Alex Hagen Indigo Workshop
For the Japanese inspired Textile Weave taking place on 22nd of August I wanted to naturally dye some of the fabrics with indigo. I asked my old Hotwalls Studio neighbour and shibori artist Alex Hagen, to run an Indigo dyeing workshop at her new studio in Fort Cumberland, Eastney.
Four of my regular attending weave club participants; Greta, Gitte, Diane and Mel, who have never practiced the art of indigo dyeing before, came along to help dye the second hand fabrics and learn a new skill in the process.
The cotton and linen fabrics used were donated from Hotwalls Studios’ mixed media artist, Rebecca Robinson, Studio 10. Hagen taught the group the entire process of indigo dyeing using three different indigo strength vats which provide a variety of shades.
At the upcoming public workshop in August the fabrics will be rinsed again and then cut into strips, stitched and woven by participants. This free workshop will be run by textile artists Miesje Chafer, Kim Edith and myself, exploring the art of Japanese boro stitching. The colour scheme is inspired by Japanese artist Hokusakai’s The Great Wave of Kanagawa.
Incredible photographs by Alex Fountain.
“Making together is something humans have done for generations and sadly has become rather lost in modern society. To me, there are so many benefits to activities like this and I would love to see them return, not only for their production aspects, but also as a form of therapy/well being and much needed movement towards a more positive mindset/outlook/connection with our surroundings and environment. It is so inspiring to see the work that Alice and the others are doing in this field. It gives me such hope and motivation”
“It was my first time with a group of creative people in real life for 16 months. I realised how much I had missed that creative interaction and felt much more positive and creative as a result. This project was quite different from others I engage with because it required working with others and was, therefore, very sociable.”
“It was particularly pleasurable to work with other people and learn a new skill together. It was also enjoyable to work with two different artists bringing their own talents to the project. It is good to know that the dyed fabric will be used in a community weave and more people will add to the overall project. The whole experience was absorbing and relaxing.”
“Making something together with others is very rewarding. What you do or make is to me of less importance”
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