More on Dabu Dying

Here is the stamped cloth just after it was taken from the indigo vat. Note the sawdust shavings are still in place on the fabric at this stage

The slurry made from the mud, gum and lime is poured into a layered tray. The tray has a bottom layer of mesh, then burlap cheesecloth and organza so that the blocks take up the mud evenly. The print blocks we saw ( noted in a previous post) also used this type of tray layering. The wood blocks are stamped onto the cloth and carefully lifted. Immediately the wet imprint is covered with fine sawdust. Once the whole cloth is done it is left to dry. Then it is immersed in the indigo vat. Indigo dying is always amazing as the fabric is green when it comes out and oxidizes to the familiar indigo blue colour. I spoke with an artisan at the Delhi craft centre and obviously this technique works well with other cold water dyes (such as procion dyes). In India most of the dyes are natural dyes that are made by the artisan such as the indigo.

I spoke to the owner of this facility and said that I came from Waitomo - an area rich in lime and known for producing some of the purest lime in the world. His comment was I must listen carefully to his instruction and take the knowledge home and try it in my country because the artisan skills must not be lost. You betcha I will try. It is a sad story of many of the time consuming art/craft practices that the younger generation see an easier life in other areas and are not wanting to follow in the traditional pattern of learning the family crafts so not only are the skills in danger of waning but a way of life is also threatened. I tended to speak to the practitioners about the technical aspects of their craft work and they were all so willing to share. An amazing people and an amazing experience

Back at home I have researched the acacia gum used and found we know it as gum Arabic - the same that is used for thickening inks and dyes for other mixed media applications. I am going to start my experiments with Xanthum/guar gum as these are considerably cheaper, easy to source and require less of the gum to achieve the same results. Lime is easy enough to get and a google on black mud brings up a description of black mud being made with ferrous compounds from insufficient water. So now I am keen to get to the beach and see if I can find some tidal river mud that just might work

Materials for Dabu Dying

Mixing the lime/gum mixture with the mud mixture to create the resist

30 Mar

Dabus Dying is the application of a mixture of Lime, Acacia gum (Gum Arabic) and black mud to create a pattern with a wood block stamp that will act as a resist in the dye pot. The stamp is covered with fine sawdust so the applied pattern can be clearly seen and the sawdust acts as a protector for the gum mix during dying. In the photograph you can see the lime and acacia gum mix having the mud mix added. The sods of mud have been soaked for two days to insure they are completely softened and integrated with the water.

When I spoke to the owner of the Dabu dying facility he was impressed that I can from Waitomo - a high lime area and reinforced that I should listen carefully and take the skills home to practice in New Zealand so the craft will not be lost

since returning home I have discovered that Acacia gum is gum Arabic that is used in thickening dyes and inks in many applications. I have also found that guar gum or xanthum gum might be a suitable substitute. They are readily available, less expensive and require a smaller amount of gum to create the thickening effect. The black mud used, according to my research is black due to ferrous deposits from reduced water flushing so now I can hardly wait to get to the beach and see if I can find some river mud that is black and semi liquid