We may be familiar with the tapioca roots for food, but this fun exploration was part of the plant that grows aboveground.
Tapioca, also known as Cassava or Ubi Kayu, is a plant which we are more familiar with in its processed form - as a flour or found in our common comfort snacks and pearls in our bubble tea.
Aside from being found in our parks and community gardens, it can also be spotted growing wild.
We received a bunch tapioca prunings from a friend (IG:@dyingtradesg, who does amazing work with natural fibers) who had an abundance of cuttings from her neighbours. What stood out the most to me on receiving the pruning was the vibrant red-purple leaf stalks that are still relatively firm and flexible.
Shirin’s Notes on working with Tapioca Leaf Stalks:
I removed the leaves from the tapioca stalks and allowed the stalks to semi-dry in a windy and airy location. Working with fresh stalks seem to result in more of them breaking when flattening it, probably as it is still firm in moisture.
On the other end of the spectrum, do take care to not to dry out tapioca stalks entirely! They become more brittle as they dry out. If that happens though it is not irreversible; I can still lightly rehydrate them by wrapping the bunches with a damp cloth or even giving it a light misting with a spray bottle. This helps the fiber to continue to stay supple enough to bend.
It’s best to observe the stems to be in-between of not being too dry and neither too “fresh” before moving to the next step.
The second step is to flatten the leaf stalks which gave me thin and even strips for a simple weaving project. I used a rolling pin for this case. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough stalks but it was just enough to make a tiny coaster! The edges were finished off with regular twine and the extra edges were snipped off.
I love how the purple stalks works wonderfully with the colour of the twine. It has been a few months since this was made and the colour of the stalks has barely faded. Neither have we observed mold growing on the stems either which is a very good sign, considering all the humidity!
As usual, it will be hanging in our studio for further observation as we ponder on the next little project.
Kopi Sketch Club
We are starting a fortnightly Kopi Sketch Club, where people can come together to sketch, paint, draw with the paints and inks we have in our studio! We envision this art club to be light-hearted and casual, for those who find joy in doodles and sketching as a form of personal reflection, observational practice and/or documentation of their environments. Whilst there will be some guidance on fundamental sketching if there is interest, this will be an opportunity to engage in exploring your instinctive making style and material experimentations with plant/earth inks and colours.
We are holding a trial session with 5 slots for subscribers to Masak-masak Colour to participate. There is a nominal fee of $15 to cover some expenses for this session, which includes a cup of kopi (or teh if you prefer)! Eventually, we hope this will grow into a small commmunity of people who want to work more with found and grown colours in your practice.
If keen, please find the eventbrite link to sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kopi-sketch-club-trial-event-tickets-852670379057
Till next time!
Shirin and Liz
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