Dyed and Gone to Yokosuka

A Shibori workshop came to my house today and I have a purple tie-dyed scarf to show for it. Or I will as soon as I finish swishing all the excess dye from the scarf and hang it to dry.

Creative Explorer was a Shibori artist at the Hermitage Museum near our Norfolk house before she moved to Japan last summer. Now she takes a Shibori class in Tokyo every month. When we were looking for ways to repay the Japanese quilters for taking us to the fabric store and money-washing shrine in Kamakura, Creative offered to share her expertise with us. Weather Explorer and I thought that was a great idea. (Weather Explorer and I are both praying to be struck by a bolt of expertise-in-something lightning before it is our turn to plan an activity for Hiroko, Hisayo, and Kayoko.)

Before we got our hands dirty, Creative Explorer showed us some examples of her incredible work. The flowers and leaves on one quilt (above) were fashioned from her children's handprints. You can see I was not exaggerating when I gave her that nickname.


We ran thread across our scarves in the places Creative had marked with colorful pins, gathered the stitches, and wrapped the thread around the fabric as tightly as we could. You want to wrap the thread tightly so the fabric in that area will resist the dye. I mention this to prove I was paying attention.
After we posed with our virgin bundles, Creative soaked the scarves in soda ash to make the fabric more receptive to dye and then she mixed eight or nine batches of dye in various shades of purple, blue, and green.

We applied the dye of our choice with sponge brushes, rolled the scarves in plastic sheets so they looked like sausages, squeezed out the excess dye, and let our projects rest while we ate lunch. Creative, however, did not get to eat lunch because I forgot she is a vegetarian until I was placing the fruity chicken curry salad in front of her. I will not sleep until I come up with a way to atone for this faux pas.

The Japanese quilters were thrilled to learn a traditional Japanese craft from a passionate young American artist. They want to return the favor by taking us to Kamakura next month to see the hydrangeas in bloom. Weather Explorer will be in New York then so Kate might have to fill in for her. This will require an appropriate nickname. Junior Explorer? Ignoring-her-thesis Explorer? This has all the earmarks of a contest.