FRIDAY-SUNDAY JUNE 4-6, 2010

Maiwa East, 1310 Odlum Drive

Vancouver, Canada

10:00 am - 4 pm $295

includes a $75 lab fee. Class limit 16

In this workshop students will learn the clamp resist technique known as Itajime. Angelina DeAntonis has used this technique in her San Francisco studio to give the signature look to her successful line of clothing known as Ocelot.

Students will work with organic linen, wool, and silk as they master the itajime resist technique with a selection of natural dyes. The workshop will be held at the Maiwa East Studio. A well appointed space dedicated to the textile arts.

This is the first time that Angelina is offering this workshop in Canada.

Registration Opens April 8 at 10:00 am. To register please call or visit the Maiwa Supply store (there is no on-line registration for this workshop).

MAIWA HANDPRINTS

www.maiwa.com

604 669 3939

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2010

Sandbar Restaurant Granville Island,

Vancouver, Canada

11:30 am - 1 pm Tickets $40

includes a lunch, wine and a

20% discount for after show sales

tickets available at:

SILK WEAVING STUDIO

www.silkweavingstudio.com

604 687 7455

MAIWA HANDPRINTS

www.maiwa.com

604 669 3939

JUNE 3 - 30, 2010

Silk Weaving Studio, Granville Island

Vancouver, Canada

OPENING 6 - 8 pm Thursday June 3

SILK WEAVING STUDIO

www.silkweavingstudio.com

604 687 7455

2010 Maiwa Textile Workshops
Adrienne Sloane
$395 (Includes $60 Lab Fee) Four full days

September 16 - 19 (Thu - Sun) 10 am - 4 pm
Maiwa Loft – Granville Island, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Class Limit 15
Registration Opens June 21, 2010

Explore contemporary knitting and expand your vision of what a little knitting can do. This class in 3D knitting will help participants develop a personal language of forms. Use knitting fundamentals to create shapes while taking advantage of knit’s natural tendencies. By manipulating stitches and experimenting with unconventional materials, participants will problem-solve using a variety of vessels and forms and learn to “think knit.”

This is a process-oriented workshop, with time devoted to making samples and experimenting as you learn each technique or concept. Your new knitting vocabulary can be applied to sculptural or wearable creations. Adrienne is an award-winning artist whose work has been widely exhibited. She joins us from Boston: www.adriennesloane.com.

Adrienne Sloane

Adrienne Sloane, a Boston-based artist, has exhibited nationally for over 20 years. Her work has been published in Fiberarts Magazine, American Craft, the Surface Design Journal, the Crafts Report, and Fiberarts Design Book Six. With a degree in anthropology, she has married her passion for textiles with one for travel by consulting on knitting projects in Peru and Bolivia. Knitting both by hand and by machine, she is mindful of the historical context of her medium.

Participants must be proficient in basic knitting techniques.

Look for the full course calendar on the web in early May. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

[Update: Many people have asked the selling price of these pieces. So here they are. 1) Necklace $400 2) Silver ropes $50 - $170 3) Bracelet $190 - $200 4) Classical-style necklace $560.]


Over many years, Maiwa has travelled the world researching textile processes and the cultures that support them. During this time we have also encountered areas with a long history of unsurpassed skill in working precious metals. India is one of these.


Maiwa seeks out traditional items, such as amulets, broaches, turquoise, lapis and amber. When working in India we employ local silversmiths to set stones and traditional pieces in 92.5% silver settings.


We are happy to say that our enthusiasm for traditional pieces has ignited renewed interest in classical work. Often the combination of antique elements in new settings provides the perfect contrast to fire the imagination. These are pieces with a history and a story, adornment that whispers in its own voice.

2010 Maiwa Textile Workshops
Natalie Grambow
$195 (Includes $80 Lab Fee) One Evening and Two full days

September 10 (Fri) 7pm - 10pm
September 11, 12 (Sat, Sun) 10am - 4pm
Maiwa East – 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Class Limit 14
Registration Opens June 21, 2010

This intensive three-day workshop is the perfect entry into the fascinating art of achieving colour on fabric. It is designed to be a clear and thorough introduction to the (sometimes intimidating) world of dye types and procedures.

Through a series of complete hands-on projects, students will be guided through the dye process and will gain an understanding of scouring, assists, and resists. They will also learn the advantages and strengths of the different dye types such as fibre-reactive, acid, and natural dyes. A key component of this workshop will survey the different types of fabrics, and special consideration will be given to the understanding of natural fibres.

On completion of the course, students will have created a reference binder containing samples dyed by their own hand. In addition, they will have an invaluable collection of recipes, design techniques, and tips. Most importantly they will have the understanding and confidence necessary to approach almost any dye project.

Natalie Grambow will also teach
The Creative Studio
Phototransfer for Textiles
Between the Colours: Creative Resist
Works on Canvas

NATALIE GRAMBOW

Natalie Grambow has an extensive background in design, teaching, and textile arts. An accredited Interior Designer, she spent many years in Ottawa working within the architectural design field and teaching Design Theory. Natalie’s first deep exploration of textiles began during her Visual Arts/Photography studies at the University of Ottawa when she experimented with non-silver techniques of transferring photographic imagery onto cloth. She subsequently studied at the École d’Impression Textile à Montréal and later travelled to Asia and Latin America where she spent six months learning to weave with local Mayan weavers in Guatemala. Shortly after completing the Textile Arts program at Capilano College in 2001, she was awarded the BC Craft Association’s Award of Excellence. Natalie has developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver (to present an artist’s vision of North Vancouver on fabric).

Student Supply List
Please bring a bag lunch. All other materials supplied.

Look for the full course calendar on the web in early May. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

2010 Maiwa Textile Workshops
Charllotte Kwon
$395 (Includes $100 Lab Fee) Four full days

September 13 - 16 (Mon - Thu) 10am - 4pm
Maiwa East – 1310 Odlum Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Class Limit 16
Registration Opens June 21, 2010

What magic does the dyer use to coax colour from nature? Throughout the world this knowledge was guarded carefully, and learning the art often involved elaborate ceremonies and traditions. To this day, natural dyeing retains the same air of mystery and exotic intrigue that has compelled artists and craftspeople for centuries.

Charllotte Kwon’s passionate study of natural dyeing techniques has led her to visit and work with cultures around the world. In this workshop she shares her vast knowledge of natural dye history and use. In addition Charllotte offers insight into her own in-studio processes and demonstrates how to get the most from a range of dyes and fabrics. The student will obtain a good technical understanding of the mordanting processes and the varied uses of natural dyes (indigo, cochineal, madder, fustic, and many others). Gorgeous Turkey reds, indigo blues, and Indian yellows are just a few of the colours achieved as students work on cotton, silks, wools, and linen.

The full spectrum of more than 80 rich colours dyed in class will form a source book for each student. These books are a great inspiration and reference for years to come. Students will also complete several natural dye projects. A variety of shibori techniques will be used and then dyed with natural indigo.

This popular class has now been expanded to four full days.

CHARLLOTTE KWON

Charllotte Kwon is the owner of Maiwa Handprints Ltd. and the director of the Maiwa Foundation. Through Maiwa, Charllotte also runs a textile archive and research library located on Granville Island.

The Maiwa Textile Symposium is the direct result of her enthusiasm for textiles and artisans. She personally pulls together the formidable list of international speakers who have presented.

Under her direction Maiwa has produced four documentary films and a number of print publications. She also guides Maiwa’s substantial web presence.

Charllotte travels extensively each year to research handcraft and to supplement her extensive natural dye knowledge. She teaches natural dyeing classes to artisans around the world.

Bibliography
The Quiet Manifesto
Through the Eye of a Needle: Stories from an Indian Desert
Koekboya (Co-author with Harald Böhmer)

Videography
Through the Eye of a Needle: Stories from an Indian Desert
Indigo: A World of Blue
Tana Bana: Wisdom of the Loom
In Search of Lost Colour: The Story of Natural Dyes

Student Supply List
Please bring a bag lunch. All other materials supplied.

Look for the full course calendar on the web in early May. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

When we visited Assam in 2008 we brought back some eri silk to do natural dyes tests. Here is what we got and how we got it.



0) Natural colour of eri silk
1) Alum 15% Cutch 50%
2) Alum 15%, Marigold 20%, Madder 20%,
3) Alum 15%, Marigold 20%, Madder 100%
4) Alum 15%, Madder 200%
5) Alum 15%, Madder 100%, Iron 2%
6) Alum 15%. Lac 50%,
7) Alum 15%, Lac 50%, Iron 2%
8) Alum 15%, Lac residue
9) Alum 15%, Cutch 50% Iron 2%
10) Natural Indigo 1 dip
11) Natural Indigo 4 dips
12) Natural Indigo 8 dips
13) Marigold 20% Natural indigo 4 dips
14) Alum 15% Marigold 20% Iron 2%
15) Alum 15% Henna 50%
16) Alum 15% Marigold 20%

If you click on the photo above you can see a larger version. Information about the dyes we used can be found on our natural dye pages. Alum and Iron can be found in the mordants section. The percentages specified indicates that we added that percentage of the weight of the fiber to be dyed (when dry). So, if we had 100 grams of silk, and we mordanted with alum at 15% then we used 15 grams of alum. If we dyed with lac at 50% then for 100 grams of silk we used 50 grams of lac.

We love eri silk and were very happy with the results. The silk didn't loose its luster in the dye process, the yarns didn't felt up, and no special procedures were needed for the eri silk. Here are some very close up images of the fiber: natural, marigold 20%, and marigold 20% + Madder 100%. Again, click on the photo for a larger verion. You can see that the actual fibers that make up the yarns are very very fine.





We know that some people raise eri silk moths in North America and in other parts of the world. Hit us in the comments section with your experience dyeing the fiber.

Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 7
(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk.)






An adult eri moth resting on netting and some of the cocoons. On the day we visited the eri silk farmers we also drove to a village where every home seemed to be set up to spin and weave. It was here in rural Assam that we learned the most about silk production, and here also that we took some of our best photos. Assam, the people, the landscape, and the skillful transformation of silk to textiles; it was all very beautiful and we felt very privileged to be able to experience it.





We really got the sense that everyone knew silk and had an opinion about it. Even our armed escort took an active interest in the cloth. We bartered for some of the lengths that were, in our opinion very well made - tightly woven and well spun and we made certain to get a selection of the spun silk that we could use for natural dye testing. We were very excited to see how it would take the dyes. If it worked well there was a possibility that natural dyes could be reintroduced to the local textiles.

NEXT >>

Maiwa East has just received it's first container of 2010. We've unpacked hundreds of items. After looking them over we've taken photos of four special pieces to give you an idea of what has arrived. Each piece is unique. All have personality.


1 ) Featured in the first photo is a large teak cabinet with glass double doors. The cabinet has classic detailing on the top and rests on turned wooden feet. With the moulding this cabinet is just over six feet tall.




2) The second item is a small floor cabinet about three feet high. It features lightly distressed solid wood panels and carved protruding ornaments at the top. Inside are two shelves. It is an unusual item and we have never received one like it before.




3) The third item is a hammered copper pot about eight inches high and ten inches in diameter. We have a large collection of similar pots made of copper and brass in a variety of shapes.



4) Finally we have a very unusual bench which has been salvaged from an Indian train station. The back of the bench is attached to the seat by a custom made brass hinge. The back is reversable so that the bench may face in either direction. In use the bench would be anchored between the rail platforms. By flipping the back of the bench passengers would be able to sit facing the correct platform to watch the approaching train.

We receive containers on a regular basis holding old furniture, carved doors & thresholds, teak cabinets, coffee tables, book cases, engraved water urns, ironwork chairs and tables, furniture handpainted by the renowned Abhi Shakar and Jetu Singh, and many other items both large and small.

All hardwoods are old or reclaimed.

Maiwa East
More than you imagine

A dusty cupboard in Kolkata belonging to the Botanical Survey of India recently yielded two historic discoveries: an 18-volume omnibus on Indian textiles by Forbes Watson and a 15-volume set on natural dyes by Thomas Wardle (pictured above). The 15 volume set made an immediate sensation in the natural dye world. Dominique Cardon (France), Brenda King (UK) and Jenny Balfour Paul (UK) all pressed to have the international symposium on natural dyes moved from Paris to Kolkata to celebrate and investigate the discovery. The NGO SUTRA and Amrita Mukerji were instrumental in hosting the conference.

The book contains dye samples and recipes. Reports are that, although the paper is now quite aged and brittle, the swatches are bright and vibrant. Thomas Wardle has been the subject of recent exhibitions. Previously he may have been best known for his collaboration with William Morris. Both Morris and Wardle wanted to document natural dye knowledge and, in the face of the growing market for synthetic colours, promote the use of natural dyes. Wardle travelled to India and made collections of Indian textiles, many of which were recently exhibited at the Whitworth Gallery.

Jenny Balfour-Paul sent us this link to coverage of the event, as well as an update on some efforts to revive indigo growing in Bengal. Readers will remember Jenny from her recent work with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. We'd like to mention that to get to Kolkata for the Sutra conference Jenny - in a spirit of adventure - declined to fly and instead booked passage on a freighter.

For full coverage here is a link to the Times of India.

Comments are welcome.

Previously we posted some photos of tapestries from the Alcazar in Spain. We also quoted William Morris, who recommended (in 1889) that people look at the tapestries in Hampton court to see how natural dyes change (or persist) with time.

Professor Chris Carr, Dr. Huw Owens and Ruth Perkins from the University of Manchester were also interested to know how tapestries changed over time. And so, once again focusing on the works at Hampton Court they set out to model what the original of "The Oath and Departure of Eliezer" might have looked like. They dyed wools with natural dyes such as old fustic, woad and madder and then artificially aged the samples to generate a fade index. They then analyzed the fibers on the back of the hanging and compared them to the yarns on the front. With this data the group was able to interpret what five centuries of time had done. This is a substantial project that took years to complete and then there was the question of how to present the findings. They decided to project - onto the tapestry itself - an image of how it might have looked when it was first hung. As the University's press release stated:

In the final stage of the project lecturer Dr Huw Owens worked out how tiny specially calibrated beams of light could be used to shine on to two million separate sections of the tapestry to temporarily 'return' each of the yarns to their original colour.

The special installation "Henry VIII's Tapestries Revealed" ran until January 2010. Sadly we arrived in London in February 2010 so we didn't get a chance to see it. Luckily the happy event was documented and publicized by Historic Royal Palaces. Sadly the large picture published as part of the PDF looks hideous. We challenge anyone to say otherwise. What happened?



Light and Colour

Light is like water. It is always contaminated by impurities. As with water the impurities give it character. Most photographers know about the "golden hour" during dawn or dusk when the light from the sun in tainted by the atmosphere. In the previous post we mentioned about the difference in Colour temperature between sunlight and incandescent light. Photographers shooting in colour will have to colour correct, to compensate for the different colour temperatures of different light sources. Generally, daylight or flash = blue, incandescent = yellow and flourescent = green. These are the relative shifts when we try to make light act white. If you set your camera to interpret daylight as white and then photograph inside (illuminated with incandescent light) there will be a decidedly yellow-orange cast to your photo. There is a real problem if you have two light sources - as with the above photo - say incandescent and whatever is coming out of the projector. So the disturbing blue-green cast of the tapestry is an artifact of how it was photographed and is almost certainly not a "true" representation of the projection.

The projection itself may or may not be a "true" representation of the original tapestry. But we feel confident in saying that those working on the project didn't intend it to look as it does in the photo. Anyone with natural dye (or photographic) experience will look at the above photo with considerable alarm.

How can we check this? Find another photo.



The above photo was published in the Telegraph and shows a much more realistic tapestry. Compare the colours of the figures in front of the projection and you will notice a corresponding shift in the hue of the cloaks. And finally we put the two together just to emphasize the difference.



The very essence of "Henry VIII's Tapestries Revealed" is a remarkable study of the subtle nature of colour, dyes, textiles and time. So how could the official press release for a project that is all about colour be so ... um ... colourblind? We don't know. Colour has a large subjective element and notions of beauty or truth are also highly problematic. We invite your speculations in the comments section.

Here are some links to the project and press coverage:

Historic Royal Palaces Henry VIII's Tapestries Revealed

Tapestry longevity: Hampton Court's tapestries: how long will they survive?

Researcher restores King Henry VIII's 500 year-old tapestry

BBC Henry VIII's tapestries on show