Indigo쪽 — fermented vat & fresh leaf

FIELD NOTE 02 · SUMMER · TWO VISITS

Red was about coaxing. Indigo turned out to be about waiting — for the vat, for the air, for the green to become blue. Two visits, a month apart, two very different ways of getting there.

I.FRI 18 JULYvillage dye house · overcast, heavy air

Rows of indigo plants growing between village houses — fig. 1 — 쪽 growing right between the houses

I expected a field. It's more like a garden that got serious — rows of 쪽 pressed up against the walls of people's homes.

just green leaves. nothing about it says blue.

Dark indigo vat with coppery-blue foam at the edge — fig. 2 — the vat breathing

The vat. Dark, bronze-skinned on top, and a coppery-blue foam gathering at the edge. When the foam comes up like this, the vat is alive — that's what they told me.

foam = 쪽꽃, "indigo flower"
smell: earthy, sharp, a bit like the
inside of a barn.

A hand on the wooden lid of an onggi jar — fig. 3 — the lid stays on

The jars live in onggi with wooden lids. Every time you open one, you're letting air in — and air is what the vat doesn't want, not yet.

look at his nails. blue that will never wash out. that's the CV.

Cloth lifted out of the indigo jar, turning from green to blue — fig. 4 — out of the jar: green, then blue

It comes out of the vat green. Then, in your hands, in the air, it turns blue. I watched it four times and it was a surprise every time.

Hands squeezing cloth under the surface of the indigo vat — fig. 5 — squeeze under the surface

His hands over mine. Squeeze the cloth under the surface, not above it — no splashing, no bubbles. You're working the dye in, gently.

dip → squeeze below → lift slow
→ air until blue → again.
each dip = one shade darker.

Rinsing indigo-dyed cloth in a steel basin on the grass — fig. 6 — rinsing on the grass

Q — how do they feed the vat to keep it alive? and what happens if it dies — can it come back?

Quilted rolls of indigo cloth from pale sky to nearly black — fig. 7 — every blue from one vat

In the shop: quilted rolls, pale sky to nearly black. Same vat — only the number of dips is different. Undyed cloth rolled up underneath, waiting its turn.

And on the wall, a display of other dye plants — marigold, gardenia, amur cork tree. Little boxes of bark next to the colour they make.

a museum shows you the answer. the vat makes you find it.

Wall display of dye plants with small boxes of bark — fig. 8 — material, then colour

II.WED 13 AUGfresh-leaf dyeing · 생쪽 · bright, early

Cutting indigo plants in the field in the early morning — fig. 9 — cutting before the sun gets high

No vat this time. Just leaves, picked and used the same morning. Fresh 쪽 has to be fast — the colour starts leaving the leaf the moment you cut it.

the plants were taller than in July. up to my chest in places.

Walking back along a road carrying cut indigo — fig. 10 — walking it back, quickly

Strip the leaves off the stems — stems give nothing, they just muddy it.

pinch at the node, pull down.
bruised leaves go first.

Stripping indigo leaves from the stems into a basket — fig. 11 — leaves only

Fresh indigo leaves with ice in a black basin — fig. 12 — leaves on ice

Mixing indigo leaves and ice by hand — fig. 13 — keep it cold

Ice, which I didn't expect at all. Cold slows everything down, so the blue stays in the leaf a little longer while you work.

fingers numb in five minutes. in august. strangest feeling.

Rubbing indigo leaves on a washboard in green water — fig. 14 — the washboard

Then rub. Hard, on the washboard, until the leaves fall apart and the water goes thick and green.

rub → squeeze the pulp → strain
silk goes in the green water.
no vat, no fermenting, no lye.

Q — why only silk? would cotton take anything at all from this?

Pale blue silk dyed with fresh indigo leaves, hanging from a branch — fig. 15 — 옥색, from green water

Not the deep vat blue — this one is the colour of a clear sky. Green water, green leaves, and somehow this.

RED VS. BLUE — WHAT MY HANDS NOTICED

Red is pulled out of the plant. Blue appears on its own — in the air.
The vat is kept alive like an animal. Fresh leaf is gone by noon.
Darker blue isn't a stronger bath — it's more patience, more dips.
Both times, the most important things were said with hands, not words.

my nails are a little blue now too. hoping it stays.

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