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| ART LESSON, a book designed with Indigo-filled pages |
Unlike many people, I don't like wearing jeans. I never got over the early ones that were stiff and uncomfortable. I remember friends lying on the floor trying to pull up their too-tight jeans. What I like about jeans is the color, Indigo, a deep blue-black hue that over time washes out to an almost white tint.
Jeans aren't the only clothing made from indigo dye, which came from the Indigofera tinctoria plant in India. The Japanese used Indigo for Shibori, a tie-dye process, and the early Egyptians and Mayas dyed clothing in Indigo. Indigo was so rare and the process to make the dye was so time-consuming that for a long time Indigo was reserved for royalty. A scientist finally developed a synthetic version, which is widely used today.
I love indigo's intensity, but it works best for me as a watercolor if I use it all by itself with just a hint of another color like Burnt Sienna somewhere on the page. I sometimes drop Indigo into a shadow, but I don't like the results that occur when I drop another color into wet Indigo. As you can see on this color chart of Cerulean and Indigo, when I dropped Carmine into the Indigo, the Carmine disappeared. One of the beauties of watercolor is being able to mix colors together on the page as I did with Cerulean and Aureolin on the left and Carmine on the right. Cerulean also tends to granulate, creating texture.
I had a stack of paper that I had splashed, stamped, and brushed with Indigo. I wanted to make something using this beautiful hue. I decided to answer a challenge call from Stampington & Company, an art magazine publisher, to create a monochromatic piece of art. I covered several pieces of watercolor paper with scraps of Indigo paper and made abstract designs using circles and squares.
I realized the pages needed to be something more than a collection of monochromatic designs. I decided to make a book of the pages, but I wanted the book to have a story. I wrote down phrases on pieces of Burnt Sienna paper about what I had learned from making art, an idea that I have thought about many times. I made a list of my ideas:
Do Something New Every Day
Turn Your Work Upside Down
Play---Practice---Repeat
Take a Break---Go Outside---Eat Chocolate
I also included a list of the Principles of Design for their connection to life:
I sewed the pages together with a simple stab binding using some Indigo-dyed string. I had a book finished and ready to send to the magazine.
To learn more about the history of Indigo:
https://medium.com/@tsbojer/the-history-of-indigo-dyeing-and-how-it-changed-the-world-35c8bc66f0e9
Two blogs full of information about watercolor:
https://www.sarahburnsstudio.com/life-of-a-wandering-artist-blog/non-toxic-watercolor-paints
https://www.watercoloraffair.com/watercolor-tips-techniques/
From Mary by email: I would love to see your book when they return it to you. It sounds like it was an enlightening exercise. I liked your suggestion to try something new everyday. I wouldn’t say it happens everyday but I do love to try new and challenging tasks. Sometimes with success and sometimes not. You always learn something regardless of the outcome.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary, for your comments. I knew you would think about the ideas in my book. I also knew you apply some of those same ideas in your own life!
ReplyDeleteFrom Pam by email: As usual I loved your blog and the focus on indigo was a fascinating one. I LOVED the blending next to other colors to test what would happen. As a card maker I’m always playing with my alcohol and oxide inks as well as other types of media. I have watercolors and gauche sitting close at hand but mostly I stare at the pretty colors and then go back to the safety of my inks.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I was making a congratulations card and I was going through my millions of little ‘disappointments that didn’t seem to work for the card I was working on’. (I have about 4 drawers of these strays. In other words my discarded ephemera). I came across a little heart inked with reds and pinks. I studied it and kept trying to move the heart straight, at an angle, but it just didn’t work. Then I turned it over and tried the backside and yessss it was perfect. The reds, pinks and blotchy spots were softer and dreamy. Perfect! This is all to tell you I resonated with your article today. Keep up the great work, and good luck with your submission. It’s sure to be chosen!
Thanks, Pam, for your comments and also for letting us know your process for making cards. Those failures so often turn into something much more creative!
DeleteThat looks so interesting to truly create your own product. Ironically, I really like winter jeans now because they have so much stretch to them. I’ve eaten some chocolate and enjoyed wines so I need stretchy clothing.
ReplyDeleteFrom Letty by email
Letty, as always, you write with humor in your words. Keep on eating chocolate, the 5th food group!
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