With a bag of cochineal Eastman brought back from a trip to Mexico, the insects ground up and simmering in a pot, she began a collaboration with Janis Stemmerman, experimenting dyeing and printing in the studio. Starting off with dyeing yarn every shade of red and then repeating the circle square motif from her clay tiles, they printed on felt, silk and and wool gauze. Cochineal, the tiny bug that feeds on the Nopal cactus, has been cultivated in Mexico for centuries, exported by the Spanish to create the classic red colors we know today in a wide variety of cultures. The results of the April 2015 collaboration are series of one-of-a-kind pillows, scarves and a knitted blanket.
Through April, 2015, at Russell Janis Gallery - 292 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211.