Yoruba batik fabric designs

Kimberly Byerly joined the list too late to be a full participant in this swap, but sent me a card as a 1-for-1 swap. She writes:

The stamps on the front of the card are inspired by traditional symbols used to make a batik (wax resist) decorated cloth called Adire Eleko. It is made by the women of the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria, in Africa.

Another interesting and similar decorated textile from Africa is the Adinkra Cloth which was traditionally used in funerals on the deceased. It has black images on gold cloth.

Both of these artforms are made by the women and display symbolism that is particular to a family within the tribes.

Yoruba batik designs, Kimberly Byerly

This card is stamped in indigo on bright blue card stock. I'm writing this the day after the Marlboro stamp convention, where I saw demonstrations of lots of techniques for making gorgeous backgrounds with no effort or imagination, so I have to comment again -- fancy materials and new techniques are not the answer. (Kimberly explained, “I used scrunched up saran plastic wrap and a blue ink pad to do the background.”) Look how much you can do with one color of ink pad, a little imagination, and a basic sense of design.
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