(Journal Entry May 8)Next stop the silk mill! I knew that silk was made from the cocoons of certain caterpillars, but the process is much more intricate than I expected. The caterpillars take 30 days to develop into moths, but the process is stunted because the cocoons need to be preserved. So before they hatch, the cocoons are boiled and soaked, and the protein fibers are unravelled to create silk thread. Sometimes the cocoons have two worms in them, twin moths. It happens naturally in nature, the Chinese don't mess with genetics to produce twin moths. They just allow nature to produce them. This occurrence provides much bigger cocoons. The cocoons are soaked, then a lady opens the cocoons in half, and then stretches them over an arched holder. The fibers are allowed to dry and then the now stretched cocoons are pulled in four different directions to make a duvet insert.
The silk mill was amazing to visit. They have a showroom exhibiting the different items such as painting, duvets, bed sheets, curtains, and home decorations and you can buy them there very cheap. The Chinese government guards the process by which silk is made very carefully. It is a tradition that is passed from generation to generation. Apparently the workers who make the silk get paid very good wages to do so.
The cocoons also provided an idea for a piece, or at least an image to put in a piece. Two dancers all in a cocoon. The cocoon stretches creating distinguished shapes. Just before the cocoon hatches, the life of the twin moths are extinguished so that the fibers can be used to make something beautiful. This is a metaphor for life. Sometimes something more beautiful comes from a place one never thought of.
The silk mill was amazing to visit. They have a showroom exhibiting the different items such as painting, duvets, bed sheets, curtains, and home decorations and you can buy them there very cheap. The Chinese government guards the process by which silk is made very carefully. It is a tradition that is passed from generation to generation. Apparently the workers who make the silk get paid very good wages to do so.
The cocoons also provided an idea for a piece, or at least an image to put in a piece. Two dancers all in a cocoon. The cocoon stretches creating distinguished shapes. Just before the cocoon hatches, the life of the twin moths are extinguished so that the fibers can be used to make something beautiful. This is a metaphor for life. Sometimes something more beautiful comes from a place one never thought of.
No comments:
Post a Comment