Smith says men like to look at women who wear them. Japan, India and parts of Africa are perhaps the foremost locations for fine shibori production today, but Japan treats the process with the respect due its art. Which is why Smith especially values the acceptance offered to Smith from the Japanese curators. The fabrics are historic in that country, emerging and submerging with changing fashions. But the finest quality always retains a timeless admiration.
Artists are highly revered in Japan.
When Smith resumed creating shibori, he decided to take some of his finest samples to Japan, even though he was warned by a Japanese acquaintance that the likelihood of instant fame was not to be expected. Expected or not, Smith was ushered into the sanctum sanctorum of shibori exhibits with open arms, returning home from his initial visit with invitations to exhibit in the most hallowed halls. He had taken samples of his finest pieces, all one of a kind and irreplaceable. At one museum shop, the directors were taking them out of their packages, examining them and inquiring about prices. After each price was quoted, the ladies would drop the piece into a pile and continue.