Tsujigahana Class Page
partnering shibori, stencilling, and hand-painting techniques
with John Marshall
September 4•5•6•7
Thurs•Fri•Sat•Sun
password, when required: ETC-tsuji
Tsujigahana combines the soft edges of shibori with the refreshing clarity of sharply painted details and softened blushes of color applied through stencils. Made famous in the West by the artist Itchiku Kubota, John will share with you all of the guarded secrets of this ancient process.
The characters for tsujigahana are written 辻が花. The first character, 辻 (tsuji), means crossroads. が (ga - also written ケ) is a term used to link two words, and 花 (hana) means flower. So simply translated, it means flower at the crossroads – nodding to the fact that several techniques are intersecting to produce this look. These techniques are primarily stitched shibori and and hand painting, whether directly with a brush or with the help of a stencil.
This will be our class web page. Commonly asked questions and their answers will be posted here, along with links to any downloads. Each day I will be posting links to videos I've prepared to either review or supplement the lessons covered that day. These vid-clips won't have any sound and you won't be able to download them, but if you have any questions regarding them, you'll be able bring them up in class or email me once you've had a chance to mull them over a bit. Responses to questions will be posted on this page for everyone's benefit.
This page will remain up and active through October 10, 2025, to give you a chance to settle back in your studio and practice all that we've covered at your own leisure.
DAY ONE– Getting Started
Your materials fee ($175) is due the first day of class, for those of you who may not have paid at registration. This will cover nearly all of the consumables and use of equipment during class. I've put together a broad range of experiences for you, which should help you to make later selections wisely.
What to bring the first day: Plan on bringing and apron, if you like, and whatever supplies you prefer to use in taking notes. I don't mind you taking pictures or tape recordings to help you recall what was covered in class. If you live locally, a roll of paper towels will also be welcome.
DAY TWO–
DAY THREE–
DAY FOUR– follow up, review
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Feel free to download any pdf files and keep these topics for future reference. Links to vid-clips will have no sound and can't be downloaded.
What Does Tsujigahana Mean
Tsujigahana - Basic How To
Beauty of Tsujigahana
Creating the Tsujigahana “Look”
cutting mat (Western)
cutting mat (Japanese)
X-acto knife
brushes
- synthetic (small)
- synthetic (large)
-Japanese brushes
awl
THREAD
waxed thread 1
waxed thread 2
waxed thread 3
dental floss red
dental floss white
cotton thread
FABRICS
handkerchiefs
Japanese yardage
DYES AND PIGMENTS
Japanese pigments
Japanese pigment sticks
watercolors
eye shadow
coffee warmer
BANDS
elasticator
latex bands
finger cotlets
Japanese scissors
suture scissors
peg dolls
frisket
transfer stylus
transfer paper
disappearing ink pen
aobana disappearing ink
Japanese stencil paper
tip applicator bottles
awl
SUPPLIES USED IN CLASS
Below is a list of supplies used in class today. No need to buy anything ahead of time - wait until you've had a chance to give the supplies I provide a test run before making any decisions. Most of the links are to Amazon as a matter of convenience, not endorsement.
watch for these future programs
below are some of the many classes I offer on this subject
Tsujigahana
combining shibori, stencil, and direct-painting techniques
tsujigahana
辻が花
The characters for tsujigahana are written 辻が花. The first character, 辻 (tsuji), means crossroads. が (ga - also written ケ) is a term used to link two words, and 花 (hana) means flower. So simply translated, it means flower at the crossroads – nodding to the fact that several techniques are intersecting to produce this look. These techniques are primarily stitched shibori and and hand painting, whether directly with a brush or with the help of a stencil.
a few samples of tsujigahana
Most of us are familiar with the work of Itchiku Kubota, an artist who helped to revive interest in this ancient dye technique and spread an appreciation of it to the West. The above sample, while not Kubota's work, is typical of what we've come to expect. With stylized flowers and leaves, great embellished and bringing definition to colorful stitched shibori designs.
These other three images are all examples of my work. The indigo example above adhering closer to the traditional look while introducing a couple more travelers joining at the crosssroads – clamp resist and rice-paste resist.
Below is strictly shibori and direct painting, this time with the focus kept on the shibori and only details of the fish enhanced.
The wisteria and snowflakes, below, depend heavily on the hand painted indigo pigment details to bring definition the otherwise ghostly shapes of the stitched shibori. Layers of color were built up both before and after the removal of the resist threads using both juice and pigment natural dyes.
