arlee

coming to terms with the artisan self

Posted on February 25, 2019June 16, 2020 by arlee

I’ve come to the logical conclusion this past week, that i am an artisan type artist now. I say “now” because it’s taken me this long to recognize that all the damn drama i put in and the fighting i’ve done with myself on so many occasions, has been a millstone around my neck. I’m not about to give up the “serious” work, but i know now i will never be considered on a larger scale as “a prophet in my own land”, or anywhere else for that matter. “My land” is still within the scope of textiles, but i won’t ever be a Judy Martin, Penny Berens, or any of a multitude of other Canadian artists who get the gallery shows, the invitations, the international acclaim. I had my spate of “popularity”, exposure, recognition a few years back, in international magazines and on several well-respected online sites, but the days are done.

Please know this is NOT sour grapes.I don’t envy, am not jealous of these artists: i respect and admire them. They have integrity, skill, talent, vision, fortitude and knowledge. In fact, i am in awe of them, love them.

I enjoyed/enjoy (even with the usual accompanying angst that each piece extracts from me 🙂 ), the making of the more reflective pieces, am very proud of them, stand 100% behind them, but in the long run, these do not support me, do not go anywhere, with a very few exceptions, but a wall in my own home. I’ll still create them (Samara, i hear you calling again), but truthfully, it’s the more “crafted” pieces that are going out to the world.

That actually makes me happier. Yes, there’s coin, and who doesn’t like that aspect, but knowing that someone appreciates enough what i have made, to put up their own hard-earned cash, to enjoy the package they open, to take pride of ownership in the purchase, is, THAT is the true validation of what i’m doing. Paying entry fees, shipping costs, filling out paperwork, and rarely if ever being able to attend a show that accepted the work, not so much! Only one of these shows have ever put money in my pocket (and i thank that organizer/buyer/artist from the bottom of my wizened little heart, you know who you are, Darlin’). We all know that “exposure” thing really doesn’t mean much for too many artists…..

Artists can die of exposure……………………

I don’t suffer when i am making the smaller pieces, the stuff that goes in the shop. I don’t have to, shouldn’t have to act like the proverbial starving artist living in a garret. I won’t be shamed or ashamed for not making big political/subversive/feminist trope/anything trope/mindful/revolutionary/label label label Art anymore. I LIKE WHAT I’M DOING NOW. It gets me out of bed in the morning, it helps me sleep at night, it keeps the Black Dog from howling (though he may still growl in unguarded moments). I won’t be an apologist anymore for my Self. BUT, the next person whether in cybrespace or in real who gets all dismissive and condescending to me, gets a mighty slap on the self righteous ass. Make your own damn sandwich then 🙂

So. To that end, i have new plans, though i am smart enough to know that not all always goes according to plan. I need to actually go to the local galleries, participate in the local shows (yeah, still gotta do some, whether artisan market or solo), talk myself up locally. Online has been a great experience, and i will continue there, but i need a more reachable plateau. After all, this is real life.

My tasks this week then are to find those galleries, put some “propaganda” together, figure out tags, prices, presentation and then apply, submit, show.

Oh yeah, and do the artisan thing and make!

a collusion of ideas, Jam Day, Natural Dyes, Naturally dyed threads

no such thing as imperfect

Posted on February 22, 2019June 16, 2020 by arlee

It’s like gardening. You have to think of what will come up from fertile ground. The roots don’t show at all, there’s no movement of leaves, no budding of branches where birds rest, no twining of tendril or bloom tipping to sun. What colours will stay true, which will devolve/evolve/resolve to basic rainbow?

“And don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter.

It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.”

-Rumi

No more tears or tears.

a collusion of ideas, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, journal: lessons to learn

tears and tears, accepting the imperfect

Posted on February 22, 2019June 16, 2020 by arlee

Well, i admit i have never been able to sew or draw a perfectly straight line, but HOW THE HECK DO PEOPLE DO THIS ALL THE TIME????????

I will NEVER be a “Modern Quilter”.

This one sort of worked, except i didn’t cut enough pieces:

This was the plan:

(Never mind the lettering: i forgot the yellow on the first attempt, and then forgot the red on the second……..) Looks easy. Except when you are seaming. I kept flipping edges to see what it would look like. HA. i didn’t flip correctly on some. Then i just hit a point where i started stitching edges together.

There were angry tears. There were tears (rips 🙂 ) when i pulled on seams to undo. I re-sewed three times. I ended up with an obvious rip, crooked lines, imperfect point matching and the pieces going the wrong way. I cut either too many pieces, or not enough. I blame the template i used 🙂 I swear the marks for the cutting line were off *just* enough on two edges to **** up cutting and seaming. Maybe my blood sugar was low. Maybe i needed another coffee. Perhaps i have too much on my mind. And yes, i used a god-damn blue thread to stitch with because i don’t give a rat’s ass about matching.

Does this even REMOTELY look like the plan??????

Go ahead. Laugh. I can hear you from here.

**** it. I’m not taking it apart again to re-seam it. In fact, i just sewed the *almost” perfect red sample to the left edge of the above.

To hell with the pursuit of perfection. Let’s embrace the organic, the mistakes, the imperfect, the woogles and borgles and blips. Considering i’ve taken mistakes before and made something i’m proud of, i’m just going to let it be what it wants to be. Just wait and see: it WILL be if not “beautiful” when done, it will be defiantly/definitely my work.

Please also refrain from telling me how to do it correctly 🙂

PING!

"OPINIONATION", Book reviews, mordants and modifiers, natural dye research, Natural Dyes

my drawers will never be empty (book review):The Art and Science of Natural Dyes

Posted on February 8, 2019June 16, 2020 by arlee

JUST when i had got all my dye stuff and tools and pots back down to the Dye Dungeon, this arrived in the mail 🙂 I pre-ordered this last July, the moment i heard it was finished, and have been anxiously waiting for it. I pretty much snatched it out of the postman’s hands!

The Art and Science of Natural Dyes: Principles, Experiments and Results – Catherine Ellis and Joy Boutrup

I’ve already had 3 “AHA” moments, and i’m only half way through. It’s not a book you read once and then sporadically refer to, so fortunately, it’s also spiral bound so it stays open to the page you want. (Terrific, now i have to dig my book/magazine holder back out of the “donate” box….)

It’s not so sciencey that it can’t be understood, but it’s also not a skim it and do it manual. It covers the “classic” dyes, none of the usual beets, beans and berries nonsense, so don’t bother if you’re interested only in sauteing up some food waste, throwing in a cute baby onesie and staging artful photos for IG. If you’re serious about natural dyeing, and i don’t mean Total Scientist Mode but are a dedicated hobbyist/artist/small business owner, this is the book to explain WHY things work/don’t/happen. I still recommend Jenny Dean for basic, accurate dye recipes and processes, but this one will give you insights into the many variations that can and are encouraged to happen with skillful, knowledgeable hands.

There’s a small section on testing the dye potential of local foraged plants, minimal though helpful, but not the focus of the book. That being said, those tests could lead to work with those plants, following the advice for the classics. It’s all grist for the colour mill!

I’m not about to dissect any “recipe” in this reference manual: A. buy the book, i don’t like spreading out the photos of pages i find interesting, as i’d rather you support the authors, and their research and B. the recipes are classic anyways, BUT with much new information that can be digested fully with the book in front of you 🙂

There’s a LOT of excitement about this book in the natural dye groups, and rightly so: it also supports all the things i, and others, have said about what constitutes solid, legitimate dyes and the techniques used to create these wondrous rainbows. I have to laugh though in one sense, because i just know that the new catchphrase is going to be “Welllll, Boutrup Ellis says……..” This book should be MANDATORY reading for anyone who goes near a natural dye pot.

It’s not a cheap book, but then it’s not a cheap book, like so many of the Popular girls are publishing right now. I’m about to settle in with another cup of coffee and a pack of stickit thingies to mark pages, and do a little dreaming and planning.

Edit: After 1000’s of hits to this blog post, it occurred to me that there really should be a link here to the book! Beware though–already some are claiming it in their “used but good condition” racks at two and three times the price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: Feb 9/18WHOA! “#1 best seller” in dyes at Amazon, sold out of a lot of places, and the bloodsuckers have moved in with their jacked up prices because they bought several copies deliberately to re-sell. Good for the authors, not so much for the buyers!

"OPINIONATION", natural dye research, Natural Dyes

transparency in natural dyeing

Posted on February 7, 2019August 4, 2021 by arlee

#Plantdyes. #Naturaldyes. #Botanicaldyes. #Vegetabledyes (????????????????????)

These hashtags drive me up the wall. Use them, sure, but QUALIFY them.

Natural dyes patchies, work in progress. You may have noticed that when I post, I hashtag (edit:or ID) ALL of the dyes i use: when people say “plant dyes”, it doesn’t always mean it’s light or wash fast; in fact it could be fugitive. I pride myself on doing these colours and the subsequent art work made from them correctly, from the start. I make sure my efforts are going to last! The “Beets, Beans and Berries Brigade” can go suck on a turnip 😜 #naturaldyes #plantdyes #cochineal #sandalwood #indigo #logwood #osage #madder #quebrachorojo #naturaldyersofinstagram #yycartist #calgaryarts

I’ve asked people what “natural dye” they used. They don’t answer. I’ve asked to see their lightfast tests. They don’t answer. Or they do answer, huffy because “it’s not going to be washed anyways”. I’ve asked what mordant they’ve used. “What’s a mordant?” or “Vinegar.” Sigh………… I ask precisely because i DO want to know–there are dyes out there that are not Old World, European, Asian, that we know nothing or little about at present. Maybe i could learn something new, but not with these attitudes.

Raspberries, grapes, beets, strawberries, black beans, mint, spinach, daylilies, passionfruit, cherries, rose petals, hibiscus and hollyhock blooms: when we start out, we try these. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s colourful, pretty, sweet. BUT THEY ARE NOT DYES. I admit it, i used 2 of these things, but only because they were in a book by a dyer i trust. (That dyer has subsequently revised her opinion on them as NOT true dyes. And i threw in the compost the blooms i’d saved.)

I strongly believe that natural dyeing has become such a burgeoning industry, that anyone who has ever seen beet juice stain a tablecloth, suddenly is a natural dyer, writes a book, and sells the product to increasing numbers of gaga followers. Hell, *i* could write a book, and it would be accurate, but since there are already more than enough GOOD, WELL RESEARCHED, RESPECTED authors and books out there, i wouldn’t presume. I don’t have all the answers (yet 🙂 ), but someday i will (have all the answers, not write a book), because i DO the research: i don’t trust anyone who doesn’t address or demonstrate anything about lightfastness, i don’t trust “seasonal colours” when half of them are not real dyes, i don’t trust just because something makes a wonderful ink means it also dyes cloth or threads, i don’t trust anyone who won’t be clear about what they are doing if they are selling it, i will never trust someone who advocates the use of kitchen waste without discerning and explaining the difference between a stain and a dye. I’ve *seen* the beet juice dyed yarn on Etsy, the packages of coloured fabrics on Instagram that have no identifiers. How do i know they are “plant dyes” , not food colouring, or watered paint, or procion, ’cause i ain’t never seen THAT green or deep fuschia from plant materials???? Yeah yeah, i know about mordants and modifiers, but some of the colours i’ve seen do not occur in natural dyestuffs! I just wish more buyers too would call out the frauds, identify problems plainly, and stop the “oh but it’s pretty anyways” crap.

No one wants to bake or buy a cake that looks gorgeous, but is really just icing bewitchingly swirled onto a cardboard base……………

I think what i’m asking for is honesty here. If you take pride in your work, and you know that you know what you are doing, share that. Don’t make people guess, don’t defraud them, don’t lie, cheat, obfuscate. If you write a book, aren’t you supposed to be sharing the real true information, or are you just promoting your own agenda with the artfully staged photos, the vague instructions, the “projects” that take up half the book? Holding the information close to your chest is selfish; if you’re doing it wrong, you will be found out i guess, if you’re doing it right, well, so can someone else. And yeah people copy, of course they copy but with natural dyeing, there are so many factors, that their projects are not going to be copies of your projects no matter how hard they try. If you’re hiding that information so you can sell your books, or your fabrics, and you’ve done it wrong, you will be found out, and there goes not only your bank account, but your reputation and the reputation of natural dyers WHO DO IT RIGHT.

I have been asked for instance, “how did you get that colour from madder?” I’ve answered, “by using it correctly, as per a madder recipe”. I can’t be more specific because there are water, mordant, modifier, fibre type, age of dye stuff, original source of dye stuff, length of time, temperature and Magical Fairy Moon Breathless Goddess factors–and that last one is no artsy fartsy obfuscation, because sometimes there is such a confluence of events to create a colour, that it HAS to be magic. Even this pragmatic skeptic has to admit this.

Don’t skimp on the research yourself, personally. Don’t take at face value one blog post that has a colour you like. Don’t EVER take at face value the most popular as the final word on a subject. (Popularity has nothing to do with actual knowledge.) Compare notes with each source, find the original source. Was it all done correctly from the start? Scouring, mordanting, actual dye material, possible post mordanting and/or modifying, light fast and wash fast tests? (These last two are my biggest peeves–i RARELY see any indication these have been done.)

Ah, i could go on and on.

Maybe most people are more interested in popularity and money, than pride of place, of ethics and honesty, of quality work/art. I’d like to sell more too, because i sure as hell get frustrated when i see those big numbers of sales on stuff that just isn’t made correctly, done poorly, weak. There’s no “sustainability, eco-consciousness, mindfulness” to any of it. I have however found natural dyers who give a damn, who share the info, who are constantly learning, who are nice or snarky (because they too are frustrated) and know their stuff, who will troubleshoot with you. Those are the ones who have the art of transparency in spades (to mix a metaphor).

As usual, i’m probably just pissing into the wind.

I wrote about this before too, in less polite terms 🙂

Jam Day, Natural Dyes

Imbolc blessings

Posted on February 1, 2019June 16, 2020 by arlee

Spring *will* come. Really!

"OPINIONATION"

art vs craft, disappointed but not even any discussion

Posted on January 21, 2019March 4, 2022 by arlee

EDIT January 22: I’m going to add the response i gave to the owner admin of the group, at the end of this post. I don’t want to dwell on this anymore, have resolved it as much as i am comfortable with, and will go back to my Art and Craft. 🙂

I posted this photo on a very popular FB group, and had wonderful responses and reactions. Every time someone shared it, i would get an email notification: i do check, i am curious who likes, what possible demographic i’m hitting, what people think. Today i clicked on a one of those notices and got the ol’ “the person who shared this blahblah/the post is no longer blahblah” The entire post/photo had been deleted.

WTF? This is the second time something i’ve shared to the group has been treated this way, even after wonderful reactions, shares and comments.

These above were deleted as well, BUT currently in the group is a post from awhile ago by a Well Known Teacher: small pouches, dare i say without sounding sourgrapey, not nearly as “artistic”, engaging or original as mine. I guess i should have called the boxes “Reliquaries”, the pouches “Alembics”, snotty enough right? Boxes and pouches are just so plebeian, doncha know…………

How come these are art then?

OH i know, it’s the EASELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But it’s the same fucking technique, materials, skills and time.

Now i DO understand that this group’s mandate is Textile ART. They don’t want dollies, doilies, bags, socks, placemats–unless of course, the artist has worked in a political or socio-economic “statement”…….. HOWEVER, a fair bit of the work posted there is from people who are just jumping in without a clue about either the/any technique or the/any aspect of design. There are also some INCREDIBLY talented artists who share. I am not THE “Best”, but i’m not competing, nor is that my intent, by sharing, and i’m certainly not by a long long long shot, the Worst.

So, then i posted this:

Thank you all, those who shared my little vessels (boxes), hand dyed with natural dyes, hand embroidered with naturally dyed threads, with designs of my own. There’s a definite science and ART to using natural dyes, but apparently, it isn’t good enough for certain groups, even with over a hundred likes etc and many shares, because it isn’t “Art”, it’s “only Craft”. My post was deleted, the second time this has happened to me with my work in this group.

Craft is an art as well–we buy from, support, hold in esteem many craftsmen/women as well as artists–and where is the dividing line anyways? Is it craft because it’s useful, is it art only if it sits on a table or hangs on a wall?

I’m really disappointed, and hurt by this. I spend a lot of time and skill on not only dyeing my own fabrics and threads with historically accurate methods, but working out the designs, the mechanics and the presentation. I had hoped this group would not only be more receptive, but more supportive and encouraging.

I have my Big Girl Pants on, but they’re pretty knotted up right now. (I’m even ready for them to delete the post.)

WOW, it took only 2 seconds to be deleted. I didn’t even get a screenshot.

Why is tapestry an art? A quilt? A cross stitched porn picture? If they were made in the shape of something that could be functional, are they now “only” Craft? Whoa. Roll that tapestry into a cube and slap a lid on it, and now because it’s a box, it’s craft, not art? Why is embroidery an art if it’s hanging on a wall, or on a body, but if it can be Used for Something, it’s craft? The piss off is that if i had posted a hairy string laden “vessel” embroidered with fetishes and twats, it would have been “Art”– but because it could be “Used for something”, as opposed to just sitting on a shelf and being admired, it isn’t…….OMG THEY HAVE LIDS, THAT MUST BE THE PROBLEM..🤣.

I *do* have an “ulterior motive” by showing in these groups–i run a small business. It’s exposure. I need/want people to know what i do, where they can find it, what’s new with me. At least half of members in any of these groups are there for the same reason. It’s not cheap, it’s not wrong, it’s networking, advertising, sharing, educating, encouraging. Putting your eggs in one basket these days just ain’t gonna cut the mustard.

I was also asked if i could get over “how many years hurt by rejection” i was going to take –well-meaning or not, from a respected friend, that kind of hurt too, and i say: EVERY. FUCKING. YEAR. I am allowed to feel this way. This is part of my living, a lot of my reason for living, my joy in living. If you can roll that off your back, lucky you. Either that, or you’re lying to yourself……. If my kids are rejected, it does hurt. Even when the kids are gone/old.

You know what too? We don’t “art” something, we CRAFT it. Huh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My addendum the day after i wrote this post:

Thank you all for the responses *you* “CRAFTED”. Obviously i know now that there is both too large *and* too small a line between the two viewpoints. I wasn’t looking for sympathy, but rather a discussion, or at least some thoughtful responses on the difference, if there IS any, between Art and Craft.

I heard back from the owner/admin of the group, and it was a kind, thoughtful response BUT, while i respect the rules of the group, (and yes, i agree the text post was a no no) i can’t really tell if there’s too large or too small a divider between art and craft in the group! I don’t know if it’s happened to others, but this really brought home the disdain brought to the table by some. (Speaking of whomever it was that deleted the posts originally.)

I have used the same materials, skills, techniques, time and originality to create these. Is the lower set “art” because of the presentation for wall or easel, and the upper set “craft” because it is functional? Technically, they are the same, but presented differently in the final “use”.

If i take a tapestry, considered art, fold it into a cube with a lid, and climb in, is it not now craft because it’s able to hold something? Form follows function? If i had pretentiously called the small forms/boxes “Reliquaries” and the pouches “Alembics”, would they then be art? So, under the parameters of the group then, ANYTHING that can be used as a functional item is not Art. And yet i see other posts with felted or machine stitched forms that are obviously BOTH art and craft.

Apparently then, it’s rather arbitrary, depending on which other admin gets there first.

I *did* thank her for the kind words, and the thoughtful response. I won’t leave the group, as that would be “cutting off my own nose to spite my face”, but i will be making very considered choices about what i share. (I will also not name the group, as that would not be fair to the artists there, or this particular Admin.)

There’s a lot of crap posted in the group, but there’s also a heck of a lot of incredibly talented artists as well. Dare i say, even some incredibly talented *craftspeople*?

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile

boxed in

Posted on January 21, 2019March 4, 2022 by arlee

Boxing day, don’t box me in, a box of tricks, opening Pandora’s box, thinking outside the box–i got a million of ’em….sss sss boom bah.

And wow, 10 days since i posted last–not like the old times when there’d be 4 excited ecstatic posts a day 🙂 I’m still purging the house (so there are a lot of boxes to be got rid of now..), have been sick with a lung infection, and of course, the usual January Black Dog pounce. However, i’m also starting this year with a few “self directed workshops”: in other words, learning to use scissors and paste again 😄 (It’s all in how you hold your mouth, remember? 🙂 ) Sometimes we get so locked into one approach, that we forget there are other paths to a familiar place, and that some new paths will lead to new destinations.

Grabbed an idea:

I remember making a ton of little boxes at one point, but can’t remember if it was before my college days, or during, though i suspect it was during, as i had no previous access to a community that was immersed in textiles. (And we certainly didn’t have universal internet access in the early 90’s!) I haven’t photos of those boxes either, though i know i had at least 3 in the bathroom for my lipsticks 🙂 (Being a single Mom then also meant that a dollar spent on a new shade of “wet n wild” was a real, affordable, no guilt attached treat.) (I own ONE lipstick now.)

I enjoyed playing with colour on the left side one—-this really shows how vivid natural dyes can be, when done correctly. These two are prototypes, with boo-boo’s, so they’re mine. I’m hoping to list a few in the shop by the week’s end–possibly Sunday. They may be small, but they’re intense, and the construction is a bit fiddly.

For/because of the self directed workshops, and the colour explosions, i’ve also got the paints out again. Maybe i’ll show you some of that the next time i post. I have more ideas than you can poke a snake at!

journal: lessons to learn

on the other side now

Posted on January 3, 2019June 16, 2020 by arlee

Feels the same, looks the same. (Except for the GI infection i had on New Year’s day and yesterday, mild fortunately!)

It’s also the time of year when i get Butterfly Brain, that state when every idea is good, gets sampled, but doesn’t always go anywhere! You know: “Really have to use more of the beads, wait there’s a lace piece i thought i los– what issue/book was thattechnique inbut look at this velv==, i found a great old sample of manipula—, there’s cotton in here, i know i had some gnatshairsilk why did i buy this where’s the”…………………………………….

Settle down. Add some Method to the Madness.

1. I remembered i have a backlog of Threads issues to dig through. I haven’t bought the magazine in years as it switched to mostly “how to knock off/create couture wear”, but when it was first around, i bought every issue, and was quite bereft when i couldn’t find it: it had a lot of great articles on manipulation, hand techniques, zero waste fashion, historical use and contemporary adaptations, and cutting edge things we now take for granted! I have a backpack i made from one of their pages, that has served well for 24 years (and is still in use!), i learned about “compost dyeing” in 1995, i used a ton of their tips when i had my wearable art business (shoulder pads anyone, hand inserted zippers, princess seams?). And i still have all the index pages for issues 39-104 issues so i can find things 🙂 I did however have to dig up everything near the bookcase, so i could get TO the magazines……. I’ll be doing a couple of posts about the gleaning of these, as i go through them. (You can access their archives of this magazine, to date 188 issues, but it costs 80bucks for the first year.) Then i’ll be donating all of the issues i have to some worthy “cause”.

2. What happened to the Summer of Madder Study? It was very productive, but in November i thought about the end “goal”, the creation of a garment made entirely of hand stitched and embroidered, naturally dyed cloth (predominantly madder, obviously)–which i would not wear, due to my “lifestyle”. Some of those pieces ended up as moons, others will be incorporated into other work, and i have a lovely stash of madder cloth to work with, so it was a good summer in that respect!

3. I MUST get back to Samara. I know i’m headed in the right direction with her, though at this point she has been hanging around the studio, yelling at me.

4. My studio is in a constant state of disruption and chaos. I don’t foresee or want a picture perfect workspace (those books/magazines where obviously more time is spent prettifying the space than working in it…), but i do want territory where i can find things, store things, put things away easily and neatly, and MAKE “things”. It might be a time for a major overhaul/reno. Not the kind that costs money or prettifyin’ time, but honest appraisal of what i do and don’t need/use/want/make.

5. None of these are Resolutions. I do spend that week of limbo, the time from Dec 26 to January 1st, thinking about what i have done, or not done, usually because all of the important projects have ended by the 25th, but i know none of these are silver bullets, cure-alls, or Magickal Thinking that because it’s a new year, all will be well. I expect the constant struggle i am, regardless of the exterior appearance. 🙂

6. Que sera, sera.

embrilting, journal: lessons to learn, Moons, Natural Dyes

a year of dyeing moons

Posted on December 26, 2018June 16, 2020 by arlee

All natural dyes, cloth and threads 🙂 (Exception, first two moons top left.)

I think it was 2015 when i bemoaned that i would never have a good assortment of naturally dyed deep rich colours in my threads. HA. Though i had been using natural dyes for a while, something wasn’t working. I kept trying though, sometimes having success, sometimes horrendous fails. What was wrong? So, i diligently re-read the books, taking notes in minutiae, going through each step consciously, and WOWZERS, suddenly things worked. When in doubt, “read the instruction manual”! BUT, read the whole thing, read it in order, don’t just jump to the recipes. I highly recommend any of Jenny Dean’s books, Maiwa’s instructions, J. Liles, Domonique Cardon and the like.

I learned about scouring: just because something is white/new doesn’t mean it’s clean. Most fibres have dirt, dust, wax, pectin, chemicals, oils and who knows what from the initial gathering and processing, the manufacturing whether cloth or thread, the handling, transportation, storage and packaging. (Even PFD fabrics can be suspect.) I was shocked to see the colour of the water from the freshly bought, new, tightly packaged white thread, and how much particulate was in it after a good thrashing with soda ash and soap in boiling (or almost boiling, depending on the fibre type) water! Brown! Yellow!! Pink!!?????

I learned about mordanting, proper mordanting. According to fibre type, according to what was actually a mordant (NO vinegar, salt, soy products), according to correct WOF use, according to historical use and extant samples. (I chortle now when i see the so-called “vivid” colours on soy mordanted fabrics…………the uptake is uneven on most fibres, gives predominantly pale to medium shades and i wonder about the lightfastnessness, especially since no one seems to show actual tests!)

I learned about WOF, the correct amount of dye in ratio to the weight of the fibre being dyed. Dumping a tablespoon of dye and seeing a dark colour in the pot doesn’t mean that’s what you’re going to get on the fibre. And there was clear information being offered about the correct WOF for each type of dye, as they are not all the same.

I learned what an actual natural dye is. The hollyhock blooms, the hibiscus all went into the compost heap, the avocados kept as a tannin only. Lovely colours, but fugitive, no matter how mordanted. Not wasting my efforts, resources, time. (Yes, there are still natural dyes that aren’t as light or wash fast, but most can be coaxed with proper mordanting and/or post modifying.)

I learned about the effects of different mordants and pre or post modifying, about combining dyes and/or overdyeing, giving me an even more extensive array of colours and shades.

I learned about light and wash fastness. Oh boy, did i learn. The compost bin has thanked me on a few occasions.

The biggest thing i realized was TIME. With the exception of indigo, nothing comes out of my pots until it’s been in at least 8 hours, and often a day or two. It’s not instant gratification, nor a case of sitting and watching the pot boil, bemoaning “wasted” hours 🙂 Like making homemade bread, most of the work is already done, and “waiting” can be either relaxing or productively spent elsewhere!

All of this has taught me patience this year, and while it’s still not a Perfect State for me, i’m getting there. I can turn away from the aggravating, the frustrating, those who “persist in their own stupidity” (as my Dear Mother says), and the willfully ignorant.

Mostly. I’m only human after all. Just trying to get better at it.