indigo and paper

Used coffee filters -- indigo, plain, black walnut

There are just so many things to try.

-print making paper cut into a continuous strip
but not yet spun
- sheets of variable annuity semi-annual report
-an iris leaf 
- the silk long underwear shirt
that I wore every day on my backpack trip
and fell apart when i got home
-wool fleece. 

It is, of course,
generally recommended
that the careful dyer
adjust the ph of an indigo bath
for each of these fibers
(or at least each type)
individually,
but this time
I decided not to worry about it.

Corn Husks: black walnut; indigo; indigo + cochineal

And as far as I can tell,
it all worked fine.

Well, the Iris leaf was not interested in indigo,
but that may have been a function of
-an exterior water-repellant coating,
-the molecular structure of the actual cells
-that leaf I chose
preferred to remain
its own natural color
thank you very much
-something else entirely.

Of course it could have been
my laziness about the relative alkalinity of the bath
and experiments may ensue on that score.
Or not.
Most  likely I'll let the Iris be Iris
and dye corn husks if I need colored leaves,
since the latter seem thrilled by the world of color.
That one tiny strip of purple in the photo above
survived --even thrived--
in the post-indigo alum and cochineal baths
into which it fell
(or deliberately snuck on the coattails of the wool).

This paper loved the indigo.
(Rives lightweight white from my basement
that I've been using to make my comic diaries).

The variable annuity yarn 
did fine, but only with with VERY short indigo dips.
The coffee filters were  happy as clams.
​
I spun both on the Charkha as shown above.

Each kind of paper has its own personality --
and as a newbie at this business of making Kami-ito
I'm in a constant state of beginner mind,
which means I keep teetering on the edge
of pushing things too far 
(fingers covered with damp shreds of dissolving paper)
or not far enough
​ (pirns wound with great wads of unweavable twine).

But as I wait for Hiroko Karuno's book to arrive:
Kigami and Kami-ito: Japanese Handmade Paper and Paper Thread
(it is being reprinted),
experimentation is my friend--
the ensuing messes and variations,
a good part of the joy.

Staples Receipt (found on the sidewalk); Indigo dyed Quarterly Report (found in my recycling bin); used coffee filter (fished from the kitchen compost and washed).

There are, indeed, any number of experiments 
happening in my studio just now.

Sometimes I'm  working with wool
(with which I have a fair bit of experience)--
adjusting variables  and designing a yarn
that will take months of spindle twirling--
before,
in a year or so,
it starts to become the thing I imagine,
which may require techniques
​ about which I know only a little.

The creamy kami-ito on the pirn fifth from the right (the biggest one), was spun by Velma Bolyard (see resources below), and you can see how even and fine and lovely it is. MUCH to learn.

sometimes 
I'm working with materials
with which I have virtually no experience,
adjusting variables and designing yarns,
that I'm going to try out
today
using techniques
​I know very well.

Material experiments: Four Selvedge Tapestry; Paper Yarn; Linen Warp; Pipe Loom

Such a funny, magical old life. 

Resources:
Velma Bolyard (paper maker, spinner,  book and fiber artist) Her work and devotion to using local materials is utterly inspiring
Velma's Blog (most recent post talks about her milkweed harvest)

Aimee Lee (artist, papermaker, writer, and the leading hanji researcher and practitioner in North America) . Hanji is Korean hand made paper, and the things Aimee does with it are mind-blowing.  The dresses! The Knitted books!  The Ducks!
Aimee's Books  (as you can imagine I am in love with the milkweed paper making zine)!

And as I said above, I'm waiting for Kagami and Kami-ito  by Hiroko Karuno

Some day I'll get  A Song of Praise for Shifu by Susan J. Byrd

And of course, 
to learn Four Selvedge Tapestry Warping 
(the technique I'm using for all my experiments
and praise in the quiet of my studio every day),
Click HERE!