In the Midst of Wonders

 

Instruments of Consciousness...
to aid a Deeper Understanding of Nature

 MA Art & Environment Interim Show at the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society in Falmouth, Cornwall, in association with RANE, December 2011.

Sublime Indigo, Saturday 1st October 2011.

By the side of the river we dyed cotton skeins, fabric and silk material using the Wild Colours recipes as well as inventing our own using Indigo Crystal dyes. It was a perfect sunny day filled with discussions and ideas, looking through research journals, creating together and thinking about the environment. All left over dye vats will be used until they are 'exhausted' to minimise waste effects on the environment.

Thanks and gratitude to everyone attending this special workshop.

 

An Impromptu Happening

An Impromptu Happening, Fox Rosehill Gardens, Falmouth.


Recycled Cotton, Indigo, Bamboo and a Magnolia tree.

I wanted to test Art outside the gallery space. Artist's can move beyond the gallery space, it does not mean the Art is any less valid or that Artist's have to compromise on quality of work.

Art outside such a space fixed is not just 'Outsider Art', It can move beyond these perameters and into other circles.

What is the public's role in Art beyond the gallery? It seeks to involve the public at a deeper level than spectatorship. How can Art truly serve/engage/move the community?

The Larmer Tree Festival

The Larmer Tree Festival 2011 hosted its first ever workshop in Natural Dyes: Dancing with Dyes 

     had a brilliant reception with individuals, groups and families trying their hand at the workshop.

          Participants dyed their own piece of fabric to contribute to the Festival's Prayer Flag.

With guidance and full description of the processes involved and some took their dyed fabric home. They looked through research books and journals and discussed the current global impact of dyes and traditional methods before the introduction of synthetic colour.

The Colour Garden

 Working on The Colour Garden at Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance as the lead artist has been a fantastic experience. Newlyn Art Gallery have given me the space to create a Colour Garden within the galleries grounds where we have been working with Newlyn School since May, 2011.

We have been planting from seed: Sunflower helianthus, Saffron Crocus sativas, Beetroot Beta vulgaris, Onions (sets) Allium cepa, Dahlia Aster aceae, Marigold Calendula officinalis, Beetroot Beta vulgaris, Lavender Lavendula officinalis, Cosmos Cosmos atrosanguineus and Nasturtiums Cruciferae. Honeysuckle Abelia grandiflora and Lady’s Mantle Alchemilla mollis were also dug in from pots.

Throughout the course of 9 workshops, myself and artist Sarah Gatter have been demonstrating and facilitating the discovery of Natural Dyeing onto cotton fabric and handmade paper.

Participants have been guided to create their own hand dyed fabric and handmade paper, whilst learning about the scientific, cultural and historical uses of the plants. They have used Onion, Madder, Indigo, Marigold, Turmeric and Beetroot.

The project ended on a high with a special guest Botanist from Duchy College, bringing microscopes and equipment to dissect flowers for a closer understanding of the dye plants.

You can see the finished sculptures and hand made paper below on display at Newlyn Art Gallery for Newlyn Fish Festival before they are given to the school.

  

Artist Residency, Laos, Asia

The beginning of my experiments with Natural Dyes.

A planned Artist residency since completing my BA led me on a journey of discovery into dyes and pigments: how they are made and what they are made from. So many of us use the same materials but so little of us know what is really in them, what they are made up of.

I stayed for one week at the Living Crafts Centre in Luang Prabang, Laos, Asia (you can view them through my Links page). I was given access to the dye kitchen and was able to discuss and learn from the expert dyer's of the H'mong tribe who worked for a fair wage at the Centre, making dyes from plants and weaving silk fabrics.

Many dye plants are grown on the grounds of the Living Crafts Centre and these are all available to use. I sourced paper made locally and brought direct from the makers which was a boat ride away across the Mekong Delta and I used dye's that were grown there for the installation I made.

•  Dye samples let to dry in the garden at the Living Crafts Centre, Laos.

•  Dyeing with Brazilwood, a highly protected tree since it has been over cultivated

• Finished Installation Piece

Solar Dyeing

 Onion and Marigold

 Oinon and Marigold

Indigo

Thinking about the environment and how, as an artist I can find ways to use the local in my work, I have been collecting all sorts of possible dye stuffs to add to my solar jars...... Now, Im just hoping for some sun to heat them