Karen Illman Miller
Nautilus Fiberarts

Lectures are about 90 minutes.

Indigo Dyeing Worldwide.

Indigo is a vat dye. Because of the chemistry of indigo it must be reduced in the vat. As a result only processes that protect the fabric from the dye can be used to produce patterned fabric. These processes can be mechanical as in shibori or ikat, or chemical as in batik or katazome. Cultures around the world have devised methods that satisfy these requirements, leading to a wondrous array of fabric, but always with the same processes of resist dyeing. This lecture describes indigo fabrics from around the world, with slides and many actual examples.

Katazome, Then and Now

A thorough discussion of the traditional art of Japanese stencil dyeing, with slides and examples of antique fabrics and of my own work, illustrating where it has taken a contemporary surface designer and fiber artist.