Mud dyeing

 I suppose, with all of this rain, the time has come to sing the virtues of mud.

Mud has some serious mineral content that brings out warm earthy variations, permanent stains and interesting textures. The colors are regional and can have a wide range of variations.

One of  my favorite painting classes involves making paint. Basic paint is color and vehicle. Something slightly adhesive, whether permanent or not, needs to be in the vehicle to move the paint and secure it to the surface. That is the root of why we have such a selection of paints.

Water will flake with most pigments, though watercolor is one of my favorite paint mediums. The particles are so small and the paper used "toothy" enough to grab those bits of pigment. Milk is a good base, as it has sugar, starch and liquid- casein paints. As we now have a variety of milks, soy milk is a choice along with dairy. And egg tempera gives the pigments a real glow, depending on the layering, the ground and the part of egg used. 

Oil and Acrylics have firmer bases that capture the pigments in solid layers that can be less fluid, though pushing the oils to a wash in layers gives depth and texture. Acrylic paints were developed for permanence and washes can particulate, if thinned too much without some additives. 

There it is! the paint story!

I use watercolor a lot when designing warps as it mimics the way dye works very well. I've made paints from natural dyestuffs, painting in journals and using everything from laundry starch to potato starch, paste for bookmaking, and soy milk. 

The soy milk is interesting as it is a mordant (keeps the color longer, sometimes permanently) and can make an interesting paste of thick dyestuff, such as (wait for it.....) MUD. Mud paint is often scrubbed into the fabric, can be stenciled on, is affected by after baths and is very textural. I've mostly played with paints from mud, adding color and scraped out textures, layered and very often didn't wash off the mineral content. I framed it, kept the sample book and used in sculptures for thick paints that show the brush bristle trails, allow for scraping and thickness.

And, the rains and mud will help to produce beautiful spring flowers, sweet garden peas and lettuces and show where the deer have been loitering in my garden beds :)

Happy Almost Spring to all y'all!