This is part one of a personal op-ed on indigo in the Lowcountry, SC. I’m passionate about and have spent many hours researching and examining this topic through various (critical, albeit white) lenses, such as that of an artist, an independent researcher, an advocate, and an informed scholar (via my MA in Critical and Historical Craft) of craft histories. For this writing, I will use a combination of these hats to critically analyze journalistic attempts to unravel the mystery and history of indigo’s present-day ‘resurgence’ in the Southeast USA.
This writing was spurred on by the latest article about indigo in The New York Times (gift article). It left me wondering why this particular journalist (and previous ones) are so intent on centering a handful of people and narratives despite a decade of efforts (which I will get into) to change the conversation and move the dial in a different direction, to center different individuals and historical accounts of indigo’s history (only the later seems to have been impacted, so far). Everyone from local to national appears to be jumping on the journalistic bandwagon to write about indigo in the Lowcountry!
Please browse these and note what patterns you observe. Have I missed any? If so, please drop them in the comment section.
Ask yourself what’s included. Who is highlighted? What’s left out? Who’s being centered? How are the perspectives and stories being told similar or different? How deeply are the journalists probing into the stories of present-day indigo growers and dyers & why? Who is benefiting from all this coverage? How is the history of indigo being told? How has it shifted? What is their impact on readers? What are some of the evident biases? These are some of the questions that pop into my mind as I read them.
Let me back up and share my story of working with Indigo to give context to my involvement and opinions (which I will begin to share in my following writing). I attended SCAD as an undergraduate and completed my BFA in Fiber Arts in 1998. My focus was weaving, yet we were expected and trained to work with fibers and dyes in various capacities. It wasn’t until I began an MFA (that I did not complete) at GA State in the early 2000s that I began learning about indigo with Junco Sato Pollack, particularly a spectrum of vats from synthetic to natural organic indigo.
35-gallon natural Indigo vat reduced with Sodium Hydros (a chemical), 2019 Photo: Heather K Powers
Fast forward to 2013, shortly after I moved to Charleston, my path intersected with another weaver and dyer I’d met years ago in Georgia (through the Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild). Her name is Donna Hardy, and she was on a research and hands-on mission to locate naturalized indigo growing in the ‘Lowcountry.' She ultimately successfully located a stand of what was identified as indigofera suffriticosa that would likely have survived the indigo plantation on Ossabaw Island, GA, from the 1770s. She significantly impacted artists, farmers, and those curious about indigo in the region and beyond through her writing (you can support her here on substack), workshops, and generously shared knowledge. She became my mentor and eventually (2016) founded The International Center for Indigo Culture (ICIC).
I became one of the founding board members of ICIC. I continued to learn about and work with Indigo in Charleston through various personal and community projects. This led me to meet many others working with Indigo. In those early days (2014-17), it was hard to come by seeds for Indigofera suffruticosa (the sub-tropical indigo historically grown on plantations in the region). Donna worked with Clemson Extension agents and others to increase indigo production (herself and by teaching), save seeds, and distribute them to just about anyone interested in growing indigo (on a small scale). Publications began to take notice of this “indigo resurgence,” and articles started to feature Donna and other farmers and artists working with indigo.
By 2019, both Donna and I had both moved away from Charleston. I began graduate school and was living in the mid-lands of South Carolina. During my graduate research, I learned that there were indigo plantations in the midland regions of SC (Camden, Columbia, Aiken, etc.). I continued to grow semi-tropical indigo in my Zone 8a garden for personal use, and I still do today. During the pandemic, I finally had time and energy to extract pigment from my indigo.
However, from 2019-2021, I was mainly focused on my graduate practicum research. Because of the pandemic, an analysis of craft makers in their studios had to pivot to an analysis of the way that craft publications represent craft makers and their studio practices. I was used to collaborating with artists to interview and write about their practices through a series I published over 75 artist interviews on my blog, ‘Inside the Studio’ (I have since taken them down). I was not expecting to go down the rabbit hole of publication analysis, but that’s how things turned out. From that research, I learned to look at and think about publications differently (more critically).
Extracting pigment from the natural dye plant Indigofera suffruticosa, a South American variety of indigo, 2017 Photo: Heather K Powers
My final published practicum was ‘Sensing the Studio: The Role of Embodied Knowledge in Understanding Visual Representations of Craft Studios.’ I analyzed twenty years of American Craft Council Magazine articles about fiber artists through various photographs and articles. These publications aim to educate the viewer and convey certain knowledge through stories of handcrafted objects and their makers. The pivotal point of my research and analysis was foregrounding my knowledge of craft practices to extend my understanding of what was (and is) represented.
So, it is from this place, as a maker and a researcher of craft history, as someone who has learned to look and read more closely from various perspectives (although not all perspectives!), that I tip my hat toward a closer reading of these publications about indigo in the Lowcountry.
As with my practicum, I am not interviewing journalists to ask why they made certain journalistic decisions. I am critically examining the outcome of those editorial decisions. In the next part (of what might become a short series), I will begin to explore the content of the articles mentioned above.
I invite all of you to join me in this exercise as a departure point for further conversations.
Regarding what is not being spoken about is the bottleneck of scale of home/small (very small) quantities that can be produced. The scale needed for a “processor” and the amount of plants needed. Its wonderful artists are using/producing their own, the amount is never spoken about. This is what Chidesign and I have to offer towards the SARE grant to begin to set up and connect communities and talk about processing and the scale at which they want to work or provide indigo for school system or directly an artist or textile company. Which would most likely be very different scales! Still small not industrial scale, yet having more mechanical equipment would make it much less physically labor intensive, adding to the system I have set up, a mechanical lift to take plants 200-300lbs out of vat, sickle bar cutter ect. The other part is the farmer themselves. Having farm equipment or sharing within the community, the cooperation needed for farmers to succeed in starting.
What else is not talked about is the benefits of the plant itself on soil health and its benefits…different types different levels of nitrogen fixing and green manure nematicide. Hope this helps, I’m not editing much, just writing before it leaves my head!!! Questions welcome!
Precious, thank you for bringing your expertise and opinion to this matter. As you know, this is one of the main things that we are working on at the International Center for Indigo Culture, especially with our 2-year train-the-trainer USDA SARE Grant. We hope that with more farmers interested, educated and prepared to grow and process indigo, the economics of scale will be impacted. Just 10 years ago, those of us working with indigo in the Lowcountry could scarcely find seeds, much less plant acres. We are making incremental progress that may one day have a real impact on the fiber/fashion/art and other markets. Collaboration is the key to building this model and perhaps will be able to be replicated in other global communities, that's the dream!
Yes, this is a hydros vat being used on Ossabaw Island for a larger workshop. The point here isn't that I am only using 100% organic vats. The vat used needs to accommodate the needs and knowledge of the workshop participants and it's the job of the educator to put that into context (between a spectrum of organic and synthetic). I do not claim to be following any strict historical accuracy, nor do I think that is relevant to this conversation. But I'm happy to share my process and reasoning.
Regarding what is not being spoken about is the bottleneck of scale of home/small (very small) quantities that can be produced. The scale needed for a “processor” and the amount of plants needed. Its wonderful artists are using/producing their own, the amount is never spoken about. This is what Chidesign and I have to offer towards the SARE grant to begin to set up and connect communities and talk about processing and the scale at which they want to work or provide indigo for school system or directly an artist or textile company. Which would most likely be very different scales! Still small not industrial scale, yet having more mechanical equipment would make it much less physically labor intensive, adding to the system I have set up, a mechanical lift to take plants 200-300lbs out of vat, sickle bar cutter ect. The other part is the farmer themselves. Having farm equipment or sharing within the community, the cooperation needed for farmers to succeed in starting.
What else is not talked about is the benefits of the plant itself on soil health and its benefits…different types different levels of nitrogen fixing and green manure nematicide. Hope this helps, I’m not editing much, just writing before it leaves my head!!! Questions welcome!
Precious, thank you for bringing your expertise and opinion to this matter. As you know, this is one of the main things that we are working on at the International Center for Indigo Culture, especially with our 2-year train-the-trainer USDA SARE Grant. We hope that with more farmers interested, educated and prepared to grow and process indigo, the economics of scale will be impacted. Just 10 years ago, those of us working with indigo in the Lowcountry could scarcely find seeds, much less plant acres. We are making incremental progress that may one day have a real impact on the fiber/fashion/art and other markets. Collaboration is the key to building this model and perhaps will be able to be replicated in other global communities, that's the dream!
I am curious about the type of vat you're making; certainly there is no history of hydro sulphate vats anywhere; they are a modern invention.
Yes, this is a hydros vat being used on Ossabaw Island for a larger workshop. The point here isn't that I am only using 100% organic vats. The vat used needs to accommodate the needs and knowledge of the workshop participants and it's the job of the educator to put that into context (between a spectrum of organic and synthetic). I do not claim to be following any strict historical accuracy, nor do I think that is relevant to this conversation. But I'm happy to share my process and reasoning.