Julie Shearer: Masi Bark Cloth

Artist: Julie Shearer
1938 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1980
Image Size: 9 by 7.5 inches
Overall Size: 14.75 by 12 inches
Medium: Water Color on Water Color Paper

Tapa is actually the printed bark cloth made from Masi although the word Masi in Fiji has come to mean all bark cloth, regardless of its different types and uses. The making of Masi, or tapa, is one of the great national arts of Fiji and is one of the most atttractive and unusual art forms in the world. True Masi is made only from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree. When the tree is a year old, it is cut down and the bark, still soft, is stripped from it. The bark is rolled back on itself, soaked, and scraped with a blunt-edged shell. Then it is laid on a curved table, beaten and stretched. Several lengths make the desired size for one piece of cloth. The cloth is then colored by hand by a stencil process using patterns made from leaves and bamboo. Steady hands and careful fingers ensure that each small stencil will combine to form part of the larger geometrical design. Colors come from natural pigments applied with a pandanus leaf, rolled into a wad to produce broad lines. Bamboo is used for narrow lines and designs. Individualism is the essence of this art form since no two pieces are ever exactly the same. The Masi cloth has many uses in Fiji, including wedding and ceremonial dress, home decoration, bedspreads, and as gifts to honor birth, marriage or death.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the Fiji 45¢ Tourism stamp issued August 18, 1980.

Artwork Copyright © 1980 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB06540

US$ Price: $950.00

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