"Don't rush, life is long and there's no race to be the first to do anything with indigo, it's all been done for thousands of years. The big question is how do you make it your own, and that takes years and years." -Rowland Ricketts
This year I have immersed myself in learning first-hand the age-old-traditions of growing, dying, and processing Indigo. Due to my years of experience in working on organic vegetable farms, I was able to start confident and strong with growing and harvesting Indigo; but then came the question of how to process indigo, meaning getting color from the plant onto fabric? There are many ways of dyeing with indigo and there's no one right or wrong way, just different reasons for choosing the one you work with. I am in the beginning stages of experimenting to find the method for processing that works best for me in the southern climate of Ausitn, Texas. To get started tried to understand the difference in dying with fresh indigo leaves (Direct Dying), and dying with dried and naturally fermented leaves (Vat Dying). In comparing the two methods Rowland Ricketts was able to share a perfect and simple statement.
"I have a great respect for and love of small-scale production, but at the same time I'm a professional who needs to be able to dye relatively large amounts of material frequently and consistently. I choose to work with the composted indigo and natural fermentation vat because my goal is to consistently produce the best colors possible using methods and materials that are sustainable and rooted in my immediate environment. Relying solely on fresh plants for dyeing is limiting on a number of fronts. First of all the dye concentration in the leaves is rather weak, so it could be difficult to get very dark shades. Secondly, if you limit yourself to dyeing with fresh plants you can only do your dyeing when you have fresh plants available. For me this would mean only during the summer, and that is a limiting time frame."
I seeded Japanese Indigo (Polygonum Tinctorium) seeds in January and it took exactly two weeks for them to germinate inside the greenhouse. If I had pre-soaked the seeds it could have speed up the germination process. After six weeks in the greenhouse the roots were mature enough to be transplanted. I removed the seedlings from the greenhouse and set them outside to harden them off for a couple of days.
I transplanted 525 japanese indigo seedlings the first week of March in a 700 square foot garden. For mulch I used burlap sacks (sourced from a local coffee roaster) they help to keep the weeds down, and retain moisture in the soil. I hand painted a sign to signify oficial commitment to my project and numbered the rows for record keeping.
One month after transplanting, the indigo was fully grown and ready for the first harvest. A month is a faster growing rate than most climates; through my research I had estimated 3 months from transplanting to first harvest. Apparently Japanese Indigo LOVES Texas... that is as long as I keep it irrigated.
To harvest, the Indigo is cut a few inches from the ground leaving the roots and some foliage on the plant. In a month the plants will grow back, and be ready for another harvest. The harvested Indigo plants are spread out on a tarp in the sun. The plants are left to dry in the sun for about a day or two. As they dry the Indigo leaves oxidize and turn slightly blue. When they are completely dry It's then time to stomp on them to separate the stems from the leaves. All the stems are removed and the remaining dried indigo leaves are heaped into a pile. I then bagged the indigo leaves into a breathable canvas bag and stored it in a cool dry place until the fall. After all that hard work I ended up with 5 pounds of dried indigo leaves. It will be many years until I accumulate enough mass to ferment my own pile of indigo. It is estimated that approximately 300 pounds of dried indio is needed to achieve a successful compost.
I would like to give a BIG thank you to my indigo mentor, Rowland Ricketts. Rowland has been working with Japanese Indigo for over 15 years. He got his start in Japan as an apprentice to a Japanese Indigo farmer and a Japanese indigo dyer. Rowland has help me debunk the loads of false publications on Indigo. My fresh understanding of my resources has taught me to read things on Indigo with a grain of salt. Rowland has explained to me that most of the English-language books available on Indigo contain mis-information, or the majority of what is written is for the hobbyist, the backyard dyer who is doing their dyeing in a ball jar. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown but assumed to be a number of reasons. Possibly the well-meaning individuals who "researched" Indigo before writing articles and books on the topic may never have had a first-hand practical experience with the process. Or the well-meaning individuals were outright lied to because the crafts people they were talking to wanted to protect their trade secrets. As Rowland suggests, these lies then get put in print, cited in other works, and lead people astray. I am SO thankful for teachers like Rowland, who not only believe in open source information, but set out to share it.
We drove out to Sonoma Valley... guided by our hunger to explore our surroundings, and our desire to eat at the Fremont Diner. As we got further away from the Bay and closer to the Valley my surroundings began to remind me of the Hampton's. Maybe it was the sense that the country road was sprinkled with signs of upper class citizens. Regardless, the view was pastoral, with rolling fields and abundant vineyards.
We found ourselves happy and full without a plan. I appreciate the laid back approach we all had for letting the day unfold, as it will. We decided to seek out a winery. None of us had a preference. Megan did a quick search and picked the closest but apparently coolest winery, "Scribe". As we drove up a long dirt driveway leading to an old beautiful house. We noticed people gathered in a field, and smoke swirling around teepee-like tents. The person directing cars informed us that it was a private party, meaning we needed to leave.
I had a sense that this place felt familiar, it felt like a dream, like I've been here before and in a way I had...through a photograph. Before we turned around I got out of the car to take a picture of the grand but battered manor. I was caught off guard when two good looking guys came around the corner and almost immediately the one recognized my necklace. He was wearing a necklace made by the same craftsman. It was a Tim Whitten necklace, mine was given to me as a gift only two days previous. I began to realize the connection, Jay Carroll. One of the guys introduced himself as Andrew, the owner of the vineyard. He looked handsome and young, probably the same age as me, 30. The short conversation quickly turned into a personal invite to stay and enjoy the party. We did just that.
Sometimes this world feels vast and limitless yet still proves to be intimate. Connections come full circle and then keep on growing.
My quilts were destine for some special packaging and tags but it took a while for them to reveal what it would be. Ryan Rhodes & Renee Fernandez developed the graphics, and blue eyed, dirt bike riding, Kelly DeWitt handcrafted the cedar boxes. We all agree that it's a perfect marriage of materials and minds coming together. I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful women that have been helping me speed up the hand quilting process, the only way to make that possible is with many hands working together. So a big thank you to Monica Loring, Mercedes Montes, and Juliet Gamarci.
The three quilts below (front & back) are the first of the series that I am designing and making for Levis. This week I sent these quilts to the Levis Store in New York located at 414 W. 14th St. in the Meatpacking District. I was told they would be available for sale this Friday! If your in the area you should visit this unique Levis Shop. Made Here are special Levis stores that deliver a bespoke interpretation of the Levi’s brand while respecting the non-mainstream nature of the surrounding area and community
I am very excited to announce that I am making quilts for Levis! You may have noticed a little lull in my online presents over the last couple of weeks. This was all due to my gusto and focus on getting a series of quilts designed and crafted for Levis - Made Here Stores. Made Here is a project created and run by Jay Carroll, a concept designer for Levis. Made Here are special Levis stores that deliver a bespoke interpretation of the Levi’s® brand. A meaningful component of the Made Here store is the initiative to sell beautiful objects (non-Levi’s) that are locally and/or hand made by people who have a passion for craft, design, and artisanship.
You may have heard about Jay from his awesome American Heritage road trip project called One Trip Pass. Jay is magic. It's been amazing working with him on this project. I am continually blown away at his incredible talent for discovering artisans and being an all around curator of life. Made Here has 4 stores located in Malibu, Boston, San Francisco, and New York. I am making 3 quilts for each store, so 12 quilts in total. To start.
To get the order done in a reasonable time frame, and still hold true to my love for hand quilting, I reached out to the community and hired some helping hands! I'm not too surprised that all of the responses I got were women, but I am pleasantly awakened by the quality relationships that have developed from meeting and coaching the women who are helping me with the hand quilting. Often times it takes multiple hands to make one quilt, and by nature quilting can bring together people from multiple backgrounds. I am touched by the quality new relationships that are developing through quilting, and can feel a lot of growth happening in my life. I surprise myself with my business suaveness, I realized how strong I was with managerial skills last year when I ran the tomato crew at JBG. I will admit it's nice to be a woman and pair my soft side with my tough side, it seems to be the best recipe for leading a crew. I picked up most of my business skills from observing my father throughout the years, he has been involved with Human Resource Development pretty much my whole life (recently retired though). When I was a teenager I would sometimes wish my parents were crafty artist just like me, but I now realize it was a blessing to have practical parents who provided a good example for operating a business.
The partnership with Levis is a dream come true. I have always been obsessed with denim, and I am having the time of my life doing what I love, making quilts, and reusing their denim. All the folks over at Levis have been a joy to work with. They keep filling me up with admiration and as a result I am creating some of the best quilts of my life. My quilt designs start with a small water color painting. Painting helps me to develop a fluid perspective for a geometric patchwork format. I then choose a design from my thumbnail paintings and lay it out on a grid paper to gather rough measurements. Once the measurements are hashed out I prepare and cut my fabric. This is where I play around with hues and tones, as well as create spontaneous patchwork. This part of the process is very playful and forgiving, allowing me to work improvisational with interchanging fabric colors and textures. It is where I diverge from traditional quilters and make it very much my own vision and process. I finish my quilts with traditional techniques, that even the most technical quilters would approve of, hand quilting and making my own double bias binding.
I will be sharing the news and information about the Levis quilts as it develops. The quilts for Levis are 60 inches x 60 inches, they are a standard throw size, and I am loving the square format. For those of you who may be wondering, I will continue with my 50 American States Series in just a few weeks. I can feel my schedule getting back to a rhythm soon. I am so excited to execute my quilt designs for Florida, Georgia, and Hawaii...hint black and white, and colorful plaids to come.
It was a complete surprise to me when I discovered an article about me featured on The Wild Magazine Blog. The post was written by Roxanne Fequiere, a writer and contributing editor for Oakazine and Wetpaint to name a few. Reading the article made me smile because she obviously did her homework, and got all her facts straight. My favorite quote from the article discribes how I use social media platforms such as facebook, twitter and instagram, "Ambrose uses these methods to shine a light on a lifestyle that’s as anachronistic as social media is modern". I love that quote because it discribes my enchanting contrasts, and validates that old & new can complement each other so nicely.
This Wild Idea is a project created by a great photographer and my friend Theron Humphry. Thereon is traveling across America by spending 365 days to capture 365 stories from ordinary folks. We meet in college but reconnected over our love for American road trips. When he was passing through Austin I got to spend some time catching up with him and swapping stories about the road. We hung out and had lots of laughs, but he didn't leave town without conducting a touching interview with me. If your interested in hearing me share a short story about my family and growing up check it out here.
I'm fascinated by This Wild Idea project for many reasons but mostly because I love that when he captures a persons story and shares it through photos and audio, that act is actually an act of giving not taking. He is bringing a light to somebody's life, simply by caring to listen and taking the time to share it. While hanging out with Theron I observed what effect this has on him and his life journey, it's deep and endless. He reminds me about the value of talking to strangers and getting to know your neighbors. When you share your time with others, you are blessing others and therefore you too will be blessed. It is true and Theron demonstrates that with each and every story he stops to hear.
Fallen Flowers, Blending Blooms is the title of Reba Baggett's short story written about our shared experience gathering flowers last summer in the Wisconsin prairie, for Emily's wedding bouquet. I love her quote, "The event of picking flowers is more symbolic than we allowed to surface. It was the simplicity of it that was ever-so uniting". The wedding was a complete effort of teamwork, it's hard to even claim one part of the work as my own. I was honored to assemble the brides bouquet from the flowers that us girls had gathered. It all was Emily's vision, I was just the hands that helped. Photos by Josh Goleman.
