When I discovered that Floridian Kathy Hays, an expert in all things related to contact (or eco) printing, was going to be in my NC area, I jumped on the chance to have a one-on-one workshop with her. I could not make her 3 day workshop in Florida so she put together a jam packed session! We started early at my studio stirring the vat like a witches brew!
The day was perfect for working outdoors! I had previously washed all the silk to be used as that was my main focus. But indigo works beautifully on all fabrics. The photos below will take you through the basics of our process 🙂
Kathy Hays stirring the Indigo vat
Testing the color of the indigo vat
Perhaps the most amazing thing to observe is the Green of the initial Indigo turn to blue as it is exposed to the air-oxygen. I think that if we find it magical today, think how the ancients must have felt watching it turn from green to blue in front of their eyes!
Indigo exposed to Oxygen
There is no doubt we were having fun!
Checking the results
During and after the workshop I continued to work with my silk, enjoying that feel of working outdoors, creating something beautiful and improving my skills in yet another area of my new favorite medium! Seems my printmaking skills from college have come in handy after all!
Enjoy the collage of a few of the results! Up close and personal: see my site!
Four silk scarves, eco printed and indigo dyed.
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