August 2, 2013
Hoodie Crescent is, accord-ing to her website, “an artist, a licensed fabric designer, a graphic designer, an illustrator, a poet, a sewer, a mother, and a woman.” She’s the art director at New-castle Fabrics in Passaic. Her art and designs have been featured in numerous shows in Japan and the U.S. In 2009, she won first prize in an international quilt-ing contest. She will be the featured artist in the next issue of Where Women Create maga-zine. She has lived in Leonia with her son Zento, a recent graduate of Leonia High School, for 13 years.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was an only child, born in Nagano, Japan, the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. We moved to Osaka when I was 3 1/2.
Q: What were your interests growing up?
A: I was always interested in music and sports. Because we lived so close to the mountains, my father taught me how to ski at age 3. I’ve been an avid skier ever since. I was also a very competitive basketball player. Although I’m only 5 feet 4 inches, I’m very good at sinking three-point shots.
Q: What was it like growing up in post-WWII Japan?
A: We were very influenced by Western culture. I read lots of European literature (translated into Japanese). I couldn’t get enough of French movies (with Japanese subtitles). As a teenager, I was crazy about British rock music, especially the Beatles and John Lennon. I hung out with older musicians and artists, wrote music and poems, and played the guitar and piano. In my 20s, I attended every rock concert that came to Osaka – The Crusaders, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones twice, Michael Jackson, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, and the Culture Club to name a few.
Q: Did you always want to be an artist?
A: Growing up I didn’t consider art as a potential career, even though I did well in art class. I wanted to be an international journalist and live in New York City or London. When I didn’t get into my first choice university (for journalism), I applied to Osaka Design College, and studied graphics and illustration there.
Q: What was your first job as an artist?
A: I designed wallpaper and drapery fabric for a small art studio that had a big fabric company as a client. I quit after 1 1/2 years because I wanted to work for an export textile firm that would help me make connections with U.S. customers.
Q: When did you first visit the U.S.?
A: At age 21, I traveled for a month in the U.S., just “following the music.” I attended as many rock concerts as I could, in San Francisco, LA, and Denver. One musician I really admired was Al Di Meola (Return to Forever). I saw him perform in LA and he became one of my all time favorites. Coincidently I later learned that he grew up in Bergenfield, and a Leonia friend owns his guitar!
Q: How did you wind up in New Jersey instead of New York City?
A: I briefly lived in Forest Hills, Queens when I worked Merry Mary Fabric, N.Y. as a freelance designer. I returned to Japan when my father became ill, and stayed there for seven years. While back in Japan, I met an American girl (from Bogota) who was teaching English and studying Japanese, and we became roommates. When I moved back to the U.S., after my father’s death, we became roommates again, this time in Palisades Park. Her family has become my adopted American family. Because of her, I’m a “Jersey Girl” instead of a “New York City woman.”
Q: Why did you move to Leonia?
A: Just before my son entered kindergarten, I began looking for a house in Leonia – for the schools, for the diversity, and because other artists lived here. I basically drove around town looking for houses with For Sale signs. I fell in love with a small yellow house on Washington Terrace – a “fixer-upper.” Zento and I have lived there for the past 13 years.
Q: How did you get involved with quilting, a traditional American craft?
A: I designed cotton prints for the quilting market while working for Hi-Fashion Fabrics (polyester) and Timeless Treasures (cotton) in SoHo. When I began designing for Michael Miller Fabrics, 12 years ago, I began attending the International Quilt Market. Quilting is a stable craft that wasn’t adversely affected by the bad economy. I met many quilters at the annual Quilting Convention in Houston, and learned about the history of quilts and popular patterns. Even though I’d never made one before, I was asked to enter a quilt in the International Quilting Contest. I did, and it received an Honorable Mention. A year later, in 2009, my second quilt won First Prize. The theme was Breast Cancer Awareness. My mother had died of breast cancer a year earlier so my heart and soul went into creating it.
Q: Do you have a favorite cuisine?
A: I love cooking and eating all Japanese food, especially Japanese fried chicken, served with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and lemon. I’m also a big fan of Jersey diners.
Q: What’s your favorite American holiday?
A: Thanksgiving. Zento and I spend it with our “adopted” American family or go to friend’s homes.
Q: What was your most memorable art show?
A: In 1994, I had a one-woman show called “Blooming Women,” all nudes done with paint, pastel and 3D. It was held at FrameWorks in Brooklyn.
Q: What do you do when you’re not creating art?
A: In the winter, I go skiing with my son. I taught him to ski when he was 4. He’s an “extreme” skier and will be attending college in Vermont, where he can ski regularly.
Q: Does he also share your passion for music?
A: Like me, he plays piano and guitar. He took piano lessons from Kerry Dunn, the vocal teacher at LHS. For his recital, he played one of my favorite Beatle songs “Hey Jude.” I sang the words.
Q: With your son off to college, what plans do you have?
A: I’ve always wanted to visit England. Zento’s dad is a British musician so he has family there. I also want to take social dancing in the city – salsa, tango and waltz.
Q: What’s your next artistic project?
A: I’d like to design a kimono-inspired quilt, the ultimate fusion of East and West, using fabric from my collection of over 50 kimonos. I love the details of kimonos – the color, texture, fabrics used and layers of construction. Each one is a work of art, and each has a story.
Q: What do you most like about Leonia?
A: It is a wonderful place for a single mother to raise a son. I’ve met many friends and everyone looks out for each other’s kids. Zento told me, shortly after he graduated from Leonia High School last month, “Thanks for moving to Leonia and raising me here!”
Q: Where can we find your art?
A: Locally, at the Craft Lounge. I became friends with the owners, Kathy and Suzy Levy, when I donated some of my paintings to the ACS Art Auction. They liked my textile designs and hosted an art show of my work two years ago. You can also visit my website hoodiescollection.com. I also have a blog called Hoodie’s Land: hoodiescollection.blogspot.com/.
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