TSA Study Tour to Japan
2007

TSA Study Tour to Turkey
2005

TSA Study Tour to Ghana 2005

TSA Textile
Study Tour
to India 2004

TSA's Innaugural
Textile Study Tour to
Peru 2003

TSA Study Tour 2007, Fibers of Japan

Led by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada
October 31 – November 11, 2007

Woodblock image sample from Yoshido Wada's book

The group explored the cultural richness of Japan through a tour of its fibers with textile scholar Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada. The group traveled through Japan’s countryside, coastal regions, and metropolitan areas, and visited historically significant production centers and traditional mills.

The tour began in Tokyo and ended
in Kyoto, focusing on:

• Synthetics, wool and other fibers popular in fashion and interior textiles in the bustling and stylish urban landscape of Tokyo and nearby active mill town of Kiryu.
• Cotton for kimono and indigo traditions in a rural village near Kyoto, and in the shibori production center of Arimatsu situated along the old Tokaido highway that dates back to the Edo Period (17-19th centuries).
• Bast fibers, such as wisteria, common in folk traditions along the coastal regions of the Japan Sea where the climate did not support cotton cultivation.
• Silk kimono and fiber art in the former Imperial Capital of Kyoto which has maintained its cultural and artistic traditions for more than 1,200 years.

Highlights included:

• Enjoying intimate/personal visits with designers, artists, and artisans at their studios and mills in Tokyo, Kiryu, Nagoya, and Kyoto
• Experiencing firsthand the natural indigo dyeing process, papermaking, and shibori dyeing
• Viewing treasures of Emperor Shomu from the 7th-9th centuries at the 57th Shosoin Treasures Exhibition in the Nara National Museum
• Appreciating Japan’s noted sensibilities towards nature with visits to the Miho Museum designed by I. M. Pei, and pottery studios in Shigaraki and Kyoto
• Ending the tour in time for the International Conference on Kumihimo, in Kyoto

The itinerary was specially planned to focus on the fibers of Japan and include memorable cultural activities to enrich your Japanese experience including:

• Culinary adventures including fat noodle pot, Buddhist vegetarian food, mushroom feast, beef shabu-shabu, etc. often with a guest(s) from the community.
• Sightseeing of modern and ancient architecture and gardens
• Specialty shops for mill ends and textile supplies and a monthly flea market (weather permitting) on the grounds of a shrine
• Visit to a university with textile programs
• Field trip to a government textile research institute and regional ethnographical archives
• Japanese hot bath

Tsujigahana fragment, silk. Stitching and capping, bound dots (hitta kanono); divided dyeing (somewake), dip-dyeing, and sumi ink painting. Momoyama period. Massive "pine bark lozenge" (matsukawabishi) motifs divide the textile into bold areas. In one, the same motif is used to form a complex lattice vigorously defined in back; another is filled with a soft, textured ground of kanoko dots. The bold forms contrast with the delicate, shaded flowers and leaves.

TSA Study Tour to Turkey 2005

View from Arcadia Hotel

This Textile Society of America study tour to Turkey was led by textile scholar, curator, and University of Massachusetts art history professor Walter Denny. Weavers and embroiderers in Turkey have produced world-renowned textiles, from delicate silks and embroideries to kilims and pile rugs, in urban workshops and village homes. Textile history is preserved in museum collections as well as being practiced today by village weavers for their own use and for sale. In two weeks, tour members got to know the major sites and textile collections of Istanbul, one of the world’s greatest cities. We went to the old Ottoman capital of Bursa, once the major center of east-west silk trade, and to the DOBAG rug-weaving cooperative near Ayvacik on Turkey’s Aegean shore. We met textile designers, rug weavers, and collectors, and explored the present-day markets of textiles of all kinds. In addition, we visited some of Turkey’s finest museums and architectural monuments whose decorative style and motifs are related to textile motifs, and explored the marvelous Turkish cuisine. Walter shared his 47-year knowledge of Istanbul’s amazing array of artistic treasures, and showed TSA Study Tour members some of his favorite places off the beaten track where tourists seldom visit. A number of free evenings allowed participants to explore Istanbul’s many varied and hospitable restaurants within close walking distance from the hotel.

Trip Itinerary

Tiem Rug Galleries

May 30 Arrival in Istanbul, cocktail reception to meet other tour members.

May 31 Sultanahmet monuments, Arasta Market, welcome dinner at Kör Agop restaurant.

June 1 Hagia Sophia, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Carpet Museum.

June 2 Topkapi Palace, carpet emporium, tea at the Four Seasons Hotel.

June 3 Depart Istanbul, lunch near Troy and visit to Ayvacik village to see weavers at work for DOBAG village weaving project, night in Çanakkale

June 4 Depart for Bursa, afternoon tour of Great Mosque, Saturday market, and historic silk market (Koza Han).

June 5 Morning visit to the silk producing village of Cumalikizik, afternoon at Bursa’s Green Mosque and gardens of Sultan Murad II.

June 6 Return to Istanbul via Iznik, famous for ceramic production and Hereke, site of the 19th century royal weaving ateliers.

June 7 Cruise up the Bosporus, lunch and return via the shrine of Telli Baba-Istanbul’s patron saint of marriage; the Sadberk Hanim Museum with a magnificent collection of Turkish costume and embroidery; and the 15th c. Rumeli Hisar fortress. Afternoon tea.

June 8 Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque.

June 9 Marmara University visit to the School of Textiles, Byzantine Kariye Church.

June 10 Vakko textile factory visit, explore Beyoglu neighborhood and Vakko department store. Tea at the Pera Palace.

June 11 Free day for shopping and exploration.

June 12 Depart.

The study tour was limited to 16-18 participants.
The land price (double occupancy) from Istanbul was
$2575.00 for TSA members or $2675.00 for non-members. There was a
$430 additional fee for single occupancy.

Optional Trip Extension:
Odemis, Tire Region

TSA offered a 3-night stay near the town of Odemis where we toured an 18th-century Ottoman house, saw the last weavers of silk in Birgi, and visited an open air market in the town of Tire where local women come to sell their lace and embroidery. These three days offered the unique opportunity to meet and talk to people producing textiles in the market and in the village and get a taste of village Turkey. Lodging was in Sirince.

Itinerary for Trip Extension

Beledi woven fabric that will be seen on the Tire extension

June 12- Meet at the group hotel after breakfast, fly to Izmir. Lunch at the renowned Kaplan Dag Restaurant and check into hotel in Sirince. After a short rest we will stroll into the town to explore the streets and alleys. Overnight in Sirince.

June 13- After breakfast, a short drive to Birgi a village with many old Ottoman buildings and see the Ulu Cami-The Great Mosque -1312 C.E. built by Aydin Emir Mehmet Bey and an 18th century Ottoman Mansion, Cakiraga Konagi that preserves its original carved ceilings and painted panels depicting panoramas of Istanbul and Izmir. Lunch featuring regional specialties prepared by a lady from the village. We will meet some old people from the same village and spend some time with them then drive to see the only remaining house in the area still doing beledi, which is silk and mixed silk and cotton weaving. Overnight in Sirince.

June 14- After breakfast we will drive to Tire and explore a special open air market where ladies bring their needlepoint, lace work, and crochet work. We will likely also encounter some women who have migrated from Eastern Turkey, bringing their local needle work styles with them. Later we will visit the Odemis museum which houses an excellent collection of needle work from the area. If time permits, we will drive to the countryside to explore a couple of villages. Overnight in Sirince.

June 15- After breakfast we will drive to Izmir Airport to fly to Istanbul. Transfer to Sultanahmet. The afternoon is free for exploration on your own.

The price was $585.00 for double occupancy; plus
$170.00 Domestic Airfare: Istanbul-Izmir-Istanbul. There was an additional $25.00 charge for single occupancy. This addition required a minimum of 8 participants.

Adinkra symbol for dwannimmen (ram's horn)

Participants in TSA's study tour to Ghana enjoyed an in-depth two-week study of textile arts in the southern region of Ghana in January 2005. The tour leader, Dr. Lisa Aronson, brought to this tour 30 years of experience in the field of African textiles. Under her expert guidance, the group traveled from the capital city of Accra to two famous areas of Kente production, the Ashanti center at Bonwire near the royal capital of Kumasi, and the Ewe area in the Volta region of SE Ghana. The group also went to the village of Ntonso, center of Adinkra production, for a hands-on workshop, and the coastal town of Tema for a private tour of a printed textile factory. The group spent one day at Odumasi-Krobo, center of bead production and a flourishing bead market, and another in the Cape Coast area to tour the slave castles. In between, the group visited textile markets and traditional shrines, witnessed dance performances, viewed specialized collections as guests in private homes, took a thrilling nature walk in the Kankum National Park and enjoyed a relaxing cruise on Lake Volta. There were ample opportunities to interview and work with master weavers and dyers, and to engage in discussions with collectors, tailors, and cloth merchants.

Ghanaian Chief dressed in Kente cloth.

With tourism as Ghana's third-largest industry, the country was well equipped to accommodate our tour. The member tour cost was designed for modest travel in order to best appreciate the local culture and to make the trip available to a wide range of members. In addition, TSA will offered one full tuition scholarship for a student or young professional (see details below). Participants stayed in comfortable but modest accommodations and enjoyed local food. The days were full, with extensive bus travel, moderate walking, and some scheduled evening events.

Study leader, Dr. Lisa Aronson, is a leading scholar of African textiles, with 30 years of experience researching, writing and consulting about West African textiles, and leading textile tours to Africa. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana, and has authored numerous articles and book chapters on African textiles. She is Associate Professor of Art History at Skidmore College, and is presently on the Executive Board of the Textile Society of America for which she served as President from 2000-2002.

Dr. Lisa Aronson.

Trip Itinerary
(A synopsis is presented here.

Jan. 7 Arrival in Accra.

Jan. 8 Early morning introductory lecture by tour leader Lisa Aronson – Travel to Odumasi Krobo to attend bi-weekly bead market and to explore bead production and the symbolism of beads. Enjoy a dynamic performance by traditional Krobo dancers.

Jan. 9 Cruise on Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in Africa. Relax with music and food. View Akosomba Dam, which supplies electricity to many areas of West Africa.

Jan. 10 Travel to Kumasi, original capital of the Ashanti kingdom; en route, visit traditional architecture at Ejisu.

Jan. 11 Morning - visit Bonwire, center of Kente weaving production to interview weavers.
Afternoon - visit Ntonso, center of Adinkra stamp-dyed production where you will participate in a hands-on Adinkra workshop.

Pattern sample showing motifs employed by the Asante people of Ghana in making the hand-painted cloth known as Adinkra.

Jan. 12 Morning - return to Bonwire; afternoon - visit Kumasi's Kejetia market, largest outdoor market in Africa and with a large section devoted to old and new Ashanti Kente, Adinkra, and factory-printed cloth, the King's Palace Museum and the National Culture Center where we have the opportunity to meet indigenous artisans.

Jan. 13 Travel to Cape Coast to visit slave castles at Cape Coast and Elmina.

Jan. 14 Morning - short ride to Kankum National Park and only canopy walk in Africa. Afternoon - return to Accra with stop at Posuban Shrines, maintained by the Asafo War Companies.

Jan. 15 Morning - tour of a textile production factory in Tema. Afternoon - travel to Denu in the Ewe-speaking Volta Region.

Jan. 16 Spend day with Bobbo Ahiagble at his Ewe Kente weaving school. Opportunities to work at loom and watch master Ewe Kente weavers.

Jan. 17 Visit the textile market at Agbozume and an array of Ewe weaving villages.

Jan. 18 Morning - Visit Dzodze, a traditional Ewe village known for its Vodun ("Juju") practices. Afternoon - return to Accra. Evening - dinner with Ghanaian textile artists and see performance by traditional drum and dance troupe.

Jan. 19 Morning - Tour Accra's National Museum and collection of antique Kente. Visit Makola market to interview cloth vendors. Visit Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum Museum and tomb of first Ghanaian president. Afternoon - Visit Artist's Alliance Gallery and Pa Joe's Coffin place. Evening - visit with Baba Muhamed to view his Kente collection and Asafo flags. Opportunity to purchase old Kente.

Jan. 20 A tour of the Aid-to-Artisans showroom; pack and transport to airport.

Dr. Lisa Aronson weaving.

Important Information
The tour was limited to 18 people.
Cost for TSA members: $2550 from Accra (excludes lunches & dinners with one exception).
Non-member supplement: $100 payable with deposit.
Single occupancy supplement: $440.

Ghanaian Kente cloth weaver.

Cost included a tax-deductible contribution of $200 to TSA.

Cost of the tour included all land travel in Ghana, including bus travel from the airport, and double occupancy accommodations in modest hotels. With one or two exceptions, lunch and dinner were not included, although transportation was provided to restaurants for meals. Meals ran at the most $20.00 per day.

Scholarship: TSA offered one $3500 scholarship for a student/young professional.

TSA Textile Study Tour to India 2004

January 4-17, 2004

Tour started in Mumbai on January 4th and ended in Chennai on the 17th. Participants were responsible for their own international travel.

Cost:
Land plus domestic air costs in India (double occupancy):
$3295 (TSA and CSA** members)
$3395 (non-members*)
$440 single supplement

*Non-member supplement: $100
**Members of the Costume Society of America are invited to join the tour at TSA member rates.

Registration deadline: September 22, 2003 with a nonrefundable deposit of $295.

Participants in TSA's second study tour, this time to India, traveled a broad geographical swath, beginning on the west coast in Mumbai (Bombay), India's business capital. Flying northwest to Bhuj, we explored the rich textiles traditions of the Kutch and Gujarrat regions. The tour ended in Chennai (Madras), capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where a variety of specialized textile workshops, a major festival, and the ancient temples and monuments of southern India provided culminating highlights.

Dates for the study tour were January 4-17, 2004, an ideal time for travel in India, with warm days and cooler evenings. Participants joined study leader, Judy Frater as she introduced India from her perspective of twenty years working with craft development in India. Author of the highly acclaimed book, Threads of Identity, Judy helped establish Kala Raksha Trust, a grass-roots organization of textile artisans in Kutch. In addition, we visited other TSA members, including Bela Shanghvi in Mumbai who uses hand-crafted textiles in high fashion; Sally Holkar, founder of Womenweave and REHWA, organizations that have revived luxurious silk and gold Maheshwari weaving, and textile scholar Monisha Ahmed, well known to TSA members for her presence at TSA symposia.

Immersed in textiles for two weeks, participants had ample opportunity to study and discuss a broad range of contemporary and historic textiles including silk and cotton saris, mirror embroidery, ikat, tie-dye, wood block printing, and vegetable dyeing. Meeting directly with artisans in their workshops, members discussed the challenges and opportunities they experience in producing for the Indian market and for export abroad. Issues related to sustainable development for artisan enterprises formed important topics for consideration. India's long textile tradition was highlighted through a visit to the Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad, with its five centuries of the finest textiles that were spun, woven, printed, and painted in different parts of India. Traveling south to Chennai, TSA members arrived during Pongal, the major harvest festival of Tamil Nadu. Textile highlights in the south included a visit to the home workshops of sari weavers and of a master kalamkari painter who uses natural dyes to create rhythmic patterns that fill his richly embellished textiles.

The tour cost of $3,295 (members) was designed for modest travel in order to make the trip available to as many of our members as possible and to travel in a way that reflects the lifestyles of our hosts.

TSA's Innaugural
Textile Study Tour to Peru 2003

The Textile Society of America's inaugural Textile Study Tour focused on six Andean weaving villages participating in the program of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco, an innovative cultural development project to reclaim and foster ancient textile traditions. Each village has formed an association to study its distinctive village style and make superior textiles within that style. This was an opportunity to meet and work alongside the indigenous weavers of the Cuzco area, and to observe the strange and wonderful techniques that make their fabrics so unusual. These include tubular weaves, intersecting warp weaves and complex heddling arrangements, as well as spindle spinning and ancient knitting techniques. Hands-on instruction in Andean weaving and spinning were provided for those interested. For those who preferred to walk than weave, we visited other fascinating and little known sites surrounding the weaving villages.

Our travels provided a close encounter with the unique Andean heritage. Along with our adventures in fiber, we visited homes, villages and markets, and explored the remarkable Andean landscape. Our guide team included weaving experts, an anthropologist and a trained naturalist who brought to life this vertical land of soaring peaks and crashing valleys. We began with a visit to the incomparable Amano Museum in Cuzco, then stopped to see the royal tombs at Sipan. Along the way we spent a night at Machu Picchu and explored Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, as well as the Inca remains near Cuzco.

There was no strenuous hiking or climbing, but the ability to walk comfortably and carry a day pack was essential. Most accommodations were double occupancy, and some village overnight stays included camping.

Our Expert Tour Guide Team
Ed Franquemont has spent many years in Peru researching ancient and modern Andean textiles. He is an archaeologist and anthropologist, so we had the opportunity to share in his wealth of knowledge about many aspects of Peru. He collaborated with Nilda to establish the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco.

Christine Franquemont is an ethnobotanist and a veteran of decades in the Andes. She has directed botanical surveys of the Cuzco area, focusing on the relationship between people and plants.

Serena Lee Harrigan is a fiber artist and clothing designer whose fascination with textiles has led her to explore many remote places in the world. She is president of Textile Odyssey, an organization which brings weavers of the world together. She is co-leading her fourth trip to the CTTC villages.

Nilda Callañaupa is an extraordinary Andean weaver, Founder and Director of The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco, dedicated to preserving the textile heritage of the region. She was our guide as we explored the fascinating weaving villages affiliated with CTTC.

Number of participants 13-18
Cost from Lima
TSA Members $3500
Non-Members $3600
(included a tax-free donation to the Center for Traditional Textiles, Cuzco)

Participants received information on discounted fares to Lima.

Registration Deposits were due April 1, 2003. On receipt of deposit, registrants were sent an itinerary and detailed travel information.

Payment Terms: Please send a nonrefundable deposit of $350 (TSA members) or $450 (Nonmembers) which will be acknowledged in writing. Please provide an email or mailing address where we can send future correspondence.

One half of the remaining balance, $1575, was due by April 1, 2003. Final payment of $1575 must be received by May 1, 2003.

Tour application form available via this link.

For additional information, contact the TSA office
PO Box 70
Earleville, MD 21919-0070.
tel 410 275-2329; fax 410 275-8936

TSA Peru Study Tour Report

On July 21st, eighteen people gathered in Lima, Peru for TSA's inaugural study tour. The focus of the trip was to visit the six Andean weaving villages participating in the program of The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco. CTTC is an innovative cultural development project to reclaim and foster ancient textile traditions. and to help develop a new economy in these communities through fair trade sales of high quality textiles. (For more information see the CTTC website, www.incas.org).

The group also flew to the north coast to see the royal tombs at Sipan, visited museum collections, hiked into Machu Picchu along the old Inca trail, and, along the way, visited other archaeological sites, old Spanish churches, and village markets. A highlight of the trip was the opportunity to spin, braid, dye, and learn Andean methods of warping and pattern-making from Quechua teachers.

Following are a few impressions recorded by the Kistler family: Mary Lane, tapestry weaver; Alex, emergency room surgeon; and their eleven-year-old daughter, Katie.

From Katie Kistler: This morning we got up at 4:30 so we could catch a train that would take us to the Inca trail leading to Machu Picchu. After a few hours on the winding train we arrived at our destination: Mile post 140, and the start of our trek to "the city in the clouds". The first hour or two of the hike were pretty boring and uneventful. The plants were dull and uniform and the soil was dusty and dry. However, we soon came to a part of the Andes that was more lush and was vegetated with more elaborate and colorful plants, such as the passion flower. Finally, after 6 or 7 hours (due partially to our frequent rest stops), we arrived at a giant set of stairs leading up to the Gate of the Sun and a beautiful view of the expansive stone city surrounded by tall peaks and covered in a blanket of misty clouds: Machu Picchu.

From Mary Lane: Wednesday, July 30th, 5:00 am. It is still dark, but I am awakened by a repetitious pounding on the earth outside our tent. It is the sound of people running back and forth. Soon an irregular thumping accompanies the running feet. We are camped on the soccer field in Pitumarca and the local school boys have come out for an early game. Nilda, our guide, friend and cultural liaison extraordinaire is full of stories and they always seem to start at 4:00 in the morning. I have come to think that Peruvian families wake up before daybreak, eat breakfast, and then walk to their fields as night turns to dawn. What are the children to do in the frosty morning air? Warm up with a game of soccer.

Our two-week trip, sponsored by the Textile Society of America (TSA) and led by Nilda Callañaupa, Ed and Christine Franquemont and Serena Lee Harrigan, has taken us to archaeological sites, museums and to the Andean villages of Chinchero, Pitumarca, Chahuaytiri, Accha Alta, Patabamba and Mahuaypampa. Because of the remoteness of these Andean communities some of our nights are spent camping. We arrived in Pitumarca on Tuesday after stopping along the way to visit a couple who make clay roof tiles entirely by hand (400 each day!), and to look at the Cusco Style frescoes in a colonial church in Andahuaylillas.

Each morning that we camp, hot cups of tea accompany a cheerful wake-up call at our tent door. Pitumarca is one of the villages taking part in Nilda Callañaupa's ambitious project to aid in the survival of Incan textile traditions and to provide support to weaving communities. Callañaupa is the Executive Director of the non profit organization, The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), which currently works with the six communities in the Cusco Valley that we will be visiting. At 11,700 feet, Pitumarca is the most southern of these villages, and one of the few places in which the discontinuous warp scaffolded fabrics called ticlla are woven.

In Pitumarca the weavers gather in an open courtyard weaving on backstrap looms and spinning with drop spindles. Each village that works with CTTC has formed a cooperative that monitors the output and quality of their textiles. In most cases CTTC has helped them find, or build, a community weaving space where the women, and in some villages men, gather to weave once or twice a week. On other days the weavers work in their homes. CTTC also provides training to new weavers.In Pitumarca the men of the village are in the process of building a new compound for the weavers. It will include an enclosed space, a kitchen, a bathroom and an open courtyard. We are able to visit the men at their work site. In one morning, working with pickaxes and shovels, they have dug the foundation trenches and are now preparing offerings to place in the four corners of the building before they fill the trenches with foundation rock. Several other men are making adobe bricks that will form the walls of the compound.

In Pitumarca, as in several of the other villages, we have an opportunity for hands-on work. I have chosen to learn how to warp and weave four-selvedge, discontinuous warp fabric. Others in our group are dying wool. A woman from Pitumarca, Juana, and her daughter are my teachers. Most of the traditional fabrics we have seen in the Cusco Valley are warp-faced. The two-ply, handspun wool is very fine, and the warp sett is very dense. The closely-spaced wool warps stick to each other and I soon find that separating the sheds requires patience and strength.

In the evening we are joined around a bonfire by the weavers and their families. Two men play flutes, while others sing and dance. One woman stands out in the elaborateness of her dress. Nilda informs us that she is single. Soon we are pulled into the dancing, which is not easy at 11,700 feet. Later we reciprocate by entertaining the Pitumarcans with "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and the "Hokey Pokey."

CTTC has had a significant impact on the lives of the families with which it works. For example, the income from the textiles, most of which are sold through CTTC's store in Cusco, has allowed the Pitumarca families to remain in their communities year-round, rather than making the long trek into the Amazon jungle to work in dangerous mining projects. The pride with which these people wear and display their textiles speaks to the cultural affirmation provided by Callanaupa's project. For those of us on the TSA study tour, the vitality of the Andeans we have met and the richness of their weavings will be a lasting memory.

For further information visit www.incas.org or email: cttc@terra.com.pe

More photos from Alex Kistler's photojournal can be seen on http://homepage.mac.com/alexkistler/