Friday, May 13, 2011

KALAMKARI

In the ancient days, the linga (idol or phallic symbol) of the Lord Shiva in the main temple at Shri Kalahasti was said to be worshipped by a spider named Sri, a serpent named Kala and an elephant named Hasti.  The spider worshipped Shiva by spinning a web to protect it from the hot sun.  The serpent by placing a gem over it and the elephant by washing it with its trunk.  The three are said to have attained salvation by these devotions to Shiva.  The marks of the three devotees are still pointed out in the main temple.  The three names together form the name Sri Kalahasti, a town in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
 

                          Shiva Temple beside the Swarnamukhi River

                                            India

                         Map of Andhra Pradesh, where Sri Kalahasti is located.

The temple to Lord Shiva is located in between two steep hills.  These hills are said to have been formed from part of Mt. Meru (the Mt. Olympus of Indian gods).  As a result of an angry quarrel between the serpent god Adishisa and Vaya the god of the air, three chips separated themselves from MT. Meru and fell in different places in India.  Sri Kalahasti is one of those chips and the area is thought to be a holy place because of it.  
 
Sri Kalahasti is not only famous for its temple but also for its dyed kalamkari.  Kalamkari are naturally dyed, hand painted fabrics that are richly decorated with stylized figures and decorative elements.  The subjects are the colorful myths of the Telegu language of Sri Kalahasti, the epics of the Ramayana and Mahabarata.


        Krishna on his chariot with Arjuna as his passenger from the Bhagavad Gita

This method of putting mordant on cloth, then painting or printing dye and resist onto cotton has been practiced in India for centuries.  It is believed that the cloths were popular with the ancient Greeks before Christ. Samples of this type of decorated fabric have been found in Fustat, Egypt from the 12th and 13th centuries and as far as Japan from the Nara period (649-794).

From the Middle Ages the south-east coast of india has been known for its beautiful cloth.  It is thought that extensive trade and contact with Persia resulted in many technical and design influences.  The word kalamkari is Persian.  Kalam means pen and kari means work.
Trade links during that time also popularized the word chinz to describe them.  Chintz is a  Sanscrit word meaning spotted or bright and was used to describe the block printed cloths.  
Kalamkari was used to describe the painted techniques. In the 15th century the Mughals used the painted and block printed fabrics for tents, floor cloths, palampores used for hangings snd bed cloths, screens, canopies, cushions and bolster covers.  Persian and Indian paintings depict evidence of this type of fabric.

                                    Palampore of the tree of life


                  Aurangzeb holds court, as painted by (perhaps) Bichitr;  
                       The canopy and the clothing are embellished 
                            with block printed and painted fabrics

                                                  
Documented Western knowledge of kalamkari and chintz goes back to the 16th Century.  Ship’s records of the merchant adventurers of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries show ample evidence of trade as well as descriptions of the technical processes. 

                               Indian textile fragment, circa 1545  

  Indian cottons were imported for European use as well as for barter in the Spice Islands (Indonesia and Moluccas) and for sale and trade in North Africa.

Robe à la Française, third quarter of 18th century French Ivory cotton 
printed in multicolored floral motif, Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute


Block-printed Indian cotton textiles were imported into France during the second half of the 17th century.

The patterned cloth was all the rage in Europe not only because of the designs and wear ability, but also because of the richness of the colors.  There was nothing equal to it in the West. The East India Company sent pattern books to India so that the craftsmen could copy designs popular with Europeans.  This fabric was used for garments, bed cloths and furnishings. The word chintz has come to describe any cotton or linen fabric with bright floral patterns.

Hand painted scrolls existed alongside the fabrics that were made for European trade and those that were encouraged by the patronage of the Mughals.  These scrolls made of cotton-depicted stories of the great Hindu epics and mythology.  These scrolls might have been folk recital scrolls and devotional cloths. 


 
An itinerant storyteller would recite a tale using the scroll as a colorful background for his narrative.  Kalamkari are also used for display on outer walls of houses and temples during festivals. 

                  Goddness mata ni pachedi, the Chitara community, Ahmedabad


Today in India, the block printed fabrics are still being made in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat and in Masulipatnam, located about 200 miles east of Hyderabad. The painted kalamari are made in Sri Kalahasti. 


There is not much information how and when the art began there.  In India where there is a legend for every event, there is a story. About 180 years ago a kalamkari workman from the Nellore district who was addicted to drink happened to visit Sri Kalahasti.  He became drunk and while intoxicated revealed all the secrets of the kalamkari process.

Friday, April 22, 2011

EASTER EGGS DYED NATURALLY, OF COURSE

When coloring eggs with natural dyestuffs, the eggs are cooked and colored at the same time.  Start the eggs covered with an inch of warm water and gradually raise the temperature, this keeps the eggs from cracking.  Cook for about 20 minutes.  Let the eggs cool down in the liquid.

Wrap the eggs in onion skins and tie with string add 1 tbs white vinegar. The vinegar helps to keep the color on the eggs.

Variations:

Draw on eggs with crayons, with turmeric and 1 tbs white vinegar to the water.

Wrap the egg in tea bags fastened with string or rubber bands.  Use regular tea or red zinger and 1 tbs white vinegar.

You can add chopped or sliced beets and 1 tbs white vinegar to the water.

Use coffee grounds and 1 tbs white vinegar to the water.
 
Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the dye and swirl the eggs in the color.

Try other dyes such as cranberry juice, grape juice, wine, and wrap the eggs in cabbage leaves.

The longer you leave the eggs in the water the better the results.

The eggs can be over dyed for more complex colors.

The eggs can be polished with some vegetable oil if you want a shine on them.

Surprise, Surprise!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

MY NATURAL DYE RESEARCH

I can hardly remember why I became interested in natural dyes but it was certainly around 1960 when my father (who always knew what I wanted before I even realized it) gave me a booklet by Margaret S. Furry Assistant Textile Chemist, and Bess M. Viemont, Assistant Textile Specialist, 
Division of Textiles and Clothing, Bureau of Home Economics, [USDA, misc. pub. 230], December 1935.

This publication was prepared by the Department of Agriculture for distribution to communities whose handicrafts provided extra income for rural families. It was fascinating for me because in the 1960’s there weren’t any dyes for home studio use except Rit, Aljo and Tintex. These weren't very fast or beautiful.

 

I actually learned to practice the use of natural dyes on wool when I was in the Peace Corps in Quinua, province of Huamanga, department of Ayacucho, Peru in 1963.  The village was located in the second cordillera of the Andes.  I was working on a program of Crafts Development.  I really loved the color quality and no matter how or what was combined they always looked well together.
 
The village ladies showed me how to dye with walnuts, dahlia flowers and cochineal on wool.  From that time I began a quest to learn about them.

 
                                          
                                    On the road to Ayacucho and Quinua



 Our house in Quinua on the Ayacucho/Quinua/Tingo Maria highroad.

I know that most of the dye knowledge was empirical and was handed down from one person to another.  I believe that it is a world wide human resource subject to extinction as more and more people use chemical dyes.


 

Me in Quinua during the festival of the Virgen de Cocharcas

It all seemed so mysterious and I do love a mystery. So more than 30 years ago I began serious research to study natural dyes that are directly applied or used with various resists; wax resist, paste resist, shibori,  and ikat.   It was very important for me to see first hand and document the various processes by the original artisans.  I needed to go to a country where natural dyes were still being used.  So in 1979 I went to India.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

INDIGO DYEING WOODBLOCK IMAGES FROM OLD SOURCES

 There are several times during the process of dyeing indigo that are common to all cultures, dippping, wringing, stretching and airing out the fabric or yarn.  Here are some images that depict these processes.


  
Dyeing with Indigo from a mural by Diego Rivera, 1924, 
              Ministry of Education, Mexico City.


Diego Rivera Mural, Aztec Dye and textile works.



           A hikifuda is a handbill used in the Edo era (1603-1867) to advertise shops and products. A close-up shows a dyer dipping fabric into indigo that has been stretched on shinshi.



A close-up of this hikifuda shows craftsmen wringing fabric that has been dyed with indigo.

 

Wood block prints from unknown source.

Monday, January 31, 2011

BLOCK PRINTING IN INDIA

 
There are many block printing workshops in India.  These are photos from various dye studios and workshops


   
                           The tables are padded.


   
 This frame is used to hold the dye.  There is a bamboo rack inside that is covered with fabric it makes it easier to charge up the block with dye.

















A block printed lungi.

                                        A block printed sari.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

TANAKA NAO DYE COLOR CHARTS

                                    
 Sirius dye fabric sample card.
This is a dye originally made by Bayer 
and now distributed by Dystar.  
Syrius is a Direct dye for cellulose fibers.


Sirius color chart using both .5% and 3.0% dye strength
click to enlarge color chart. 


Procion M dyestuff fabric sample card.
Procion M are cold water reactive dyes. They are commonly used in tie dye and other textile crafts. They are were originally made by ICI Organics. The brand name is now owned by Dystar,  the patent on the dyes has expired, many manufacturers around the world now make them.

         
  Procion M color chart using both .5% and 3.0% dye strength
click to enlarge color chart. 

 

Natural dye color chart.  


In these color samples on chirimen silk the following mordants were used from left to right, click to enlarge color chart. 

Tin (suzu), ammonium acetate (arumi), sakusan do (acetic acid), chromium acetate,
potassium bichromate (juchrome), iron (tetsu).
The dyes used from top left to the bottom left are: shibuki (wild peach bark), enju (Japanese pagoda tree), Suo (sappanwood, Brazil wood), lac, fustic (Chlorophora tinctoria), quebracho tree (quebrachia), myroballun (ground nuts of the Terminalia chebula tree),  rhamnus Japonicus (Japanese buckthorn), Logwood, catechu.


                                                    NATURAL DYES ON WOOL YARN

Left hand page, click to enlarge color chart. 


 Tin mordant: First row, left to right, top to bottom, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), lac, Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Japanese buckthorn rhamnus Japonicus, shibuki (wild peach bark), Paeonia (Kogane-zome), Unknown,  damar (damarinto), gambir or katechu (katekyu), quebracho,

Aluminum acetate: Second row, top to bottom, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), lac, Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Japanese buckthorn rhamnus Japonicus, shibuki (wild peach bark), Paeonia (Kogane-zome), Unknown,  damar (damarinto), gambir or katechu (katekyu), quebracho.

Chrome:Third row, top to bottom, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), lac, Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Japanese buckthorn rhamnus Japonicus, shibuki (wild peach bark), Paeonia (Kogane-zome), Myrobalan,  damar (damarinto), gambir or katechu (katekyu), quebracho.

Iron: Fourth row, top to bottom, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), lac, Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Japanese buckthorn rhamnus Japonicus, shibuki (wild peach bark), Paeonia (Kogane-zome), Myrobalan,  damar (damarinto), gambir or katechu (katekyu), quebracho. 

                    

                                                                 


NATURAL DYES ON COTTON


The chart shows light, medium and heavy concentrations of dye.

Read the charts left to right and top to bottom, click to enlarge color chart.


Tin mordant: First row, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Fustic (gereppu), shibuki (wild peach bark), Golden dye (Paeonia 'Kogane-zome), Myrobalan, Baikal Skullcap, tamarind, katechu, quebracho tree (quebrachia)


Aluminum acetate: Second row, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), lac (rakkudai), Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Buckthorn (kuroumemodoki), Fustic (gereppu), shibuki (wild peach bark), Golden dye (Paeonia 'Kogane-zome), Myrobalan, Baikal Skullcap, tamarind, katechu, quebracho tree (quebrachia).


Chrome: Third row, Logwood, sappan wood (suo), lac (rakkudai), Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Buckthorn (kuroumemodoki) , Fustic (gereppu), shibuki (wild peach bark), Golden dye (Paeonia 'Kogane-zome), Myrobalan, Baikal Skullcap, tamarind, katechu, quebracho tre.


Copper: Fourth row: Logwood, sappan wood (suo), Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Fustic (gereppu), shibuki (wild peach bark), Golden dye (Paeonia'Kogane-zome), Baikal Skullcap, tamarind, katechu, quebracho tree.


Iron: Fifth row: Logwood, sappan wood (suo), Japanese pagoda tree (enju), Fustic (gereppu), shibuki (wild peach bark), Golden dye (Paeonia 'Kogane-zome), Myrobalan, Gall nut (kibush), Baikal Skullcap, katechu (asenyaku), quebracho tree.

  For information on how to extract natural dyes and the use of the different mordants used by Japanese dyers, please refer to my post on November 3, 2009.  These charts were made by Tanaka Nao and are no longer available.  I purchased these charts in 1985 when I was on a Fulbright research grant to study Kusaki-zome (Japanese grass and tree dyes).  I post them here for all who are interested.
Tanaka Nao website a wonderful source for dyeing supplies, fabric, stencils, brushes, etc.  Go visit when in Tokyo or Kyoto, Japan.
http://www.tanaka-nao.co.jp/, Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, order by fax only
Tokyo Tel. 03 3400 4844, Fax 03 3400 4969