Japanese Embroidery
Posted By whatsitworth on November 23, 2011
Michaan’s is honored to offer personal property from the estate of peninsula resident Connie Dunham in our upcoming annex sale. For decades, Connie studied, practiced and taught the exquisite art of Japanese embroidery, or nihon shishu, to students from all over the west coast.

Japanese embroidery has been an art form for over 1000 years. Originally used to adorn the robes of court members, the technique developed into a stand-alone art form fusing technique with spirituality. Like sado the tea ceremony, kado the way of the flower, kendo the way of the sword, shodo the way of calligraphy and even Aikido the way of energy, nuido – the art of embroidery – is a specific type of work that reflects the contact between the mind, the heart and the hand.
To become proficient in nuido, a student must progress through a series of twenty phases focusing on fifty separate but integral techniques. Some techniques overlap several phases including an understanding of symbolism and color choice.
Students must also learn how to properly prepare the silk fabric, how to lace the fabric to specialized frames, how to work with flat threads, twisted threads and couching threads. Students must use specially prepared silks and flosses, needles, tracing papers and patterns to achieve a work that reflect their lifestyle and state of heart all while conforming to accepted iconography and colors.
Not only did Connie teach embroidery, exhibit embroidery techniques and show finished pieces throughout the United States, she facilitated getting the proper materials to her students. Thus her estate is left with a tremendous trove of thousands of tubes of silk and metallic threads, couching threads, tools, patterns, silks, needles, instruction books and finished works.

This is an incredible opportunity for anyone interested in Japanese embroidery to acquire materials and for anyone interested in textile arts in general to gain inspiration. Connie Dunham’s Japanese embroidery collection will be sold on Tuesday, November 8th and Wednesday November 9th. Preview is Sunday, November 6 and throughout both days of the sale.
For more information about Japanese embroidery or to find a local teacher contact the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta, Georgia at 770/390-0617 Fax: 770/512-7837 or www.Japaneseembroidery.com.
Jane Alexiadis
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