India Flint Workshop

Last week was full of experimenting with textiles! As I mentioned in an earlier post, the India Flint lecture entitled, Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost – Travels with a Dye Pot, took place a few days ago. I attended the lecture, and also took part in India Flint’s workshop at the Contemporary Textile Studio Coop. Which was fantastic.

I dyed silk and wool mostly, and some paper – all with local plants and flowers. It was quite fascinating. In the past, my (limited) experience with dyeing had been very structured – still amazing, but very organized and calculated. In contrast, this week’s workshop was not very formulaic at all. I mean, some knowledge was employed obviously, such as the importance of staying away from all things poisonous and so on. The experience was very individual, despite being in a group, each person using similar substances and tools.

In the end, we all walked away with: lots of fabric samples; a little book made with dyed paper, fabric, embroidery, and pen and inks (or stick and ink as it were); an apron; as well as a curiosity to continue wondering and experimenting.

I already have big plans for more natural dyeing!