Today, we visited the Wissa Wassef art center. We met with the director, Engineer Ikram Nosshi, who graciously guided us through the facility. He informed us about the naturally occurring pigments utilized on-site and discussed Wissa Wassef’s daughter, Susan Wassef, who had experimented with the production of the Egyptian synthetic blue. It's not a glaze, he added, it's a frit.
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While speaking in the beige modernist architecture and recalling the blue, he points out a vibrant blue pottery plate, that Susan had made a few decades ago. He recalls it like it were yesterday. Susan, who gently greets us, seems busy during another group tour. She quickly explains that she no longer makes the blue and that Dr. Aida, who has unfortunately passed away, the founder of the glass museum next door to them, had experimented with the making of the blue. Hatem from the Glass museum, who considers himself a son to Dr. Aida, seconds this. She died with the secret to her grave, she adds, words that were also echoed by Hatem.
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| image of late wissa wassef |
Later on Eng. Ikram leads us to the fields where the plants used for dyeing are cultivated. Some of the plants have already been harvested, while others will be harvested later in April or May. These plants will be utilized to dye yarn in the coming months. We have arranged for a return visit to film the process of creating the dye pigments and dyeing linen yarn. |
| handmade tapestry at wissa wassef |
