Go to> Information | Images | Technique

Information:

Yoko Miyaji-Zeltserman: The Cloud Series ∙ Lacquer Furniture

Show Dates: Continuing through January 21, 2009

Yoko Miyaji, a master woodworker and studio furniture maker, has been making furniture for over twenty-five years. Her pieces are finished primarily with urishi, a Japanese lacquer technique that she studied and perfected while a student in Kyoto.

Miyaji’s latest works are a series of cabinets inspired by traditional Japanese family altar pieces called Butsudans. The artist states: “Traditionally, we pray for our departed relatives at Butsudan - the shape of the case resembles a small shrine. My Butsudan are different. I made these to hold special things - things with attached precious and dear memories.”

The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA recently commissioned Miyaji to make a large scale sculptural but functional piece for their Japanese gallery.

Yoko Zeltserman-Miyaji - Artist's Statement - Cloud Series
_______________________________________________________________

I'm a woodworker and studio furniture maker. I finish my pieces primarily with urushi - Japanese lacquer. I've been making pieces for over twenty five years.

When I was a graduate student in Japan I saw pictures of studio furniture from America. Studio furniture was something I had never seen before, something totally new to me - furniture as art. And some of these pieces were made by women! I found my inspiration here and that's how I began making studio furniture in Japan.

I moved to this country about four years ago. I found studio space at a cooperative woodworking studio. For the first time I got to see American studio furniture really up close. When I was in Japan my inspiration was American studio furniture and I thought of my pieces as international. But now I could see that my pieces were different from those being made by American studio furniture makers. My woodworking techniques were different and my designs were different. I felt lost and I needed to find a direction to go in. I didn't want to just repeat what I had made in Japan.

And so I came to this series. I found myself looking back to my culture for inspiration in a way that I couldn't when I was in Japan. In Japan I was just too close to my culture to do this. I could have called this a cabinet series and stopped at that. But that's not what I wanted. These pieces are inspired by Butsudan - but they are not Butsudan. A Butsudan is a family altar piece. Traditionally, we pray for our departed relatives at the Butsudan - the shape of the case resembles a small shrine. My pieces are different. I made these to hold precious things - things with attached precious and dear memories.

Images:

Yoko Zeltserman-Miyaji - Urushi (Japanese Lacquer) Techniques
_______________________________________________________________

Yoko studied urushi (Japanese Lacquer) maki-e techniques at the Kyoto City University of Art, where she earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees. She has been working with urushi and wood for more than thirty years.

Urushi is the concentrated sap of the Lacquer tree. Its use in Asia goes back thousands of years. Working with urushi is very time consuming. Unlike varnishes and other finishes used in the West, urushi does not "dry" in the sense that we are used to. Rather, water molecules are drawn out of the urushi when it is exposed to humidity and heat, leaving a hard, durable finish. Yoko places her pieces in a 'wet box' so that she can control the finishing process. Typically, each coat of urushi takes eight to ten hours to 'dry'. When pigments are added to urushi, the 'drying' process takes considerably longer - sometimes three to five days for each coat.

Here are some of the urushi techniques Yoko used in finishing her pieces:

Fuki Urushi (Wipe-away technique):

First, Yoko applies clear urushi (which is actually amber in color) along with some thinner, to the wooden piece. She places the piece in a wet box and lets it 'dry'.

Second, Yoko applies a fine clay mixed with urushi (Sabi urushi) to the piece. She 'dries' it in a wet box and then polishes the piece down to the wood, leaving a very smooth surface. The clay mixture fills in any unevenness caused by the wood grain, and serves to enhance the grain pattern.

Third, Yoko applies a thin layer of urushi with cotton and wipes the urushi off with a special type of paper. She uses this technique so that she can apply a very thin coat of urushi to the smooth surface - thinner than she could if she painted the urushi on with a brush. She then 'dries' the piece in a wet box and repeats the process three times. She then polishes the piece. After polishing the piece, Yoko repeats the process a number of times until she achieves the surface that she wants, applying three coats and polishing, using finer and finer polishing paper after each step.

By using the Fuki Urushi technique, Yoko can create a very "clear" surface that will enhance the grain of the wood. She applies very thin layers of urushi - thicker layers painted on with a brush tend to be less translucent. The whole finishing process using this technique takes at least fifteen days.

Black Urushi

First, Yoko prepares the wood as in step 1 above. Depending on the piece, she will sometimes apply the clay and urushi mixture as she does in step 2 above.

Second, Yoko paints the piece with naka urushi (black middle step urushi). She paints on the urushi using a brush. She'll paint on a couple of layers, allowing each layer to 'dry' in a wet box. Painting with black urushi is very difficult - sort of like painting with molasses. If the coat is applied too thickly or not applied properly, the surface will ripple during the 'drying' process.

Third, Yoko will polish the piece using a special type of charcoal and then paint on an additional coat of naka urushi.

Fourth, Yoko will apply a coat of Roiro urushi (best quality black urushi). She'll 'dry' the piece in a wet box and then polish the piece. She'll repeat the process - painting - 'drying' - polishing. After polishing with charcoal, the surface is mat. To make it shiny, Yoko polishes the piece with a special powder (do zuri ko) plus oil. Then she paints the piece with uwa zuri urushi (finishing urushi) using cotton. Then she puts the piece in a wet box to 'dry'. After the piece 'dries' she removes the coat with roiro migaki ko (roiro polishing powder). This leaves the surface shiny.

Kan shitsu ko technique (powdered urushi technique)

After finishing the piece with urushi techniques described above, Yoko will paint the piece with either clear or black roiro urushi. She'll then use special tools to apply urushi powder to the piece. She'll 'dry' the piece in a wet box and then paint over the powder with the best grade urushi and place the piece in a wet box to 'dry'.

Contact Mobilia Gallery for more information: mobiliaart@verizon.net or call 617-876-2109