Weaving in my overflowing curiosity - Part 2

this time too,Last timeFollowing on from our previous interview, we now present an interview with knitwear designer and artist Yoko Imamura.

"What you love" enriches the world.

"I'm a growth freak. All sorts of passions well up inside me like magma, and I can't stop them myself!" Imamura laughs. While continuing to knit her works almost every day, she also keeps trying new things, such as painting, singing as a member of a choir, and taking up the flute. She is also knowledgeable in cooking, art, mathematics, and architecture, and sometimes gets so engrossed in her studies that she copies entire textbooks by hand. Her boundless passion and curiosity are like a great spring.

"Learning is truly fascinating. Even if different fields seem unrelated, as you study them, you find connections somewhere, and they can inspire each other. I've come up with knit designs from cell photographs in medical textbooks, and I've knitted polyhedron bags inspired by Buckminster Fuller's architecture."

 

Despite her diverse talents, Ms. Imamura has consistently kept knitting at the center of her life since childhood. So, what exactly is the appeal of knitting?

 

"There was a time when I thought about giving up knitting and focusing on painting. But I couldn't stop. Before I knew it, my hands were moving and I'd started knitting something. Knitting is the ultimate simple world, created with just a single thread and a needle. There aren't many different techniques, and anyone can do it anywhere as long as they have their hands. Yet the possibilities are endless, and there's no end to it. That's probably why I'll never get tired of it."

 

At workshops and other events, students often ask, "How can I knit better things?" Imamura shared the message she always conveys to them in such situations.

 

"Knitting is fundamentally very simple. Even if it seems difficult at first, you will definitely acquire a certain level of skill if you continue. But what's important is the sense of style that comes after that. This is something that can't be compensated for by technique, and it's something that comes through as a person. To hone your sense of style, you need to hone your sensitivity. To hone your sensitivity, you need to accumulate feelings of inspiration. Be interested in many things, let your heart be moved a lot, and delve into yourself. If you keep selecting what you 'like' in this way, in the end, your unchanging classics will remain. I'm sure that will shape your own unique sense of style, even in knitting. Please enjoy what you 'like'."

 

Knitwear designer/artist Yoko Imamura
Having grown up accustomed to handcrafts, she began creating original knitwear in 1985. In 1989, she moved to the United States and studied art at the California College of the Arts. After a stay in New York, she returned to Japan and has published numerous works as a knitwear artist. Her published works include "Knitted Bags Using Single Crochet Stitch" (Apple Mintz) and many others.