Image courtesy of Brittany Boles.
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BRITTANY BOLES
Britt Boles' passion for education, innovation, and community collaboration drives her work with natural dyes. She curates the dye garden at Northfork 53 Farm in Nehelem, OR and is the founder of Indigofest and the global opensource platform Indigo Pigment Extraction Methods.
"I'm enamored by the story of the unexpected. My current obsession is a green leaf that turns blue. The seed to pigment process is so intimate and the art of it is so present and seasonal. Growing and harvesting color is such a satisfying process that I'm not as concerned with what will happen to the pigment as an end-product. Sharing the source story, the origin, the seed, that is what is so exciting for me.
Working at the intersection of indigo as a whole is a journey of acknowledgement of global relationship with indigo-bearing plants and the myriad of cultures that influence my practice, not just limited to Japan and Nigeria, but my indigo influences abound from Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Bali, México, El Salvador, Brazil, Guernsey Islands, Australia, Ireland, Hawaii, England, France, and all over the US. And for me it's not just faraway places on a map but personal relationships with artists, growers, farmers from each of these places. A very constant work at living in gratitude & acknowledgement of personal relationship with teachers, friends, soil, seed, with direct source, with place, with history and context, with respect for process, dedication to craft, acknowledgment of long history of colonization, exploitation, fetishization, and appropriation of indigo and its craft, of enslavement for financial gain, of revolution, of innovation, of remembering, of healing, of the stories of many voices.
It's all encompassing to process the beauty, heritage, culture of indigo simultaneously with its pain, suffering, commercialization. The power that indigo holds is vast, it's more than one story could summarize and it's why the Blue Biographies series has no end in sight, there are too many stories to tell! I've been excited to share the Blue Bio platform with other artists who interview other growers in their native languages, along with the help of translators as well. The series was birthed from the community created in my group, Indigo Pigment Extraction Methods which is an open-source, open-access platform for information sharing and communal connection with over 7,400 participants now- a group dedicated to indigo growers and plant processes.
It's been an efficient tool to connect folks to their most local resources, whether seed, farmer, mentor, community, reducers, tools, etc. Something that happens often in the group: An artist in México doesn't know where to buy seeds, makes a post, they can only find seed sources online coming from the US and I'm able to connect them with a local farmer in México instead. Someone in Madagascar can't buy/import lime because of island restrictions, so we discuss how they can use their kiln fire their local seashells. Someone in Australia can't source fructose granules so we discuss their local reducer options < these interactions are frequent and small but have an impactful ripple. Keeping resources and community connected to their respective regions, encourages engagment with source connection.
Right now I'm working with Rosa Chang of Indigo Shade Map to make farmers/seed keepers lists even more accessible, interactive and clickable on her map. When folks interact with seed and with source, there is a viable, visceral shift. Just the same way when they listen to story directly, which has been some of my favorite work, holding space for stories. I'm grateful to share, gift, trade, and receive seeds, plants, stories, recipes with folks around the globe who have entrusted me with their relationships and stories. It is an honor, to grow, to hold, and know there is always more learn. I don't make money from the resources and time I provide through my Indigo Pigment Extraction Methods group or Blue Biographies. They are voluntary labor of love and nurture culture and they are deeply connected to my work as an educator and artist and human."
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Image courtesy of Brittany Boles.
Image courtesy of Brittany Boles.