Indigo 23
1988
Ethel Stein (American, 1917-2018) United States
New York
The beautiful modulation of tone found here, both within the indigo and also in the feathered area where blue warps transition into white, results from the use of the ikat technique. This involves dyeing warps (usually the vertical element on the loom) in a resist process and/or wefts (interlaced with the warps, usually horizontal on the loom) according to a predetermined pattern before the weaving takes place. In the case of this work, only the warps have been resis-dyed. Stein has an indigo vat in her cellar and does her own ikat dyeing.
Cotton, warp resist dyed (warp ikat) satin damask weave; woven on a loom with a drawloom attachment fabricated by the artist