Mirabai modeling one of the silk scarves we will be creating
In this workshop Melissa and Poliana will shed light on the often shadowy, enigmatic dye… indigo.
In this workshop we will be dyeing with fresh indigo leaves (not fermented or extracted pigment) to create a aqua color and you will be learning three methods:
Salt Rub Dyeing
Ice Cold Leaf Extraction
Hapa Zome
Each student will receive a silk scarf and a pack of Japanese Indigo seeds to plant in their garden.
A short explanation about what the students will learn during our workshop:
1. Salt Rub Dyeing - Fresh leaf indigo salt rub method on 100% silk or wool fabric. Using fresh indigo leaves, salt, pressure in massaging the leaves into cloth and a bit of water to wet out the fabric right before each session.
2. Ice Cold Fresh Leaf Extraction: We will blend handfuls of leaves and blend with the ice water in a blender until the mixture is bright green and the leaves are pulverized. Strain and add cloth and stir it in the solution for 10 minutes to ensure the color is as even as possible.
3. Hapa Zome: Directly compressing leaves onto fabric. Capture the brilliance of nature's color on fabric using Hapa Zome, the Japanese art of hammering leaves and pounding natural pigment into cloth to create natural imprints of plants to produce surprisingly detailed prints. This method is not super permanent, but can be extended by pre-mordanting the fabric and by waiting as long as possible before washing it.
Fresh indigo tests by The Dogwood Dyer
Blending Indigo, Ice and Water
Hapa Zome Technique
WHEN: Sunday, September 19th 2-4pm
WHERE: At Circle Studio at 62 Plains Road, New Paltz, NY 12561
HOW: RESERVE YOUR SPACE HERE $55 Per Person
(Pay what you can or pay it forward, no one will be turned away. If you need tuition assistance, please email us: info@circlecreativecollective.org)
"The Cherokee and other Native American tribes used to decorate their tents and leather goods with this technique and you can see how it has been developed further if you look for Bettye Kimbrell‘s Cherokee quilts, where leaves are hammered onto pieces of fabric, which are then sewn into beautiful botanical quilts.
In Japan, the technique is called tataki zome – hammer dyeing, although it seems to be done on washi paper and with a bit more delicacy, using smaller pieces of rubber, rather than a hammer. But the name you‘ll find most frequently is probably hapa zome, leaf dyeing, a term coined by Australian textile artist and dyer India Flint in 2006. She has experimented with all kinds of ways of fixing natural dyes to fabric and if you can find it, read her book Eco Colour for techniques and inspiration."
