Indigo Workshop

After the three-day intensive Mud Cloth workshop in Mullumbimby, Aboubakar had a day off to prepare the next workshop - the indigo four day intensive. This meant I also had a day off to explore Mullumbimby and surrounds, so I took a ride to Brunswick Heads to have an early morning swim in the ocean followed by a fantastic vegetarian lunch. Later, I prepared a few stitched samples for the workshop, just simple karamatsu shibori, or larch design.
As Aboubakar had previously run a 10 day intensive class, the fermented indigo vat that they had set up was still resting and maturing.  He had also started a new fermented indigo vat for the class after ours, so in total there were two fermented indigo vats that needed to be looked after each day and two fructose vats that we could work with.

The large blue vat is the fermented leaf vat, and the brown
vat at the back is the fructose vat.

The difference between the two types of vats is immense. The fermented vat uses the leaf matter from the indigo in Nigeria, Lonchocarpus cyanescens, also known as Yoruba indigo. This type of vat is a "living colour" vat, where bacteria grow to ferment the leaves so that the pigment can be released. This process can take up to 14 days and is heavily dependant on keeping the temperature of the vat warm, which is why we were doing the workshop in muggy Mullumbimby! I will not go into the process of the fermentation vat here because we were not taught this in our 4 day workshop, so I will concentrate on the Fructose Vat.

Aboubakar carefully hydrating the indigo powder with
water before adding to the vat

The Fructose Indigo vat we prepared follows a similar recipe to other natural vats I have prepared in the past using the 1:2:3 ratio of Indigo, Lime and Fructose. Aboubakar has his own method of achieving his indigo vat, through years of research in Japan and his home country. The more I participate in Indigo workshops the more I realise how attached masters can become to their vats and ways of preparing and caring for them, so it is futile to start comparing one method to another, because you start to realise that it is not comparing apples to apples at all, it is more like comparing children, and as we all know, no two are alike, even from the same parents!! Although I prepare indigo vats for workshops in natural dyeing, and am very happy with my results, I do not keep a vat as part of my arts practice, the way Aboubakar does (or in his case, thirty huge vats or so!!).  Many people are puzzled by this because  indigo is seen to be such an essential part of a natural dyeing practice - especially to get greens and purples etc.  Indigo is such an intense experience that I am almost afraid if I start it (properly) I will never want to stop and do other things anymore...this sounds dramatic ....but some of you will understand what I mean. Also, vats really do need to be tended and cared for like babies, particularly the fermentation vats.  You must monitor them every single day in order to keep them happy and productive. The 1-2-3 vats are much simpler and easier to create and can be left dormant for periods of time.

Fructose vat ready to use.

After the addition of lime and fructose the vat is stirred and left for an hour, after which time the "flower" or "bloom" on the top has increased in size and diameter, and the liquid underneath is a yellowish colour, signifying that the vat is now ready to use. The surface has a coppery tinge, and often has a wrinkly appearance - this is the vat's "skin" to protect it from air.

Aboubakar prepares to test the vat

The first dip in the vat

Aboubakar has a very particular way of immersing fabric, yarn and shibori textiles into the vat in order to get a good even dyeing.  We learnt how to "massage" our textiles beneath the surface of the vat so that our fingers did not leave marks on our samples, and to open up pleats and yarns so that the indigo could penetrate where it should. It was nerve-wracking at first but after a while you get the hang of it!  Aboubakar then set us our first task - to take seven identical pieces of calico to achieve the seven shades from white to deepest indigo/black.  This is one of the tests for the prospective indigo-dyers and believe me, the lightest shade was the hardest to achieve.  Afterwards Aboubakar shared his insight into this special pale blue - it is often done with the oldest "grandmother" vat which is nearly at the end of its life and takes a lot of skill and sensibility to produce. He says that often this colour is the most desirable because it is so hard to achieve. The colour must be pale, but the cloth must still be saturated properly, and in a young vibrant vat there is too much energy for even a 1 second dip to produce a "last-breath" blue.

Aboubakar's seven samples of indigo...perfect

During the course of the workshop we explored many processes of shibori and rice paste resist.  Aboubakar does not use the clay resist in his vats because the minerals in the vat would contaminate and interfere with the fermentation bacteria. The resist paste worked very well and I played around with multiple stamping and printing and dipping to achieve layers of colour and tone on small samples.  I also completed my Seven Indigo samples to perfection - not on the first day, mind you, but the next day once the samples had dried, I realised one was slightly out and I wanted to take the time correct it whilst I still had the same vats.  Of course, when you change one sample...all the others proceding it must also change...haha! However by the end of the exercise Aboubakar was very happy with my samples and I think they looked very close to his. I also made a beautiful indigo scarf with the pleat and tie method shown to me by Abou....it certainly pays to have long fingers and lots of patience!

Some of my indigo samples with resist paste, shibori and repeat dyeings.

 And lastly, there was another RYDER in our group - Angela Ryder - which is so uncommon we both freaked out a bit, but she made some beautiful work including this lovely rice-paste resist piece which sums up the wonderful workshop with Aboubakar in Mullumbimby....

Muddy in Mullumbimby

I've been offline for the past two weeks because I have been up in Mullumbimby on the NSW north coast participating in two workshops run by Aboubakar Fofana.

Aboubakar in our Mullumbimby workshop

Aboubakar is a calligrapher, artist, textile designer and graphic designer born in Bamako, Mali but has lived for most of his life in Paris. He is well known for his work with mud-cloth and indigo, which he studied for many years with Japanese master dyer Akiyama Masakazu in Japan.  He now divides his time between Paris, Tokyo and Bamako as he strives to revitalise the lost art of natural dyeing and indigo in his home-country.
The first workshop was on Mud Cloth, or Bogolanfini which is created by using a mud that is high in iron to permanently stain the cloth. Traditionally this textile was worn as a type of camouflage by Malian hunters, and the patterns are rich in cultural significance. Aboubakar always starts off his mud cloth workshops with his favourite talisman of the fish.

Aboubakar demonstrates how to apply the mud to the cloth

There are several steps to achieving this very earthy, primitive cloth.  Firstly the fabric must be prepared by soaking it in a tannin rich broth made from the n'gallama tree.  Aboubakar prefers the hand spun and handwoven cotton fabric from Mali, and we each received a small piece to try first.  Once the fabric has been prepared and dried, the mud is mixed for application.

Mixing the mud to the right consistency

The mud is extremely smelly as it is taken from the bottom of the river at certain times of the year and stored so that it continues to ferment. In this way it is a 'living' colour, very similar to the fermented indigo vats that Aboubakar prefers to work with. The mud can be applied with a paintbrush, stick or even stencilled, and I decided to make a number of small pieces of cloth using the mud in different ways instead of one large project like everyone else.

Some of my mud cloth experiments

Many of the workshop participants made some beautiful and unique textiles as wraps, scarves and even a skirt, and here are some of the results:

Becci with her lovely mandala fabric, handpainted

Becci working on a scarf with Rebecca and Janie in the background

Once the mud is applied to the cloth it is dried and then 'scrubbed' in the air to release the mud.  Once all the mud has been dusted off then it is put into cold water and scrubbed again to get rid of any excess.  The cloth can be washed and dried and then re-tanned for further applications of mud.  Each mud application makes the colour darker, and you can start to build up many layers of varying shades of the mud to enhance your designs.

I will post an article about the indigo workshop in the next day or so.  It was a great experience to work with such a professional and passionate advocator for natural dyeing and the lost textile arts of Mali.

Leaving London

My last day in London was a whirlwind of activity, trying to fit in the last "must-do" things on my bucket list.  As my plane didn't leave until the evening I had the opportunity to visit a couple more places before I left. First stop was "Alfies" off the Edgeware Road.  Many of you know I am a big fan of mid-century design - textiles, furniture and ceramics mostly, and this mecca of antiques has been in existence for over 30 years. Alfies is housed in the former Jordan's department store in Church Street, so encompasses four floors with over 100 dealers selling antiques.

Alfies Antique Market, Church Street, Marylebone

One of the treasures I found was up on the third floor, humorously called "Naphthalene Textiles" and run by Carole Collier.

Carole Collier from Naphthalene Textiles

Carole and partner June sell a lot of vintage textiles, laces, haberdashery, jewellery and clothing and as soon as I walked into their shop my eyes spied a lovely 50's dress which just had to come home with me. However, to get to Carole's store on the top floor I had to bypass the most fantastic collections of mid-century furniture and lighting I have ever seen in one place, so it was just unbearable for me not to be able to look seriously with intention to buy. If you have ever been to my studio you know I am a sucker for retro furniture and design.

As I was just about to walk out the front door (although the place is such a rabbit-warren you could get lost in there for hours) I happened to glance to my left and did a quick double-take then a sidestep....I had walked into heaven.....well, if heaven is a shop crammed packed with the most wonderful African textiles, that is. 

Duncan's shop, Adire African Textiles on the first floor has some lovely examples of Ewe kente cloth from Ghana, Asafo flags, indigo stitch resist and dyed cloths, adire and adinkra and much, much more. Again, hard to resist buying anything but I had neither the time to look seriously with intention to add to my collection of African textiles, nor did I have the money to invest after having spent 2 weeks in London on a shoestring! Besides, I haven't yet unpacked or displayed the wonderful Ndop cloth I received from Cameroon recently, but Duncan's shop and website is now on my radar for the future!

Conscious of the time, I tore myself away from Alfies to get to my next destination - the October Gallery in Bloomsbury where a magnificent exhibition of work by El Anatsui had opened the week before. Amazingly I was allowed to take photos of the show, so here are a few to whet your appetite. And I thought I was a bit obsessive about my work....haha!

Now I am finally back in Canberra after the long flight home, and getting back into the swing of things.  Great news that Craft ACT POD has moved to The Hamlet in vibrant Braddon and I'm looking forward to seeing their latest exhibitions that opened last week in my absence.

A final thanks once again to artsACT and the ACT Government for their support of my trip to speak at the Cultural Threads symposium and book launch.

Art and About

One of the wonderful outcomes of attending and speaking at conferences is the meeting of like-minds, the chance to listen to the ideas and stories of others, to see and hear about their arts practice and to put faces to the names you have only managed to read about.

Last week I caught up with several people I met at the Cultural Threads symposium the week before including Dr Lycia Trouton, a conceptual installation artist I first met in Canberra when she exhibited the Linen Memorial at Craft ACT. It was great to re-connect over a meal and get to know one another a little more.
I also managed to have lunch with Dr Sarah Rhodes, a designer, jeweller and consultant who is currently working at the University of London.  Sarah gave a wonderful presentation at the conference and her chapter in the Cultural Threads book explores the question of ownership in contemporary textile imagery in Southern Africa. She is currently working at the University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion, but also has a range of jewellery she has designed selling in TopShop, Whistles and House of Fraser.
On Sunday afternoon I took the bus to Peckham to visit the Studio of another artist in the Cultural Threads book, Francoise Dupre.

Francoise Dupre in her studio with recently finished work

Francoise was looking particularly happy because she had just finished the work she was standing behind.  Her studio is in a large building complex called SPACE studios in Peckham. SPACE is a leading visual arts organisation providing creative workspace, advocacy, support and promotion of innovation.   They run 18 artist studio buildings across 7 London boroughs, supporting 700 artists with studios and another 700 with professional development. And....there is no time limit on the studio lease!! Amazing.

We then went out for a great Indian meal nearby and during our conversation Francoise told me that she had done an arts residency in Darwin several years ago and had visited both Maningrida and the Tiwi Islands as part of her research.

Earlier in the day I took myself on a public art walk down Brick Lane, so to finish this post off I have some eye candy here for you, just a select few of the hundreds of street art to be found up the streets and alleys criss-crossing Brick Lane.

Keeping it Real

Last Wednesday night I attended a panel discussion entitled "Keeping it Real: Craft and Authenticity" at Heal's Tottenham Court Road store as part of its 2015 Modern Craft Market.

Crafts magazine editor, Grant Gibson, chaired a panel of craft and industry experts comprising Chris Eckersley, Zachary Eastwood-Bloom and recent graduate designer Xenia Moseley to explore where the limits of craft reside and to try to determine was precisely is 'real' craft.

Grant Gibson introducing the discussion panel.

There were about 40-50 people at the event and Chris Eckersley shared with us his views on the four categories he thought that craft was currently falling into : Craft as art; Craft as heritage; Craft as hobby and Real Craft. We then heard from Zac about his practice in both the 'real' world of ceramics and the virtual world of 3D printing, and lastly we listened to Xenia speak about her graduate work as a young designer exploring the concept of "journeywoman".  Personally I didn't think the discussion got enough of the audience involved in order to really fire up the debate.  They all seemed to be a pretty polite lot, and looking forward more to drinks and personal discussions afterwards, so for me it was underwhelming. Perhaps just a very large question in a short space of time.

One event that did fire up the imagination was seeing the work of Gareth Pugh at Galleria Melissa in Covent Garden. This was an outstanding 'teaser' at this small underground gallery because there will be a larger exhibition of his work and a talk at the V&A on the 3rd March this year.

Front entrance to Melissa, Gareth Pugh fashion.

It's hard to believe Gareth Pugh has only been designing thee wearable sculptures for only 10 years, building up an impressive list of clientele from Lady Gaga to Kylie Minogue.

Although this was a small exhibition, it was big on talent, attention to detail, dramatic styling and innovative use of materials. Wish I could be here to see the more extensive exhibition.

From Ruskin to Morris

I have to tell you that  I feel like a I am a gerbil madly running on the wheel of London life at the moment...I am doing so much it is difficult to keep the blog updated with all my news.
However, by far the most wonderful day I have had (besides the Cultural Threads Symposium!) was to take the train to Braintree to the Warner Textile Archive.

High Tea and Talk flyer@Warner Textile Archives

I had been sent a link to this talk by my good friend, Barbara Rogers, who happens to be on their mailing list. As soon as I realised it coincided with my trip to the UK I was up for it! Especially as the talk was being given by Mary Schoeser, textile historian, President of the Textile Society and author of numerous tomes on all things textile, including the most recent and very impressive 'Textiles: The Art of Mankind' published in 2012.

I know most of you wish you could have been there too, so I will take you with me now on the journey....

The exterior of the Warner & Sons Textile archives.

Braintree, in North Essex, is about an hour out of London by train and in the early 19th century became  a centre for silk manufacturing when Courtaulds opened a mill there.  This was followed by Warner & Sons who originally set up their silk weaving business in Spitalfields in 1870. By 1895 they moved to Braintree when they took over the weaving business of Daniel Walters & Sons who had gone into liquidation. The whole history is extremely fascinating, but unfortunately not enough space to share it all with you here.

A small information park on the way from the train station gives us a taster of what is to come...

The large metal printed plaques on the walls depicted 19th century woven silk designs in different colourways reflecting the times...black, madder, indigo and weld.

The design reflects the 19th century fascination with scientific exploration of the natural
world and the appropriation of the 'exotic other'.

Now to the best bit...inside the Archives! Unfortunately there is strict policy for no photography, and I couldn't even get a photo of the shop, so you will have to make the trip yourselves one day to fully experience it.  Needless to say, I did remark to one lady that it was like being let loose in a candy shop and not being able to decide what to taste first....never mind the calories!

The Warner Textile Archive booklet

Luckily, Warner's do produce this A4 soft cover catalogue on the history and types of designs and textiles represented in the archives, so I am sure you could order this through their website.

Mary Schoeser delivered a wonderful talk 'From Ruskin to Morris' to a capacity crowd of enthusiasts.  I can't say how many people were there because of course I was right up the front and only had eyes for Mary and the textiles (LOL!) but it is a small showroom, so perhaps about 40-50 people. Mary has an amazing knowledge of not only historical textiles, designers and manufacturers, but also the social and economic conditions of the time.  She transported us on a journey of design with Ruskin, explaining his belief in social equality and design for everyone;  the sustainability of craft and design and his passion for conservation not restoration.  Mary then spoke about AW Pugin and his commitment to gothic design and the quest for the truth to nature by advocating flat representation of pattern (as opposed to trompe l'oile).

Mary is an animated and engaging speaker, never needing to look at notes as she continued our journey though to Owen Jones, obviously someone she has done a lot of research on and has a lot of time for.  He was also interested in social equality and was determined to provide products at different pricepoints, so that the masses could also benefit from good design, not just the elite. Some of his high-end wallpapers were printed with "best-prepared metal" and would cost the equivalent of £2000 for a 12 yard roll, whilst the cheapest were a couple of pence per yard.  Jones is best known for his publication 'The Grammar of Ornament" in which he articulates his Propositions for Design, that Mary knew off by heart (!). 

And finally, she took us through to William Morris and his continuation of the previous design concepts by creating flowing natural elements with secondary patterns in the background. She also spoke about the opening up of the East to the West in the 1860's and how textile and wallpaper designs were inspired from designs bought back from Japan by Christopher Dresser.

Now, if that wan't enough, we all went into the Archive room itself where there are over 100,000 catalogued items!!! We were in the capable hands of Kate Wigley, Archivist at WTA and who has considerable knowledge of the weaving process itself as a practitioner.  I feel this is extremely important because someone who has practiced a craft or process can bring so much more knowledge and is more sympathetic to understanding the collection than just an academic. Kate had pulled out many paper and textile examples from the archive that not only supplemented Mary's talk but enhanced it. We had wonderful discussions in an intimate setting about the use of mordant printing and the natural, synthetic, VAT and mineral dyes used; the types of looms and printing processes used to create both the paper croquis and the finished fabric. My favourite,  favourite items were the small thick, tattered dye books used to record the dye colours used in printing the fabrics, and the order in which the colours need to be printed. My heart leapt when I saw them and I was itching to get my hands on them as Mary picked them up and flicked through them for us.  I have never been so envious of someone in my life!

So I am afraid the rest of the event was a bit of a blur after that, I had already gone to heaven and no amount of scones and cream and chocolate cake was going to top that!

Oh, except I did have some personal conversations with both Mary and Kate afterwards, which were intellectually stimulating and have provided me with ideas for future research.  They were the cherry on top!

Painted Vases, printed textile by Willy Hermann in 1954
(photo taken from the catalogue 'Two centuries of Creativity')

Of course the WTA also houses 20th century designs as well, and most of you who know me and my work know that it is mid-century design where my inspirations and passions lie.  So there is a whole other field of discovery to be done at another time.....

Mary and Kate....be warned...you may not have seen the last of me yet! Ha ha! 

Thank you so much for a truly wonderful day.

Columbia Road

On Sunday I took Sarah Rhode's suggestion for an outing to visit Columbia Road Flower Market, then wander down to Brick Lane and Spitalfields. Although the day was icy and overcast, turning the corner to see the flower market immediately brightened up my day!

Columbia Road Flower market

Columbia Road is a small street but packed with personality - little vintage stores, bespoke jewellery, coffee shops and bric-a-brac. Wandering along I found this cute shop....only to discover it was Jessie Chorley's!

Jessie Chorley shop, Columbia Road

I have been reading about Jessie for some time now, through Selvedge and other magazines and articles and was entranced by all the wonderful things she has made for sale. I started to talk to the woman behind the desk, and wouldn't you know, it was Jessie herself!

The wonderfully creative Jessie Chorley

We had a great chat and I immediately donned my Cultural Ambassador hat and asked her whether she had ever thought about coming to Australia to teach workshops???  Lets keep our fingers crossed.

After such an unexpected delight in my day, what better to top it off than a walk down memory lane (for me and my previous life in London) by coming across this stall selling traditional Portugese tarts.

The best Portugese Tarts this year.

My friend, Barbara Rogers, myself and my husband have a long running tradition of finding the best egg custard tarts anywhere in the world.  I believe these rate 11/10.  The pastry was incredibly crisp and flaky, the custard was thicker than usual (but, to be honest, not warm which is of course one of the important points to be awarded) however considering it was probably only 3 or 4 degrees at this outside stall, they can be forgiven.  Besides, not only did I buy one, but turned abruptly around as soon as I had finished devouring it to buy another.  I did not succumb to the "5 for 5 pounds" deal...that would be overkill, and no amount of quick walking that day would ever compensate for it!