The cool temperatures combined with the bright sunlight provided a brisk and refreshing experience in the dye studio this week. I received a custom order for a few pieces of clothing to be dyed in indigo – a deep indigo is desired – the usual.

a tunic, just out of the vat, in oxidation, transitioning from green to blue.

Custom dyeing is another way of exploring the medium with new or old fibers; with whatever comes along serendipitously. It’s a refreshment or recreation of a piece of clothing or other cloth item. It’s a new context or life for that piece. It’s never straight forward, so in spite of the usual approach, in the end how the fibers will respond to the dye is always in question. So, there is always an element of risk. I think of watercolor.

Thick cotton embroidery covers most of this tunic.

I enjoy that aspect of dyeing. I also enjoy the variations in the garments themselves – their shapes, styles and embellishments. I wonder about their origins and then again, who will wear them and how will the wearer respond to his/her new shirt or tunic? Some of these pieces are unique enough that I think there must be a story.