Blues…music, paint, fiber, jewels, feelings.
What’s “Mood Indigo,” anyway?
An audio version of course…this classic!
And another interpretation by Ella Fitzgerald, unsurpassable.
Another way to experience it – Old Levi’s! In the originals, the dye was Indigo.
Indigo culture is worldwide, a fiber dye and therefore, as with many dye materials, a currency. Whether it’s a paste resist in Africa; Batik or block-printing in Indonesia; Rice Paste resist or Arashi Shibori in Japan, and any one of the myriad textile design techniques that are part of indigenous cultures worldwide, using Indigo dye is a highly developed craft and art.
Vats of Indigo in Japan. Find out more at Kimono Boy
Actually, the inspiration for this post was a recent conversation with a friend who now lives in Santa Fe. She mentioned seeing the premier of the documentary, Blue Alchemy, and hearing about it reminded me of the many ways that I’ve seen Indigo dye used over the years. That conversation brought back many memories of my own personal experiences working with many types of tradition textile decoration techniques and materials. Even now, in fact, I can use Indigo-dyed fibers in my own Tibetan rug designs!
In antique textiles, traditional culture textiles, and modern work, Indigo has a presence all its own.
Textiles made by Hmong people in Vietnam, shown at Kimono Reincarnate blog site.
Pots of Indigo in Nigerian traditional dyeing
Indigo printed textile by Morris Kennet -- 1883!
Indigo is earthy, primal, mysterious, exotic, beautiful, and versatile! What more could we ask of one type of plant?
If this is a subject that interests you, check out this video and other material on the same page. And, Enjoy!
