One of my indigo projects started with this beautiful terrarium garbage pick. Yes, people throw objects like this out around here — in fact, this is the second glass terrarium we’ve found on the curb.
I decided it would make a good stencil, if a little complicated. I had to practice.
In Leverett, Chinatsu, the workshop leader, had some cool hole punches, so I added those dots on either side. We pressed a thin mesh on top prior to using.
You carefully smear rice paste on and hang to dry before wetting, then dunking in the indigo vat for 90 seconds.
This method is called katazome.
These two days reminded me that keeping time is challenging for me (yes! Even 90 seconds with a giant clock in view) (which BTW is different from the ability to show up to things on time, which I do easily). Also, how I make messes became obnoxiously evident (rice paste smears, anyone?) The big tell regarding challenge-level was how tired I got mid-afternoon — even though I was having fun and otherwise not stressed.
After letting the stenciled and dunked cloth drip back into the indigo vat for a bit, you took it out to a rinse station and used a soft paint brush to wipe off the rice paste.
A library of stencils was available to us.
I carved a little bird which I didn’t think would work but did.
I tried a clamping technique, using two boards and two metal Home-Depot-style clamps. First picture (below) shows the clamped result. Subsequent pic shows the clamped-cloth-result with rice paste design.
You can achieve lovely and subtle results by doing two rice paste applications with a dunk in indigo in between. I only tried it two times. Here’s one example, below.
Dots first, triangles second, with dot paste left on for second dip. For a different effect, you could have rinsed off the dot rice paste after dipping it in dye and then applied the triangle paste. The white dots would have been variations of blue and white.
Born and trained in Japan, Chinatsu also spent two years training in India. She was lovely. Highly skilled. Really knowledgeable. Humble, non-intrusive, funny, and yet still an effective instructor.
Lisa and I stayed in Northampton around the corner from where I last lived in 1979 before graduating from UMass. It all seemed shabbier than I remembered. Fewer trains, though, passing on the tracks across the street.
There’s lots more to say about that, but not now and perhaps not publicly.
Even two short days away and I am inordinately glad to be home. Is that a defect or a blessing?
Looks like great fun…
It really was. If I wasn’t going to California soon, I might try and get a vat of my own going. Maybe next year.
Yeah, it all takes time…
What happy, blue handed women and what a fascinating, creative experience. So many stunning designs. Your terrarium was a wonderful choice for a stencil as was your bird stencil. I especially was intrigued by your clamped cloth, I have done some clamping on cloth but never with indigo as the dye color. In fact, I’ve never used much blue in my cloth work, let alone created an indigo vat. The closest I have come to working with indigo was when grace sent me some indigo seeds when I lived in TN. I planted the seeds and when leaves appeared, I simply stripped the leaves and dry bundled them on alum mordanted cotton. I did get blue leaf impressions and some other random patterns that I turned into book marks but over time, the indigo color simply faded away!
Last photo ranks right up there as one of my favorites of you: an indigo heart for an indigo blue handed woman who is blue in the best sense of the word…you didn’t think I was going to pass a chance to get symbolically political did you!
Thanks for that last paragraph Marti! You may not have used much blue, but your rusts, browns, sands, and taupe are to die for!
Dee~ Wow! What fun :). The terrarium find is amazing and a great home to a shell collection. This looks like it was a great experience with amazing results. The stencils and your terrarium & bird and all of the organic shapes are so interesting. You look so relaxed and content. What a wonderful place to be.
And the temps have cooled off!
I agree about Northampton. I rarely go over there. I prefer to stick to downtown Amherst. Northampton has homeless panhandlers on every block. Leverett is such a pretty place. I like to visit the Leverett Crafts and Arts center sometimes. Anyway, we make do out here. I still miss Brookline and Newton. Wish I could come home.
We don’t even get into town. This was over by Hawley street where the train tracks are.
Look man like a wonderful workshop!!♥️
It was very nearly a private workshop. And very special!
That you’re happy to be home is a Blessing but you already know that. You sure got a lot done in just a few days .. it all looks amazing. Thanks for walking us through the process … great pictures!
You’re right. I did know that.
What a fun change of pace. I envy you. My one foray with indigo left me with blue hands and feet and no cloth. I left the bag of wet cloth on the trunk of my car and drove away. No huge loss, my blues were weak. Dusty looking.
C’est la vie?
Wow! Such gorgeous work!!
I’m happy for you.
Plus what an incredibly labor intensive process. It makes me tired just thinking about handling large pieces of cloth in and out of those vats of liquid indigo.
Also, great photos proving that joy is a great structure to hang one’s well formed work on ( or something like that).
The process was very much facilitated by being in a workspace devoted to it and by having someone with so much expertise looking over your shoulder. But there were a lot of steps. There’s so much more I’d like to have tried if I’d had a couple more days.
This is so delightful. What fabulous cloths you made! This workshop would be a dream come true for me. Hurray for you!
I can’t wait to do it again!
Gorgeous results. Especially love the terrarium, and the dots.
Thanks Hazel. Me too.
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