OK, I am completely fascinated and obsessed....John "I-caught-the-Asia-bug" Robshaw is not only all kinds of cute but he is also OH so very talented!...
He earned a fine arts degree at Pratt and then studied traditional block printing in China, then he journeyed to India to find natural indigo dye for his paintings. But he fell in love with the local artisans fabric-making traditions, it became a lifelong fascination.
He earned a fine arts degree at Pratt and then studied traditional block printing in China, then he journeyed to India to find natural indigo dye for his paintings. But he fell in love with the local artisans fabric-making traditions, it became a lifelong fascination.
"It's so simple and natural. You touch a woodblock to wet clay and then to the fabric. After the clay dries, you dip the cloth into the indigo vat and the clay stays on. One dip gives the fabric a sky-blue color, two dips and it deepens to cobalt, three dips and its a saturated midnight blue. Then the fabric is laid out to dry in the sun and later the clay is washed off. The dyer says the indigo vats are like a mistress because they need constant attention. I was completely fascinated by the dyeing and printing processes, as well as how the finished product is used. Textiles become intimate companions in daily life, whether as a pillow, bedcover or sarong."
