TAFA Market Focus: David Lucht

"Fortunate Son of Fez", Batik by David Lucht, 19"x 29"   $1,250

TAFA is having its first public event during the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah.  We are excited to introduce TAFA to the public at large and are hoping to raise funds for our new website.   We have a silent auction and raffle, both available to online participants and an exhibit and vendors.   These are ways in which you can donate to support our efforts.  This blog will feature the works and vendors in the next two weeks.  You can see all of the TAFA Market posts in one place by clicking on this link. 

Today's TAFA Market focus zooms in on:

David Lucht

Visit David's Member Profile on TAFA

"La Madre de Nosostros Todo", Batik by David Lucht, 30"x27"  $2450

David is probably THE BEST BATIK ARTIST I have ever met.  And, we happen to live in the same town, so I get to see him and his wife, Stefanie Graves, every now and then.  Stefanie is also a talented artist, watercolors, and as both are world travelers, there is some overlap in the subject choices: people, society, nature...   They share a website, Cowango, with David on one side and Stefanie on the other.  David actually wrote a post for this blog some time ago.  Find it here.

Here is how David describes his experience with his batiks:

My approach to batik painting elevates this ancient craft to fine art. Batik originated in the world of craft where people create objects that contribute a sense of grace and beauty to their daily lives. I try to bring forward that history of desire for commonplace beauty and use it as a support in developing my own imagery.

In batik the image and the cloth become a fully integrated thing. There is no surface decoration in batik. The image is established in the fiber of the cloth. I find that to be a very powerful idea.

Batik painting offers solutions for me. It provides an escape valve that allows me to see the history of art differently. It comes from the world of craft and that appeals to me in many ways: as communal, as beauty in the utilitarian, as an open ended alternative. Batik is undiscovered territory. It has magical qualities of obscurity and revelation. The finished work is only seen in its entirety at the very end of the process, when the wax is removed and the image revealed.

The trademark cracks and wax resist areas in David's batiks are very subtle.  As he describes, these are more like paintings than drawings, which is what most of the batiks I am familiar with use.  Lines of wax are drawn or images are stamped on to a fabric with wax or resist, then various dyes are applied.  For those of you who are not familiar with the batik process, here is an example of a textile I carried in my Etsy shop:

In this case, the face was painted with ink on white fabric, then all of the areas that are white were covered with wax, the ocher color was added, then that was covered with wax, then the brown dye, then the black.  This is a quickie in the batik world, but still quite a bit of work.  

I have batik tools, the wax, textile stamps galore and I always kid myself that someday I will play with these and get fun results.  I only tried it once so far and for the life of me could not control the wax.  It looked like a two year old had gotten into my supplies.  So, I have great respect for anyone who can make clean batik designs.

But David is on another level.  Each piece takes him weeks of careful labor.  He often batiks on silk which gives the finished piece a subtle sheen.  Absolutely gorgeous!

"Bodnath Market" by David Lucht, 26"x 24"   $850

David and Stefanie will actually be hosting two of our TAFA members who have vending spaces in our TAFA Market.  All of them have connections around the world through travel and work.  So, they will have plenty to talk about!  

The three batiks shown in this post will be on exhibit at our event.  If you would like to purchase any of them and are not coming to Paducah, you can do so via Pay Pal.  Just email me and I will give you the details.  We will ship to you after the show.

For those of you who are coming, David also has a wonderful piece at the Yeiser Art Center, just around the corner from where we will be.  They have a show, Fantastic Fibers, which will be up through April.  I was there for the opening reception and it is a great show.  I even got David long enough to have him talk a bit about the piece he has there.  Then, another half a block and you will find Antique Galleria at 212 Broadway.  Both David and Stefanie will have a few pieces of their work there.  That is also where I have my year-around booth, filled with ethnic textiles and other good stuff.  So, in just a short walk, you have several stops to make to enjoy some Cowango!

TAFA Market Focus: David Lucht

Fabric: The Search for the Perfect Piece Transforms Paducah During the AQS Show

Beautiful Batiks from Indonesia, A Favorite Among Quilters

If you are a quilter, you most probably have a stash of fabric that's taking over part of your house and your life. Quilters need a selection to pick from and that elusive perfect color or design ever calls us to adding to our stash, "just in case"... For some, it can actually become a disease, an urge to have and collect more than could ever possibly be used in a lifetime. Most artists struggle with this need to have supplies on hand, "Oh, I will use it someday..." which competes with the reality of storage demands and the ever-present war against clutter.

Rolls of complimenting colors allow a quilter
to have a nice selection without purchasing too much fabric.

At almost $10 a yard in most specialty stores, purchasing fabric can be a serious financial investment. So, a quilter will go glassy eyed when they see fabric on sale. And, when you have a large gathering of quilters such as the AQS Show in Paducah, a whole city will transform itself to try to meet this need and reinvent itself in fabric opportunities. Paducah is known as "Quilt City, USA" and local businesses join in the fun, hoping to attract visiting quilters in for their non-fabric wares.

"How about a coffee and cookie, dear Quilter?"

The show itself is hosted in the Convention Center which is located right on the river, downtown, within walking distance from the Quilt Museum and the downtown businesses. Half of the space at the Convention Center is dedicated to vendors who come with their wares from all over the world. Then, AQS sponsors other sites around town for satellite vendors.

The Finkel's Building downtown on Kentucky Avenue,
normally empty, becomes a satellite space for AQS during the Quilt Show.

Non-AQS businesses and groups also set up vending opportunities. The Rotary Club of Paducah/McCracken County hosts an annual show of antique quilts and also rents vendor spaces.

The guys at the door collect $5 per visitor, money that is used to fund educational and scholarship programs.

Inside, quilters become inspired by the quilts they see.

Inspiration leads to temptation.... "Hmmm.... I think I need some more fabric for my stash..." Vendors are there to supply the need. "What to get? What to get? ..."

Fabric makes the quilting world go around.

And, for those who don't want to go to the trouble of making it, there are plenty of lovely finished quilts available...



Oh, and quilters also need their tools: scissors, thimbles, thread, templates, batting, rulers, glues, special paint sticks, and on and on. Every year there are new inventions that help expand the quilter's universe of possibilities.

Quilting templates, a coveted accessory for some.

Many of these things are not easily accessible in most towns or cities. You can find almost everything online, but that's never the same as seeing something right in front of your face where you can size it and touch it. And, of course, there are all those one of a kind pieces that you will not see on the internet, things that can be incorporated into a quilt, or that you just have to have.

Vintage lace and doilies.

Informal vendors also have wares to sell. The streets are filled with tents and people trying to get in on the action.

When else will Paducah fill up with 30,000 women or more, all with big bags they just might fill?

Charter buses take the quilters to the different points in the city that have vendors or exhibited quilts. Parking, of course, becomes difficult downtown. A couple of fun modes of transport include the trolley or you can go by horse and buggy!

Paducah's trolley.

Horse and buggy, a fun way to see Paducah's downtown.

Others just enjoy being outside and seeing the city come alive. I ran into my friend, Stefanie Graves of Cowango, working on a watercolor down by the gazebo.

Stefanie Graves talking to a visiting quilter.

One of the best things about this invasion of quilters and vendors in Paducah is that most of the people that come are really, really nice. (Note emphasis on Most...) This kind visitor took a photo of Stefanie and me. She modelled Stefanie's hat...

Me with Stefanie Graves.

Well, I had done my rounds and it was time to get back to work. Yep. I'm a vendor, too, hoping like everyone else that some green dollars will make there way into my grubby hands... My niche is a small but special one in the quilting world. I sell ethnic textiles online and in my permanent booth at English's Antiques at 212 Broadway, downtown Paducah.

Rachel Biel Taibi of Rayela Art

You can find the links to my stores on the third column of this blog. Rayela Art has stores on Etsy, eBay and 1,000 Markets. They are a bit depleted right now as I pulled a lot out for the show, but will be restocking soon.

I find it fascinating to see what people do with their hoards of fabric. I have my own stash that keeps growing and am committed to also using it up, making new pieces as time goes on. I always push myself to learn something new, to push the boundaries of what I have seen and translate it into something that becomes mine. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's an "Now what have I done?" experience. I am definitely inspired by cultural textiles, but also by contemporary fiber artists. The possibilites seem limitless...

Today is the last day of the show here in Paducah. Life will resume its normal pace and we will all play with our new fabric and supplies. We are all grateful for those of you who have been here and hope to see you again next year. And, for those of you who have not been to Paducah, do visit us sometime! It's a great community with wonderful galleries and year round, we are

"Quilt City, USA"!!!

Fabric: The Search for the Perfect Piece Transforms Paducah During the AQS Show

10% Off on New Rayela Art Textile Stamps

Floral Centerpiece, Rayela Art Textile Stamp

Every few months I get a new bag of textile stamps. It's quite the endeavor to get them sorted, cleaned, priced, and photographed. I don't do any deep cleaning, but they all get brushed with a wire brush. When they are ready, I load them on my website and offer them at a 10% discount on this blog and to my regular customers. There is usually a big rush and when it dies off, I start listing them in my Etsy and eBay stores. The advantage for me in doing this is that I save time and listing fees while customers get to enjoy "first dibs". There is one disadvantage for customers in that I don't list the dimensions- you just have to kind of guess by the price.

I also offer free shipping on orders over $100 to US addresses or $20 off of shipping to those overseas. The stamps on my website can be combined with anything listed in my Etsy or eBay stores to reach that $100.

Beautiful Art Deco Rayela Art Textile Stamp

I've written several posts on this blog about the stamps. Follow this link to read about the history and care of these wonderful carvings. Most of my customers are artists who use the stamps to print on fabric or paper with ink or batik wax and to make impressions into clay. But, the stamps are also beautiful as decorative pieces and can be hung, set into plate stands, or just laid around on shelves.

Floral Arch, Carved Wooden Textile Stamp

There are several kinds of stamps: borders, center pieces, arches, and fillers. Borders can be linked one to another to frame a piece. Center pieces stand alone as a focus point. Arches can be used to frame a smaller piece or ornament and fillers are often dots or lines that have repetitive designs. These stamps come from Afghanistan and the region (Pakistan and India) and are considered as seconds to the artisans there. As vintage pieces, they have been used and often have nicks, cracks and wax and dye residue. These flaws actually have value to those of us who like to reclaim what has already seen a life of use.

Floral Focal Point, Textile Stamp from Afghanistan

As these stamps come from Muslim workshops, rarely will you find an animal or human figure portrayed. For those, seek out Hindu stamps. Islam discourages depicting these images as a way to prevent idolatry.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this 10% offer, just go on over to my website. The instructions there should be pretty clear. As I get these stamps in a big bag, sight unseen, I never know what the mix will be. I was very pleased with this batch. There is an excellent variety of designs and most are in the mid-size range that people really seem to like. Prices are mostly in the $10-$15 range, per piece.

Do you work with these pieces? Leave a link in the comments section so we can all be inspired by these wonderful stamps!

10% Off on New Rayela Art Textile Stamps

For the Love of Indigo: Miao Tradition in Blue

Contemporary Miao Batik Indigo Cloth, $30

If you had to pick one main background color to show off all the other colors in the rainbow, what would it be? The Miao have picked indigo, and I have to agree with them: the deep blue enhances and compliments all of their rich textile traditions perfectly. Many other cultures have used indigo dyes around the world for centuries. But, while this labor intensive technique slowly dies out in many places, the Miao continue to use it today, still preferring the old ways to commercial alternatives available on the market.

Miao Indigo Cotton Cloths on Etsy
I just listed a few Miao indigo batik and tie-dyed cloths on Etsy. Click on the photos to take you to the listings. If these have been sold, search the store as I try to keep them in stock. (I also often carry embroidered Miao textile remnants. Search the store using the keyword, "Miao") These cloths use traditional techniques, but are contemporary pieces aimed at export for the Western market. Intended as tablecloths, they are perfect center pieces for quilts. The soft cloth and their designs lend themselves to easy quilting.

Miao Indigo Tie-dyed Cloth with Embroidered Accents, $30

The Miao tend to live in remote mountain areas with limited agricultural use, thus making a living through their textile productions has become their main form of sustenance. Their traditional techniques involve batik or tie-dye, a long process, using indigo and other natural dyes, then layers of applique and embroidery. These cloths are a simplified version of what they would make for themselves, allowing us to enjoy their beauty at an affordable price. As the Miao become more savvy about the value of their work, their costumes increasingly command higher prices, allowing many of them to access better health care, education, and other resources.

Who are the Miao?

Miao Woman from Peace on Earth

Gina Corrigan has written a couple of books on the Miao living in Guizhou Province, China, home to the largest concentration of Miao.

Books mentioned in this article:

In Miao Textiles from China, she describes how the Miao, the largest ethnic minority in China, are thought to have arrived into Guizhou as migrants from the Yellow River basin around 5,000 years ago. Their history has been fraught with persecution by the Han majority, poverty, discrimination, and migration, including flight into Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. (The Hmong are ethnically Miao, retaining similar textile traditions and oral history.) The Miao are divided into four main dialect groups and many subgroups, dialects so different that they often cannot understand each other. Yet, their textiles are their common language and indigo the color of cultural coherence.

Indigo wreaths and butterflies.

Indigo Central to Miao Cultural Expression
Of indigo, Corrigan has much to say, starting with:
"The most common dye in Guizhou is vegetable indigo, usually made by women, which is used on all base fabrics. ... In September the leaves are collected and soaked in barrels of water for anything from four days to two weeks, depending on the ambient temperature. Once fermented, the leaves are taken out and lime is beaten in to introduce oxygen. After several days, the indigo pigment precipitates to the bottom. The water is then drained off and the dark blue indigo paste scooped out into baskets lined with leaves. If sealed, this can be kept all winter, and some families make indigo paste to sell at market.
Domestic dyeing is also usually done by the women, who reconstitute the indigo paste with ash and water in a wooden dye vat, found in most Miao households. Rice wine is added to encourage fermentation, which gradually reduces oxygen in the vat. The dyer tastes the vat every morning to see if it is right for dyeing. Both hand-woven and bought fabrics are dyed, normally in the warmer months of September and October. They are dipped and aired many times to build up the dark blue colour, sometimes for as long as twenty-four days." (pages 13,14)

David Newbegin has a wonderful collection of photos he took in Guizhou, not necessarily about the Miao. Many are of people in their daily tasks and routines or dance performances while others show the gorgeous landscape of the region. I encourage you to visit his collection, but here are some of his photos with Newbegin's captions specifically related to indigo dyeing:

A Dong lady dyeing cloth, which the Zhaoxing villagers weave themselves, with indigo solution. The cloth is dipped and aired many times to build up the darker colour.

Various shades of indigo dyed cloth being aired along the river frontage in the Dong village of Zhaoxing in Guizhou Province. The cloth is dyed many times to produce a darker blue colour. Also rice straw ash and pigs blood is added to the indigo solution to produce a black or brown colour.

Miao lady in Biasha (Basha) village in Guizhou Province applying the finishing touches to another dress. The women wearing pleated skirts with white insets are married.

My little source book for Chinese crafts, Arts and Crafts of China (pictured in the Amazon slide show above), offers a bit more technical information on the art of dyeing indigo:
"Today, it remains almost exclusively the minority peoples who preserve the traditions of planting and cultivation to assure a steady supply of natural vegetable dyes. The ubiquitous lancao (indigo) in widespread use throughout China is especially popular among China's sourthern minority peoples, such as the Miao and Buoyei. Although synthetic indigo has been used in China since the early twentieth century, natural indigo remains the preferred choice among many minorities.
Mordant dyes are especially popular for the rich, permanent colours produced when bonding occurs between the fibre and dye compounds. This may result from soluble matter being released naturally by the plant during boiling, as is the case with tannic acid released during the boiling of sumac or gall nuts, or from the addition of special mordant substances in the preliminary or post-dyeing baths. The most common chinese mordants are alum and potash, which are obtained by boiling hemp or rice straw. Their use in varying amounts allows a broader range of tonalities to develop amont textiles submerged in the same dye." (page 15)

I found a video on YouTube that shows some of the dyeing process:

Miao ethnic people dyeing cloth with indigo colouring - 2007

When I think about it, I realize that I, too, pretty much live in indigo.... blue jeans, my daily wear, the older the better! Maybe that is why I am so attracted to the Miao language of blue, or maybe it is simply because it is so beautifully rendered.

Miao Indigo Butterfly Batik

For the Love of Indigo: Miao Tradition in Blue

Guest Artist: David Lucht of Cowango

I am absolutely thrilled to have David Lucht as a guest here on Fiber Focus. Dave and his wife, Stefanie Graves, moved to Paducah as part of the Artist Relocation Program. We still don't know each other well, but I look forward to growing our friendship in the future. I have seen a lot of batik in the past, mostly from Indonesia, Brazil and by other American artists. I even tried my hand at it a couple of times and was discouraged to end up with blobs of melted wax. Batik requires patience, persistence and skill. David is a master, the best I have ever seen! -Rachel

Batik: A Tradition Looking Forward

BuddhaGator

Batik? Isn't it that 60's thing with the tie-dye and all? Most people make that connection and associate batik with that particular decade - the freedom-loving, civil rights, ethnic pride decade. The downside of that connotation is that this technique of fabric design with ancient roots can seem dated, dependent on the whims of constantly churning fashion trends. The upside is that batik connects on a very basic level with core values that emerged in that decade, and to an even more ancient history of traditional styles that serve us today through the richness of cultural diversity.

Our traditions are our reference points. They differ from habits in that they represent something about us collectively, something good about who we are. They are social rituals that we consciously maintain because they confer meaning. You belong here. You are in this family. You are part of a good thing. Modern life is a siren song that seduces with novelty, outrageousness and glitter. The value it presents to us is that we must stay entertained and distracted. Our traditions on the other hand act to ground us with timeless values from the past. The values that tradition promotes may be less fun and flashy but they speak to elements of our better nature; how to lead with your heart, serve community, and seek beauty.

Fortunate Son of Fez

Artistic traditions serve the same purpose. Actually, artists conduct their business on the innovative edge of tradition. Even rampant iconoclasts break with something. Most artists I know are proud to stand on the shoulders of the masters in order to discern what lies ahead. Artists learn the rules and the traditions, sometimes using this knowledge in order to break with them. But always with this purpose, with this desire - to understand traditions with fresh eyes. With this knowledge and with a spirit of experimentation we learn to keep what works and is true and to abandon the rest.

It's Snow Mountain

In a sense the most important artistic tradition is artistic activity itself. As long as there is an active culture of art-making the historical traditions can live and new ones can have a chance to be born. Whether we express ourselves conceptually, abstractly, with representational art or with some hybrid form of all the above we are part of an artistic tradition. And we always express ourselves in relation to that tradition, even as we break from it.

The Darndest Thing

I guess all of this discussion about the importance of tradition is to lay the groundwork for my defense of batik as an important medium for artistic expression. Batik seems quaint and arcane. It's definitely out of the mainstream. Maybe that's actually part of the attraction for me. The history of batik is a long one (perhaps several thousand years) but the development of batik as a serious medium for contemporary expression is relatively short. With ancient origins in China and Egypt, batik eventually came to Indonesia and became a large part of that country's artistic identity centered in the city of Yogyakarta in eastern Java. Over the years the use of batik in fabric design achieved an incredible degree of refined craftsmanship that amazed Europeans when the textiles were brought to the west. The phenomena of batik as a fine art is, by comparison, rather recent. Artists in Asia and Europe began to experiment with batik in the 1950's and 60's in order to produce works that reflected both a contemporary sensibility and a respect for tradition.

Floating

I've been a batik artist now for many years. I was initially attracted to the medium because it seemed to be full of unexplored potential. There was more space available in batik for me to do whatever I liked since, with its traditional roots in textile design, batik didn't carry the historical burden of painting. I realize now that this is only a trick of the mind (though one that got me back on track) because for me it really is painting and my process of identifying and developing imagery relates to the history of painting as well. Again, this history is a force of tradition that I need to understand, bring forward and reconstitute (or abandon) through the work of artistic creation, based on my personal take on the world.

Monastic Observance

My view of the world emerged during a turbulent and idealistic period of American life. The main lesson I learned then was to look deeper, and to use the heart to try to perceive what is real and true. Like so many others, my wide-eyed idealism suffered some bad erosion in the storm. But I still enjoy kicking down the beach to find what washes up. Scattered everywhere are little gems that tell me this earth is precious, demanding our respect and love.

Dance of Spain

I am a representational artist. My personal approach to image making comes out of an impulse to find the visual component that conveys a certain value. I still pursue ways to include people because I think the human image, rendered by hand, is a way to give them honor. I love everyday settings of work and conversation because these things give substance to our humanity. I am undeniably drawn to landscape and botanical forms because my sense of wonder has its source in the marvel of nature.

Front Back Knit

Batik offers the perfect challenge for me as a representational medium and I have developed a strong affection for the process through the years. I talk a lot about the magic involved: the wax resisting the color, obscuring the design with multiple applications, the revelation at the end when the wax is removed. But there is also the knowledge that people all over the world are doing it to add joy and beauty to their lives. I know this sounds trite but when I do batik I feel connected to the world. The process that developed in the world of craft has begun to flower in a multitude of contemporary styles. Each style, each personal artistic vision still connects back down the chain of tradition.

Fabricantes

So can batik survive the burden of history, the burden of tradition? As an amateur student of history I love to follow the threads of tradition and I also recognize that certain periods require us to unravel traditions in order to grow. But the core values in these traditions remain and new traditions emerge that embody the core values of the former ones. Batik is steeped in tradition and will continue to grow. The saving grace is that batik artists who love this tradition continue to evolve and explore new ways to use the medium in an on-going adventure.

" I came to batik painting through my love for its magical qualities of obscurity and revelation. The image is developed through repeated dyeings and waxings, gradually becoming almost entirely covered in wax. The finished work is only seen in its entirety at the very end of the process, when the wax is removed and the image revealed."

-David Lucht

Visit Cowango for more background on the pieces shown in this article and for more of David's work. Stefanie is also a talented artist and her watercolors are also on the site.

Guest Artist: David Lucht of Cowango