A tour for the guards with the curator

Ayaka and Meme :

Mio:

Eri and Yukari:

Ayaka's uniform

Day 10 THANK YOU PARTY AND GIFT

Guards women were planing since a few days that they'd give a Thank You PASCALE Farewell party.  Around 12 noon during they kept working, Pascale went out. Then all ot fhem moved quickly, moved desk, decorated it with colored tapes and colored post it.  Instant party tray in pink color appeared. Paper nupkins with heart motives in pink, sandwithes and crab-cheesse paste, crackers,  kish, 
they were arranged and waited for Pascale coming back. With tea cups in hands, all women came together, surrounding the table. When Pascale came back, she was surprised, but she was more surprised when she was given by each 8 women, fabrics they wanted to give to Pascale. Some from old kimono, some from the fabric she dyed for the first time at school. Unexpected presents moved her and she even cried.

Still it was labor intensive day. Almost everyone was clear what they wanted to do till the end, they just kept working and working! 
  

Day 9 Two Days Left

Everybody started to feel a bit nervous since within two days they need to complete their uniform. Pascale asked each women “how do you feel?” in the starting point. Sitting as a circle, they have shown what they demonstrated what they have done, and also talked about the exhibitions they love: which can be connected to uniform as strong creating inspitation, by reflecting their own personality or experiences.

Everyone’s work and stories were impressive. I write about someone that stayed in my head quite strongly.

Ayaka, who looked most timid in the beginning days, who has short career as a guard, who normally wears boysh clothes since having questions on her gender identity looked so confident now! Pascale asked “Are you tired?” Ayaka”No, not at all! Fun!” After laughing,“ At the beginning I was not good at sawing so I was nervous. But when chaped appeared it turned out fun. Now I enjoyed a lot!” She went so wild now, she knew what she wanted, she just became more and more spontaneous and advangarde. She knew where she wanted to go. Looking back her attitude, what a contrast! But the strength wsa already in herself. Pascale mae her notice, the beauty of how she is just as she is.

Meme, who looked most fashion loving person and having her own style dressing way, and who attended art school and afterwards working in second hand clothes boutique in Mito also, was lost, on contrary, at this stage. She said she feels uneasy to put her individuality in her uniform and she fells she cannot use the clothes she loves into her uniform even though those are really beautiful, special, showing her own style and taste. How come?

Pascale has decided to speak with her in person after lunch break. She encouraged her, talking to her how good taste she has, in what she wears everyday, those colors and patterns she usually wears and how she mixes them; there are quite special and she has strength to wear them. “Why do not you do it in your uniform as well?” “For example you can use fabrics you already showed us in the past days which are so special. Why not using them?” “I thought it would be to messy.””Not messy at all. You can wear it, you have strength in your self and you have good taste that you were choosing them.” Then, she showed two different patterned clothes which were Memes belongings, “For example, how about this and this put together? It looks beautiful, right?” Meme, with her big impressive eyes, which were filled with tears in the beginning part of the workshop, gradually shined, and she started agreeing with Pascale. Based on the design drawings she already did, they dicided that she would make additional skirt wrapping the white dresses, with two different patterns in red tone. Then afterwards, just go on working on it!  On the end of that day, Meme was proud of what she did in a day, putting on her body, shoing happily and proudly in front of others. She is now happy with her individuality showing within uniform her as well, not only in her free time clothes! Other women were so happy to see her change, too.

Day off and Indigo Die workshop Day 6 Finding Beauty in Unexpected Places

There was a one day break for Pascale which allowed her a little one day trip to Tokyo! I had quite fun with her, together we walked around Tokyo,  looking for used Japanese clothes that she loves. Mizuki gave us information of shops near Tabata station(Yamanote line) and Ogikubo station(Chuo line).

Here and there, she founded beauty in unexpected places. I was impressed to see all the used kimono fabrics, some are torn off, some are kept as they are, waiting to be given new lives. Things for some people are useless, are waiting to be found, to be given new meaning, new lives. We tend to forget that in our lives we are surrounded by so many beautiful things. I remember Susan Cianciolo often told me the same thing.

On the 6^th workshop day, we visited a village which is 30 min. by local train from Mito and then, almost 20 minutes by taxi. Which means it is a village that is quite away from busy, fast town. The place that gives us indigo die experiences used to by factory of indigo fabrics but it is now closed. Two old women guided the basic indigo dying technique. I joined too. Some people tried to design with image they want to have as a result in their head. I had no image but I just tried. Dying is thrilling since you never know how it comes out. After trial time, when everyone had their piece finally hang on a bar, the old women guides were so excited to see what they have made. “How exciting! We do not see these kind of result normally. You did have these results in your first time! We want to have you as a guide teacher next time!”

Those were not flattering words, those are just honest reaction. Different individual pattern were completed. This experience in the middle of the uniform workshop, must have been a good switch and change for them to before starting really devoting time in actual making process of uniform.

Day 5 Stop Being Perfect

Day 5^th

^{It should be their work, not my work.} I love imperfection. Stop being perfect.

“My workshop should be their work, not my work.” Pascale told me when we had lunch, eating soba together before her workshop. “I think it is beautiful when people make clothes by themselves, especially those who do not know that they can make clothes.” She is a master of finding beauty within us, with living people and life surrounding us. Day after day, I notice Pascale often talking to women “how beautiful!” about what they have done. Then women become more and more spontaneous. This is such a beautiful situation and moves me a lot.

In her workshop today, women showed possible accessories ideas to give individuality to their uniform. Pascale also showed images that give hints to them. Images of Russian guards who do not wear uniform and how they look maching with the art pieces. Images of Boro. The clothes she made. The very first indigo die fabric she did in her shool days.

This workshop give participants homeworks. Pascale talks them every time what they need to work on at home. And also they spend a lot of daytime spending in museum working with Pascale. Women wants to work more, and more. That is amazing. While working, Pascale talks what I believe quite imporatant for us living today, casually, intimately, entusiasticly.

“I like imperfection. I love it a lot.”

“Clothes, when you buy from shops, they always look perfect. But it is important to know that clothes also live, reacting on your needs in your life. In western society clothes should be perfect, it is believewd. In Japanese society, also uniform should be perfect, it is believed. But then, who cares about people wearing them? Things made by human hands are not so perfect. People in my mothers generation are more used to hand made clothes which are not that perfect. Instead, all the media surrounding us and society threaten us that our faces and clothes should look perfect.  But those are things made in factories. Nowadays, people do not write by hand, draw by hand, which does not look perfect.”

“Some male philosophers are drawn to think about death. But I am drawn to life. So are women philosophers are. Like Hannah Arendt.”

“We are constantly changing. We live and in everyday life we keep changing. If you look at children they have so much power of life. When they start walking, they try so many times even they fail. So we have power inside to try, without worrying about failure. But when we learn rules in our society, we learn to respond what is expected and being perfect.”

So, stop trying to be perfect, Pascale encourages us, with smile and warmth.

Day 7 and 8 Sawimg and Meditation: I am happy and proud of myself!

Asuna explained me how workshop worked in the beginning days of actually making the uniform. After the indigo die workshop daytrip, Yukari, Zoe and Pascale made a pattern of one piece which is going to be a base for the uniform design. On the 6^th day, everyone actually started sawing with white fabrics they were given. They worked till the end of the day. Since some women did not have sawing experiences at all, they really worked hard .The mood became intense. On the beginning of the workshop on 7^th day, Pascale let them sit in a circle, and she suggested doing 5 minutes meditation altogether, putting fabrics on top of their laps. They felt their breathe, they imagined how fun it would be making dresses, they imagined having good time spending with all the other women. Then, the atmosphere of the workshop turned radically, Asuna said. “Tt was like a magic. Instead of the tense of the day before, we kept working with happy mood, enjoying what we were doing. We worked till 7 or 8pm. We spontaneously continued working.” She did for the first time painting on the cloth directly using acrylic paints. Now she knows she can paint on the fabric. Now she knows she can actually make cloth by her self! “I did not like sawing machine that much before. You know it is difficult how to put strings in the machine, and when it is not working well fabrics stops going and strings become messy. So I  thought ‘Forget about sawing machine. I can saw by hands.” But through workshop, asking her colleges for help, now she knows how to handle it.

She looked so confident, happy, proud of herself!