Oglethorpe University Museum of Art’s spring exhibition, Nuido, The Way of Embroidery, is presented in partnership with metro Atlanta’s Japanese Embroidery Center (JEC), and has offered opportunities for Oglethorpe students and faculty to collaborate with staff on the exhibit and the accompanying lecture series.

Works on display include wall hangings, obis, kimonos, and other beautifully embroidered objects, all original creations from the center. Local students of Japanese floral art Ikenobo Ikebana create new flower arrangements every Tuesday and Thursday, adding to the exhibit’s ambiance.

A lecture series accompanying the exhibit includes a February 24 presentation, Wheels of Desire: Art and Love in the Tale of Genji, by Dr. Robert Steen, professor of Japanese. Most recently, Oglethorpe junior Jordan Michels ’17, who is studying Japanese and served as the exhibit’s curatorial assistant, presented Van Gogh to Okakura: Identity and Orientalism in the Art of the Meiji Era, which may be viewed online. In spring 2016, Jordan will study abroad in Japan at J.F. Oberlin University’s Reconnaissance Japan Program, on a full-tuition scholarship from the Obirin Gakuen Foundation of America.

In addition to assisting with curating and presenting a lecture, Jordan collaborated with the JEC to create a manual to help prepare docents to lead weekly tours of the exhibition on Sundays at 2 p.m. These tours are led by Oglethorpe students of Japanese Anissa Rickerson, Kieran Flake and Casandra Brayton, and highlight details about the 1,600-year history of embroidery and its modern use as interior design, as well as a history of the Japanese Embroidery Center, its founding in Atlanta in 1989, and the first collaboration with Oglethorpe in 1990 for “Heritage of the Spirit”.

Nuido, The Way of Embroidery will be on view in the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art through March 6. Most OUMA lectures and events are recorded and available to watch online.

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The word Nuido is made up of two parts: Nui, or embroidery (also shishu), and Do, the way of Nui refers to the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge. Do refers to the development and constant discovery of the spiritual components of the art of Nuido. Nuido has three aspects: the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge (rationality), the development of artistic sensitivity and awareness (sensitivity), and understanding the spiritual aspects of shishu (spirituality), resulting in a state of peace, calm, and harmony.