Creating Natural Dyes
I’ve always been fascinated by the colors that surround me, both of the natural world and of the synthetic. The best time to view color is right after a rainstorm, when the dust and dirt gets washed away and the beauty of color shines through at its most vibrant. What was once a dull brown colored leaf, now becomes a vibrant shade of red. Green comes to life in an array of shades; no two trees have the same colored green leaves. Flowers soak in the water after a long thirst and now their buds can shine-- blues, purples, pinks, reds, yellows, and whites give off a radiance that captivates any eye. I find my inspiration for color comes from observing the natural world and seeing color combinations through the ways they repeat or stand out within the environment.
Coloring through natural dyes brings excitement and experimentation. One would think that red roses would provide a beautiful red or pink color to something once a dye has been produced from it, but in fact a sage green colored dye comes through. Logging in data like a scientist, I document each of my dye baths. I write down how long I let the plant material soak and heat in the dye bath, anywhere from 2-10 hours of soaking. I document how long I let the wool fibers soak in their mordants, either in alum or iron which helps the dye permeate the follicle of the wool fiber. Lastly, with each interval of an hour, I soak a piece of watercolor paper in the warm dye bath and let it record the vibrancy of the color. These notes, compiled all within one journal, look like a science experiment exploded across the pages. Incoherent notes to others make perfect sense to me when I look back and want to repeat a result. Much like science too, some results are repeated and I can prove my method of dye, while others seem to change with every dye bath I create.
Through my process of creating dyes from the natural environment, I feel like I have developed my own language of color. I recognize the colors in my work as Elderberry mauve, Lavender yellow, and Red Rose green. Not only does creating natural dyes activate my artwork through texture–feeling the crunch of dried leaves, the mushy flower petals, the rough shell of oak galls, and the hardness of cochineal–it activates my senses through color and smell as well. Using Sasha Duerr’s book Natural Color, I was able to dive deep into collecting and gathering seasonal plants to create dyes in a rainbow of hues. Taking into account both
the environmental impacts of making natural dyes rather than using synthetic ones, growing and foraging my own dye material, and making my own dye baths, I’ve taken the creation of color into my own hands. Creating my own colored dyes has given me an appreciation of color in my work, and so the vibrancy of these dyes shine because of the care that goes into making them.