Indigo Workshop with Jodi Waltier at the League, Spring 2019
Patterns in indigo textiles are made by tightly binding fabric so white patterns form where the deep blue dye did not reach. Traditional work is done with stitching, sticks, and leaves, but you can see rubber bands and clothespins used in the examples below. Notice that loops and lids have also been employed.
Jodi Waltier teaches shibori and other indigo techniques at the League. Below are some images from Jodi Waltier’s very fun Indigo Workshop. You can see students pulling work from the indigo dye, discovering the pattern their resists have formed. The dye starts green, but turns the dark indigo blue it’s famous for as soon as it is exposed to oxygen.
Indigo Workshop with Jodi Waltier at the League, Spring 2019
For her fine art show “Evaporation Diaries” Waltier made a series of textile works in which the everyday objects themselves left marks from their interaction with the water. These photographs document the moment a rusted iron object is unwrapped after an indigo dye bath. This unusual textile project called uses indigo, ink, iron, and rust to form works that are, at the moment of their birth, nearly visceral in their appearance. once washed, the fabric takes on a more elegant and painterly appearance, as seen below.
There is an intrinsic magic associated with the indigo vat and the unknown patterns and shades of blue. One needs only to be a willing, hands-on participant to be able to walk away with a notebook full of techniques and a head full of possibilities. You can learn the basics of folding and clamping, bound resist, setting up the indigo vat, and stitch techniques. You can explore resists with objects, pole wrapping and bundling in Indigo; a two day workshop with Jodi Waltier.
Rolled design. Indigo Workshop with Jodi Waltier at the League, Spring 2019Paint stick form. Indigo Workshop with Jodi Waltier at the League, Spring 2019
Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket James Abbot McNeill Whistler c. 1875 I’ve long admired Whistler’s Nocturnes for their spare elegance, and subtle nods to Hiroshige’s woodblock prints. What I didn’t know is that it bankrupted poor Whistler, and was the subject of lawsuit controversy as unfortunate as modern daytime television. All that, and it was …
Have you ever gone shopping for easels and found the options of fall-apart folding easels vs. expensive hardwood calliopes, and thought “what the heck do artists buy?” The answer might surprise you. Many painters don’t use easels at all. For my biggest paintings, two 4x4x16” pieces of wood service nicely. They lift a painting off …
This is day 11 of our 30 day creative challenge! To learn more about this 30SAL challenge, click here. Today we have another “See and Respond” challenge. Take this example of a Mayan throne back piece for a king and queen and redesign it, inserting your own figures in relationship. Share your drawing on Instagram with …
I was thankful for the break after the end of 30 days straight in January! I’m restarting the posts now, picking up where I left off with 30SAL Challenge Day 14: Make a transcription of Nicholas Poussin’s The Triumph of Pan. In the original post I mention how Poussin didn’t make detailed sketches of his figures …
Indigo and Rust
Patterns in indigo textiles are made by tightly binding fabric so white patterns form where the deep blue dye did not reach. Traditional work is done with stitching, sticks, and leaves, but you can see rubber bands and clothespins used in the examples below. Notice that loops and lids have also been employed.
Jodi Waltier teaches shibori and other indigo techniques at the League. Below are some images from Jodi Waltier’s very fun Indigo Workshop. You can see students pulling work from the indigo dye, discovering the pattern their resists have formed. The dye starts green, but turns the dark indigo blue it’s famous for as soon as it is exposed to oxygen.
For her fine art show “Evaporation Diaries” Waltier made a series of textile works in which the everyday objects themselves left marks from their interaction with the water. These photographs document the moment a rusted iron object is unwrapped after an indigo dye bath. This unusual textile project called uses indigo, ink, iron, and rust to form works that are, at the moment of their birth, nearly visceral in their appearance. once washed, the fabric takes on a more elegant and painterly appearance, as seen below.
There is an intrinsic magic associated with the indigo vat and the unknown patterns and shades of blue. One needs only to be a willing, hands-on participant to be able to walk away with a notebook full of techniques and a head full of possibilities. You can learn the basics of folding and clamping, bound resist, setting up the indigo vat, and stitch techniques. You can explore resists with objects, pole wrapping and bundling in Indigo; a two day workshop with Jodi Waltier.
Want to give it a try?
Next Indigo Workshop is March 7/14, 2020
Get deep into INDIGO.
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