More than a hobby
By Olesja Pavasara
Tsunami kanzashi
In the last edition I told you about Modular Origami – paper composition
and this edition I’m going to show you Tsunami kanzashi – flowers from
fabric.
Origami - it's great! But they found me - kanzashi
flowers! Somewhere on the forum I read that
kanzashi - it's the same as modular origami, only
from the material. Well, in a sense, this is true,
only in kanzashi, I think you can show more
imagination.
Wikipedia says about them: Kanzashi are created by
Japanese artisans from squares of silk by a technique
known as tsumami. Each square is multiply folded with
the aid of pincers and cut into a single petal. These are
attached to backings of metal to create whole flowers, or
attached to silken threads to create strings of blossoms.
Geisha wear different hana kanzashi according to the
month, or public holiday. In the summer months (June
to September), jade ornaments with white or silver themes are worn.
During the winter months (October to May), tortoiseshell and coral
kanzashi are worn.
I couldn’t wait to learn how to do it. I went through
many websites, watched a lot of master classes. It
was difficult in the beginning because there were a
lot of incorrect and obscure master classes. And I
still have burnt fingers all the time, because I
worked with a hot soldering iron and hot glue for
the first time. But that did not stop me, I've learned.
I love to do them.
And when I had accumulated a lot of work, I tried to
sell them. Of course, this is not a business where you
can make millions, but I like the main thing which is
you can recoup costs and material. And of course, it's
nice when people like my work and buy it. I made
hair clips, scrunchies, brooches, hair wraps, and
hairbands. A lot of my work you can see in my
Facebook.
And I'm glad that I am bringing to this world, albeit very small, speck of
beauty.