29 November 2017

Indigo Sutra Conference

More images from the Indigo Sutra Conference in Calcutta/Kolkata West Bengal
This tiny moth joined our dyeing workshop
Indigo Textiles from Africa in the exhibition
Exhibition, Indigo Sutra

Extremely fine bandhej tie dye work
Exhibition, Indigo Sutra

A traditional gown from Yemen, in deep, polished indigo cotton.
Exhibition, Indigo Sutra
Installation rooms of indigo dyed fabrics
Exhibition, Indigo Sutra
Indigo botanical specimen collected over 200 years ago.
The Indian Botanical Garden, Herbarium section.
Exhibition, Indigo Sutra
Indigo botanical painting made over 200 years ago.
The Indian Botanical Garden, Herbarium section.


I

28 November 2017

Indigo Sutra Conference

Back in India!

I am back in Jaipur, working on new block print designs.

In November, I attended a conference on INDIGO in Calcutta. It was organized by Sutra
http://www.sutratextilestudies.com
What a wonderful Indigo Tribal Clan meeting! There were speakers, specialists and textile artisans from all over the world. There was also a terrific Indigo Exhibition, curated by Simon Marks.
Hands-on workshops, and a gathering of pan-Indian natural dye textile producers running a bustling shopping bazaar. The fabrics were beyond amazing.
I bought many one-of-a-kind handmade scarves to bring back for Spring 2018 Sister Bazaar, the finest handmade blues anywhere. More on the new stock later..
I want to share some pictures from the Indigo Sutra event.
Before the conference, I went on a three-day excursion around a region of Bengal that specializes in hand weaving and dyeing.
Self, overjoyed to be immersed in blue on the Indigo Trail
An indigo vat must be carefully tended every day
A block of natural botanic source indigo



















First dipped yarn. Indigo colour is best dipped 2 to 9 times to achieve a deep blue dye

Yarn after more dips. 
Blue Gold.
Fragments of 200 year old indigo cake. It had the luminosity of sapphire!