This morning Bill Morton gave a presentation to my Cloth Dyeing and Painting class on the Japanese art of katagami, the intricate, hand-cut stencils used in resist dyeing or katazome. He shared with the students a selection of his own stencils, taping them onto the windows where their beauty was revealed.

A native Albertan, Mr. Morton spent many years studying and then practicing refined Japanese techniques for surface design in a traditional textile studio in Kyoto. His dyed work including exquisite kimono and hangings utilizing the Rozome (wax resist) technique have been exhibited around the world.

I first met Bill in the mid-nineties when I was his student, taking the very class I am teaching this semester. Since then he has become a great mentor and friend. I remember the first time I saw some of these stencils more than fifteen years ago, and cannot forget how they made me feel – like I had discovered a world I wanted to immerse myself in.

Of course it wasn’t just the stencils, or Mr. Morton’s influence alone, that has brought me to my career as a teacher and textile-based artist. There were obviously many more. I suppose today I was just lucky to recognize and remember one of many discrete moments that has nudged me along to where I am now.

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