Loving Indigo Blue from Oaxaca and Japan
I’m smitten with indigo. I first fell in love with it years ago in Oaxaca, Mexico, where I discovered it is grown along the tropical, humid southern coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The type of indigo grown in Oaxaca is a different strain. The botanical name for the Oaxaca indigo plant is Indigofera suffruticosa, also […]
NEW! One-Day Indigo Dye Workshop
Indigo blue is one of those magical colors that so many of us covet. It comes from a leafy green plant that looks like pea shoots and is found in many countries around the equator including Africa, India, Japan AND Oaxaca, Mexico. Laboriously cultivated and processed in the humid conditions of Santiago Niltepec near the […]
Women Weavers in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Part One
Recently, I spent the day with a University of Michigan, public policy and economic development researcher, who asked me to introduce her to the Zapotec weaving culture of Teotitlan del Valle. Her expertise is India. Now, she is exploring how India and Mexico intersect and diverge in their support of artisans, particularly weavers. During our […]
Natural Dyes and Indigo Blue Easter Eggs
I’ve never seen dyed Easter eggs here in Oaxaca, but perhaps someone could correct me if I just haven’t noticed them. Yet, here we are in the world of natural dyes. My personal favorite is indigo blue. So, when this post from Improvised Life came to my inbox this morning, I felt compelled to share […]
Oaxaca Indigo Dye Workshop Delights Penland School of Crafts Visitors
Dyeing with the natural color of indigo was a highlight of the Penland School of Crafts textile workshop tour of Oaxaca in early November. I brought this wonderful group of women — all first-time visitors to Oaxaca — for a workshop with Eric Chavez Santiago and his parents at their family home in Teotitlan del […]