Caroline Gutman

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National Geographic: The dark history of South Carolina’s beguiling blue dye

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Focus: Photographer, Photojournalist, Journalist, Writer, Researcher, Reporter, Politics, Travel, Environment, History, Photo Assistant, Documentary, News, Video, Photography, Domestic, Foreign, Portraiture, Stock, Lifestyle, Conceptual, Culture, Foreign Desk, Arts & Culture, Journalist Investigative, Freelance, Civil Rights and Social Inequality, Humanitarian, Assignments, Commercial, Entrepreneur, Fellow, Consultant, International, Creative Professional, Editorial, Photo Shoots, Editing, Storyteller, Visual Artist, Climate, Digital Journalism, Photo Coordinator, Feature Stories, Environmental Stories, International Stories, National Park stories, Still Photographer, US Politics, Portrait Photography, Reportage

Clients: The Guardian, The New York Times The Washington Post

Caroline Harper straightens out...nt to scale indigo production.

Caroline Harper straightens out some of her scarves dyed with indigo at her home in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 12, 2021. She and her husband David Harper grow indigo on nearby Edisto Island and process it into dye. They have received a USDA grant to scale indigo production.

Arianne King Comer works on an ...ndigo dye to create a pattern.

Arianne King Comer works on an indigo batik design made on rice paper, alongside Kelly Fort, at Pluff Mudd Farm, on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina, on November 17, 2021. King Comer uses hot wax dots and lines and brushed on layers of indigo dye to create a pattern.

Harvested indigo leaves hang to...irst drying out indigo stalks.

Harvested indigo leaves hang to dry inside a storage container at Dogleg Farms (now Ogee Farms) in Johns Island, South Carolina, on November 7, 2021. Ellie Maas Davis experimented with different methods of processing indigo dye, including first drying out indigo stalks.

Arianne King Comer lifts a piec..., revealing the final pattern.

Arianne King Comer lifts a piece of indigo dyed batik fabric out of a vat of boiling water, during her artist residency at Ashley Hall, a girls school in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 15, 2021. The boiling water is used to melt off wax, revealing the final pattern.

Leah Magar rests her hand on a ...oing to dye," says Magar.

Leah Magar rests her hand on a hand stitched, hand dyed linen scarf with indigo dyed linen thread, at her textile design studio in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 17, 2021. Magar, who originally trained as a milliner, cultivates and processes indigo and other natural dyes using what she describes as a "seed to stitch vision” inspired by Eliza Pinckney. Magar has been cultivating and working with indigo for about eight years. “Making this piece is a process. It takes months, years, beginning with growing the plant,” says Magar.   She created a marbleized effect by holding the linen in the dye vat. “With indigo, there’s no way to predict the outcome of how the cloth is going to dye," says Magar.

Ellie Maas Davis (right) shows ...Dogleg Farms (now Ogee Farms).

Ellie Maas Davis (right) shows Nathaniel Watkins an indigo plant during a free community indigo dyeing workshop, in Johns Island, South Carolina, on November 7, 2021. The workshop was hosted by Maas Davis at her farm Dogleg Farms (now Ogee Farms).

Indigo stalk at Dogleg Farms (n...Carolina, on November 7, 2021.

Indigo stalk at Dogleg Farms (now Ogee Farms) in Johns Island, South Carolina, on November 7, 2021.

Joy Mills carries an indigo pla...e other plants including hemp.

Joy Mills carries an indigo plant after repotting it, in her backyard in Cross, South Carolina, on November 14, 2021. Mills, an avid gardener, and her partner Jermaine Euland began growing indigo from seed in 2021, alongside other plants including hemp.

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National Geographic: The dark history of South Carolina’s beguiling blue dye

Copyright Caroline Gutman 2024

Updated Mar 2023

Location South Carolina

Topics Media

Summary

In National Geographic: Indigo was once so vital to the state people called it “blue gold.” As interest in the dye reignites, historic sites are shining a light on its past.

Writing by Barbara Noe Kennedy.
Photo editing by Maura Friedman.
Photography supported by The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting

Indigo is making a comeback in South Carolina—here’s where to find it
Indigo was once so vital to the state people called it “blue gold.” As interest in the dye reignites, historic sites are shining a light on its past.
Nationalgeographic.com

1,187

Caroline Gutman

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