Turkey Red Journal
Dear Readers:
Welcome to the Spring 2019 edition of the Turkey Red Journal. For many of us, we are in the middle of winter, a good time to make plans for our dye gardens. It's also a good time to create color from all the plants we grew and harvested last season. I have been busy working in the studio preparing for two upcoming exhibitions. The first one will be in March at the Albany Park library, in Chicago, where they have invited me to exhibit in their newly-designed library. The exhibition will focus on naturally dyed tapestry work, along with work from a number of my students at the Chicago Botanic Garden. In October, Judy Solomon, a ceramist, and I are having a two-person show at Gallery 900 in Evanston, Illinois. There I will be exhibiting work that focuses my dye experimentations.
In this issue, we have articles focusing on dye methodology, terminology and the importance of a mentor. Deane Bowers and her colleagues Erin Tripp and James Lendemer have shared with us their classroom experimentations with lichen dyeing. Their article, "Lichens To Dye For: Testing Lichen Species for Dye Colors", documents classroom experimentation with lichen dyeing. The class, Lichenology, is taught at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
In Arnhem Land, located in the Northwest Territory of Australia, there is a small homeland community called Mäpuru. It is here that a twice-annual basket weaving and dye workshop is given by the Mäpuru families using local fibers and dyes. Margaret-Anne (Meg) Gooch, an Australian dyer, recently participated in a twelve day workshop. In her article, Meg shares with us her experiences with the people of Mäpuru and the 17 other participants in the workshop.
Nancy Zeller, owner of Long Ridge Farm dye and fiber business, has written an article on the importance of a mentor, "Recollections on my Mentor", which tells the story of Nancy's experiences studying with Michele Wipplinger and how valuable it was for her in learning about natural dyes and creating her own natural dye business. Michele was my mentor, as she was for many others in the natural dye field. We all owe a great deal to Michele for her contributions to the field.
Pat Slaven’s second article on dye terminology, "The “F’s” Fast versus Fugitive", explains the difference between the terms “wash-fast”, “light-fast”, and “fugitive”, the understanding of which is an important consideration when choosing natural colorants for dyeing. Pat is interested in hearing from readers on their ideas for topics for future articles on dye terminology. Please email your suggestions to the Turkey Red Journal at madder@comcast.net.
The submission deadline for the Fall 2019 issue will be June 1, 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