August 2022, the PEI Crafts Council hosted an Indigo Vat creation workshop led by Valérie d. Walker. Valérie arrived on August 16th with containers of fabric, resists, and indigo.
We spent the next few days transforming the back deck of the PEICC into a warm, dry and well lit space, shopping for “vats” and borrowing many items like pots, burners, blankets, pipes from our textile artists. As we boiled water to create the alchemy needed for a Bio-Fermentation Natural Vat, Valérie shared stories of her travels and experience with Indigo. She patiently demonstrated and answered endless questions about the many techniques for Hand-shaped Resist Patterning (Adiré/Shibori) using folds, elastics, bamboo, string, thread, clips.
A week after we began, Valérie declared the vat would be ready for dyeing the next day. Tues, Wed and Thur we had several textile artists join us on the back deck to dye their folded, wrapped, sewn and pinch pleated creations. The excitement was high after the first dip and a few fabrics were opened up to see the magical results of the indigo.
By the end of the week with the help of the dedicated group of dyers we were able to construct 5 lanterns for Art in the Open.
Several of the indigo pieces are hanging in the window at the PEI Crafts Council until September 15th.
And, the magical vat continues to live at the PEICC. We are grateful to Valérie d. Walker for sharing her knowledge of the vat and setting us up for success by making sure we can continue to dye with an organic vat for years to come.
