This is a picture of a Bogolanfini mud cloth that I saw at the Earthues studio. It was purchased in Mali, West Africa. The women create these pieces across months of time; they sit on the ground, perhaps a small child in their laps, while they paint strips of cloth with mud which comes from the Niger River, rich with iron. The cloth most often is initially soaked in the leaves from certain trees and the tannins react with the mud to create the black coloring. Negative space design is the unique feature created from this process. The designs are personal to each woman who creates them, a journal and a private one at that. Isn’t this piece of cloth a work of art, rich in tribal heritage and design?
