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Rob Jones
Rob Jones is a textile artist, who takes his inspiration from
Japanese Textiles traditions including Shibori, Katagami
stencilling and Sashiko embroidery and Boro. He began his study in
2011 at West Dean on short courses and then undertook an intensive
course with Bryan Whitehead in Japan in the autumn of 2014. Rob has
been a full time textiles designer and teacher since September
2015. Rob has also studied natural dyeing under Michel Garcia and
is a member of the London Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers and
the Muswell Hill Creatives. Rob teaches at seven workshop spaces
around London and, most recently demonstrated Shibori and Indigo
Dyeing at Craft Central on the Isle of Dogs as part of London Craft
Week 2018.
Rob's approach to textiles design is to innovate using traditional
methods, breaking the tradition in a sympathetic way, either by
cutting and re-piecing work or by merging techniques together to
create modern versions of them. Rob follows the principles of Wabi
Sabi, looking for the beauty in the random effects that are created
by certain shibori techniques and Mottainai, the Japanese
equivalent of "waste not, want not".
Describe your approach to teaching:
I encourage students to understand the traditional methods and
practice that makes for a successful piece and then to reinvent
them as something new and personal to them.
What inspires your own work?
Following a recent trip to Japan in search of Katagami stencils,
vintage textiles and boro, I am working on pieces that incorporate
vintage and modern fabrics and developing my own stencils to
incorporate with these.