The Ethos of SAORI Weaving - Key Ideas and Themes

October 12, 2023

I really wanted to get closer to the heart of the ethos of SAORI weaving and to understand more about the thinking of SAORI founder Misao Jo. This seemed to leave me no option but to purchase the official handbook, SAORI Self-Innovation Through Free Weaving by Misao Jo & Kenzo Jo . The book is a bit expensive and not that easy to get hold of except through registered Saori studios, however it is very extensive and contains all the vital information you could need as a serious Saori weaver.

It’s not my intention to write a book review here, but rather to pull out and share a summary of key themes and ideas that interest me about the ethos of Saori. The majority of this comes from the parts of the book written by Misao in 1977, 1989 and republished in 2000. The edition I'm reading from was first published in 2012 and printed in 2021. Misao’s writings were first published in Japanese and have been translated into English with the first English edition published in 2001. I’m mentioning this because it may affect the interpretation of certain ideas and language.

For me, two very significant themes came through which are the idea of self-expression being key to identifying and developing our ‘true-selves’ and the idea of ‘Kansei’ which refers to an innate sense of intuitive beauty inherent in everyone. These are two themes I very much want to develop further in my own work.

Other themes emerged which in no particular order, I categorised as, Humans Vs Machines, Human Nature, Unconventional Thinking, Failure and ‘Mistakes’, The Innocent Mind, Self-Expression in the Creative Process and The True-Self, Intuition, Present moment, Process over Product, Spirituality, Developing Creativity Vs Teaching and The Path I (Misao) Followed. Some of these are very strong themes in Saori, some I’ve picked out in a search to make links between Saori and my ideas around intuition in the creative process. These ideas have been clarified recently by reading the article Understanding creative intuition by Theresa Jane Hardman. I intend to compare these ideas in more depth in the future but not today!

Of course SAORI has its key statements and themes expressed in it’s four slogans

Four Slogans of SAORI (1975) p142

Consider the difference between a machine and a human being
Be bold and adventurous
Look out through eyes that shine
Inspire one another, and everyone in the group.

These are not my main focus in writing this, but I think it is important to acknowledge them and also that by examining Saori ethos in more depth, to see how these slogans emerged.

SAORI Ideas and Themes

Humans Vs Machines

This is a key theme in Saori and also relates to the first of the four Slogans. Misao was very concerned with the comparison between what could be produced by machine and an industrialised weaving process in comparison to what individuals could produce in a hand weaving process.

Getting my new SAORI loom and weaving my first piece - Intuitive Threads

June 23, 2023

NEW LOOM

I collected my brand new SAORI WX60 weaving loom from Amanada of Beautiful Cloth Saori Studio from Napton on the 23rd May. Amanda had constructed the loom for me as it is shipped from Japan in separate parts. We had two hours together where Amanda showed how to attach the warp and the threading process and we set up the loom together. I was really glad to be shown how to do this as the process is noticeably different to what I know from warping conventional looms. The Saori looms are designed to be as easy to use as possible, but for me that also involves unlearning things. Then, with some assistance, the loom was folded up, secured, carried out to my car and buckled into the back seat and I drove it home. Struggled a bit to carry it into the house by myself, but what’s a few bruises for the sake of art? I was really pleased that it did fit where I hoped it would in the living/dining room.

I am fortunate enough to have a room in my house that I use as a studio, unfortunately it’s already full with a floor standing Harris sample loom. I keep thinking I should sell it and make space for the Saori loom, but I can’t quite bring myself to make the decision as of yet. There are advantages to working from home as an artist, but sometimes I would really like a studio space too. My weaving and artistic practice is now taking over three rooms in the house as well as some of the garage. Things just don’t flow and work quite as well as I’d like and sometimes I would like things to be in their right place and rooms used for their correct purpose. Having the loom in such a prominent place in the house makes me feel like I should always be weaving! Perhaps this is just about adapting to a change in my immediate environment. Having said all of that, I know I’m fortunate to have the space I have, so I will work on making it work.

One thing that is really different about Saori weaving, is the ready made warps, that come wound on a tube ready to use. I noticed this was usually a black cotton warp, although I believe other speciality warps are available. I didn’t realise it was a deliberate choice that plain warps would be black, in fact it seemed like a difficult colour to me, especially when I wanted to weave in white. Then I read this on the Saori website,

What is Intuitive Weaving?

April 17, 2023

My original aim for the Intuitive Threads project was to explore both SAORI weaving and Intuitive weaving. The purpose of this project is to allow for exploration and expansion of ideas. It's open ended with loosely defined outcomes. Having said that, sometimes it's helpful to have definitives and definitions. To close down the parameters a little and close in on what's most relevant with some focus. So that you know what you're doing, where you're heading, what you're looking at. I wanted to see if there was a definition of 'Intuitive weaving'. There are 1,902 entries with the hashtag #intuitiveweaving on Instagram as of today (17th April 2023), so it must be a thing!

Maybe not surprisingly, considering the multiple meanings the words intuition and intuitive can have, I've struggled to find a universal definition. The term seems to have different meanings and purposes for different people and weavers. Maybe an Internet search is not the most comprehensive way to explore this but that's where I started. A bonus of this approach was that I discovered some really interesting and inspiring weavers and textile artists that I wasn’t aware of before. People from around the world who have created businesses and workshops and put together ideas in ways that show something out of the ordinary can work. I’ve also come across some really interesting and perspective expanding pieces of writing.

Returning to attempting to define the term ‘Intuitive weaving’, some common themes came up in my research,

Spirituality - weaving as spiritual practice, and/or tradition.
Ancient origins - weaving as an ancient craft
Archetype - weaver/weaving archetype - weaving as creation/creating
Ritual - weaving to create or as ritual
Self-expression - as a vehicle for self-expression and creativity
Subconscious - accessing and expressing the subconscious
Process over outcome - intuition is connected to in the creative process
Instinct over intellect - (favouring creativity over logic or right brain over left brain)
Boundaries - weaving process providing structure for creative practice and intuition
Flow - weaving as a physical practice that allows for a state of ‘flow’ to be experienced
Mindfulness and Meditation - similar to flow, a mindful process
Spontaneity - a creative process/way of working without or with minimal pre-planning
Individuality - creating one off individual work
Non-standard materials - using natural, found, collected or recycled materials

Technology - Intuitive meaning easy to use and understand computerised looms for industry (the interloper)

Saori Research - Intuitive Threads

March 8, 2023

Intuitive Threads - an exploration of the nature and role of intuition in the creative process through Saori and intuitive approaches to weaving.

Soari weaving is the core element of my Intuitive Threads research and development project. In my first blog post for this project, I wanted to look at and collate some information about what Saori weaving is and to identify aspects that interest me about its approach and ethos. This is a starting point for me to gather information on the broader context of Saori before getting started on experiencing it practically through the workshops I will be attending with Amanda Edney at Beautiful Cloth Saori Studio.

WHAT IS SAORI WEAVING?

Saori is a type of weaving that originated in Japan in the 1960s. It was founded by Miaso Jo and developed further by her son Kenzo Jo. The story is that Miaso Jo was weaving an Obi (belt) and noticed a flaw in the weaving. She liked the design that it made but discovered it would be considered as flawed by manufacturers who will only accept a ‘perfect’ cloth.