Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Guardian is a one-of-one wearable work rooted in the ancient Japanese braiding practice of Kumihimo. The hollow braid is traditionally constructed on a marudai using Japanese threads hand-dipped in metallics, creating a form that carries both lightness and strength.
In Japan, Kumihimo can be traced to the Asuka period, when sophisticated braiding traditions traveled from China and Korea alongside the expansion of Buddhism. Over centuries, these intricate braids became part of the material culture surrounding the warrior, while also carrying spiritual significance through their use by Buddhist monks.
This work draws from that lineage of warrior and spiritual practice—the braid as discipline, protection, ritual, and strength—while moving the tradition into a contemporary wearable form.
Glass beads and hand-worked peyote-stitch beadwork finish the ends of the braid, extending the linear structure into a more concentrated field of texture and light.
As with many KAMILLEON works, the encounter with the wearer completes the work. The braid moves between body and object, carrying its history while becoming something newly lived.
Each KAMILLEON work is made individually; no work is replicated.
Materials: Japanese threads hand-dipped in metallics, glass beads, metal hardware
Technique: Kumihimo braid worked on a marudai; hand-worked peyote-stitch beadwork
Dimensions: 18 in. long × 1/2 in. wide
Quantity: 1
Guardian is a one-of-one wearable work rooted in the ancient Japanese braiding practice of Kumihimo. The hollow braid is traditionally constructed on a marudai using Japanese threads hand-dipped in metallics, creating a form that carries both lightness and strength.
In Japan, Kumihimo can be traced to the Asuka period, when sophisticated braiding traditions traveled from China and Korea alongside the expansion of Buddhism. Over centuries, these intricate braids became part of the material culture surrounding the warrior, while also carrying spiritual significance through their use by Buddhist monks.
This work draws from that lineage of warrior and spiritual practice—the braid as discipline, protection, ritual, and strength—while moving the tradition into a contemporary wearable form.
Glass beads and hand-worked peyote-stitch beadwork finish the ends of the braid, extending the linear structure into a more concentrated field of texture and light.
As with many KAMILLEON works, the encounter with the wearer completes the work. The braid moves between body and object, carrying its history while becoming something newly lived.
Each KAMILLEON work is made individually; no work is replicated.
Materials: Japanese threads hand-dipped in metallics, glass beads, metal hardware
Technique: Kumihimo braid worked on a marudai; hand-worked peyote-stitch beadwork
Dimensions: 18 in. long × 1/2 in. wide
Quantity: 1