I've thought about doing some indigo dyeing for a while now. Not for the first time, as I participated in eighteenth-century colonial-style indigo dyeing with
Kathy Smith back in the 1980s. A true purist, Kathy conjured a vat with stale urine. I wasn't so brave.
More recently, I tried my hand at
Maura Ambrose's indigo vats (one chemical, one organic), dipping pieces of vintage linen tablecloth in and coming out with this for one ...
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| Patch #10 |
I left the hemstitched edge intact, liking the look of it, wondering how it might play out. And I may add some stitch later ... well, now actually ...
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| Snow falling in East Hampton, New Year's Day 1978 |
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| The b-side maybe even more realistic than the front |
So, having mentioned the dyeing workshop, here at last are my photographic impressions of it (Maura's artistry shown with her permission) ...
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Coming into Maura's home for the first time,
this was what hit me |
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| Followed by this wonderful display of potential |
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| and instruction |
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| Works in progress abounded ... |
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| and while most were machine-sewn, some were hand-stitched |
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| and all had colors to dye for |
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Samplers of a sort hung on the walls,
some perhaps dating to Maura's days at SCAD |
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| Bits of memory enshrined behind glass |
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| Notebook pages that spoke for themselves ... |
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| a full range of potential |
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| carefully curated |
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| artfully presented |
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| Truly an inspiration ... to be continued |
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