Yesterday,I spent most of the day indigo dyeing – some for bluer blues, and some to overdye various yellows for some greener greens than I could get using a copper mordant. I do love the seafoam green that copper produces but I’m aiming for a more natural green. Fresh out of the pot, it’s oxidized in the air.
It’ll take another overdye of yellow. I used turmeric, weld and orange osage and all are varied strengths, so it’s hard to tell what you’re getting with the indigo because it ‘s green until it oxidizes and then shifts to blue and it’s darker when it’s wet. So, you have to dye indigo incrementally in order to not overdye it.
Well, it’s a potpourri of blues at this point and I’ve run out of time as well as silk -these are mostly cotton – so I’m sure that on another day at another time will my efforts will prove to be more consistent and perhaps yield the colors I’m after.
After a late afternoon shift at The Gallery I’ll do more packing for 5 days in Gloucester at a workshop with Jane Davies – a shift from textiles to monoprinting on paper will be a nice break. At some point in the future, I’m sure that what I learn will find its way into the realm of textiles.
Turtlemoon Impressions 