Sophena Kwon

 
 

Sophena Kwon

Studio Location: Vancouver, Canada

Title of Piece: Indigo Portal

Materials used: 100% Linen 

Price: $850

Indigo Species used: Indigofera Tinctoria / Ferrous Vat Recipe

Source of Indigo: Tamil Nadu

What is the primary method used? Stitched Resist & Capping 

Artist Bio: 

Sophena Kwon grew up with Maiwa as the family business. She has learned much from the artisans Maiwa collaborates with (including master dyers in India, Africa, Peru, and Mexico) and from experimenting alongside her mom, Charllotte.

In 2009 Sophena studied with Michel Garcia in France. She has taught natural dye workshops with Charllotte (including at the Penland School of Craft and at Shakerag) since 2012 and developed and taught workshops for the Maiwa School of Textiles since 2014. In an effort to bring natural dyeing to a new audience, she founded the immensely successful Indigo Social in 2015 which continues to this day. In 2016 Sophena was invited to present at the Mood Indigo Exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum. In addition to her natural dye work, Sophena is mother of two kiddos, a photographer and clothing designer. Each year she travels to India to direct the Maiwa line of clothing.

Artist Statement:

A portal. A circle.  A simple shape to explore the infinite. 

An entryway. An escape. A space to get lost in. 

Daydream. 

Dream. 

Drift. 

I make portals as a way to get lost in a process. To feel the cloth. Needle and thread. Working the cloth. Defining negative and positive. 

The entire piece goes into a dyepot. For blues I choose indigofera tinctorial. Sometimes with a kiss of rust.  For yellows I choose marigold and weld.  For reds I choose cutch and madder. 

Creating colour is an art form in itself.  The dyes are plants. They are effected by their terroir.  You get to know the subtleties of each harvest by working with the plants.  You adjust your recipes.  You adapt.  There is much reward for collaborating with plants. This is the outcome.