look at the old sewing machine this morning . . . the wood cabinet is gone and the overall condition is very bad . . . lots of rust . .

. . . the bottom support and treadle seem to be intact, but also very rusty.

All the old hose and sink drain pipes give the impression that the machine is powered by some unseen hydraulic system.

. . . needle end of the machine.

The “flywheel” . . .

I’m going to offer the guy $20 for the relic . . .

“boro” . . .

. . . started this post yesterday (Friday) . . .

The denim “haori” prototype has encountered a bit of a set-back . . . I overlooked the fact that the Japanese body is not as large as mine . . . WTF . . . How did I do that??

Here’s what happened: I was using the “old” standard width of silk fabric (13 1/2 inches) when making the panels for the garment . . . well I needed to make the panels a minimum of 15 inches or even 17 inches wide to get the kind of loose “drape” that I was trying to create. I did have an old XXL shirt that I was going to use as a rough guide, but I just powered on without it, and . . . So I will be ripping seams and making some adjustments . . .

i snagged the sketch from this Japanese site . . . it’s a good illustration to better understand the concept of my “boro” coat. This coat/jacket will definitely be for Fall/Winter or the cooler climes . . . it’s HEAVY . . . and thick . . . Lots of layers and shapes.

“In Japan, mended and patched textiles are referred to as “boro”, or rags.”

Got to implement the “Plan – Do – Check – Act” cycle . . . W. Edwards Deming.

Saturday (1100) . . . b-coat is in the process of reconstruction . . . Bjork is supplying the necessary motivational musik . . .

Well, the additional pieces of denim (4” wide) have been sewn in place and the “coat” should be in its final stages of completion tomorrow (Sunday) . . .

Today the humidity is most disturbing . . . working with the A/C on is O.K. but once you step out the door . . .

HUP, Holland HUP !!

MONDAY !!!

2010July05

Yeh it’s finally MONDAY but none of the banks, local, state or federal gov’t offices are open . . . WTF . . . gotta get that THREE day weekend . . . workin’ for the week end.

I’m back in the “shop” with more containers and a BIG “shopping” full of denim . . . even more pants waiting to be deconstructed . . . HOLY CRAP . . .

. . . got a pile of pockets and some other stuff . . . like large pieces of fabric with paper tags that have scribbled notes like – “vest- back” and “back – 39 inches” etc. etc. under there somewhere . . .

Got some pics of two pairs of Levi’s . . . one with the side seams ripped and the pieces laid in place . . .

. . . the other pair awaiting the “demo” man . . .

Here are a couple of “process” photos . . .

. . . Layout of patchwork design . . . white chalk is used to trace around the various pieces, marking their locations . . . the individual shapes are also assigned an identifying number or letter for location reference.

Two of the larger pieces have already been stitched on, another piece has been “basted” in place with pins and is waiting for JUKI interface . . .

Tomorrow will be spent doing an inventory, separating the “pieces” from the stitched patchwork panels . . . uh . . . this is beginning to feel like WORK . . .

2010-07-04

Don’t know where I’ve been or what calendar I have on the wall . . . but I thought MONDAY was the 4th of July . . . lost a day there somewhere . . . been LOST in the workroom . . . old Levi’s denim, the JUKI (which I’ve neglected for too long) and what looks like a logical change of direction . . .

. . . it’s been a year since I lost my J – O – B . . . seven months since I retired . . . and the pieces of this new life seem to be falling into place.

. . . because the JUKI won’t slip down inside the legs of my Levi’s, it was necessary to rip the side seams out so I could stitch the “new” fabric pieces on the selected areas . . . it’s easier to work on a flat piece of material . . .

Reconstructed after being “de-constructed” . . .

. . . ready for another go with life.

Today, after closing up the side seams on a pair of Levi’s that I modded up yesterday . . . I stitched a panel of pieced together fabric (denim and some other stuff) to the back of one of my older long-sleeved shirts, sort of a “work” shirt with a “Mandarin” style collar.

Here’s the back of the shirt . . .

. . . and here’s a shot of the front with smaller panel in place.

. . . below is a closer view of the front panel on the shirt . . .

The photo above shows the hand stitching I did after the pieces were sewn together . . . was going for that vintage Japanese “noragi” look . . .

Robert Motherwell’s paintings play an influential role in how I “lay-out” the pieces of fabric that I eventually stitch together . . . large irregular shapes and a somewhat mono-chromatic pallet . . .

“Elegy to the Spanish Republic No, 57” by Robert Motherwell.

This image “Automatism B, 1966” is probably closer to how some of the linear fabric elements work . . . Working with the different hues and textures of denim is sort of like painting on canvas . . . you have the basic concept, but the composition evolves as you work . . .

Anyway . . . after I got “home”, I washed the shirt and all the pants that I’ve worked on since Friday . . . I found more large pieces of denim (mostly pant legs) and more pieced panels that I put together and stashed in storage boxes more than a year ago . . . yep . . . a new direction . . .

The Robert Motherwell images are the property of their respective owners, All Rights Reserved.