make you blue

-Japanese textile remnant recently purchased at an ethnic textile baazar
-Detail of my much loved Chinese bark cloth jacket found at a thrift shop
-Indigo seeds I will be planting in mid February

More indigo.  I meant to post this a couple weeks ago after a lecture I attended with indigo artist and teacher Rowland Ricketts.   The event was hosted by the Fibershed community and coincided with the building of the first Japanese indigo composting floor here on the west coast.  Rowland, who guided the building of the floor, gave a slide presentation of his apprenticeship in Japan where he learned the ancient process of turning newly harvested indigo leaves into sukomo, the end product for color dyeing.  The talk was fascinating and I feel like I learned so much.  I never realized what it took, how detailed, and how back breaking the process was.  And beside the hard work, the slide show reconfirmed my opinion of how beautifully the Japanese craftspeople do things.  I admire the careful skill in every step.  Mindful, thoughtful, meticulous.

-Rowland Ricketts website
-a photo of the composting indigo pile
-Fibershed videos, philosophy and projects
-The Fibershed marketplace, and where you can purchase indigo seeds

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To everyone who left camera suggestions - thank you!   Now I need to process the info and make a decision.  Can't wait to play with an upgraded camera soon...  xo