All Things Indigo

Blue turbaned, regal and mysterious, the Tuareg are some of the most enigmatic people on the planet. Commonly known as “The Blue People”, they don elegantly flowing cloth robes and turbans dyed with a blue indigo pigment which when worn over time stains their skin.

Principally nomadic, their talent is as limited as the terrain they travel which is usually along large swaths of land stretching from the Saharan regions of North Africa - Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria and Burkina Faso. There can be vast differences in their ethnicities but there is one undeniable fact about the Tuareg. They are among the most gifted Africans found on the continent and highly skilled in the fine crafts of silver etchings, leather artifacts and spectacular jewelry.

If I had to pinpoint an early influence on my love of indigo, it would be the earlier images of the Tuareg. Their larger than life existence traveling across the desert in caravans carrying their life’s bounty stirred in me a passion for all things blue.