When I feel like taking a break and wish to change my feelings after I finished weaving a roll of kimono cloth, I clean my tools such as looms, shuttles and spinning wheels with damp cloth before heading to the next.
This time, in addition to those tools, I sharpened the coloured pencils that caught my eyes whose tips were too round to see the lead, and I tried to arrange them in a gradation.
A set of FABER-CASTELL 100-colour pencils was given by my mother when I matriculated in a university.
So far, I have used it for my given subject during the school days, or drawing Kimono designs.
However, I think I have rather spent more time watching the colours aligned.
I treated it with care…which sounds nice but actually I think I was not making use of it enough.
The fate of such coloured pencils changed completely when my four-year-old daughter found them.
She had her own set of twelve coloured pencils but it was natural that various 100 colours were more appealing for her.
Its ownership shifted in no time and her favourite pink is already worn down stub.
It may be the first time for me to spend a lot of time sharpening coloured pencils after my mother gave them to me.
It would have been nicer if I had used them a lot earlier and kept them in good condition.
I knew I should have done so.
Weaving tools that I have been using ever since I started my studio had fresh wood texture initially but they turned into soft amber without my knowing.
They have become one and only tools and support me.
Tools increase their brilliance only by using them.
It will be 18th year this spring since I started using the tools and I am looking forward to keep using them.