Turkey Red Journal
Dear Readers:
Welcome to the Fall 2018 Edition of the Turkey Red Journal. We are pleased to announce the publication of John Marshall’s new book Singing the Blues, which focuses on the many ways to use Japanese indigo. As many of you know, John is an indigo dyer and researcher. His book, which is dedicated to Dorothy Miller, covers the history of Japanese indigo, along with many recipes to use it for fresh-leaf dyeing, vat dyeing and making pigments. I review John’s book in this issue of the TRJ.
John has written two articles for this issue. The first, “Beware the Interloper!”, focuses on identifying the difference between Persicaria tinctorium and Persicaria maculosa, the former Japanese indigo and the latter a noxious weed. Many gardeners, including myself, were sent seeds of the wrong species this summer and had to pull all the indigo from the garden and restart another indigo bed. In his second article, "How Colorfast is Fresh-Leaf Indigo?”, Marshall discusses the much debated topic the color-fastness of fresh-leaf indigo dyeing.
A first for the Turkey Red Journal is a song about natural dyes. Lys Guillorn, a natural dyer, spinner and singer express her love for the dyes in her music. In her written statement ("About 'Tinctotia'") you can find a link to her lyrics.
Pat Slaven, a Chemical Engineer and Textile Chemist, has agreed to write an ongoing terminology column for the TRJ focusing on terms that are often misused by the dye community. In this issue, Pat discusses the difference between a dye and a pigment.
Pat and I both judged the last Certificate of Excellence in Dyeing for the Handweavers Guild of America, hosted by the Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers. We are pleased to announce that we have a new recipient of the COE in Dyeing Level I. Also, I want to give a shout out to all the members of the guild for making our stay so memorable. If you are interested in reading more about the examination, check out the article in the Fall 2018 issue of Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot.
For many of us, collaboration and sustainability are important aspects of our practice. In their article, “Miranda Bennett Studio and New Leaf Agriculture: A Partnership Grows!”, Bridget Mouton, Meg Erskine and Wandaka Musongera write about the collaboration that is taking place in Austin, Texas, between a natural dye company and the Multicultural Refugee Coalition farm.
The submission deadline for the Spring 2019 issue will be February 15, 2019 for articles, artwork, exhibit notices and book reviews. We are interested in featuring dyers from around the world, so don't hesitate to submit your ideas for articles. Send your submissions to madder@comcast.net.
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 when the new issue is online, please send an email to madder@comcast.net. Your email address will not be shared with others.
As always, a special thanks to Bob Feldman, our copy editor and webmaster, for all his hard work.
Pamela FeldmanEditor and Publisher
www.pamelafeldman.com