Red Thread Studio

A Little Bit About ISEND and Natural Dyes

I had a notion that I'd post every day from the ISEND conference, but the combination of jet lag and sometimes limited internet connectivity--along with, well, being in France and wanting to be out on the lovely streets and in the cafes--spelled failure for that. So I'm sitting here today ready to write, but realizing that I left all my conference materials at my office yesterday, and that I should probably write my posts for the Textile Society of America, which gave me a grant to attend the conference, the Surface Design Association blog, and a couple of other promised pieces before I post too many details or photographs here. So for now, I'll just say a little.

It was a wonderful conference, and it was so cool that a few people recognized me as the "Slow Cloth lady." I met some textilian friends who were inspiring and delightful, including:

Alison Yule

Jane Deane

Maggie Tchir

Aviva Leigh

Nicole Rode, a textile conservator from the British Museum

Sasha Duerr of Permacouture, whom I'd corresponded with but never met;

...and more.

In brief, the natural dye community is an impressive global group of people who are searching for the next steps to keep natural dyeing alive, to find new ways to work with dye plants, share information, and keep natural dyeing viable as art, craft, and industry. Many are working with indigenous communities; others are working as solo artists and entrepreneurs; still others are focused on the science and chemistry of dye plants. While anything like a formalized global trade organization is still to come, there is so much passion, interest, and creativity in dye plants, whether for textiles, food, or cosmetics, that I have no doubt that almost anything is possible.

There are existing models, full of both successes and challenges, where things that once seemed anachronistic have been transformed into a contemporary movement and even to mainstream acceptance; the organic foods movement comes to mind. So it'll be fascinating to see where this can go, as long as the many diverse constituents can aim for consensus and sustainable growth.

More on ISEND to come.

Dye plants and fabrics above are from the exhibition stand of Coleurs de Plantes, a company in France that's developing and standardizing natural dyes for industry.

After leaving La Rochelle, I had two glorious days in Paris. If you'd like to see some of my pictures, they're on my Flickr page. I'll write more about Paris shortly.

 

Slow Cloth Article in The Wheel

You can never hold back spring
You can be sure that I will never stop believing
The blushing rose will climb
Spring ahead or fall behind
Winter dreams the same dream
Every time

You can never hold back spring
Even though you've lost your way
The world keeps dreaming of spring

Remember everything that spring can bring
You can never hold back spring 

-- You Can Never Hold Back Spring • Tom Waits

Here is a link for a PDF of my Slow Cloth article that was published last year in The Wheel, the lovely magazine of Ashford Wheels and Looms in New Zealand:

Download AshfrdWheelSlowCloth.pdf (780.5K)

In other news, I'm getting ready to go to ISEND and then a few days in Paris next week and trying to keep up with deadlines for five books at work, and if everything gets done in time it'll be pretty amazing. But spring is lovely--at the moment--and thanks to some very thoughtful friends I've had an embarrassment of beautiful flowers in the past few weeks:

  The painting in the photograph is by my talented friend Betsy Gill.

 


More soon...enjoy spring until then.

Quick Update: ISEND and More

Dear blog friends, I miss you--I'm sorry to have been so quiet, and that the new blog isn't up yet. It's been a long winter; I spent the last six weeks just going to work every day and then watching every episode of The Wire (yes, it's as amazing as its reputation) and waiting, forever, for more light, more warmth, and more optimism.

The exciting news is that I've been awarded some funding from the Textile Society to attend the International Symposium and Exhibition on Natural Dyes (ISEND) in France at the end of April. Who else is planning to go? Let me know! I've never been to France, and it's a place I really want to go, so I'm thrilled. The conference is in the charming seaside town of La Rochelle, from whence my French-Canadian ancestors probably came, and I hope I'll get a day or two in Paris. The symposium speakers on natural dyes are from all over the world, and it promises to be a great adventure.

I've also dipped my toe in the Twitter waters, as @artcraftculture, mostly with posts about books and design and crafts that are related to my day job, but as usual I have other thoughts to share too...if you're there, connect with me. I don't know if it'll stick for me; it feels like a bit of an echo chamber so far.

Meanwhile, I've got books to be read (a few of them above), stitching to be stitched, paintings to paint, words to write, and on it goes. I'll try to make that long-promised blog switchover and get back on a regular blogging schedule. Until then...I hope you are all hanging in there through this long winter (and long fiery summer for my friends in the southern hemisphere) and staying well in this crazy world.

Summer Solstice

I'm greeting summer in bed with a fever, achy body, and laptop. It's always so weird to be sick in the summertime, especially on this day of glorious abundance of light and nature. Yet it's not bad to have a day to reflect on the changing season. 

I'm reflecting on the idea of excellence, and looking at how often I let things lazily slip into mediocrity, treating things as if they're not that important when, in fact, they are. So often just a little more consciousness, a little more preparation, and a little more commitment is the difference between okay-but-sloppy and well-done. I have a thousand reasons why I don't give things my best effort, but none of them are very good, or very relevant to who I am today; I think it's time to make a conscious decision to do better as my mission for this new season.

Excellence is, in part, about practice. Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to be really good at something; by my calculations, if you give something ten hours a week (reasonable when you're working full-time and all that goes with that), that means it's a 19-year journey. Maybe a little less with some credit for time spent. So that means that excellence is also about choice; you (I) can't do everything.

More on this to come. Meanwhile, a brilliant solstice to you. What are your summer plans?

Thoughts on a Year on the Midnight Clear

Warning: Long and rambling post. I know I keep talking about more frequent short posts, and I'm trying to get there, really!

Has this been a really strange month for everyone, or just me? Maybe I should say strange year, and I can't believe it's almost over. I  have twelve days off for the holidays, and I really need it to regroup and reconsider all that's happened this year, and my intentions for next year.

I'm at a stitching standstill. I can't seem to get moving on anything. It's partly that I'm so immersed at work with a particular side of the craft world; it's sucking up a lot of my textile energy. In the words of the most famous six-word autobiography, this year was not quite what I was planning. Remember last year? When I was all gung-ho about graduate school in cultural studies so I could create the job of textile anthropologist/global explorer/artist/author/sustainability expert/philosopher? Then the recession happened and I had to find a more stable income with health insurance. Then I spent the first few months of 2009 negotiating about the Washington job, spent a month there (yay museums) and ultimately decided not to take it, possibly my stupidest mistake biggest learning experience in a year full of 'em.

And now suddenly I've logged seven months in a different job, making ends meet, and many of the things that matter in my life are sitting in the way-back of the bus, and I can hear them clamoring for attention. I'm so grateful for the stability the job has given me, but also frustrated that opportunities came up that I could not fully embrace because I didn't have much flexibility. So I'm glad for a break and a chance to plan.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking about how different art forms inform each other. Given the stitching gridlock, I've been looking at paintings and photographs as well as fabric and stitching. The New York Times (seriously, I could spend all day just reading their art, politics, writing and culture blogs) has a great blog called Lens, and if you are at all interested in photography as art, journalism, or cultural record, you should visit it. I was captured by this post on Librado Romero, a photographer who also paints. I have no photography skills (have you noticed?), but I'm looking for a new camera that will at least give me a better basic tool to learn to take a decent picture with. Right now I'm thinking Canon S90 or Panasonic LX3, if anyone has thoughts.

Last week, I rediscovered Richard Diebenkorn's paintings. The more you look at art, the more you see the kinship in what calls to you. Though I'm a stylistic omnivore, I always swoon over the painterly, color-field experience, the kind that's deeply emotional but also intelligent, not random, with both a spiritual quality and an inherent reference to nature and the material world. Diebenkorn's Ocean Park series is like this. The Orange County Museum of Art has an exhibition of this masterful series scheduled for spring 2010.

 

Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park #54, 1972

Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park #125, 1980

This article about Diebenkorn draws a parallel between his Ocean Park paintings and the work of Agnes Martin, who I've written about before -- I admire her work enormously. Alabama Chanin has been inspired by Agnes Martin for her spring collection of handmade couture. I like when these pieces fit together and there seems to be a context and a narrative that links the work I'm drawn to and the artists I admire. (Here is a good review of Agnes Martin's work from 1992.)

Closer to home, I've raved about Deidre Adam's stitched and painted quilts before; she's also a gifted photographer and is now making some amazing paintings. She's a wonderful example of someone who can explore different media with great fluidity and grace. I especially like that there is a unified vision and point of view in all of her work, no matter the medium; this may be what distinguishes a professional artist from a hobbyist with a short attention span, so her fine example is something worth aspiring to. Here are some of her newest paintings, reprinted with permission. Her story of these paintings is fascinating; read it on her blog here. 

Deidre Adams, Resonant State 2

Deidre Adams, Resonant State 4

I'll leave you with these images of beauty on this Christmas Eve. Thank you for being here all year, and a very sweet and soulful holiday to you; listen for the song of the angels. And a special thank-you to Laurie for paying forward my small gift; that made me very happy!

It came upon a midnight clear

That glorious song of old

From angels bending near the earth

To touch their harps of gold

"Peace on earth, good will to men

From heaven's all-gracious King,"

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing.

Material World

A big thank-you to indigo goddess and shibori girl Glennis for the post and link. I'm a huge fan of Glennis's work and have been following her deep indigo journey with amazement and delight--on top of her glorious hand-dyed shibori ribbons. I'm honored that more people are discovering--and liking--my way of depicting the Slow Cloth concept. And there's a voice in my head that says: Update it already!

In particular, I think there's more to say about materials. I've been meaning to share a link found via the wonderful Fibercopia for Barbara Wisnoski, a textile artist based in Montreal. Wisnoski makes very beautiful, large pieces from recycled fabrics. I made a kind of clumsy remark about repurposed fabrics recently, and the response forced me to think about my position more. It really needs a whole post devoted to it. Then along comes an artist like Wisnoski who takes away all my reservations about recycled fabric and then some, and reminds me, as other artists also periodically have, that my resistance is futile nonsense. Her Web site is lovely, showing the work installed (in situ) and at a couple of levels of detail. This is a detail of One Circle:

One Circle, Barbara Wisnoski, 152 x 152 cm

And this piece is called evening, 145 x 165 cm:

Aren't they something? I love the impressionistic, painterly quality that the pieces have, yet there's a drape and texture that can only be fabric.

Okay, now I really am procrastinating. Keep calm and carry on through this new moon eclipse, and be both creative and receptive, yin and yang, sun and moon . . . you know the drill.

Jackson, Japan, and MissElaineous Things

Okay . . . another week has gone by without a new post. I am really trying not to say "I'm overwhelmed," and instead say, "I'm managing everything in my wonderful life with ease and joy," but I'm still in a quandary over which activities and commitments to release and which to keep. This blog, as much as I love it and want to make much MORE of it, not less, is on the bubble, as those Hollywood types say.

Back at the ranch, a lot happened this week. Days ago, I bookmarked this great interview at All The Rage with Deborah Landis, the new holder of the David C. Copley chair for the study of costume design at UCLA. She has very interesting things to say about the difference between costume design and fashion design, and the presence of narrative and stories in what we wear. Landis's chair is being endowed with a $6 million grant to develop costume design studies at the university.

Tangential but interesting, at the time that I read it: Landis designed Michael Jackson's iconic red Thriller jacket. A week ago I would have written, "remember that jacket?" and now, of course, we've all been reminded of it.

So the week was an interesting example of how the media oversaturate us at times like this (you could almost hear them say, great, we don't have to do any hard analysis to unanswerable questions about things like Iran and health care reform for at least three days). Still, this blog is about art, craft, cloth and culture, and all of these are referenced in Jackson's story. This, by fashion writer Guy Trebay, is a fascinating look at his ability to create an image and the ways that image intersected with pop culture.

Elsewhere -- for those who think about selling or monetizing a sewing or craft business, Kathleen Fasanella of Fashion Incubator has a very interesting series of posts on this, including definitions of handmade and manufactured as they apply to a commercial enterprise. There are telling comments as well; some people actually daring to call attention to the poor quality of some of the "handmade nation/DIY" frenzy. Yay.

Finally, links for the artists and lovers of Japanese textiles,. First, and I think Jude has mentioned this as well, Sri Threads has an amazing series on botanical dyer Sometsukasa Yoshioka. Stephen is up to Post #9, on the color red. These are a must-read if you love color and the Japanese aesthetic. Most people probably think of indigo when word-associating color and Japan, but there's much more to it -- a masterful legacy of natural dyeing and fluency in the language of color. This is from Post #8, on the color pink:

Yoshioka talks about the importance of color in the Heian Period, and here is why:  courtly dress at this time was codified and was tied to the seasons: as the seasons changed, so must one’s costume, and a lady at court was meant to dress to reflect the season, and her reflection of the season had to be both personal and poetic.  She did this using layers of colored robes, from 12 to 20 of them: the way she layered the colored robes and they way the layers were displayed at her costume’s sleeves told a color story and showed how the lady was interpreting the season.

Here’s the thing: in Heian Japan, there were four seasons, then there were 24 sub-seasons, then there were 72 sub-sub seasons, so every five days the courtly lady needed to change her costume so she embodied the natural changes around her!

I also discovered The Ardent Thread, a new-to-me blog by an expert on Japanese textiles, surface design and stitching techniques. Author Carol also sells vintage Japanese fabrics at KimonoMomo.com (sales are made through an Etsy shop). Here's one of her vintage fabric packages:

As for me, I'm working on some machine sewing, still painting my Persian floral designs, and still working on handstitching a big shisha/beads/stitching piece, which does have some vintage kimono fabric in it, shown below. This is proving to be a very slow cloth - but it's always good to have some handstitching available -- for example, for times when you're mesmerized by CNN's wall-to-wall coverage of a celebrity death, and thinking about the time you turned on the TV and saw that electrifying moonwalk for the first time, and all the years that have gone by since then.

Here's more of the piece, which has grown and taken on a life of its own that I no longer seem to be in control of (much like my own life; let's conclude that control is overrated):

That's all for now. See you soon.

Raoul Dufy Exhibition at Mississippi Museum of Art

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to get somewhere near Jackson, Mississippi, in the next few months. The Mississippi Museum of Art has just opened an exhibition of work by Raoul Dufy, one of my most favorite artists. Dufy, who died in 1953, was a painter and also a textile designer, and the exhibition includes about 100 paintings and 100 silk fabrics and fabric designs. From the museum Web site:

In recent years, Raoul Dufy has been increasingly recognized for his work as a painter, but he was also one of the great innovators of twentieth-century textile design, though this aspect of his work has remained relatively unknown. While working with couturier Paul Poiret, and between 1912 and 1928 with Bianchini-Ferier (the leading French silk manufacturer), Dufy created a wealth of original Art Deco designs in silks, dress fabrics, and wall hangings. Dufy's fabrics were stunning, and Poriet used them extensively in his fashions, creating magnificent coats, capes, and dresses in sumptuous silk brocades block-printed with large designs. Dufy transformed the face of fashion and fabric design, formulated practically all modern fabric design between 1909 and 1930, and his style radically influenced the popular arts and the commercial design of the Western world. Even today, his vision informs the color, design, texture, and imagery of a wide range of products such as book covers, perfumes, posters and stage decor, and textiles for furniture and clothing.

Dufy's style is loose, joyful, saturated with color and exuberant in celebration of the sea, nature, sun-drenched rooms, musical instruments, and charming European cityscapes. His work has a decorative quality and it's very easy to like, but don't dismiss it for that reason, as it sparkles with light and a civilized kind of beauty. Here is an image of a painting from the exhibition, and if you go see it, please report back! (I learned of this exhibition through the StyleCourt blog).

And here is a gouache on paper for a textile design, for sale at Lucien Krief Gallery:

Design Trends 2009: Slow, Global, Colorful, Environmental (and Snowflakes!)

I often do a Google News search for keywords textile art design just to see what comes up -- today I found this article in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal forecasting design trends for 2009, by local designer Stephen Thompson. I've highlighted the textile- and craft-related trends. Even if your own work isn't concerned with design trends, I think the article is enjoyable for all who are interested in color and texture, the visual world and the decorative arts (also visit Dijanne's blog for a great post on pattern and decoration). For anyone who's watched bird images become ubiquitous over the past few years, for example, you have to marvel at the way trends enter the culture, take shape and take hold.

STEPHEN THOMPSON:Stephen's Design Trend Forecast for the year 2009 

12/26/2008
Daily Journal  

Watch for the popularity of wood to thrive in home decor. 2009 will see wood's use increase across all spectrums in floors, walls, ceilings (bead board) and furniture. Eco-friendly products continue to be in demand. Consumers will buy sustainable building materials that may cost them a bit more up front, but will save them a lot over time.

Watch for a resurgence of interest in vintage furnishings. The modern furniture lines popularized in the '40s and '50s fit well with the sensibilities of 2009. Smaller seating arms (like those of studio sofas and Garvey chairs) have already found their way into student housing, big city apartments, and will soon come home to the South as we reclaim, recycle and rediscover yesteryear's treasures.

There will be a resurgence of French and Delft styles. The simple marriage of blue and white will be huge, especially among a new generation that finds its design inspiration from Crate&Barrel. 2009 will see lots of hand-painted ceramics, embossed dinnerware, and whitewashed woods paired with clear glass accessories and natural linens.

Metallic will continue to shine - from bronze, mercury glass lamps all the way to bedding fabrics. Envision your decor accents translated into modern metallic finishes and textures imbued with a sense of visual excitement and high energy. Particularly noteworthy for 2009 are platinum, dark silver, rose-gold and copper.

The complex dimensions of snowflakes and crystal quality of glacier ice is one of the freshest themes in home design. Imported design schemes from Nordic climes - with their frosty glass, metallic accents, and cube shapes - will redefine the fine line between hot and cool in 2009.

Global trends continue making many inroads from abroad, particularly items and patterns from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 2009 will see even more of the ethnic, patchwork patterns in warm reds, burnt oranges, browns, plums and olives.

Bold patterns of the former Soviet Union combined with Russian folk art will be embroidered across all genres of upholstery. A caravan of traditional themes from Mother Russia will resurface in patterns of circular motifs and bold colorations in strikingly modern ways.

American patchwork quilts are far from country kitsch. The modern mixture of pieced fabric, tiny flowers, and color-blocked graphics - long heralded by Alabama-born, Manhattan-famous, interior designer Raymond Waites - is coming of age across all continents.

Passionate, warm, and seductive, the red and orange family will have a strong presence in 2009. Crimson and citrus combinations appear in table linens and lamps. Clear reds make a splash in ethnic textiles, sculpted candles and silk flowers.

Speaking of color, the Pantone Color Institute forecasts lively colors and sophisticated, grounded hues with Fuchsia Red, Salmon Rose, Palace Blue, Lavender, Rose Dust and Vibrant Green predicted to be very popular.  [hmmm . . .what happened to Mimosa?]

Mustard and Plum, last seasons' two most prominent colors, are pairing up as this next year's dominant palette. Plum and gold tones stand out while deep purple or rosy lavenders pair well with (and all forecasters agree on this) bold yellows made with just a hint of green.

Neutrals, especially the warm and cool grays, along with boldly colored accent pieces have long transformed ordinary homes into light-filled living oases. But as homeowners reach out and embrace the deeper, more intense paint colors - not only as accent walls, but for entire rooms - a higher level of light is needed for illumination. Lighting manufacturers have responded by introducing chandeliers with more arms (or multiple lights per arm), as well as pendants and wall-mounted fixtures that accept brighter, energy efficient bulbs.

2009 trends are about organic shapes and colors, woven patterns and eco-friendly materials. If there is one overall theme coming for 2009, it might best be called SlowTec - a simple back-to-basics style that is all about less speed for better living - and a focus on quality craftsmanship and eco consciousness.

May you always live in beauty!

Stephen Thompson is an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers. Questions or comments may be addressed to Designer Connection, P.O. Box 361, Tupelo, MS 38802 or to [email protected].

What do you think? Snowflakes and Rose Dust and Russian embroidery? 

Discoveries and Distractions

Jane Dunnewold, textile artist and author of Complex Cloth and other books, has launched a new blog called Daily Visuals. Each day, Jane posts a photograph and analyzes its color, composition and content. It's a lovely site and a fantastic opportunity to learn from a teacher and master of visual complexity in fabric. 

I've also been wandering around the tutorials, articles and techniques on the Golden Paints site. Though I did a lot of painting quite a few years ago, I got rusty. Last year, I began to paint again, and I was mystified  -- also very intrigued -- by the vast array of new mediums, new kinds of acrylic paint, and new surfaces. Golden has very helpful information on fine art techniques, and a section of decorative technique instructions that give you step-by-step information on how to create textures like this  (link here):

For those who work in watercolor, Daniel Smith also has a great articles library on its site. 

That's all I've got today. Truth is, I've spent too much time this week distracting myself in the online candy store of fabric, paint, art, color, beauty and interesting words -- surfing, but not creating. All is well, and I'm especially grateful for my spacious and well-heated apartment, but I'm not in a holiday mood -- I have the frequent flyer miles to go to Hawaii, but no money for expenses! It's just been a long year, and vitality and magic seem far away tonight, as does any light at the end of the job-search tunnel and all that goes with it. No need to worry, I'll be back this weekend with a lighter heart, I'm sure.