Sylvia and Frank

Before moving to Oregon we lived in the Southern California community of Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1988 we moved to our present home in Elmira, Oregon. We have four sons, a daughter and five grandchildren living in Southern California, Northern California and Salt Lake City. Sylvia is engaged in her art work full-time and Frank works part-time for a locally owned home center.

Our Work

My attraction to Japanese themes evolved slowly over the past fifteen years. With lovely washi paper and pressed flowers, I began making Asian kimono cards. Later I used small collected pieces of discarded Japanese fabric cut from full-length kimonos. I now leave intact many "patchings", the extra materials sewn by Japanese seamstresses of war-torn Japan meant to lengthen the life of their kimonos. Much of these vintage fabrics clearly show the hardships of the times.

Quite literally, I mold fabric onto a pattern. Through a twist, a turn and a fold, fragile material is slowly transformed into a tiny sleeve and collar, then a flowing robe. As I adhere it to matting, the figure is given a life of its own. Bits of naturally dry-pressed materials are incorporated to suggest a tree or an arbor. Finally what is seen may be an approaching robed figure walking serenly in a garden or in another scene the humped back obi of the kimono figure walking away, perhaps whispering "sayonara".

The frames are handmade from raw stock by Frank Patten. Most of the wood comes from the western United States. Many of the frames are inlaid with bamboo, beads, copper & brass objects, Jasper and mother of pearl. The finishes have been formulated from modifications of old woodworking formulas.

Wabiworks

We have taken our company name WabiWorks from the Japanese concept wabi-sabi - the view that beauty can be found in the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Inherent  in this concept is an attraction to things irregular, earthy and simple. In our work we fashion art which incorporates these ideals.