Traditional Knitting and Natural Dyeing

 

The Residency program on traditional crafts at Aqtushetii is a 10 day program that  will be led by the local Tushetian specialist and ethnographer, Nanuli Azikuri. The participants of the workshop will get introduced to the history of Tushetian wool and learn the specific knitting tools and methods of the craft, such as wool processing, knitting, and dyeing. The workshop will also entail fieldwork and finding raw material which will be later used for dyeing. The translation will be provided by workshop facilitators: Ana Gvelesiani and Tamara Kalkhitashvili.

 

Requirements:

 

• No applicant is required to have an academic education or background in knitting or natural dyeing. 

• Brief letter and a link to your photos/portfolio/website

• To apply please send your information to aqtushetii@gmail.com

 

Fees:

 

The total cost of the workshop is 650 Euros which covers:
– transport Tbilisi-Omalo-Tbilisi
– accommodation (in capsule dormitories)
– catering: a light breakfast and two large meals per day

– all materials and necessary equipment for knitting and dyeing

 

The workshop is free of entry for the local Tusheti population.

 

Schedule

 

14.07

• Arrival in Omalo

15.07

• Introduction. Lecture: “Georgian Tsinda - Ethnographic Review”, preparing and distributing materials and tools.

16.07

• Morning (after breakfast*): fieldwork, collecting dying plants (we will bedepending on weather conditions, as lichens, for example, can only be collected after the rain), soaking colourants, scouring and mordanting local wool with alum.
• Evening (after lunch*): Plain Tushetian sock.

17.07

• Morning: Dye preparation
• Evening: Baby sock

18.07

• Morning: Dyeing the local Tushetian wool at least with three natural colourants, e.g. madder (Rubia Tinctorum), coltsfoot (Tussilago Farfara), walnut hulls.
• Evening: Transition to new colour

19.07

• Morning: Colourful traditional socks
• Evening: socks, individual work

20.07

• Morning: Traditional Georgian ornaments – symbols, sequences, harmonies, choosing the ornaments for the individual works, copyin ornaments.
• Evening: socks, individual work

21.07

• Morning: Ritual socks – examples from different regions of Georgia.
• Evening: socks, individual work

22.07

• Cleaning the finished socks, washing, drying on the 'Sajandravi', singeing.

23.07

• Questions, documenting the results, the end of the workshop.

24.07

• Departure

 

9:00-10:00  Breakfast 

14:00-15:00 Lunch

19:00-20:00 Dinner