Massimo Polello teaches a three-day workshop—in an online format—from his studio in Turin, Italy. Blue Workshop it’s called. Why is blue so popular? What attracts us to it so strongly? In this workshop, we are using only the colour blue in shades ranging from Prussian to indigo. Then we’ll bind the experimental pages into an accordion book.

I rounded up all the blue media in my studio and ordered some RIT dye. Colouring cotton paper with fabric dye? Why not?

After clearing the laundry room, I spent several days bluing sheets of Rives BFK, Arches Text Wove, and Tyvek.

The waste sheets were as interesting as the primo dipped papers, so I used quality paper to catch the drips.

Towards the end of a dyeing day, things got messy—fingerprints everywhere. I even managed to create a volcano and build a bridge! Happy accidents…but a signal that it was time to wind down and tidy up!

A second day was spent applying ground pigments to paper using the various techniques learned in class. I’m using dry ground ultramarine. Because no binder is used in these ground pigment experiments, a spray fixative is needed. I could have opened the studio windows for ventilation, but decided to head outdoors instead—armed with the painted papers, a can of workable fixative, and a brick to anchor the sheets against wind.

Since it’s -14º C outdoors, I’m geared up for warmth as well as safety.

The sheets are now curing in the garage, and I’m thawing indoors while pondering book content. In the visible light spectrum, the wavelength of blue is about 450 nanometers. Hmmm…that sounds like an interesting starting point for further investigation…

More as content unfolds and book pages develop.