I want to share with you what will happen in the afternoon of the first day of the Shibori workshop I will be leading in Teotitlán.

On the first day of the workshop, after we prepare our indigo vats, I will introduce participants to the history and practice of Shibori, exploring its connections to tie-dye traditions from around the world.

Creating a resist on fabric and then dyeing it is thousands of years old. It has been done the world over since ancient times. There are date discrepancies, and I have tried to choose the most accurate. Here are just a few dates:

Ancient Egypt – 1000 B.C.
 

India - 4000 years ago

Peru - 1500 years ago

Japan - as far back as the 6th century, but probably further back.

China – 206 BCE

West Africa – 1800s

Mexico – during the time of the Mayans

I am fortunate enough to have four samples, 1 each from China, West Africa, India, and Japan. Each piece has meaning for me. I also have photos of Wari Fabric from Peru.

The Zha Ran from China is a pair of pants. I picked them up at a tiny shop off the beaten path on one of the small islands near Hong Kong in 1998 or 1999. The indigo was so deep the pants looked almost black, and the butterflies were almost invisible. The shop owner told me to soak the pants in salt water before I wore them. Of course, I couldn’t wait and wore them the next day – that night I had blue legs. But the indigo washed right off my legs as it had already oxidized.

The Fulani is made up of narrow strips of handspun, handwoven cotton fabric stitched together and then tied and dyed in natural indigo. It was about 20 years ago. There was a fabric expo at the Javitts Center in NYC. Within the exposition was a showplace that featured World Textiles. I spotted this fabric immediately. The fabrics were not for sale, only for exhibition. I asked the woman minding the booth if I could buy one of the fabrics. She nodded yes, and in a whisper told me to meet her behind the wall at a certain time. So, I waited until it was time to meet and was able to buy this beautiful piece of fabric.

The Bhandani is from Rajasthan. I visited a small village in the Thar Desert. The women in the village were all wearing beautiful Bhandani Saris and head coverings, but I couldn’t find any shops selling the fabrics. It was beginning to get dark, and time to return to my hotel, when I passed a shop and thought I spotted Bhandani. Sure enough, they had shelves of inexpensive cotton Bhandani. Though my sample is not dyed with natural dyes, I will always cherish it for the memory of being in that tiny shop in that small village as the sun was setting.

The Arimatsu Shibori from Japan is a new piece for me. I purchased it from a US dealer, especially for the workshop. I am not sure how old it is; it is a scrap, probably originally a kimono fabric, and it is handwoven silk, tied and then dyed in indigo.

Finally, the photos of the Wari cloth from Peru. This cloth is what gave me the idea for this workshop. I could relate that what was done in Peru long ago could reach Mexico and be an influence on the Oaxacan textiles. 

This is especially true for the famous Rebozos (shawls). While not the same technique as we can see in the above photos, this technique is Jaspe (ikat). The process involves tying and dyeing sections of the warp (lengthwise) and/or weft (widthwise) threads before weaving, creating distinctive patterns. 
I picked up this Rebozo in the Sunday Market in Tlacolula, Mexico, in 2009!

The two photos below: a sample of Japse, from my Rebozo, the second photo is a small sample of vintage Japanese Kasuri (Ikat) silk fabric, probably from a Kimono.

I hope you enjoyed going on this textile journey with me!