INTERNSHIP AT CLAUDY JONGSTRA STUDIO

*From top left clockwise: Claudy, Valérie, Claudia, Andrea, Ruth, Gabriel and Eabel*

Back in Spring 2021 I was awarded a QEST scholarship to spend time in the Netherlands with Dutch artist and activist Claudy Jongstra. It was however January 2022 when I finally was on my way. Here I recount my experience and learning.

As I drove away from the village of Spannum for the last time, I felt a sense of deep gratitude to have been able to engage with the world and vision of wool activist, Claudy Jongstra. My three-month internship was an immersive experience; a chance to leave my own practice at home and surrender myself to the pursuit of learning and discovery.

I have long been an admirer of Claudy Jongstra’s majestic felt artworks and architectural installations. Its organic surfaces and rich colours invite us to reconnect with the land, bring it into our home or workplace and nurture our wellbeing.

A proponent of Artivism, Jongstra combines conservation with collaboration to preserve craft skills and revive the use of wild plants dyes, underpinned by ecologically-just model and circular production systems. My anticipation at meeting Claudy and experiencing first-hand the workings of a fast flowing and innovative artist studio could not be understated.

A few kilometres away, in the village of Húns is the biodynamic farm overseen by Claudy’s partner, Claudia. The farm with its period greenhouse, botanical research garden, rewilding plots, and indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep provide some of the essential raw materials to support the work of the studio.

*Preparing cardings from dyed materials*

From day one I was introduced to the fundamental skills of hand carding and spinning, central to the making of each artwork. Both felt intensely absorbing yet soothing, as I modulated my rhythm and proprioception in search of that perfect colour blend or yarn count.

*Eise Eisinga Archief Nr. 6, Gemeentearchief Waadhoeke, Franeker, The Netherlands*
*photo by Jenny Boulboullé*

I conducted three dye experiments starting with greenwoad balls fermentation, followed by the addition of woad pigment and finally indigo pigment. Over the course of 10 days, I nurtured and fed the vat, logging my observations. Of note was the near-intolerable stench that grew increasingly pungent as the greenwoad paste broke down. It eventually paid off, and I was delighted to produce some of my own celestial blues and pure woad blues. The experiment provided valuable information towards the research, and a paper is due to be presented at the Dyes in History and Archeology conference in Sweden, in October later this year.

After months of planning, a travel embargo, and quarantine on arrival, I joined Claudy Jongstra Studio in early January. The studio barn, dye lab, office, interns’ accommodation, and family home are all located in a charming village in rural Friesland. It sure had been a long time since I’d shared a house with strangers, away from the comforting bubble of my home, family, and friends. I did wonder: how would I fair?

The studio is a large multifunctional barn, adjusting its layout and activities in response to the latest project, and expertly managed by the chef d’atelier, Anneleen.

I was particularly curious to learn about the dye plants and processes involved in Jongstra’s work. During my time in the lab, I worked with researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the Cultural Heritage of the Netherlands to recreate Eise Eisinga’s Celestial Blue recipes from 1808. The recipes describe the art of blue vat dyeing with the indigenous woad plant (Pastel) – a practice which faded into oblivion, and currently undergoing a revival in Europe.

*Grinding greenwoad balls for fermentation vat*

Drenthe Heath fleece dyed with greenwoad balls
and woad pigment

On my last couple of weeks of my internship, I worked on the Shepperd’s Touch artwork, a collaboration with the Textiel Museum in Tilburg. The work was inspired by a 2,800-year-old fabric remnant recently found in an Iron Age grave in Uden-Slabroekse Heide (Noord-Brabant). Following its analysis, scientists were able to identify a houndstooth pattern in the fabric, once dyed with indigo and madder. Jongstra created an intricate woven piece which we dyed using an indigo fructose recipe from archival documentation.

*Ruth distressing sections on the Shepperd's Touch work*

A feel of ageing and repair was crafted in by repeatedly distressing and mending the fabric, using the greenwoad and indigo dyed yarns from my previous experimentation. The embroidered piece is part of the “To Dye For” exhibition, celebrating the discovery and wider research undertaken, currently showing at the Textiel Museum.

*Shepperd's Touch finished artwork. Photo Textiel Museum*

Besides the creative and technical tasks carried out in the studio, I found the final stages of finishing and cataloguing the artworks particularly instructive. Equipped with an arsenal of needles, threads, tape, screws, and tools to tackle any eventuality, I joined the team on trips to Amsterdam and La Hague to install the completed artworks in its rightful place.

*Install of commissioned piece with Claudy & Annette*

With my creative practice at a pivotal stage of development, I am hugely grateful to QEST for their support, and Claudy and her team for so generously sharing their knowledge, beliefs, and vision.

I have already implemented some practical changes to my practice—such as investing in a spin dryer(!)—and thinking through the steps required to make my work practices more sustainable and ethical. Whilst I won’t be dyeing my own materials quite yet, I’m able to reach out to specialists’ dyers with the right questions.

So, as I drove away from the village of Spannum for the last time, my thoughts dwelt on the invaluable learning I had gained, and more specifically, the clear sense of affirmation about my work, and excitement of what to come next.

As for living away from home for three months? Well surprisingly much easier than I had anticipated — a simultaneously grounding and uplifting experience!

Photos by Valérie Wartelle unless otherwise stated.