Category: (In)Visible Indigo

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The video below details my 2017 experiments cultivating Japanese and tropical indigo from seed to (almost) dye in Brooklyn, NY. Initial funding from Puffin Foundation West with in-kind support from Wyckoff Farmhouse, Brooklyn, NY. In February, I will begin distributing seeds for indoor planting in sunny spots in New York City. Email me at ivivaolenick@gmail.com…

Approached by curator, Katie Fuller of Race and Revolution, who collaborated with Larry Ossei-Mensah to produce Still Separate – Still Unequal, an exhibit about school segregation at Smack Mellon, summer 2017, I created this homage to past students I’ve encountered as a teaching artist traveling all over New York City and New Jersey. The crocheted…

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After harvesting flax in late August, we bundled the branches, and hung them upside down to dry, catching falling seed pods in voile. Unwrapping the flax, we used our hands to pull and scrape off seeds, collecting in the bottom of the bucket. The small, brown, edible seeds are inside the round bulb or pods,…

Indigo leaves and flowers blooming in late October. Once cut with stems and flowers, I place leaves in a canvas bag to compost for 60–100 days. When flowers completely dry out, they turn to seed for planting next spring. When the leaves reach a more broken-down state, I will soak the leaves, extract the dye…

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Thanks to support from Puffin Foundation West, allowing me to produce indigo from seed to dye in Brooklyn, and to provide dyeing workshops incorporating context about tropical indigo as a colonial American cash crop. Pin It

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