8/1 – 8/4
Re•Treat Summer Series
Elin Noble
Indigo Discharge: Blue, Brown, and White

This three-day class will engage indigo dye from two vantage points. We will begin by applying indigo on cellulose cloth (cotton, linen, hemp, ramie). After that we will selectively remove indigo through a series of resist techniques. 

The first day of the course we will make an indigo vat and dye cloth creating a variety of blue hues. On the second and third day we will use paste and clay resists in addition to stitched, wrapped, and clamped resists. We will create a variety of imagery, focusing on blue on brown, blue on white, white on blue, brown on blue, or a combination of all of these.

We will remove the indigo dye using potassium permanganate, which first leaves the background color in varying shades of brown. Further processing removes the brown, leaving the background color white with an indigo blue pattern. This process not only work on indigo dyed cloth, but also works on cloth dyed with natural and synthetic dyes.

We will cover how to maintain an indigo vat as well as safe and effective methods for using the discharge products.

A required materials list will be provided. Class is limited to 10 students.

Cancellations received 45 or more days prior to the first day of class are eligible for a full refund less a $25 processing fee. There are no refunds (or credit) for cancellations received 44 or fewer days prior to the first day of class.

About the Artist

Elin Noble is a textile artist and dyer. She has a BFA in Fiber from the University of Washington. From 1992-1996 she was Lab Manager at PRO Chemical & Dye, a dye distributor in Fall River, Massachusetts. She is the author of the 1998 award-winning book, Dyes & Paints: A Hands-On Guide to Coloring Fabric.

Elin has lectured and conducted workshops in the United States, including at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Craft, and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Additionally she has taught in Canada, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, Japan, and South Korea. Her cloth and quilts have been exhibited in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Hungary, Austria, South Korea, and China.

Through teaching, Elin shares her knowledge from decades of working with dyes. Her main teaching focus is on the “how and why” dyes work. In essence, she teaches students how to “think like a dye”. Elin’s artwork combines traditional and innovate approaches to dyeing, using subtle and bold color juxtapositions. Her love of color, texture, and abstract geometric compositions show up in her complex itajime dyed fabric, quilts, and installations.

Her artwork has been shown worldwide in galleries and museums, including the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, Visions Art Museum, New Bedford Art Museum, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Bellevue Art Museum, and the Museum of Art and Design in New York. Elin’s work is in many private and museum collections, including the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska and the Jack Lenor Larsen LongHouse Reserve collection in East Hampton, New York. Elin is a member of the Surface Design Association and the World Shibori Network.

About Re•Treat