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| copper tjap |
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| layered indigo dyeing. Two waxings |
Today's expedition included an indigo dying workshop and a lecture on Indonesian textiles. The dye workshop took place on a beautiful property that is dedicated to
natural dye plants. Our instructor explained how this process worked
for the various colors and how it is used in the various villages and
communities that Threads of Life works with. I spent my morning learning how to use two different methods of designing fabric in order to create a design. We did some of the design with a copper tjaps( pronounced chop) and the rest with a
tjanting. The thin lines in my design are all the tjangting while the gecko, elephant and butterfly were all tjaps. Lunch was provided as part of the morning activities and was a vegetarian feast beautifully wrapped in a banana leaf.
After leaving we were transported back to the
Threads of Life storefront where we were treated to a lecture on the different communities and villages that the organization works with. We saw fabric samples representing the different communities work and the various history and culture behind the pieces was offered as well. Threads of Life is a fair trade business that sells what they refer to as heirloom quality textiles and baskets made using local materials and natural dyes. The items are purchased from over 1000 weavers on 12 islands in Indonesia(Samba, Lembata, Flores, Sulawesi, Bali, Timor, Java, Kalimatan, Lombok, Adonara, and Savu. TOL has a gallery and shop, provides educational exhibits, offers textile classes, and cultural and fiber arts workshops. They believe in empowering women through the commission of textiles directly from the women, sustaining culture, restoring art forms, conserving nature and utilizing sustainable methods for dying and weaving.
Day Two photos
Today's expedition included an indigo dying workshop and a lecture on Indonesian textiles. The dye workshop took place on a beautiful property that is dedicated to
natural dye plants. Our instructor explained how this process worked
for the various colors and how it is used in the various villages and
communities that Threads of Life works with. I spent my morning learning how to use two different methods of designing fabric in order to create a design. We did some of the design with a copper tjaps( pronounced chop) and the rest with a tjanting. The thin lines in my design are all the tjangting while the gecko, elephant and butterfly were all tjaps. Lunch was provided as part of the morning activities and was a vegetarian feast beautifully wrapped in a banana leaf. 
After leaving we were transported back to the Threads of Life storefront where we were treated to a lecture on the different communities and villages that the organization works with. We saw fabric samples representing the different communities work and the various history and culture behind the pieces was offered as well. Threads of Life is a fair trade business that sells what they refer to as heirloom quality textiles and baskets made using local materials and natural dyes. The items are purchased from over 1000 weavers on 12 islands in Indonesia(Samba, Lembata, Flores, Sulawesi, Bali, Timor, Java, Kalimatan, Lombok, Adonara, and Savu. TOL has a gallery and shop, provides educational exhibits, offers textile classes, and cultural and fiber arts workshops. They believe in empowering women through the commission of textiles directly from the women, sustaining culture, restoring art forms, conserving nature and utilizing sustainable methods for dying and weaving. 
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