Thursday, September 30, 2010

India Flint Workshop

I've been busy for the past week catching up with my work after 5 wonderful days spent eco-dyeing with India Flint.  I felt so privileged to experience dyeing beautiful silks with leaves and rusty metal fragments.  I thoroughly enjoyed the dyeing due to its similarity to my favourite art processes- working with plant materials, monoprinting and cooking plant fibre, but much less toxic. 

Working with fabric rather than paper was new to me, as was the hand-stitching of the pieces of silk together.  Luckily for me, I was free to stitch in my own way which was as rustic as the marks on the fabric!

I loved the wonderful aroma of eucalyptus, both on the fabric and in the cooking pots....much kinder on the nose than the pungency of cooking plant fibres to make paper.

As well as exploring new processes, I also learnt a couple of new things to take back to my art practice.  One is to work 'mindfully'.  The other is that I should look at alternatives to reduce the use of toxic chemicals and materials in my art practice - there are ways to create without resorting to the easiest and most obvious solution in a tin or aerosol.

Thank you to India and Roz for their hospitality over the 5 days.



Bundles cooking in the pot

Bundles of cloth and leaves fresh out of the pot

Stitching in progress

The almost finished piece, stitched together lovingly

3 comments:

  1. Sandra, Your work looks exciting. What a wonderful time you must have had. Working mindfully is appealing. How do you intend to do that? I could do with a few pointers. Jen

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  2. My understanding of working mindfully is being in the present. A sort of spiritual focus on the task at hand and what you are trying to achieve. Not thinking about other things like domestic distractions. India suggested meditation upon entering your art studio, for a sense of calm and to focus our minds on the task at hand. Great advice, I think!

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  3. thank you Sandra for the kind words, it was lovely to meet you
    a wonderful week in that beautiful garden
    blessed by rain and birdsong

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