Rebecca Thomas just graduated from IU last weekend with a BFA and is now leaving the country in a matter of days to participate in an artist residency in Matsudo, Japan.
The residency program is Paradise Air, supported by the Japanese pachinko parlor RAKUEN. The program is meant to continue the local tradition of what its website refers to as “one night, one art.” Historically, Matsudo has been a point of transit for artists. Matsudo residents would house traveling artists in exchange for a personal work of art, a tradition they want to bring back.
Paradise Air mimics this concept by providing participating artists with living accommodations, studio space and access to the local community. In exchange, artists are expected to orchestrate a public event, performance or installation before they leave.
Thomas is a multimedia artist interested in installation work. She began with traditional painting but has expanded her mediums to include silk, natural dyes, paper, watercolor and spray paint.
Her experimentation with these new mediums and art forms was sparked by a textiles course she took three semesters ago.
“It was something that was more tactile,” Thomas said. “It was much easier to make more physical and 3-D pieces after learning textiles.”
Her growing interest in textiles also influenced her search for residencies. Though she was open to different programs, she wanted the residency to be in Japan, Thomas said.
“After getting more into textile art, I wanted to go someplace with a strong textile history,” she said. “I specifically want to work with Indigo and Shibori”
Thomas said she intends to research the Indigo and Shibori techniques of local artists in addition to making artwork in her studio.
Although Thomas’ more recent works have been large, she said she will be working on a smaller scale while in Japan. Thomas said she plans to experiment with combining silk, watercolor and paper, ultimately bringing these new works together with past silk installations.
Thomas said she is interested to see how artists in Japan work and use Indigo in their modern practices.
“Also, I am looking forward to going to museums in Tokyo, of course the exhibition and getting feedback from other people,” she said.
Thomas said she finds these same things intimidating, particularly the workload she will have.
She will meet new artists, enter an unknown environment and research and create an exhibition out of the supplies she can fit into her duffle bag, all within two weeks.
Regardless of the challenges, Thomas said she is grateful for the opportunity and enthusiastic about experiencing a new culture.
