Liisi Joala

“ROBERT NATUSE RIIDEVÄRVIMIS- JA TRÜKKIMISTÖÖSTUS VILJANDIS AASTATEL 1883-1941” (juhendajad PIret Valk, MA; Kristi Jõeste, MA).

LÜHIÜLEVAADE: Käesolev magistritöö ühendab kanga värvi- ja trükimeistrite teadmistekillud, 19.− 20 sajandi tööstuskogemuse ning vormistab need tänasele praktikule mõttekaks ja suupäraseks tükiks. Maalimas, kus tehnoloogilised teadmised olid salateadmised ja keemia pigem alkeemia, on Robert Natuse ja tema tööstuse kohta ilmunu väga tänuväärne leid − ettevõtja ja spetsialist, kes oma tehnoloogiaid ja ärisaladust kiivalt ei valva, vaid selgitab ja avalikkust harib, on omaette nähtus.
Lisaks uuele või ka süstematiseeritud tehnilisele informatsioonile, mida see töö loob, seisneb selle laiem väärtus ka kohalike olude ja ettevõtluse detailsemas avamises ühes kindlas aja ja ruumi raamis. See võiks olla jalgealuseks toetuspunktiks trükipraktikutele ja seljataguseks nii kangatrüki õppijatele kui õpetajatele. Värvimis- ja trükikatsetused aitavad lahti harutada indigoga kaasaskäivat müstikat ja salapära. Nii värvimisvabriku tööelu kui müstilise indigo pottid-pannid, joonistuvad väga elavalt silme ees „siniseks”. Töö pakub teadmisi tekstiilitehnoloogiast, aga ka lugemiselamust ja põnevaid peatükke Eesti kultuuriloost.

Piret Valk
Eesti Kunstiakadeemia,
rakenduskunsti ja disaini teaduskond,
tekstiilidisaini osakond,
külalisdotsent

LÄBITUD ÕPPEKAVA: pärasndtehnoloogia magistriõppekava.

ESTER DSpace

 

SUMMARY: Master’s thesis „Robert Natus’ dye & print house in Viljandi between 1883–1941“ includes both research and practical element. Technical analysis is based on literary sources, my own experiments, and I have also consulted with active textile art specialists. It has been very important for me to find information written down by dye and print masters to avoid continuous misinterpretations and assumptions. Only then have I compared the information with foreign literature sources. Research has lead me to newspapers of that era (1878–1940).

The research gives an overview of smaller dye houses that have been covered very briefly thus far. Their clients were craftsmen and ordinary folk. The main focus is on the history of Robert Natus’ dye house – its services, machinery, dyes, material and technologies. I also describe other dyes used in Europe and Estonia, focusing on synthetic dyes and particularly on Indanthren that has been mentioned in Natus’ newspaper ads. Textile print technologies described include resist printing and direct printing.

Hand printing in Estonia has mostly been used in screen printing and block printing. Textile printing studios are more and more returning to traditions, reviving old technologies and patterns. Practical part reflects experiments to dye and print textiles with Indanthren. For learning purposes I have picked out and drawn some of Natus’ printing block patterns and searched a few reasonable outputs for them in today’s context, considering the pros and cons of block printing and screen printing. The experiments can be seen in a separate portfolio.

Dying and printing with synthetic indigo Indanthren was generally successful. Special tools and conditions for dying with indigo were still needed. If I were to continue this practice, I would need to think about how to make the job process easier. The experiments proved that separate rooms and tools for dying with indigo were a necessity.

It is important to understand and follow the chemical processes when dying and printing with indigo. Nowadays there are several recipes and descriptions available for the job process. Still it is important to familiarize oneself with these and also keep a bit of skepticism, because there are still a lot of conflicting myths about indigo.

I was hoping to find some recipes that could be applied in both block printing and screen printing. Direct printing with synthetic indigo worked for both, but for resist printing more research and experiments are needed. I plan to use printing blocks and print screens with Natus’ designs in my future works. Drawing the patterns has also given me a lot of inspiration, giving me some ideas for a new collection.