Suryah Studio

I enjoy bringing tobacco cloth into my work because it isn’t the best choice. It’s unpredictable, it’s sensitive, it needs tenderness and grace.

I see a lot of myself in the material and project and desires for care into it as I’m working with it.

-Brian Suryah

“Sumac has been used historically to tan leather and all parts of the tree are used, so leaves, bark and fruit will all have quantities of tannin.”

-botanicalcolors.com

Staghorn sumac, a plant known for its striking red fruit clusters, holds significance in folklore and traditional medicine. In some Native American cultures, the plant is believed to have healing properties and is used in remedies for various ailments. Additionally, the sumac’s branches were used to create dye for textiles and its tart fruits were used to make a refreshing beverage similar to lemonade. The plant’s association with healing and vitality has led to its inclusion in various cultural practices and ceremonies.

- sumachealthwellness.com

In this process I choose sumac as my tannin because of its spiritual significance and utility to the process. Sumac functions as a tannin that mordant and later madder will adhere to. Because the tannin color is somewhat clear it doesn’t disrupt or change to intended coloring process.

- Brian Suryah

Historically called potash alum, potassium aluminum sulfate is a translucent white crystalline powder. It is naturally occurring, and has been extracted from alunite in volcanic areas since at least 1500 BC for purifying water, as a styptic, and a mordant. Today it can be refined from bauxite or alunite, or made in a laboratory by adding potassium sulfate to aluminum sulfate. Potash alum is the historical mordant called for in traditional dye and marbling instructions, and in making lake pigments from natural dyes.

- nataliestopka.com

I’m using alum as mordant that will bind the madder root pigment to the cellulose fibers in the tobacco cloth.

- Brian Suryah

“Madder” refers to two species of flowering shrubs in the genus rubiaceae, the same family that includes coffee and gardenias. Rubia tinctorum is known as Dyer’s Madder or Turkish Madder; Rubia cordifolia is commonly known as Indian Madder. Both species produce dozens of anthraquinone compounds in their roots. Several of these are strong natural dyes, and they each produce a different hue. For example, purpurin in the roots produces oranges and yellows, while alizarin produces brilliant, clear reds. This chemical complexity makes raw madder roots extremely challenging to work with, because depending on the temperature, PH, and mordanting process, the orange and brown dyes can easily overpower the red.

-shepherdtextiles.com

Madder Root just felt right for this project, aesthetically and spiritually. There was no other material I thought embodied the power of this book.

- Brian Suryah

Something I think speaks a lot to the power of madder are the conditions it needs to thrive. In order to get the best quality color from the roots you must give the madder at least three years to grow and mature before it’s uprooted and extracted. Even after that in order to continue with the plant it needs to be allowed to relocate and spread seed into new soil or it will no longer grow in abundance.

In the greater universe madder has been aligned with the planet Mars. Mars is the planet of motivation and action. Currently as of 06/07 Mars is in Virgo significantly emphasizing a focus on clarity, communication and cohesion. Especially for our cancers. In this space the madder root invokes mindfulness and grounding of the heart in the direction of our desires. The sumac used in this process brings forth alignment between the mind, body and spirit.

To anyone in proximity to this work. Remember yourself, the soils you root in and the people, places, things and ideas that mother the seed that will bear your fruit. Continue saying what you said, letting others know when their efforts are not enough and do not please you. If you are uncomfortable there is already no peace present to be protected. Stand up for yourself, your needs and your people.

- Brian Suryah

I’ve decided to repurpose the liquid from the dye baths used to make this work as a spiritual cologne called “Iya’s Water”.

Spiritual colognes can be used for ancestor libations, divination, spiritual cleansing and protection.

For external use only.