Turkey Red Journal
Dear Readers:
Welcome to the Fall 2009 edition of the Turkey Red Journal. To start, I would like to thank The Mountain and Valley Wool Association for sponsoring the "Earth's Palette" Dye Conference in Taos, NM, this fall and to Liesel Orend and Coralie Silvey Jones for organizing a very successful event. They drew on both regional and national dyers, scientist, and lectures covering topics from personal accounts of research and creative work to the feasibility of marketing dye plants. Local dyers opened their gardens and shared their knowledge of dyes and plants. Evenings were spent sharing studio experiences, teaching philosophy and views on when and where the next conference will take place.
"Earth's Palette" natural dye and color conference,
September 26-28, 2009, Taos, New Mexico
In this edition, Heather Clark Hilliard, a conference participant, has generously shared her experiences and observations from the conference. Glenna Dean, an archaeobotanist and a presenter at the conferences has written an in-depth article about lichen dyeing. On the technical side, Ruth Cadoret has results of her light-fast testing of fresh indigo on wool yarns. John Marshall has provided an English summary of a television program about efforts to preserve Japanese Indigo during World War II, with a link to footage from the program.
In the Gallery, I am pleased to present the work of Jaime Skolfield, a post baccalaureate graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Fashion Program. Jaime's collection, titled "Harsh Environment," uses both natural and synthetic dyes to depict human impact on the environment of the Arctic.
I have received information about two upcoming natural dye conferences. Pamela Borchardt sent a note about a conference in Kolkata, India, 20-27 February 2010, which will include a seminar on natural dyes. If you would like further information please send an email to sutraindia10@gmail.com.
The International Symposium and Exhibition on Natural Dyes and Colorants (ISEND) 2011 Europe will take place in La Rochelle, on the west coast of France, from 24-30 April 2011. This symposium is organized jointly by Dr. Dominique Cardon. For more information please visit their website: http:\\www.isend2011.com/application-form,257,en.html?track=newsletter20091207.
Articles, artwork, exhibit notices and reviews for the next issue of the TRJ will be due February 1, 2010. We are interested in featuring dyers from around the world. Don't hesitate to submit your ideas. Send your submissions to pfeldman@saic.edu. Back issues of the print version of the TRJ are still available for purchase. Contact me directly for further information. Please keep sending in your thoughts and suggestions. We appreciate all your comments.
If you are not currently on the TRJ new issue notification mailing list and would like to receive notification of when the new issue is online, please send an email to pfeldman@saic.edu. Your email address will not be shared with others.
As always, a special thanks to Judith Musick, the TRJ copy editor and to Bob Feldman, our webmaster for all their hard work.
Pamela FeldmanEditor and Publisher
www.pamelafeldman.com