I’m Jan Stetson, craft dyer, Shibori artist, and owner of Black Walnut Fiber Arts.
I dabbled with dyeing for years, then in the summer of 2013 I started taking it seriously. At that point, I began to explore the shaped resist techniques of Shibori – what I like to call tie-dye’s Japanese speaking older brother. I dye primarily natural-fiber scarves and other wearables, constantly experimenting, building my skills, and learning the vocabulary of Shibori.
I work with dyes both old and new, synthetic and natural. On one hand, there’s indigo, with its match-made-in-heaven affinity for Shibori. It’s also the oldest dyestuff known – a bit of 6000-year-old indigo-dyed fabric was recently discovered in Peru. I also work with Procion fiber-reactive dyes, which were invented in the 1950’s, and with modern acid dyes. Finally, I dye with black walnut hulls gathered from a huge old tree in my backyard – and that has sparked my interest in learning about other plant-based dyes.
I’ve found that dyeing lies at the intersection point of a whole host of things I find fascinating. There are the obvious ones: color, art, design, handcraft. And chemistry. Lots and lots and lots of chemistry! But also botany, anthropology, geometry, history, folklore… There are few aspects of human life that the stained hands of the dyer haven’t touched.