AAWAA ARTISTS

Lucy Arai

Lucy Arai. (Oakley, CA and Washington, DC) Master of Fine Arts Degree, 1983 and Certificate of Graduate Studies (Museum Practice), 1985 from the University of Michigan; Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, cum laude, 1979 from University of South Carolina. Intern and Associate Curator, Cranbrook Academy of Art/Museum (1985-1986). Arai's formal art training in ceramic sculpture and family-taught Japanese craft traditions are the foundations for her mixed media innovations with sashiko, the Japanese running-stitch embroidery of feudal farmers. She writes and lectures about the process of transforming traditional techniques into forms of personal expression, and teaches sashiko classes throughout the country, frequently in conjunction with museum programs: Japanese Fishermen's Coats from Awaji Island, 2001 (Textile Museum, Washington, DC and University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI). She is an artist and consultant in museum education and public programs. As an active participant in the U.S. Department of State Arts in Embassies Program, her art has been in represented in exhibitions in Brunei, Djibouti and Hong Kong. Arai was a nominee for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Award (2005) was an AsiaAlive Artist in Residence at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). San Francisco PBS affiliate KQED filmed a Spark program segment on Arai (2007). Her work is exhibited internationally, most recently in Lahore, Pakistan (November 2009). Galleries: Ren Brown Collections of Bodega Bay, CA; Orientations at the Marsh, Monterey, CA; and Snyderman-Works Galleries of Philadelphia, PA (SOFA-Chicago, November 2009 and SFOA-NYC April 2010; Fiber Biennial exhibition in 2010); Available Light, Curator: Maureen Korp, PhD. National Museum of Art, Islamasbad, Pakistan.

Statement

I feel a deep reverence for the connection between all that was and all that is yet to be with each stitch that I sew. Sashiko (Japanese running-stitch embroidery) gives voice to those things for which I have no words. The process of stitching needle and thread through paper is a solitary activity. When I interact with the public that I witness the potential for transforming perspectives and am affirmed that change can be affected through experiential learning. I stitch daily. Over the years I developed a fluency of expression and transformations that progressively emerge. My sashiko retains the integrity of the tradition that was transmitted to me from my uncle, yet the forms are new and continually evolving. A stitch of thread can quilt and reinforce material, and the relationships across cultures, genders, and generations. From our earliest fragments of human history, the needle and thread provided warmth, protection, and connection to others. The intimate nature of the stitch is nurturing and comforting when sewn into clothing and blanket; and it is the tangible thread that connects our past with our present and future. The practice of sewing in mixed media manifests my belief that relationships radiate from our personal centers; barriers can be transcended; and ignorance, hatred and fear can be overcome. The act of sewing is my devotion to cultivate the grain within me; the objects that I create are the means through which I express my reverence and compassion for the world in which I live.

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