Creative Exchanges

The ice and snow that blanketed my area during the past eight days brought most everything to a halt except plans to paint.  Thanks to a few handy family members, I now have green walls (and even some tulips from the grocery store -- harbingers-of-spring and reminders of this Tory Burch print).

In person, the walls are a verdant shade that partners well with blues ranging from turquoise to the deepest indigo.

[Sibella Court's Society Inc. paint collection for Murobond.]

[Lewis & Sheron's indigo canvas.]

So, as soon as I can gather the supplies, I'm anxious to finally try a little hand-block-printing on blue fabric.  The new pattern-filled flipbook and latest offerings at Les Indiennes are definitely inspiring me.   

[Fringed summer bed linens in chocolate from Les Indiennes.]

But in terms of indigo, it's an exhibition -- Global Patterns: Dress and Textiles in Africa -- opening at MFA, Boston, in April that I'm excited about.

This is actually the second major African textile exhibition on the 2011 calendar that I've mentioned in recent weeks. (Weaving Abstraction: Kuba Textiles and the Woven Art of Central Africa will open at The Textile Museum in October.) Celebrating the work of African tailors, bead embroiderers, weavers and dyers, the Boston show explores centuries of artistic exchange within the Continent as well as design innovations sparked by trade with India, Indonesia, and Europe. According to the MFA, Yoruba indigo-dyed cloths (Adire) are among the varied pieces to be highlighted. Click here for details.

Update: 1.22.11.

Roughly a week later...

A different color contrast with blue on blue on green.