Working with natural dyes –
Sunday August 25, 1:30 pm at Pacific Textile Arts.
This will be an ongoing member study group that meets once a month to explore, discuss and meet others interested in exploring plant fiber uses.
Agenda
The last meeting we discussed a meeting format of choosing a topic to work with for the month . During the month those interested will research, collect materials and have an on-hand experience, following up with each other as we share processes and methods. Participants are encouraged to explore their personal areas of interest during the month and bring finished or in progress work to share and study with the group.
August 25th gathering:
If interested, collect dye plants from your gardens or around the area. Bring a dye recipe for the plant you bring. Dyeing is an intensive project that includes plant collection, processing the dye bath, mordanting fabric, dye time and follow up. 2 hours may not be sufficient time to create dye pots but we will have time to explore and discuss recipes and knowledge for further exploration during the month.
If you have questions email Suzanne at vp@pacifictextilearts.org
Open to all PTArts members
Bring your ideas, plant fiber focus of interest, and any fiber work you have made and would like to share with the group. This group is for anyone interested in exploring uses of local, native, or your own garden plants and flowers. See the list below for ideas that have been presented.
Cost: Free or by suggested donation of $5 to Pacific Textile Arts to help cover the cost of keeping us open for events like these.
AREAS OF INTEREST
– Plant fibers to textiles
– New Zealand Flax – processing for the inner fibers and using the leaf for cordage, basketry, and other useful items
– Planting a flax plot and processing it to make cloth, a season long group project
– Nettles, milkweed and other fibers to cloth, a season long group project
– Agave fiber – processing the fiber, making household items, dyeing it with natural dyes, weaving, knitting and other uses
– Natural dyeing – with plants, roots, flowers grown that are foraged or grow in our gardens.
– Creating a dye garden that we tend at Pacific Textile Arts
– Working with the PTArts group at the botanical garden dye garden
– A monthly community dyeing day, using local & garden grown plants, flowers, roots, mushrooms etc.
– Developing a record of local plants, their properties for fiber and dyeing use
– Indigo dyeing, vat processes from our own home grown indigo plants.
– Mushroom dyeing and ink making
– Pigment extraction from native and garden plants for making lake pigments, ink , watercolor, oil and egg tempera paints.
– Painting on cloth and fiber with hand made lake pigments & paints
– Cordage and its uses
– Use of various plant fibers for basketry, broom making, floor mats and other utility and artistic items
– Exploring and learning to extract bast (wood) fibers for textile use and paper making.
– Paper making from local plants
– Involvement with the Fibershed movement
– Field trips to places like Chico Flax in Chico, John Marshall Indigo dyer in Covelo