Kansas City Fiber Artist Yulie Urano Shows Off Her Sketchbook
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For fiber artist Yulie Urano, yarn is both a medium and a metaphor.
She supplies her own material by spinning yarn into absurdly thick strands. She uses her fingers to weave the homemade rope into dense, flowing sculptures.
The metaphor stems from Urano’s heritage: She’s a first-generation Japanese-American. The interplay between strands and textures in her art help her explore the interaction of cultural traditions in her own life.
The Skinny:
- Fun Fact: Yulie uses a machine to knit regular yarn into big tubes of yarn.
- Yulie Urano
- Kansas City, Mo.
- yulieurano.com
- info@yulieurano.com
“By pushing the possible relationships between form, material, and textile processes, I create work that allows me to explore my ideas about self-identity, ” Urano explains in her artist’s statement.
Peruse Urano’s sketchbook and you will see how her ideas come to life in her finished work. She shares with us a few of her drawings, finished pieces, as well as her favorite designers in Missouri.
"This hooded knit is one of the first pieces I created. I was really inspired by the natural weight and drape of the knit cord I was making and wanted to create a piece that highlighted the line and movement of a simple knit structure." Photo credit: Cameron Gee
"I have always had a keen interest in textures and the idea of a shell or home. I wanted to create a piece that engulfed the wearer but in a soft and warm way, like the feeling of home hugging you."-Yulie Urano. Photo credit: Cameron Gee
"I was thinking of armor when I started creating this piece. The knitted cord is made up of black wool with a line of silk gold, and I was trying to use the contrast in the colors to give this soft piece an edge that it needed."-Yulie Urano. Photo credit: Cameron Gee
"This is part of a collection about Spain that I made. I wanted to create something feminine and floral but bold as well."-Yulie Urano. Photo credit: Cameron Gee
Urano typically does not make one preliminary sketch per garment, but usually does a series of mini sketches and then work off of that. Here are a few pages from her sketchbook that she used as inspiration during the time she was creating the knit work shown.
Photo source: Peggy Noland
"I love Peggy's work because it is fun, loud, and exciting. When you wear her clothes it is impossible to not feel like you are becoming an invincibly weird and amazing superhero."
Photo source: Not Just a Label
"Hadley's clothes have an understated simplicity that reminds me much of Scandinavian designs that I love. Her monochromatic statements are so sophisticated and keep me wanting all of her pieces. "
Photo source: cadough.com
"Christina isn't based in Kansas City anymore, but I felt she was someone I should mention because her work has always been an inspiration to me since I started making wearables. What most draws me to her work is her ability to beautifully incorporate so many layers of personal history in her pieces."
