dye
one week ago i took my L. and one of her best friends to an afternoon workshop taking place
here and organized by the
yves rocher
gardens to learn more about how to dye with plants. the conversation
with the instructor explored many options, plants, colors, but the
practical exercice was about three primary colors, two of them being
known for their spectacular red (
common madder) and blue (
indigo).
although like in most process there are a few rules to observe, a big part is left to discovery and creativity. it is very interesting to find out what colors will come out -- to make it very short, this may vary according to the material you want to dye (cotton, wool, silk, linen etc...) and the
mordant you have used.
as blue is one of my favorite color, the indigo tie & dye stole my heart ! indigo is seen as a wonderful deep blue-green just as it comes out of the dye bath and goes bluer as it is drying.
the two teenaged girls who were with me got completely hooked -- the one i brought home had her neck indigo-stained like a tuareg girl -- and the conversation in the car was all about when we would dye at home & what plant we would use ! we may invite the friend we met by (happy) accident there (hello Diane !) too and last weekend my girl picked a whole basket of chesnut leaves hoping to dye again this autumn... who said teens need FB & electronics or they get bored ?!
