I am hoping to finish my website soon. I have been wandering around my art aimlessly for too long now. My blog here will change once I get things archived. I have been trying out some new things and doing research on ideas for projects. Hoping for my ah-hah moment!

Long time away from the blog

It has been a long time away from my blog. Life throws curve balls at you now and then and they can suck the creativity right out of you. It has been good to have time to just think about what I want to do and to re-evaluate my priorities when it comes to making art. I have been working more with my digital and photographic art instead of my fiber art or sewing. Trying out some of the online services that will print your art on various things--Gel-A-Skins, Zazzle and Cafe Press, and don't let me forget Spoonflower.  Now I am trying to get back into my fiber work. I am taking a great online class from Glennis Dolce and Richard Carbin on "Indigo Mandalas." http://shiborigirl.bigcartel.com/category/online-classes  It has been a great motivator to get me back to indigo. No indigo planted this year. We have covered the bed and are letting it rest. I am working on getting a natural fermented vat going and my next posts will record the steps for that.

Spring

Spring is pushing its first blooms up from the warming earth.

Another Visitor

Today I cut down the indigo and laid it out to dry in the sun. It was not quite hot enough to get it really dry. Sunday is forecast to have more sun and to be warmer so I will leave it out for another day to get it is dry as possible. The flower heads will then be cut off and bundled to hang to dry so the seeds will fall out. I am crossing my fingers that I have a nice crop of seeds! The indigo plot had a visitor that I had to ask to move out before I cut it.

Praying Mantis guarding the indigo. I think she looks like an alien from another planet.

The Indigo blossoms are starting to dry.

I promised pictures of the indigo's progress in my last post. I am so excited that I will get some seed this year. Last year the frost got my first crop of indigo before it went to seed. My husband has been wonderful about helping me get it covered at night and uncovered again in the mornings.

A closeup view of the drying flower heads shows the blossoms close up as they dry and the seed forms in the center.

I plucked off one of the dried flowers to see how far along the seeds have developed.

After rubbing off the dried husk, one tiny indigo seed emerges.

Indigo Seeds--coming soon!

After many days of covering and uncovering my indigo to keep the frost off, I can see the payoff coming. Some of the lovely blossoms have started to close up and dry. Inside, tiny seeds are forming. The honeybees are there to greet me in the morning. I know they are going to be disappointed when this source has dried up but it has been something I have been anxiously awaiting. I will not be able to separate it by color after it is dry. I will have to come up with a better plan for next year.My next post will have pictures to update the progress from blooms to seed.

Indigo and Butterflies

A Buckeye Butterfly enjoying the sunshine and indigo.

If you zoom in, you can see the butterfly sipping from the indigo.

 

 

 

 

The white blossoms started out looking pink. It was not until they fully opened that I could really tell the difference.

Indigo Blossoms

My indigo is sporting some dainty pink flowers now. The kojyoko variety has not bloomed out yet and is supposed to have white blossoms. I think I see some buds forming on them. I am worried about a hard frost we are expected to have soon so I will have to watch and cover them if needed.

The leaves and stems have taken on a reddish cast as the buds came out.

A tiny spider is a bonus in this picture. The buds are just shooting out and are still green.

The buds are tiny and arranged on sprays.

An overhead view shows the arching of the sprays of flowers.

Lots of blooms coming out.

I love this picture! My husband even said it was a good portrait of the indigo buds.

One dainty flower opening.

More flowers opening.

I have made this picture my screensaver on my computer. I love the pink flower
buds against the blue sky. Not my best photo, but it makes me happy.

Colorways Fall 2011

Truly exciting for me to be included in the new Colorways e-mag for Fall 2011. My good friend and fellow artist and art teacher Michelle Cox joined me in working on "In the Kitchen." We used commonly found kitchen items and cooking techniques to dye with. We also got to experience the beauty of the yellow that is saffron! Truly golden and glowing, saffron will brighten your day even if it only lasts a few seasons as it fades with exposure to light. Yes, we did use some dyes known to be fugitive, but you can dye it again in the same color or do something different. We used several different fibers and silk scarves for our dye experiments. Here is a sneak peek:

A lovely little dish of saffron.

If you click the link above you can get a better preview. It is an exciting edition with articles from Rowland Ricketts on his IndiGrowing Blue project and Elaine Lipson gives an overview of her trip to ISEND. The e-mag format developed by Interweave includes slide shows, pop out photos, videos, pdf files to print out as reference and great photos and articles. It really is eye candy for the fiber artist! The summer 2011 issue of Colorways (the premier issue) is fabulous as well.

Indigo Comparison II

A comparison of two varieties of indigo. I know the one on the left is polygonum tinctorium. The one on the right seems to be slightly different but may still be polygonum tinctorium--just another variety.

To update, I have three varieties of indigo growing this year. Two types of polygonum tinctorium and a third I now believe was not identified correctly when I got the seeds. The third has thinner leaves that tend to curl and they seem to turn a darker blue when dried. The plants have gotten taller than the others after the same growth and have bloomed earlier than the others.

I removed a leaf from each of the plants in the picture above and slightly crushed them. The leaf on the left started to turn blue immediately and the one of the right only a little. The leaf on the left is much thinner and they have had a tendency to curl on the plants. The leaves are close in size as far as length and width go.

From left to right, the varieties are: the one I am unsure about, polygonum tincorium senbon, and polygonum tinctorium kojyoko. All were transplanted at the same time.

The unidentified stems approx 18" long, thick stems with reddish/brown cast. Leaves are thin and have a tendency to curl. Leaves are slightly olive in color. Larges leaves are approx 3-4" long and 2" wide at widest point.

Polygonum tinctoria  senbon. Stems are approx 18" long with a reddish cast. Leaves are bright green and approx 3-4" long and 2" wide at widest point.

Polygonum tinctoria kojyoko. Stems are approx 12-14" long and are green with some brown. Leaves are bright green and approx 2-3" long and 1 1/2" at widest point. This variety seems to grow a little more compactly.

Left to right, the unidentified variety, polygonum tinctoria senbon, polygonum tinctoria kojyoko leaves for a side by side comparison. 

Next I will compare the dried stems and leaves and then the blossoms and seeds. I am still working to confirm what variety of indigo I have in the third set of plants.