Thursday, December 31, 2015

Day 31 - Indigo Mystery Fabrics in America




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Some form of indigo manufacturing and its use appears on every continent and is prized by every culture. Indigo also has roots in America, starting with Eliza Pinckney's plantation in South Carolina where indigo was introduced in the United States to textiles now preserved in  museum collections. Our history has a fabric mystery.  In the book America's Indigo Blues by Florence Petitt, she examines a rare eighteenth century collection of indigo blue resist prints.
image: afanews.com
No one knows who produced the indigo blue resist prints or what process was used to make them. Many examples were discovered in New England collections, while still others can be seen at the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Linda Eaton, textile curator at Winterthur writes that paste work or paste resist printing techniques, which create sharp edged designs were used.  However some evidence of printing the fabric then applying a  bleaching agent which was used to create softer edged designs and lighter  blue shades. Eaton notes that plans are underway to try and mimic different Indigo paste resist and bleaching techniques with the hope of  discovering how these fabrics were created. 
  

The two fabrics shown  here are examples of indigo dying, paste resist printing, and bleaching techniques.

Hopefully America's fabric mystery can be solved and reveal the origin of the fabric designs and the combination of techniques used to create them. 
In the mean time they are preserved for many to study and enjoy. 


left image: afanews.com

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Day 30 - Indigo for Paint and Ink

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image:inbedwithmonalisa.com

After the indigo plant was fermented and dried into cakes it was primarily used to dye textiles.
But the dried cakes were also ground into a fine powder and highly sought after as a pigment for paint and ink. In early Medieval times parchment was dyed with indigo then used as a writing surface. The parchment shown below is a page from  the Blue Qur'an, dating from the late 9th to early 10th century, North Africa (Tunisia), gold and silver on indigo dyed parchment. The indigo strengthened the paper and acted as a natural insect repellent, preserving religious texts and manuscripts.


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        top image: historyofnaturalartpigments.weebly.com                                bottom:  Vermeer: Girl With the Pearl Earring










Painters also experimented with indigo pigment, mixing it with various mediums like marble powder, egg shells, urine, wine, and oils trying to make a stable paint that wouldn't fade. Indigo paint was used for painting on cloth, pottery, pastel crayons and frescoes. During the 17th century indigo powder was less expensive than the ultramarine and azurite pigments and used in combination with indigo to extend the amount of blue pigment used for paint. 
Indigo when used for ink was a much simpler process it mixed easily, flowed well and was colorfast. 


Image result for indigo pigment ink                   Image result for indigo pigment ink
   image: biohue.com                                                                                          image: corkartsupplies.com

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Day 29 - Japanese Indigo

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Image result for map of japan and islands
image: dailymail.co.uk

Japanese Indigo Dye Vats
image:kiminoboy.com
Indigo dying in Japan was at its most popular during the Edo period from 1603-1867. The Japanese people particularly loved the deep blue indigo color saying it reminded them of the ocean that surrounded Japan.  Like Africa, Japan also developed methods of decorative stitching and resist paste dying techniques using indigo. Shibori, a Japanese stitch resist technique is done by wrapping and tying the cotton fabric before dying. The resulting blue and white images on fabric were used for both everyday items like clothing, wraps, and bags, but also for stylized natural images like waves, cranes and family crests to adorn special kimonos and curtains.

Image result for japanese shibori      Image result for japanese shibori
              image:honestlywtf.com                              image:dailyjapanesetextiles.wordpress.com     
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image:pfieferstudios.com
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image: dailyjapanesetextiles@wordpress.com
Image result for japanese shibori
image: dailyjapanesetextiles@wordpress.com
Today Japanese Shibori stitching and indigo dying techniques are enjoying  a resurgence in popularity.  Once again artists are experimenting with these stitching, and dying skills inspired by the graphic natural images found in Japanese art.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Day 28 - Indigo in America - Levis Jeans

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Image result for Levis oldest waist overalls
image: birdsofoh.blogspot.com

Image result for Levis oldest waist overalls
image: levistrauss.com
In 1847 an 18 year old immigrant from Bavaria named Levi Strauss arrived in New York to work in his family's dry goods business.  Within 6 years Levi Strauss opened a branch of the family business in San Francisco. There he sold bolts of cloth to a Latvian tailor named Jacob Davis. Davis fashioned the first practical waist overalls for working men. When the pockets became worn and ripped Davis added copper rivets to strengthen them. Davis could not afford to take out a patent on his pants. He invited Levi Strauss to invest with him to manufacture his waist overalls.
Strauss and Davis opened a factory in 1873 making waist overalls with indigo dyed cotton twill fabric and the copper rivets on the pockets. Shortly thereafter the double row of orange stitching appeard on the back pockets completing the iconic Levis jeans. Soldiers in the Second World War relied on the US government to send supplies of Levis. While on leave soldiers gave Europeans their first introduction to Levis, which now hold the rights for the longest running registered trademark. Fashion designers and movie stars have put thier own spin on Levis  by promoting USA's wildwest and cowboy themes. The glamorous Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and Marlon Brando all wore Levis jeans. The Levis Jeans design has changed very little over  their lifetime, just as the desire to own a pair has also survived the test of time.
image:thedayintechwordpress.com

 








Saturday, December 26, 2015

Day 26 - Indigo and Blue Hands

Image result for Indigo dyeing & blue hands
image: pinterest.com



Image result for Indigo dyeing & blue hands
image from wickiwand.com
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Image result for Indigo dyeing & blue hands
image from pinterest.com
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image from rehahnphotographer.com
Image result for Indigo dyeing & blue hands
image from okinawaclip.com  


Image result for Indigo dyeing & blue hands
Image result for Indigo dyeing & blue handsimage: flickrhivemind.net

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Day 23 - Egypt to America; Indigo's Cultural Symmetry

Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi.jpg
Mahdi Mohammed Ahmed Ruler of Sudan (1881-1885)
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In 1882 Egypt was controlled by the Ottoman Empire requiring people to grow the cash crops of wheat, indigo, cotton and sugar. Political unrest and social changes were looming. As a statement  to oppose the Ottoman ruling class, Mahdi Mohammed Ahmed and his followers, purposely wore clothing patched with indigo as a symbol of religious piety and humility.  A Sudanese man wears the typical Mahdist clothing in Omdurman which would have been randomly patched with indigo. (top and middle bottom images both from Wikipedia)
Fast forward a hundred years to the United States where the common thread of  wearing garment to make a statement still exists. This anti-establishment sentiment establishes itself again  visually in our society as the ripped and patched Levis blue jeans. Jeans, the denim uniform of rebellious youth, is now a fashion statement embraced worldwide. 

Typical Mahdist clothing in Omdurman, 1936
Patched Levis Jeans (imageposhmark.com)

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Day 22 - Indigo and African Stitch Resist Techniques

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Resist paste being applied with a feather 
The African resist dye techniques of stitching, raffia tying, and applying cassava paste were used to create different designs on plain fabric before dying them with indigo. The results made beautiful and elaborate patterns in the cloth. The techniques, patterns, and  symbols both told traditional stories for the regional viewer or were made as market items to sell or trade.                                                

Mostly it was women  who created the stitched and dyed fabric. In Yoruba a cassava or cornflour paste with alum called lafun that was used to create patterns on fabric and was traditionally applied freehand with a feather quill. Many images were stylized plants and  animals.
(left: image from black art studio on pinterest)

 


 Sweetpeapath: Adire cloth Casava paste resist indigo-dyed cotton woman’s wrapper Nigeria,
 c. 1950 courtesy of Joss Graham, London UK (pinned from lisa-tanner.tumblr.com) 

The adire oniko resist technique is done by tying raffia fiber around small stones or seeds into  the cloth to be dyed. A wide variety of patterns can be made with this tying method. If small stones are used small circles are the result. Larger circles were made by wrapping raffia  tightly around a pinched up piece of fabric 

Below" Indigo resist dyed cotton, Ibadan, Nigeria 1960s. Museum no. Circ.592-1965. © Victoria and Albert 
Museum, London . This cloth is an example of adire oniko, the pattern of was known as olosupaeleso or ‘moons and fruit’ in Ibadan when this cloth was purchased.
Indigo resist dyed cotton, Ibadan, Nigeria 1960s. Museum no. Circ.592-1965. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 
  
Left: Detail of indigo resist dyed cotton, Ibadan, Nigeria 1960s. Museum no. Circ.592-1965. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London This cloth is a detail of adire oniko cloth in an olosupaeleso, 'moons and fruit', pattern.








adire alabare stitch resist (image from Monika Etttin Pinterest board
The stitched resist technique is stitching done by hand or machine then removed to reveal the area of white fabric not dyed by the indigo.Traditionally women sewed by hand and men sewed by machine to create the resist patterns also known as adire alabare. 
The West African indigo resist dyed textiles were highly prized to be worn and traded. The number of indigo textiles produced today is a small fraction of what was made before. Still, small dye works survive and artisans are learning resist and dying techniques and  preserving  the tradition.  Fortunately many early examples appear in museums around the world to observe, study, and enjoy.