On Natural Dyes and Impermanence

The iron-fixed walnut hull dye I used last autumn has already begun to shift — the deep brown warming toward ochre at the edges, fading where the light falls. I find I am not bothered by this. In fact, I welcome it.

Natural dyes are, fundamentally, in conversation with time. They are not fixed in the way synthetic pigments are. They age, they respond to light and washing and handling, they carry the history of their use in their color.

There is a Japanese concept, wabi-sabi, that finds beauty precisely in this kind of impermanence and imperfection. The cracked glaze on a ceramic bowl. The patina on old brass. The faded indigo of a well-worn work apron.