Baatje Collection # 1

collection#1 summer 2012

CONTENT |

06 - 07

Introduction

08 - 13

The spirit of summer

14 - 19

Strenght of character

20 - 25

Sacred barrier against evil

26 - 31

Friendship

32 - 37

The gentleman

38 - 43

The soul of Vietnam

44

To be continued

45

Thank you

WHAT |

Baatje - Collection # 1 is a collection which consists of sarongs with various prints and patterns inspired by bamboo.

The collection was created after a thoroloughy research of all the aspects of bamboo. With diverse techniques, for example microscopic photography, the prints and patterns were made.

Each sarong is an unique representation of one aspect of bamboo.

This little book attempts to show a part of the visual and theoretical research made for some of the sarongs.

WHERE |

On the blog loestheeuwes.wordpress.com you can find my workproces and things I find worth sharing.

Next to that Baatje has her own fanpage on facebook: Baatje

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THANKS |

I would love to thank my mother and father without whom this project would never gotton were it stands now. Thank you for all your help, support and for believing in me.

SARONG |

sa路rong (dem; plural: sarongs) 1 Indonesian skirt, a loose-fitting skirtlike garment formed by wrapping a strip of cloth around the lower part of the body

BAMBOO |

bam路boo (it,dem;pural bamboos) 1 tropical grass with hollow, jointed stems with protruding knots

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SA RO N G 1 | T H E S P IR IT O F S U M M E R

The first sarong I designed is the spirit of summer. This print shows my view of a summerfeeling and bamboo.

Bamboo is a very spiritual plant in many Asian countries. For example in China in the order of the Four Gentlemen (the seasons of the year), the bamboo represents the spirit of summer.

Details and stories make memories more intens. So I read a lot of stuff about this symbol of summer and I designed a print that symbolizes the summer for me.

It was created from my own memories and the feeling I had while working with bamboo.

8

L: a summer day at the beach U: own pictures of bamboo leaves

9

L: own photo with inspiration for colours U: the lines of the n贸n l谩 (a tradional straw hat) inspired me for the lines of the print

11

SA RO N G 2 | S T R E N G H T O F C H A R AC T E R

This sarong represent the strenght of character.

Due to to go with the wind and still stand after a storm bamboo is the symbol for strenght of character in Japan.

When I think about the strenght of character I think about two things. First the strenght, for me it is strong and firm. In bamboo you can find it in the long shape of the stem. And secondly I think about the character, different shades of personality make a character for me. Someone can be this or that, but those sides are still one character.

This two things I tried to show in the print by the long, centerd line with a lot of different colour shades for all the moods a character can have.

14

R: own picture of a bamboo stem cut trough

U: Testing the size and different kind of prints to symbolize the strenght of character R: own photo of little bamboo stems

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SA RO N G 3 | S AC R E D BA R R IE R AG A IN S T E V IL

U: bamboo forest in Japan

20

The sacred barrier against evil is the third sarong of which I’m gonna tell something. It consist of a bamboo forrest and a shinto shrine and those two things togheter are the sacred barrier against evil in the Japanse culture.

When I first read about it I thought about something scary, something dangerous. And yes it has something to do with those things, but it is to protect something against scary, dagerous things.

So I wanted this sarong to give a save feeling, a feeling of protection. And for me black is the colour of evil and white is the colour of protection.

The print is made out of microscopic photo’s, so in that way the print is the protection from the inside. All the different cells connect and form a save blanket.

21

U: making photographs through the microscope R: collage with microscopic photo’s of bamboo stems

22

SA RO N G 4 | F R IE N D S H IP

U: inspiring colours of India R: more inspiring colours of India

26

One of the key elements of this year for me was friendship. Without the friendships that moved, the friendships that grew stronger and without the new friendships I made this year, I probably wasn’t the person I am today.

In India bamboo is a symbol of friendship, so I really wanted to make a sarong inspired by this symbol. Because I couldn’t find a lot more about the meaning of bamboo and friendship, I went looking at my own friendships and how they evolved. Besides that I immersed myself in the meaning of colours in India, one of the most vivid coloured countries in the world.

So the colours of the sarong are a part of the colours in India, for example the little white in the sarong represents the peace and simplicity that is very important in the Indian culture, just as it is in a strong friendship.

The gradient is something I put in, for me it represents the grow of friendships.

27

U: own photographs of gradient in a bamboo leave R: own photo of a bamboo leave under the microscope, great colours for inspiration

28

SA RO N G 5 | T H E G E N T L E M A N

The fifht sarong represent the gentleman.

Bamboo is one of the ‘four gentlemen’ in many Asian countries, the others are orchid, plum blossom and chrysanthemum. As bamboo has some features like uprightness, tenacity and hollow heart, people endow bamboo with integrity, elegance and plainness though it is not physically strong. Ancient Chinese poets wrote poems to praise bamboo, but actually they were truly talking about people like bamboo and express their understanding of what a real gentleman should be like.

Just like the rest of the prints and patterns this one is also an interpretation of me. The start of being a gentleman lies inside the person. The heart needs to be in the right place in orde to be a gentleman. The heart needs to be strong, it needs to hold everything togheter. Than the person can act and be a real gentleman. That heart lies in the knots of bamboo, so with those knots I made this print.

32

U: two pictures I took from knots in different bamboo stems

33

U: a bamboo stem sawed into little pieces R: a dry bamboo stem with his knot. even dried a knot is the strongest part of the stem, holding everything togheter

35

SA RO N G 6 | T H E S O U L O F V IE T N A M

Bamboo symbolizes the Vietnamese hometown and soul: straightforwardness, hard working, optimism, unity and adaptability.

Just like the previous sarongs this one is my interpretation of the Vietnamese soul. I wanted to work around the adaptability and the old Vietnamese saying ‘When the bamboo is old, the bamboo sprouts appear’, it means that the new generation takes over the old one, so Vietnam will never be annihilated.

The sixth sarong combines great with a lot of other colours, but has a beautiful colour of its own. For me that is a great way of adaptability, without losing your own soul. The annihilated tought about bamboo and the Vietnamese soul lies in the reapeating pattern, one that will never stop.

38

R: a little bamboo boat in Vietnam U: bamboo roof of a Vietnamese bar inspiring for the form and colour Next Page: Testing out the size and colour of the pattern

39

WHAT ELSE |

This was only a part of my designproces. I designed many more sarongs, but the six presented in this little booklet represent my workmethod the best.

TO BE CONTINUED |

This year, or better this journey, has been a long and hectic one. But one never to be forgotten. Days filled with stress, euphoria, no ideas, full with ideas, statisfaction, depression, tears and laughter. All the feelings you can feel, have passed one day or an other. But the year ends with the joy of seeing something get realised to the end and even just the way I saw it in my head.

Hopefully I will be able to continue this project and passion in whatever that comes next.

44

THANK YOU |

A special thanks to: Toos van Aalsum-Leyten, Miranda Baeten, Laurens De Corte, Christina Somorjai, Hugo Puttaerd, Hilde van Pelt, the other teachers and everybody that supported me this year, especially Janne en Joep Theeuwes.

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Design by: Loes Theeuwes