Crafting with Color: Indigo Dyeing Workshop Inspired by Our Latest Exhibit

Indigo carries symbolic weight. To some, this color symbolizes wisdom, devotion, and creativity. To others, it embodies nobility, much like purple. In ancient meditation practices and yoga tradition, the third eye chakra is indigo and dark blue. The center of consciousness, it leads to achieving spiritual clarity, knowledge, foresight and intuition. (Gessato)

On the last week of August we had the pleasure of hosting Cathy Wilkerson's Make-and-Take Indigo dyeing workshop with perfect weather! At the center we have gotten quite creative with our use of space and any chance or opportunity we get to have a workshop outside, I love to jump on. Last summer we held our Ecoprinting Workshops with Katama Murray where students foraged their own materials to create beautiful pieces of art, what's not to love about creativity in our community garden?

I've always found the connection between art and nature a beautiful one, for example, a musician listening for birdsong to inspire a new composition, the gentle silence of the forest providing the backdrop for a writer to weave the language that helps to tell their story, or the existence of the golden ratio in almost everything we see, hear, and read (9 Examples of The Golden Ratio in Nature). If we find places at our center where we can connect to nature all while inspiring the creativity that art provides, I feel we will be blessed by the outcome. These photos from our indigo workshop show just that as well as vibrant, just as the color Indigo, our community at the center truly is.

"Math is more than just numbers and equations—it's a language that nature speaks fluently. If we look closely at the world around us, we’ll find math in unexpected places, from the spirals of seashells to the arrangement of petals on a flower." - (Mathnasium)

When we booked this workshop back in the spring, it was important to me that it corresponded with the gallery exhibit "Indigo". Upon walking through it myself, I was filled with an instant sense of calmness and ease (especially after such a stimulating and fruitful summer). What was your experience in our upstairs gallery exhibit? What does the color Indigo evoke in you? I hope in the future we can come up with new ideas that continue to synthesize our center, connecting the pillars that make our community what it is, a welcoming home to all.