Setting up shop in my kitchen, I turned the enamel compost pot into a dye pot, soaked skeins of wool in the sink and fired up the stove. Out of a yellow envelope of dye labeled Milling Blue, tossed a few teaspoons of the powder into the hot water, swirled it around with a wood paint stick, dropped the wet wool into the mix and watched the wool begin to absorb the dye. With my crude technique and good luck, what emerged was a beautiful translucent hue of blue.
Indigo The Color That Changed The World by Catherine Legrand. Calm, regal and common sums up our love affair with blue. This fascinating blue journey transports you into the realms of botany, chemistry, world exploration, commerce, cultural identity as well as to the places where the ancient blue dye traditions still survive.
Making hats has always been about putting the things I love together: knitting, pattern, wool, and keeping warm. In March, I pulled out my design archives to take a look and remind me what initially got me going on this long knitting journey. The early design shapes and patterns were simple and playful; I started to remember how much everyone loved them. The spring months went by and the pile of new knittings grew in my studio. The kids and friends would come by and check them out, always pulling out the same blue and white stripe cap, declaring it was the one they wanted. It’s the favorite hat.
Recently my friend Wendy and I met up at the Metropolitan Museum to see the show Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500–1800. On our way home, taking the bus downtown, she pulled out the announcement for her new show of photograms. Seeing her enchanting image synthesized my thoughts and made this blue journey complete. Go see them if you can, they are wonderful.
Wendy Small Photograms
The Project Room at Morgan Lehman Gallery
535 West 22nd St.
New York NY 10011
October 24- December 2nd
art@morganlehmangallery.com
Available for sale by clicking the images below
